1.5 Euro Crampton 80 - Le Continent

Reverse

Series and face value inside a central circle. Outside the central circle, an image of a railway track.

Script: Latin

Lettering:
HISTORIA DEL FERROCARRIL
1,5 EURO
M

Translation: History of railways

Edge

Plain

Comment

For the year 2021, since the European Year of the Rail and the 80th Anniversary of Renfe are celebrated, the FNMT-RCM issues a collection of 20 coins dedicated to the History of the Railways. This series reproduces a selection of trains and locomotives that have been relevant throughout its history.
Crampton 80 - Le Continent: France inaugurated its first commercial line, running from Rive de Gier to Givors (15 km), on October 1 1830 thanks to the initiative of Marc Seguin, the father of the French railway. In 1827, Seguin had built and patented a multi-tubular boiler which, one year later, he would install and trial at his Perrache workshop.
Despite Seguin’s pioneering efforts, the history of the French steam locomotive industry would not begin until 1838, when the Établissements Schneider plant produced the first unit, named La Gironde. However, British engineer Thomas Russell Crampton, a student of Marc Brunel, would be the man to nurture French locomotives to maturity. He did so by improving many of the component parts and achieving excellent manufacture, the culmination of which was the successful Crampton model, known for its capacity to increase speed and stability at one and the same time.
One of these locomotives, Le Continent, was built at the workshop of J.F. Cail in Lille (Département du Nord) and formed part of a series of 12 units. Like all the French Cramptons, it boasted the double-walled feature and two huge driving wheels: in this case, the diameter was 2,300 mm. It had a single driving axle; two cylinders; working pressure of 8 kg/cm2; and could reach a top speed of 120 km/h. Initially, it covered the Paris-Strasbourg route and later, was used by the Est Company, where it was operative until 1914, although it hauled historic trains from1946 onwards. It is now on display at the Cité du Train in Mulhouse (European Collectivity of Alsace). It is most certainly one of the great gems of European railway heritage.

Interesting fact

Price

Date	Mintage	VG	F	VF	XF	AU	UNC
2021 M	7000	-	-	-	-	-	-

Values in the table are based on evaluations by sales realized on Internet platforms. They serve as an indication only for 1.5 Euro (Crampton 80 - Le Continent) 2021 coin.