>>1349097The prototype for these was the 242A1, widely regarded as Chaperon's finest work. This was rebuild from a 3 cylinder simple expansion 4-8-2 into a compound 4-8-4 with a smaller grate (53 sqft) than the standard size settled on in the design proposals (65 sqft).
The other designs were only ever proposed beyond the 2-10-4, and it was scrapped when it was only frames due to the SNCF decision to focus on electrification.
The French definitely had some of the largest and most powerful in Western Europe. A combination of high traffic flows and nationwide maximum speed limits forcing trains to become longer to maintain network capacity.
