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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 cen ...
for the classification of
steam locomotive 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 ...
s, represents the
wheel arrangement In rail transport, a wheel arrangement or wheel configuration is a system of classifying the way in which wheels are distributed under a locomotive. Several notations exist to describe the wheel assemblies of a locomotive by type, position, and c ...
of no
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 powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles and no
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 was the most common wheel arrangement used on both tender and
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 in versions with both inside and outside cylinders. In the United Kingdom, the Whyte notation of wheel arrangement was also often used for the classification of electric and diesel-electric locomotives with side-rod coupled driving wheels. Under the UIC classification, popular in
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
, this wheel arrangement is written as C if the wheels are coupled with rods or gears, or Co if they are independently driven, the latter usually being electric and diesel-electric locomotives.


Overview


History

The 0-6-0 configuration was the most widely used
wheel arrangement In rail transport, a wheel arrangement or wheel configuration is a system of classifying the way in which wheels are distributed under a locomotive. Several notations exist to describe the wheel assemblies of a locomotive by type, position, and c ...
for both tender and
tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engin ...
steam locomotives. The type was also widely used for diesel switchers (shunters). Because they lack
leading In typography, leading ( ) is the space between adjacent lines of type; the exact definition varies. In hand typesetting, leading is the thin strips of lead (or aluminium) that were inserted between lines of type in the composing stick to incre ...
and
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, locomotives of this type have all their weight pressing down on their driving wheels and consequently have a high
tractive effort As used in mechanical engineering, the term tractive force can either refer to the total traction a vehicle exerts on a surface, or the amount of the total traction that is parallel to the direction of motion. In railway engineering, the term tr ...
and
factor of adhesion An adhesion railway relies on adhesion traction to move the train. Adhesion traction is the friction between the drive wheels and the steel rail. The term "adhesion railway" is used only when it is necessary to distinguish adhesion railways from ...
, making them comparatively strong engines for their size, weight and fuel consumption. On the other hand, the lack of unpowered leading wheels have the result that 0-6-0 locomotives are less stable at speed. They are therefore mostly used on trains where high speed is unnecessary. Since 0-6-0 tender engines can pull fairly heavy trains, albeit slowly, the type was commonly used to pull short and medium distance
freight Cargo consists of bulk goods conveyed by water, air, or land. In economics, freight is cargo that is transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. ''Cargo'' was originally a shipload but now covers all types of freight, including transp ...
trains such as pickup goods trains along both
main Main may refer to: Geography * Main River (disambiguation) **Most commonly the Main (river) in Germany * Main, Iran, a village in Fars Province *"Spanish Main", the Caribbean coasts of mainland Spanish territories in the 16th and 17th centuries ...
and
branch line A branch line is a phrase used in railway terminology to denote a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line. Industrial spur An industr ...
s. The tank engine versions were widely used as switching ( shunting) locomotives since the smaller 0-4-0 types were not large enough to be versatile in this job. and larger switching locomotives, on the other hand, were too big to be economical or even usable on lightly built railways such as
dockyard A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance ...
s and
goods yard A goods station (also known as a goods yard or goods depot) or freight station is, in the widest sense, a railway station where, either exclusively or predominantly, goods (or freight), such as merchandise, parcels, and manufactured items, are l ...
s, precisely the sorts of places where switching locomotives were most needed. The earliest 0-6-0 locomotives had outside cylinders, as these were simpler to construct and maintain. However, once designers began to overcome the problem of the breakage of the crank axles, inside cylinder versions were found to be more stable. Thereafter this pattern was widely adopted, particularly in the United Kingdom, although outside cylinder versions were also widely used. Tank engine versions of the type began to be built in quantity in the mid-1850s and had become very common by the mid-1860s.


