Under the
Whyte notation
Whyte notation is a classification method for steam locomotives, and some internal combustion locomotives and electric locomotives, by wheel arrangement. It was devised by Frederick Methvan Whyte, and came into use in the early twentieth ce ...
for the classification of
steam locomotives
A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...
, a locomotive has two
leading wheel
The leading wheel or leading axle or pilot wheel of a steam locomotive is an unpowered wheel or axle located in front of the driving wheels. The axle or axles of the leading wheels are normally located on a leading truck. Leading wheels are used ...
s, six coupled
driving wheel
On a steam locomotive, a driving wheel is a powered wheel which is driven by the locomotive's pistons (or turbine, in the case of a steam turbine locomotive). On a conventional, non-articulated locomotive, the driving wheels are all coupled ...
s and four
trailing wheel
On a steam locomotive, a trailing wheel or trailing axle is generally an unpowered wheel or axle ( wheelset) located behind the driving wheels. The axle of the trailing wheels is usually located in a trailing truck. On some large locomotives, ...
s. This arrangement is commonly called Adriatic.
Overview
With only a few known exceptions, the Adriatic wheel arrangement was usually used on
tank locomotive
A tank locomotive or tank engine is a steam locomotive that carries its water in one or more on-board water tanks, instead of a more traditional tender. Most tank engines also have bunkers (or fuel tanks) to hold fuel; in a tender-tank locom ...
s, for which various suffixes to indicate the type of tank would be added to the wheel arrangement, for example for an engine with side-tanks.
Tender locomotives
The earliest known example was the
South African Class 6Z, designed by
Cape Government Railways
The Cape Government Railways (CGR) was the government-owned railway operator in the Cape Colony from 1874 until the creation of the South African Railways (SAR) in 1910.
History Private railways
The first railways at the Cape were privately own ...
(CGR) Chief Locomotive Superintendent
Hazlitt Beatty in 1901. The first engines of the class were modified
2-6-2
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels, six coupled driving wheels and two trailing wheels. This arrangement is commonly called a Prairie.
Overview
The major ...
Prairie locomotives which were equipped with two-axle trailing bogies. In 1902, more were placed in service, but built with the wheel arrangement. The latter were the first known tender locomotives in the world to be built with this wheel arrangement.
[Neilson, Reid works list, compiled by Austrian locomotive historian Bernhard Schmeiser]
Tank locomotives
Tank engine
A tank locomotive or tank engine is a steam locomotive that carries its water in one or more on-board water tanks, instead of a more traditional tender. Most tank engines also have bunkers (or fuel tanks) to hold fuel; in a tender-tank locomot ...
s with the
2-6-4T wheel arrangement were produced for many different railway systems worldwide and were mainly used for freight and suburban passenger working. They have been less successful on express passenger trains. The earliest known example also originated in South Africa, the
Pretoria-Pietersburg Railway's 55 Tonner of 1898.
Usage
Austria
![KkStB 210](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9a/KkStB_210.png)
Two
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
n express tender locomotive types were of this wheel arrangement, the Class 210 of 1908 designed by
Karl Gölsdorf
Karl Gölsdorf (8 June 1861 – 18 March 1916) was an Austrian engineer and locomotive designer.
Early life
Karl Gölsdorf was born on 8 June 1861 in Vienna, the son of Louis Adolf Gölsdorf. Even as a schoolboy he was introduced to locomotive d ...
. The type therefore became known as the Adriatic arrangement, named for the
Adriatic Sea
The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to t ...
which bordered
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
until 1918.
Brazil
Preserved meter gauge locomotive
Dona Joaninha
''Dona Joaninha'' or Estrada de Ferro Sorocabana 6 is a steam locomotive (with the uncommon wheel arrangement) that is now on static display in Guarulhos, Brazil. Constructed in 1940, it was used to move sugar cane across Brazil until the 1960s ...
, built to haul sugar cane in Brazil, uses the 2-6-4 wheel arrangement.
Finland
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
had three locomotive classes with a 2-6-4T wheel arrangement, the Classes Vk1, Vk2 and Vk3. All three classes were nicknamed ''Iita''.
The Class Vk1, numbered 301 to 305, were delivered in 1900 from
Baldwin Locomotive Works
The Baldwin Locomotive Works (BLW) was an American manufacturer of railroad locomotives from 1825 to 1951. Originally located in Philadelphia, it moved to nearby Eddystone, Pennsylvania, in the early 20th century. The company was for decades t ...
of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Class Vk1 ''Iita'' were also nicknamed ''Amerikan'' because they were built in the United States of America.
