Argentina, originally named Presidente Perón and known informally as La Justicalista and La Pochita, is a 4-8-0 compound steam locomotive. It was the first designed by Livio Dante Porta. The locomotive had an unprecedented power-to-weight ratio and thermal efficiency, and is considered one of the most efficient locomotives of all time.
The locomotive was rebuilt from a 1906 4-6-2 steam locomotive known as Córdoba Central Railway No. 2011. The locomotive was built from 1947 to 1950, and unveiled in 1951 at an exhibition in Diagonal Norte. It ran freight service from 1951 to 1961, after which it was stored in several locomotive depots. It was ultimately stored in Tucumán, and was later put on display at a railroad museum from 1996 to 2001. After several attempts to save the locomotive, Argentina was abandoned and partially scrapped.
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Construction and design
Argentine engineer Livio Dante Porta originally conceived his first locomotive as a 2-8-2, which would have been built from scratch. For simplicity and cost, Porta instead decided to rebuild another meter-gauge locomotive: Córdoba Central Railway No. 2011, a B22 class 4-6-2 steam locomotive built in 1906. Funding for the locomotive was provided by the National Development Bank, where Porta met Argentina's president, Juan Domingo Perón.
Argentina was the first steam locomotive built entirely within Argentina. The locomotive was built at the Port of Rosario by Ing. Livio Dante Porta & Co. Ltd from 1947 to 1950. The B22 was converted from a 4-6-2 to a 4-8-0 to increase its adhesive weight. The two-cylinder locomotive was converted into a compound locomotive: the final design makes use of two internal high-pressure cylinders and two external low-pressure cylinders. When operating, steam would be superheated between the two pairs of cylinders. Other components include a Belpaire firebox, feedwater heater, and a Kylchap exhaust system.