CP E111 to E114 steam engines

Built by Emil Kessler

The CN21-CN24 narrow-gauge steam engines, later called CP E111-E114, entered service with the National Railway Company in 1904 and 1907.
Purchased from German manufacturer Emil Kessler to expand the steam engine fleet and respond to the expansion of the lines operated by the National Company, particularly on the section of the Tua Line between Bragança and Mirandela, the new steam engines were delivered in two separate batches.
The first two units, numbered CN7 and CN8, were delivered in 1904, while the remaining two were delivered three years later. In addition to their numbering, most of the fleet was named after places related to the history and geography of Trás-os-Montes: CN 7 – “Vilalva”; CN 8 “Macedo”; and CN 10 – “Sabor”.
The new National Company steam engines, despite being practically identical and having the same traction effort, have some differences, as the two units acquired in 1907 are slightly larger and heavier. In the 1920s, this series was renumbered for the first time in order to distinguish it from another series of locomotives that, at the time, served on the old Dão Line, becoming known as CN 21 to 24.
In 1947, now under the management of the Portuguese Railway Company, they were renumbered CP E111 to CP E114, with the letter ‘E’ referring to narrow gauge engines.
The career of the engines in this series lasted until the end of the 1970s. They provided traction for various passenger, freight, mixed and tourist trains, as well as shunting services. In addition to the Tua Line, where they spent most of their time, they also ran on the narrow gauge network in the Porto area.
The CP E114 steam locomotive is part of the permanent exhibition at the National Railway Museum in Bragança.