French Northern Railway No. 2.231 to 2.305

A problem on the Paris suburban routes of the Nord was that the previously existing tank locomotives with the wheel arrangement 4-4-0T and 0-4-2T had to be turned at the end stations, which led to unacceptable delays, especially in heavy rush hour traffic. Therefore, between 1901 and 1906, the Nord had a total of 75 tank locomotives built for suburban traffic with a symmetrical wheel arrangement, which had been developed by Gaston du Bousquet. Because these locomotives had a high-mounted, small-diameter boiler, they earned the nickname “Revolver”. Due to the design as 4-4-4T, they had a bogie ahead in both directions, which meant that they could be operated in both directions at a maximum speed of 105 km/h.

A special feature in the cab was that the controls were all duplicated to facilitate operation even when reversing. While the adhesive weight of other locomotives with this wheel arrangement was relatively low, the weight of these locomotives was distributed in such a way that more than half was on the two coupled axles. Thus, the two bogies served to guide rather than carry a large mass while providing sufficient adhesive weight. 

The production took place in three batches at La Chapelle in Paris and Hellemmes in Lille. While the water and coal reserves were still 6,500 liters and 3.0 tonnes in the first batch, they were increased to 7,000 liters and 3.5 tonnes in the two following batches. In the SNCF they were listed as 222 TA 1 to 222 TA 75.