Early examples

0-6-0 locomotives were among the first types to be used. The earliest recorded example was the ''Royal George'', built by
Timothy Hackworth Timothy Hackworth (22 December 1786 – 7 July 1850) was an English steam locomotive engineer who lived in Shildon, County Durham, England and was the first locomotive superintendent of the Stockton and Darlington Railway. Youth and early wor ...
for the Stockton and Darlington Railway in 1827. Other early examples included the ''Vulcan'', the first inside-cylinder type, built by
Charles Tayleur and Company The Vulcan Foundry Limited was an English locomotive builder sited at Newton-le-Willows, Lancashire (now Merseyside). History The Vulcan Foundry opened in 1832, as Charles Tayleur and Company to produce girders for bridges, switches, cross ...
in 1835 for the
Leicester and Swannington Railway The Leicester and Swannington Railway (L&SR) was one of England's first railways, built to bring coal from West Leicestershire collieries to Leicester, where there was great industrial demand for coal. The line opened in 1832, and included a tun ...
, and ''Hector'', a
Long Boiler locomotive The Long Boiler locomotive was the object of a patent by Robert Stephenson and the name became synonymous with the pattern. Its defining feature is that the firebox is placed ''behind'' the rearmost driving axle. This gives a long boiler barrel, ...
, built by
Kitson and Company Kitson and Company was a locomotive manufacturer based in Hunslet, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Early history The company was started in 1835 by James Kitson at the Airedale Foundry, off Pearson Street, Hunslet, with Charles Todd as a part ...
in 1845 for the
York and North Midland Railway The York and North Midland Railway (Y&NMR) was an English railway company that opened in 1839 connecting York with the Leeds and Selby Railway, and in 1840 extended this line to meet the North Midland Railway at Normanton near Leeds. Its first c ...
. ''Derwent'', a two-tender locomotive built in 1845 by
William and Alfred Kitching Whessoe is a company based in Darlington and on Teesside in North East England. It was formerly a supplier of chemical, oil and nuclear plant and instrumentation, and today is a manufacturer of low temperature storage. History Background � ...
for the Stockton and Darlington Railway, is preserved at
Darlington Railway Centre and Museum Head of Steam, formerly known as the Darlington Railway Centre and Museum, is a railway museum located on the 1825 route of the Stockton and Darlington Railway, which was the world's first steam-powered passenger railway. It is based inside the ...
.


Suffixes

For a steam
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 ...
, the suffix usually indicates the type of tank or tanks: * 0-6-0T - side tanks * 0-6-0ST - saddle tank * 0-6-0PT - pannier tanks * 0-6-0WT - well tank Other steam locomotive suffixes include * 0-6-0VB - vertical boiler * 0-6-0F -
fireless locomotive A fireless locomotive is a type of locomotive which uses reciprocating engines powered from a reservoir of compressed air or steam, which is filled at intervals from an external source. They offer advantages over conventional steam locomotives of ...
* 0-6-0G - geared steam locomotive For a
diesel locomotive A diesel locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine. Several types of diesel locomotives have been developed, differing mainly in the means by which mechanical power is conveyed to the driving whee ...
, the suffix indicates the transmission type: * 0-6-0DM -
mechanical transmission Propulsion transmission is the mode of transmitting and controlling propulsion power of a machine. The term ''transmission'' properly refers to the whole drivetrain, including clutch, gearbox, prop shaft (for rear-wheel drive vehicles), differ ...
* 0-6-0DH - hydraulic transmission * 0-6-0DE -
electric transmission Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described ...


Usage

All the major continental
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
an railways used 0-6-0s of one sort or another, though usually not in the proportions used in the United Kingdom. As in the United States, European 0-6-0 locomotives were largely restricted to switching and station pilot duties, though they were also widely used on short
branch line A branch line is a phrase used in railway terminology to denote a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line. Industrial spur An industr ...
s to haul passenger and freight trains. On most branch lines, though, larger and more powerful tank engines tended to be favoured.


