In 1912, the État received 20 express 4-6-0 locomotives with an axle load of only 16.3 tonnes from SACM of Belfort which were numbered 781 to 800. The locomotives were used for boat trains from Paris to either Cherbourg or Dieppe and received the nickname “Jocondes”, what stands for “Mona Lisas” in French. They had four simple cylinders mounted in line, which drove the first and second driving axles. The outside cylinders were controlled by the inside ones via rocking levers.

Some locomotives from the series received upgrades like an ACFI feed water heater, a Kylchap exhaust or long-travel valves. They delivered an indicated output of 1.200 hp and six which were rebuilt to a boiler pressure of 14 instead of 12 bars delivered even 1,265 hp. Number 800 received a streamlined casing that was developed with the help of a one-tenth scale model inside a wind tunnel, but this was removed later. The SNCF designated the standard variant 3-230 J, while the six with increased boiler pressure became 3-230 L. 18 were withdrawn and scrapped in 1953 or 1954 and the last two met the same fate in 1956.