The Class Vk2 were numbered 454 to 455.
The
Finnish Steam Locomotive Class Vk3
The VR Class Vk3 was originally called the Finnish Steam Locomotive Class I3. The Finnish State Railways ordered three similar classes of locomotives; The American-built Baldwin Class I1s, and the Class I2s and Class I3s, built at Tampella. Al ...
were numbered 456 and 487 to 492. They were built in 1915 by
Tampella
Oy Tampella Ab was a Finnish heavy industry manufacturer, a maker of paper machines, locomotives, military weaponry, as well as wood-based products such as packaging. The company was based mainly in the Naistenlahti district of the city of ...
, a Finnish heavy industry manufacturer, and were used for local passenger duties. One of them, Vk3 No 489, is preserved at the
Finnish Railway Museum
The Finnish Railway Museum ( fi, Suomen Rautatiemuseo) is located in Hyvinkää, Finland. It was founded in 1898 and located in Helsinki. The museum was moved to Hyvinkää in 1974.
The museum is on the original station and yard site of the Hank ...
.
Germany
Two
Deutsche Bundesbahn
The Deutsche Bundesbahn or DB (German Federal Railway) was formed as the state railway of the newly established Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) on 7 September 1949 as a successor of the Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft (DRG). The DB remained ...
(DB) 2-6-4T Class 66 locomotives, designed for fast
goods train
Rail freight transport is the use of railroads and trains to transport cargo as opposed to human passengers.
A freight train, cargo train, or goods train is a group of freight cars (US) or goods wagons (International Union of Railways) hauled ...
and
passenger train
A passenger train is a train used to transport people along a railroad line. These trains may consist of unpowered passenger railroad cars (also known as coaches or carriages) hauled by one or more locomotives, or may be self-propelled; self pr ...
service, were built in 1955 as part of the DB's ''Neubaulok'' construction programme. They were both withdrawn from service in 1968. One, DB 66 002, has been preserved at the Bochum-Dahlhausen Railway Museum.
![50 Jahre Bayrisches Eisenbahnmuseum (48035282708)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/00/50_Jahre_Bayrisches_Eisenbahnmuseum_%2848035282708%29.jpg)
For the private
TAG, which operated the railway line from
Schaftlach to
Tegernsee
Tegernsee is a town in the Miesbach district of Bavaria, Germany. It is located on the shore of Lake Tegernsee, which is 747 m (2,451 ft) above sea level. A spa town, it is surrounded by an alpine landscape of Upper Bavaria, and has an e ...
, the 2-6-4T steam locomotive ''TAG 8'' was built in 1942, using wheels from
DRG Class E 79. It was in service until 1970 and has been preserved in the
Bavarian Railway Museum
The Bavarian Railway Museum (''Bayerisches Eisenbahnmuseum'' or BEM) is a railway museum based in the old locomotive sheds at Nördlingen station in Bavaria, Germany. It is home to more than 100 original railway vehicles and has been located ...
.
Sweden
SJ type SBwith driving wheels 1.75 m diameter for passenger use, built Motala 1917, one preserved.
SJ type Jwith driving wheels 1.3 m diameter for mixed traffic use, built Atlas, Motala and Nohab, 1914–1918. Four preserved.
Switzerland
2-6-4 tank locomotiveswere built by SLM in 1913 for use on the Berne-Neuenberg railway. They were still in use at Basel in 1956. Of slightly British appearance, at that time they were used to transfer stock between the French and Swiss systems, the former having not yet been electrified.
New Zealand
The
Ferrymead Railway
The Ferrymead Railway is a New Zealand heritage railway built upon the track formation of New Zealand's first public railway, from Ferrymead to Christchurch, which opened on 1 December 1863. On the opening of the line to Lyttelton on 9 December 1 ...
in
Christchurch
Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...
, New Zealand has a gauge locomotive that was in regular operation until taken off-line for boiler repairs around 2009. It was built by
Baldwin Locomotive Works
The Baldwin Locomotive Works (BLW) was an American manufacturer of railroad locomotives from 1825 to 1951. Originally located in Philadelphia, it moved to nearby Eddystone, Pennsylvania, in the early 20th century. The company was for decades t ...
in 1901.