Australia

In New South Wales, the Z19 class was a tender type with this wheel arrangement, as was the
Victorian Railways Y class The Victorian Railways Y class was a class of 0-6-0 steam locomotives. The Y class was an example of the new policy of standard design principles being adopted by the railways of the time. The original pattern locomotive (an 0-6-0 tender eng ...
. The Dorrigo Railway Museum collection includes seven Locomotives of the 0-6-0 wheel arrangement, including two Z19 class (1904 and 1923), three 0-6-0 saddle tanks and two 0-6-0 side tanks.


Finland

Tank locomotives used by Finland were the
VR Class Vr1 Before 1942 VR Class Vr1s originally had the class name was L1. The Vr1 was a powerful and effective locomotive. Part of them were built by Tampella and part by Hannoversche Maschinenbau AG of Germany. They were numbered 530–544, 656–670, 787 ...
and VR Class Vr4. The VR Class Vr1s were numbered 530 to 544, 656 to 670 and 787 to 799. They had outside cylinders and were operational from 1913 to 1975. Built 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 ...
, Finland and
Hanomag Hanomag (Hannoversche Maschinenbau AG, ) was a German producer of steam locomotives, tractors, trucks and military vehicles in Hanover. Hanomag first achieved international fame by delivering numerous steam locomotives to Finland, Romania and ...
(Hannoversche Maschinenbau AG), they were nicknamed ''Chicken''. Number 669 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 Han ...
. The Vr4s were a class of only four locomotives, numbered 1400 to 1423, originally built as 0-6-0s by
Vulcan Iron Works Vulcan Iron Works was the name of several iron foundries in both England and the United States during the Industrial Revolution and, in one case, lasting until the mid-20th century. Vulcan, the Roman god of fire and smithery, was a popular n ...
, United States, but modified to 0-6-2s in 1951–1955, and re-classified as Vr5. Finland's tender locomotives were the classes C1, C2, C3, C4, C5 and C6. The
Finnish Steam Locomotive Class C1 The 1868 Steam Locomotive Class C1s used in the Grand Duchy of Finland, an autonomous part of the Russian Empire until 1917, were typical of the Victorian principles of locomotive design and the British 0-6-0 of the period, with inside cylinders ...
s were a class of ten locomotives numbered 21 to 30. They were operational from 1869 to 1926. They were built by
Neilson and Company Neilson and Company was a locomotive manufacturer in Glasgow, Scotland. The company was started in 1836 at McAlpine Street by Walter Neilson and James Mitchell to manufacture marine and stationary engines. In 1837 the firm moved to Hyde Park ...
and were nicknamed ''Bristollari''. Number 21, 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 Han ...
, is the second oldest preserved locomotive in Finland. The eighteen Class C2s were numbered 31 to 43 and 48 to 52. They were also nicknamed ''Bristollari''. The C3 was a class of only two locomotives, numbered 74 and 75. The thirteen Class C4s were numbered 62 and 78 to 89. The fourteen
Finnish Steam Locomotive Class C5 The Finnish Steam Locomotive Class C5 were ordered in 1880 by the Finnish State Railways from the German Hanomag factory for the Tampere–Vaasa railway line. The locomotives were completed between 1881–1882 and received the Class designation C ...
s were numbered 101 to 114. They were operational from 1881 to 1930. They were built by
Hanomag Hanomag (Hannoversche Maschinenbau AG, ) was a German producer of steam locomotives, tractors, trucks and military vehicles in Hanover. Hanomag first achieved international fame by delivering numerous steam locomotives to Finland, Romania and ...
in Hannover and were nicknamed ''Bliksti''. No 110 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 Han ...
. The C6 was a solitary class of one locomotive, numbered 100.


New Zealand

In New Zealand the 0-6-0 design was restricted to tank engines. The
Hunslet Hunslet () is an inner-city area in south Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is southeast of the city centre and has an industrial past. It is situated in the Hunslet and Riverside ward of Leeds City Council and Leeds Central parliamentar ...
-built M class of 1874 and Y class of 1923 provided 7 examples, however the F class built between 1872 and 1888 was the most prolific, surviving the entire era of NZR steam operations, with 88 examples of which 8 were preserved.


