FS Class 740

The FS Class 740 was a class of 2-8-0 Consolidation steam locomotives of the Italian state railways, the Ferrovie dello Stato, and with 470 built it was the most numerous locomotive type ever built for that railway. Designed as a simple-expansion, superheated development of the earlier Class 730 following the success of the Class 640, the first engines appeared in 1911 and production continued, with a long break during the First World War, until 1923. Gio. Ansaldo & C. built 119 of them, alongside Breda, Officine Meccaniche, Officine Meccaniche e Navali, Henschel, CEMSA and Saronno. Built for heavy freight work and a low axle load, they ran across the whole network, also hauled passenger trains on secondary lines, and stayed in service until the end of Italian steam in the 1970s. Some were rebuilt with Caprotti valve gear or Franco-Crosti boilers, and 49 survive in preservation.