In the late twenties, G. Goldschmidt and A. Weber of Haine-Saint-Pierre designed a new type of articulated tank locomotives for use in the French colonies of the Ivory Coast and Congo. The requirements for these metre-gauge locomotives included a maximum axle load of 12.5 tonnes and great flexibility. They also had to be suited for wood firing. As a combination of their names the new type became known as the Golvé locomotive.

It had long rigid frames which carried the boiler, cab and supplies and two bogies. So it basically resembled a Meyer locomotive, but the cylinders worked with simple expansion and all faced in the usual direction of travel. Each bogie has three driving axles and a carrying axle that was located on the outside. To prevent slipping when the weight on the rear bogie decreased due to decreasing water and fuel supplies, the steam admission to the rear cylinders was automatically controlled by the weight on the bogie. The firebox was located between the bogies and could be designed very deep.

In 1930, four were built for the French-West African Railway in the Ivory Coast and three for the Congo-Ocean Railway in French Congo. In 1935, two more followed for French Congo. On a gradient of 2.5 percent with curve radii of 80 m, they could haul 260 tonnes with 16 km/h.

In 1947, Vulcan Foundry built the first 20 locomotives of the River class for the Nigerian Railways. These were 2-8-2 freight locomotives ordered to cope with the rapidly increasing post-war traffic, what most of all included peanuts. The Hulson-Tuyere grate had an area of 38 square feet, what was suitable for low-calorific coal from Nigeria. The leading and trailing axles had roller bearings. The tender had a capacity of 4,000 gallons of water and ten tons of coal.

Until 1954, more batches were ordered from Vulcan Foundry and North British. One order in 1953 for 15 that was to come from Vulcan Foundry was instead built by Henschel in Germany. The last batch of 30 built by Vulcan Foundry in 1954 also had roller bearings on the driving axles. These were the last steam locomotives placed into service by the Nigerian Railways. Some were later converted to burn oil. Similar locomotives were built for Malawi and East Africa.

At the beginning of the thirties, the PLM in Algeria needed very powerful express locomotives, as the compound ten-wheelers used there had reached their limits, even when running in double. The specifications stipulated that the new locomotive alone should be able to pull trains with 19 to 29 cars sufficiently quickly over the ramps, which had often two percent, and should also have a maximum speed of 110 km/h or 68 mph. The result was a Garratt as a “Double Pacific” with 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) driving wheels. 

In 1932, a first prototype was built at Franco-Belge, which was tested first in France and then in Algeria. A special feature was the rotating coal bunker patented by Beyer-Peacock, which automatically transported the coal towards the cab. The cab was generously sized and had a fan to improve comfort in high temperatures. There were also controls in both directions and the Cossart valve gear was electrically actuated.

During the tests, up to 73 cars were successfully transported and the required speed was easily achieved with normal trains. The pulling power of the Garratt was now equated with the pulling power of 2.4 ten-wheelers. Only the special design of the coal bunker led to vibrations above 120 km/h, so it was no longer used in series production. The Kylchap exhaust system was replaced in the series by the usual double chimney of the PLM. The series locomotives were also given a streamlined casing.

After the 231-132 AT, twelve 231-132 BT were built in 1936, which reached up to 132 km/h (82 mph) and were therefore probably the fastest Garratts ever. On a better track, it was even expected that up to 140 km/h would be possible. When the first diesel locomotives were introduced after the Second World War, maintenance of the Garratts decreased. They were brought to Spain and scrapped at the beginning of the fifties.

In 1917, ALCO delivered two 2-8-2T tank locomotives to the Togoland Military Railway, while the country was under British-French occupation. They had the works numbers 56743 and 56744 and the order number C-471. Built in metre gauge, they had a service weight of 96,000 pounds. Their cylinders measured 15 by 20 inches and the drivers had a diameter of 38 inches. On the railway, they got the running numbers 30 and 31. The photo shows No. 30, named “King George V”. When Togo became a French colony, these locomotives were passed on to the Chemins de fer du Togo.