Philippines

The Manila Railway Company both purchased tank locomotives of this type. The first class was the ''Cabanatuan'' class of 3 locomotives built in 1905. These were followed by the ''Cavite'' class of 1914. Both classes have a preserved example in front of
Tutuban station Tutuban station (also known as Manila station or Divisoria station) is the central railway terminus of the Philippine National Railways (PNR) network located in the city of Manila, Philippines. The name refers to two stations: the original ...
in Manila. Another class was introduced in 1914, the ''Mirador'' class of 6 locomotives made for the Aringay-Baguio train service. Unlike the first two classes, the class was under-documented and no engines were preserved.


South Africa


Cape gauge

In 1876, the
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) placed a pair of 0-6-0 Stephenson's Patent permanently coupled back-to-back tank locomotives in service on the Cape Eastern system. They worked out of East London in comparative trials with the experimental Fairlie locomotive that was acquired in that same year. What were these, 2-6-0T or 0-6-0T? The Natal Harbours Department placed a single saddle-tank locomotive in service in 1879, named ''John Milne''. The
Natal Government Railways The Natal Government Railways (NGR) was formed in January 1877 in the Colony of Natal. In 1877, the Natal Government Railways acquired the Natal Railway Company for the sum of £40,000, gaining the line from the Point to Durban and from Durban ...
placed a single locomotive in shunting service in 1880, later designated Class K, virtually identical to the Durban Harbour's John Milne and built by the same manufacturer. In 1882, two 0-6-0 tank locomotives entered service on the private Kowie Railway between Grahamstown and Port Alfred. Both locomotives were rebuilt to a 4-4-0T wheel arrangement in 1884. In 1890, the Nederlandsche-Zuid-Afrikaansche Spoorweg-Maatschappij of the
Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek The South African Republic ( nl, Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek, abbreviated ZAR; af, Suid-Afrikaanse Republiek), also known as the Transvaal Republic, was an independent Boer Republic in Southern Africa which existed from 1852 to 1902, when it ...
(Transvaal Republic) placed six 18 Tonner 0-6-0ST locomotives in service on construction work. In 1896 and 1897, three 26 Tonner saddle-tank locomotives were built for the Pretoria-Pietersburg Railway (PPR) by Hawthorn, Leslie and Company. These were the first locomotives to be obtained by the then recently established PPR. Two of these, named ''Nylstroom'' and ''Pietersburg'', came into SAR stock in 1912 and survived into the 1940s.Classification of S.A.R. Engines with Renumbering Lists, issued by the Chief Mechanical Engineer's Office, Pretoria, January 1912, pp. 2, 11, 13 (Reprinted in April 1987 by SATS Museum, R.3125-6/9/11-1000) In 1901, a single 0-6-0T harbour locomotive built by Hudswell, Clarke was delivered to the Harbours Department of Natal. It was named ''Edward Innes'' and retained this name when it was taken onto the SAR roster in 1912. Two saddle-tank locomotives were supplied to the East London Harbour Board in 1902, built by Hunslet. Both survived until the 1930s, well into the SAR era. In 1904, a single saddle tank harbour locomotive, named ''Sir Albert'', was built by Hunslet for the Harbours Department of Natal. It came into SAR stock in 1912 and was withdrawn in 1915.


