The Cramptons of the Nord comprised a total of 58 locomotives, which, like almost all French Cramptons, were built by Cail. They had outside cylinders that were raised and inclined. The bearings were generously sized to reduce wear at high speeds. The wheels on the first leading axle were visibly larger than those on the second and also had to carry a significantly higher load.

As a rule, they pulled twelve coaches and sometimes up to 16, each of which only weighed eight tons. Four batches were delivered between 1849 and 1859, most of which had a driving wheel diameter of 2,100 mm (6 ft 10 11/16 in). Only numbers 134 to 145 from 1853 had wheels of 2,300 mm (7 ft 6 9/16 in) and a higher boiler pressure to compensate. Numbers 165 to 170 from the last batch were the first locomotives in France to have Walschaerts valve gear.