STEAM LOCOMOTIVE 691 022

This locomotive is the last existing of a group of 33 that was in use until the late 1950s. It was the fastest ever built in Italy, designed to improve passenger service on major national lines. It was created in 1933 by the transformation of the 690, which had been in service for the previous twenty years, by fitting it with the boiler designed for the 746. This modification increased efficiency but also load, making the 691 suitable only for the Milan-Bologna and Milan-Venice routes. To better distribute its great weight, a double front axle truck and Bissel car were used to support the boiler. In 1939, a special outer shell was designed to allow the 691 026 to reach the record speed of 130 km/h. The shell was never used on a large scale because of its heavy weight.