Guglielmo Cappa

In 1871 he was hired by the Società per le Strade Ferrate Meridionali and was engaged in the construction of the difficult line between L'Aquila and Sulmona.

In 1885 when the Sicilian railroads were broken up with the establishment of Rete Sicula, headed by Riccardo Bianchi, Cappa became the director of the Material and Traction Service.

A characteristic of the locomotives designed by Cappa was the use of Walschaerts valve gear which became widely adopted by the FS.

In 1905 Riccardo Bianchi, director of the newly constituted Ferrovie dello Stato, wanted Cappa in Rome to direct the Material and Traction Service.

On 1 September 1905, he was shot dead in his office in Via Boncompagni, by the Sardinian Giuseppe Cossu, who held him responsible for the lack of promotion of his son from stoker to driver.