Narrow gauges

In 1871, two gauge tank locomotives, built by the
Lilleshall Company The Lilleshall Company was a large engineering company in Oakengates Shropshire founded in 1802. Its operations included mechanical engineering, coal mining, iron and steel making and brickworks. The company was noted for its winding, pumping an ...
of Oakengates, Shropshire in 1870 and 1871, were placed in service by the Cape of Good Hope Copper Mining Company. Named ''John King'' and ''Miner'', they were the first steam locomotives to enter service on the hitherto mule-powered Namaqualand Railway between Port Nolloth and the Namaqualand copper mines around
O'okiep Okiep is a small town in the Northern Cape province of South Africa, and was in the 1870s ranked as having the richest copper mine in the world. The town is on the site of a spring that was known in the Khoekhoe language of the Nama people as ''U ...
in the Cape Colony. In 1902, Arthur Koppel, acting as agent, imported a single 0-6-0 narrow gauge tank steam locomotive for a customer in Durban. It was then purchased by the Cape Government Railways and used as construction locomotive on the Avontuur branch from 1903. In 1912, this locomotive was assimilated into the South African Railways and in 1917 it was sent to German South West Africa during the
First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
campaign in that territory.


South West Africa

Between 1898 and 1905, more than fifty pairs of Zwillinge twin tank steam locomotives were acquired by the ''Swakopmund-Windhuk Staatsbahn'' (
Swakopmund Swakopmund (german: Mouth of the Swakop) is a city on the coast of western Namibia, west of the Namibian capital Windhoek via the B2 main road. It is the capital of the Erongo administrative district. The town has 44,725 inhabitants and covers ...
-
Windhoek Windhoek (, , ) is the capital and largest city of Namibia. It is located in central Namibia in the Khomas Highland plateau area, at around above sea level, almost exactly at the country's geographical centre. The population of Windhoek in 20 ...
State Railway) in ''
Deutsch-Südwest-Afrika German South West Africa (german: Deutsch-Südwestafrika) was a colony of the German Empire from 1884 until 1915, though Germany did not officially recognise its loss of this territory until the 1919 Treaty of Versailles. With a total area of ...
'' (DSWA, now
Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...
). Zwillinge locomotives were a class of small ''Schmalspur'' (
narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...
) tank steam locomotives that were built in Germany in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. As indicated by their name ''Zwillinge'' (twins), they were designed to be used in pairs, semi-permanently coupled back-to-back at the cabs, allowing a single footplate crew to fire and control both locomotives. The pairs of locomotives shared a common manufacturer's works number and engine number, with the units being designated as A and B. By 1922, when the SAR took control of all railway operations in South West Africa (SWA), only two single Illinge locomotives survived to be absorbed onto the roster of the SAR. In 1907, the German Administration in DSWA acquired three Class Hc tank locomotives for the narrow gauge
Otavi Mining and Railway Company The Otavi Mining and Railway Company (''Otavi Minen- und Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft'' or OMEG) was a railway and mining company in German South West Africa (today's Namibia). It was founded on 6 April 1900 in Berlin with the Disconto-Gesellschaft and ...
. One more entered service in 1910, and another was obtained by the South African Railways in 1929. In 1911, the ''Lüderitzbucht Eisenbahn'' (Lüderitzbucht Railway) placed two Cape gauge 0-6-0T locomotives in service as shunting engines. They were apparently no longer in service when all railways in the territory came under the administration of the South African Railways in 1922.Espitalier, T.J.; Day, W.A.J. (1948). ''The Locomotive in South Africa - A Brief History of Railway Development. Chapter VII - South African Railways (Continued).'' South African Railways and Harbours Magazine, January 1948. p. 31.


Switzerland

During the Second World War,
Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
converted some 0-6-0 shunting engines into
electric-steam locomotive An electric-steam locomotive is a steam locomotive that uses electricity to heat the water in the boiler to create steam instead of burning fuel in a firebox. This is a highly unusual type of locomotive that only makes economic sense under speci ...
s.