The
Wf class of the
New Zealand Government Railways
The New Zealand Railways Department, NZR or NZGR (New Zealand Government Railways) and often known as the "Railways", was a government department charged with owning and maintaining New Zealand's railway infrastructure and operating the railway ...
was built between 1903 and 1928 and was a general purpose tank design. It was used all over New Zealand and identical locomotives were also in service as the Ds class of the
Tasmanian Government Railways
The Tasmanian Government Railways (TGR) was the former operator of the mainline railways in Tasmania, Australia. Formed in 1872, the railway company was managed by the Government of Tasmania, and existed until absorption into the Australian Na ...
. Three
Wf class locomotives survived in preservation:
* Wf386, one of the engines used on the first Wellington to Auckland train, is preserved at
Paekakariki.
* Wf392 was sold to the
Tasmanian Government Railways
The Tasmanian Government Railways (TGR) was the former operator of the mainline railways in Tasmania, Australia. Formed in 1872, the railway company was managed by the Government of Tasmania, and existed until absorption into the Australian Na ...
and used as a Ds class locomotive. Its boiler is on display at
Don River Railway
The Don River Railway is a volunteer-run vintage railway and museum in Don, a suburb of Devonport, Tasmania. It runs a passenger train ride from Don to Coles Beach (operationally known as Don Junction) and return. The current line follows a rec ...
* Wf393 is preserved at
Ferrymead Railway
The Ferrymead Railway is a New Zealand heritage railway built upon the track formation of New Zealand's first public railway, from Ferrymead to Christchurch, which opened on 1 December 1863. On the opening of the line to Lyttelton on 9 December 1 ...
.
* Wf403 is preserved at
Nelson Railway Society
The Nelson Railway Society operates a short heritage railway line in the Founders Heritage Park, Nelson, New Zealand.
The society has recovered and now utilises station buildings from a couple of former stations on the Nelson Section, including t ...
.
South Africa
Between 1898 and 1900, the Pretoria-Pietersburg Railway (PPR) placed six locomotives in service, built by
Beyer, Peacock & Company
Beyer, Peacock and Company was an English railway locomotive manufacturer with a factory in Openshaw, Manchester. Founded by Charles Beyer, Richard Peacock and Henry Robertson, it traded from 1854 until 1966. The company exported locomotives, ...
. During the
Second Boer War
The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...
, they were first taken over by the ''
Nederlandsche-Zuid-Afrikaansche Spoorwegmaatschappij'' (NZASM) and then by the Imperial Military Railways (IMR). After the war, they were taken onto the roster of the
Central South African Railways
The Central South African Railways (CSAR) was from 1902 to 1910 the operator of public railways in the Transvaal Colony and Orange River Colony in what is now South Africa. During the Anglo-Boer War, as British forces moved into the territory of ...
(CSAR) and in 1912 they were assimilated into the South African Railways (SAR) as
Class D.
[Classification of S.A.R. Engines with Renumbering Lists, issued by the Chief Mechanical Engineer’s Office, Pretoria, January 1912, pp. 7, 11, 13, 19 (Reprinted in April 1987 by SATS Museum, R.3125-6/9/11-1000)]
In 1901, the CGR placed four 6th Class Prairie tender steam locomotives in service, designed at the Salt River works of the CGR and built by
Neilson, Reid & Company. During trials, it was found that they were inclined to be unsteady at speed and the locomotive design was therefore modified to a wheel arrangement by replacing the trailing carrier wheels with a two-axle bogie. Another four locomotives incorporating this modification were ordered later in 1901 and delivered in 1902, the first tender locomotives in the world to be built with this wheel arrangement. The change in design resulted in a marked improvement in the locomotive's stability at speed and the first four locomotives were therefore also modified accordingly. In 1912, when they were assimilated into the SAR, these eight locomotives were all designated
Class 6Z.
![CGR Type A 2-6-4T no](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b5/CGR_Type_A_2-6-4T_no._31_1902.jpg)
In 1902, the CGR placed two
Type A Adriatic narrow gauge locomotive in construction service on the
Avontuur
Avontuur is a town situated in the Garden Route District Municipality in the Western Cape province of South Africa. The town is located 13km south-east of Uniondale on an intersection of the R339 and R62 regional routes.
