STEAM LOCOMOTIVE 746 031

The engine you see before you was Italy’s largest and most powerful steam locomotive. Until electric trains were introduced after the Second World War, this engine pulled the heaviest trains, like the long express trains to Sicily or the famous Espresso del Levante from Milan to Bari and Taranto. It was designed at the end of World War I to better distribute the weight of the locomotive along the axles, to reduce impact on the railway tracks that had been left unmaintained during the years of conflict. One of its strengths was its large and efficient boiler, so much so that in the 1930s this feature was also installed on the 690, to create the 691 – the fastest steam locomotive in Italy. The 746 was in service on several of Italy's major routes until 1957, finishing out its life on secondary routes.