United Kingdom

The 0-6-0 tender locomotive type was extremely common in Britain for more than a century and was still being built in large numbers during the 1940s. Between 1858 and 1872, 943 examples of the John Ramsbottom DX goods class were built by the
London and North Western Railway The London and North Western Railway (LNWR, L&NWR) was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. In the late 19th century, the L&NWR was the largest joint stock company in the United Kingdom. In 1923, it became a constituent of the Lo ...
and the
Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (L&YR) was a major British railway company before the 1923 Grouping. It was incorporated in 1847 from an amalgamation of several existing railways. It was the third-largest railway system based in northern ...
. This was the earliest example of standardisation and mass production of locomotives.H.C. Casserley, ''The historic locomotive pocket book'', Batsford, 1960, p.23. Of the total stock of standard-gauge locomotives operating on British railways in 1900, around 20,000 engines, over a third were 0-6-0 tender types. The ultimate British was the Q1 ''Austerity'' type, developed by the Southern Railway during the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
to haul very heavy freight trains. It was the most powerful steam design produced in Europe. Similarly, the 0-6-0
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 became the most common locomotive type on all
railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
s throughout the 20th century. All of the Big Four companies to emerge from the Railways Act, 1921 grouping used them in vast numbers. The
Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran ...
, in particular, had many of the type, most characteristically in the form of the
pannier tank 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 ...
locomotive that remained in production well past railway nationalisation in 1948. When diesel shunters began to be introduced, the 0-6-0 type became the most common. Many of the
British Railways 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 ...
shunter types were , including Class 03, the standard light shunter, and Class 08 and Class 09, the standard heavier shunters.


United States

In the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, huge numbers of 0-6-0 locomotives were produced, with the majority of them being used as switchers. The
USRA 0-6-0 The USRA 0-6-0 was a USRA standard class of steam locomotive designed under the control of the United States Railroad Administration, the nationalized railroad system in the United States during World War I. This was the standard light switcher l ...
was the smallest of the
USRA Standard The USRA standard locomotives and railroad cars were designed by the United States Railroad Administration, the nationalized rail system of the United States during World War I. 1,856 steam locomotives and over 100,000 railroad cars were built ...
classes designed and produced during the brief government control of the railroads through the USRA during the
First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. 255 of them were built and ended up in the hands of about two dozen United States
railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
s. In addition, many of the railroads (and others) built numerous copies after the war. The
Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...
rostered over 1,200 0-6-0 types over the years, which were classed as class B on that system. The United States 0-6-0s were generally
tender locomotive A tender or coal-car (US only) is a special rail vehicle hauled by a steam locomotive containing its fuel (wood, coal, oil or torrefied biomass) and water. Steam locomotives consume large quantities of water compared to the quantity of fuel, s ...
s. During the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, no fewer than 514
USATC S100 Class The United States Army Transportation Corps (USATC) S100 Class is a 0-6-0 steam locomotive that was designed for switching (shunting) duties in Europe and North Africa during World War II. After the war, they were used on railways in Austria, ...
0-6-0 tank engines were built by the
Davenport Locomotive Works The Davenport Locomotive Works, of Davenport, Iowa, USA was formed as the W W Whitehead Company in 1901. In 1902 the company commenced building light locomotives. The Company was renamed the Davenport Locomotive Works in 1904. In late 1930 Dave ...
, for use by the
United States Army Transportation Corps The Transportation Corps is a combat service support branch of the U.S. Army. It is responsible for the movement of personnel and material by truck, rail, air, and sea. It is one of three U.S. Army logistics branches, the others being the Qu ...
in both Europe and North Africa. Some of these remained in service long after the war, having been purchased or otherwise adopted by the countries where they were used. These included Austria, Egypt, France, Iraq, the United Kingdom and Yugoslavia. The fourteen engines purchased by the Southern Railway in 1946 remained in service well into the 1960s. Designed to be extremely strong but easy to maintain, these engines had a very short
wheelbase In both road and rail vehicles, the wheelbase is the horizontal distance between the centers of the front and rear wheels. For road vehicles with more than two axles (e.g. some trucks), the wheelbase is the distance between the steering (front ...
that allowed them to operate on dockyard railways.


References


External links


Building a 1/8 scale Live Steam 0-6-0 locomotive
This site includes a full 1914 factory drawing of a Finnish 0-6-0 switcher. {{Whyte types