History
The name is Af ...
branch, which was being built out of
Port Elizabeth
Gqeberha (), formerly Port Elizabeth and colloquially often referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality, Sou ...
through the Langkloof. They were built by
Manning Wardle
Manning Wardle was a steam locomotive manufacturer based in Hunslet, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.
Precursor companies
The city of Leeds was one of the earliest centres of locomotive building; Matthew Murray built the first commercially s ...
and, at a width of , they were the widest locomotives to see service on any of the narrow gauge lines in South Africa.
United Kingdom
The first British examples of the 2-6-4T wheel arrangement were two locomotives built for the narrow-gauge
Leek & Manifold Valley Light Railway in 1904. The first examples were the
class 1B of the
Great Central Railway
The Great Central Railway in England was formed when the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway changed its name in 1897, anticipating the opening in 1899 of its London Extension. On 1 January 1923, the company was grouped into the ...
, built in 1914.
Richard Maunsell
Richard Edward Lloyd Maunsell (pronounced "Mansell") (26 May 1868 – 7 March 1944) held the post of chief mechanical engineer (CME) of the South Eastern and Chatham Railway from 1913 until the 1923 Grouping and then the post of CME of the ...
of the
South Eastern & Chatham Railway
The South Eastern and Chatham Railway Companies Joint Management Committee (SE&CRCJMC),Awdry (1990), page 199 known as the South Eastern and Chatham Railway (SE&CR), was a working union of two neighbouring rival railways, the South Easte ...
(SECR) designed the
K class in 1914 for express passenger duties, and in 1925 introduced a three-cylinder variant
K1 class
K1, K.I, K01, K 1 or K-1 can mean:
Geography
* K1, another name for Masherbrum, a mountain in the Karakoram range in Pakistan
* K1, a small town to north of Kirkuk city, Iraq
* K1 (building), a high-rise building in Kraków, Poland
Mathematics
...
for the
Southern Railway. These locomotives proved to be unsteady at speed and, following the
Sevenoaks railway accident
The Sevenoaks railway accident occurred on 24 August 1927 between Dunton Green railway station and Sevenoaks railway station. The Southern Railway's afternoon express from Cannon Street to Deal left London at 5 pm, hauled by River Class tank e ...
in 1927, they were rebuilt as
2-6-0
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, usually in a leading truck, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles and no trailing wheels. ...
tender locomotives. Maunsell did however use the type more successfully for his
W class freight locomotives of 1930.
![Heritage](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c1/Heritage.rail.750pix.jpg)
Between 1927 and 1947, the
London, Midland & Scottish Railway
The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMSIt has been argued that the initials LMSR should be used to be consistent with LNER, GWR and SR. The London, Midland and Scottish Railway's corporate image used LMS, and this is what is generally u ...
(LMS) built nearly five hundred 2-6-4Ts for suburban passenger work to four similar designs (see
LMS/BR Class 4 locomotives). The last of these, the
LMS Fairburn, continued to be built by
British Rail
British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four British rai ...
ways (BR) until 1951. Fairburn's LMS design also formed the basis of the very successful
BR Standard Class 4, which continued to be produced until 1957.
Between 1946 and 1950,
George Ivatt
Henry George Ivatt (4 May 1886 – 4 October 1972), known as George Ivatt, was the post-war Chief Mechanical Engineer of the London Midland and Scottish Railway. He was the son of the Great Northern Railway locomotive engineer Henry Ivatt. ...
of the LMS also built eighteen examples of a very similar design at
Derby Works
The Derby Works comprised a number of British manufacturing facilities designing and building locomotives and rolling stock in Derby, England. The first of these was a group of three maintenance sheds opened around 1840 behind Derby station. Th ...
, for use in
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
. These later became the
Northern Counties Committee WT class.
A prototype of the
London & North Eastern Railway
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major se ...
(LNER)
L1 class, designed by
Edward Thompson, was built in 1945. The remaining 99 members of the class were built under British Railways administration during the period from 1948 to 1950.
Model Railroading
The
Lionel Corporation
Lionel Corporation was an American toy manufacturer and holding company of retailers that had been in business for over 120 years. It was founded as an electrical novelties company. Lionel specialized in various products throughout its existence. ...
used the 2-6-4 wheel arrangement in many of its model steam locomotives, including the 2037 used in the infamous ''Girls' Train''.
Tandem Associates - Lionel Locomotives
/ref>
References
{{Whyte types
Whyte notation