The “Saint-Pierre” is an ancestor to all French locomotives and is the oldest original steam locomotive still preserved on the European continent. In 1844, the English engineer William Buddicom opened a locomotive manufacturing plant in Rouen. He oversaw the construction of 40 locomotives for the new Paris-Rouen line inaugurated in 1843. The Buddicom locomotives are equipped with a large, centrally-aligned drive axle and a brass round-topped boiler above the firebox. The locomotive and its tender only weigh 17 and 10 tonnes respectively. Its maximum speed was 60 kph (37 mph). Buddicoms were in service for almost 70 years, and hauled, among others, the famous “marée” express train between Dieppe and Paris. Buddicom No. 33 had an exceptional career. It was preserved as part of French rail heritage and was used from 1937 to haul commemoration trains, the first celebrating 100 years of passenger trains followed by the commemoration of hundred years of service on the Nîmes-Beaucaire and Mulhouse-Thann lines. In 1966, it was fully restored at the SNCF Sotteville workshop. It was presented in 2003 on the Champs Elysées in Paris for the “Train Capitale” exhibition. The locomotive has been built in 1844, and has been withdrawn from service from 1912. (Source: Cité du Train).
