Steam Locomotive Wheel Configurations

@Southern Unionist

Sir, excellent primer! Read about the number configurations but didn't really understand them until they were backed up with pics.

4-4-0

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2-8-8-4

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Just a Liiitttllleee bit bigger...

:wink:

Cheers,
USS ALASKA
Engineering marvels.
 
4-2-4


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Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 4-2-4 represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles, two powered driving wheels on one axle, and four trailing wheels on two axles. This type of locomotive is often called a Huntington type.

The configuration was most often used for tank engines, which is noted by adding letter suffixes to the configuration, such as 4-2-4T for a conventional side-tank locomotive, 4-2-4ST for a saddle-tank locomotive, 4-2-4WT for a well-tank locomotive and 4-2-4RT for a rack-equipped tank locomotive.

This wheel arrangement was mainly used on various tank locomotive configurations. Eight 4-2-4 well- and back-tank locomotives which entered service on the Bristol and Exeter Railway in 1853 appear to have been the first with this wheel arrangement. The engine was designed by James Pearson, the railway company's engineer, and featured single large flangeless driving wheels between two supporting four-wheeled bogies. The water was carried in both well- and back-tanks, leaving the boilers exposed in the same way as on most tender locomotives.

United Kingdom
The first eight known 4-2-4 locomotives entered service on the broad gauge Bristol and Exeter Railway in 1853 and 1854, numbered in the range from 39 to 46. They had 9 feet (2,743 millimetres) diameter flangeless driving wheels, supported by leading and trailing two-axle bogies. The water was carried in both well- and back-tanks. Two more engines were built in 1859 and 1862, but with much smaller 7 feet 6 inches (2,286 millimetres) diameter driving wheels.


Between 1869 and 1873, new locomotives were built to replace four of the original 9 feet (2,743 millimetres) diameter driving wheeled engines, re-using the engine numbers of the locomotives being replaced. These four replacement engines had slightly smaller 8 feet 10 inches (2,692 millimetres) diameter driving wheels.

In 1881, this wheel arrangement was also used by the Great Western Railway on William Dean's experimental locomotive no. 9. Since it was so prone to derailing as to be unable to be moved from the workshops where it was built, it did no work and was rebuilt to a 2-2-2 tender locomotive in 1884. Dugald Drummond of the London and South Western Railway built a 4-2-4T F9 class combined locomotive and inspection saloon in 1899. It was little used after Drummond's death in 1912.

United States of America
The engine C.P. Huntington was one of three identical 4-2-4 tank locomotives. They were the first locomotives to be purchased by Southern Pacific Railroad in 1863, for use on light commuter services in the Sacramento area. The locomotives had serious shortcomings. The single driving axle did not carry the full weight of the engine's rear end due to the trailing truck and, in addition to being too light, it therefore lacked adhesion to reliably pull trains, especially on gradients. The short water tank on the Forney-type frame prevented the locomotives from traveling any moderate distance without consuming all of their water. As a result, these locomotives were only used when absolutely necessary.


In 1863, a sister engine, the T.D. Judah, was built by the Cooke Locomotive Works for a railroad which was unable to pay for it and was purchased by the Central Pacific Railroad. This locomotive was rebuilt to a 4-2-2 wheel arrangement in 1872.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4-2-4T

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https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net...a542a1b.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20170601040357

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https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e8/4-2-4_B&ER_44.jpg/1200px-4-2-4_B&ER_44.jpg
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Cheers,
USS ALASKA
 
4-2-4


View attachment 311861

Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 4-2-4 represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles, two powered driving wheels on one axle, and four trailing wheels on two axles. This type of locomotive is often called a Huntington type.

The configuration was most often used for tank engines, which is noted by adding letter suffixes to the configuration, such as 4-2-4T for a conventional side-tank locomotive, 4-2-4ST for a saddle-tank locomotive, 4-2-4WT for a well-tank locomotive and 4-2-4RT for a rack-equipped tank locomotive.

This wheel arrangement was mainly used on various tank locomotive configurations. Eight 4-2-4 well- and back-tank locomotives which entered service on the Bristol and Exeter Railway in 1853 appear to have been the first with this wheel arrangement. The engine was designed by James Pearson, the railway company's engineer, and featured single large flangeless driving wheels between two supporting four-wheeled bogies. The water was carried in both well- and back-tanks, leaving the boilers exposed in the same way as on most tender locomotives.

United Kingdom
The first eight known 4-2-4 locomotives entered service on the broad gauge Bristol and Exeter Railway in 1853 and 1854, numbered in the range from 39 to 46. They had 9 feet (2,743 millimetres) diameter flangeless driving wheels, supported by leading and trailing two-axle bogies. The water was carried in both well- and back-tanks. Two more engines were built in 1859 and 1862, but with much smaller 7 feet 6 inches (2,286 millimetres) diameter driving wheels.


Between 1869 and 1873, new locomotives were built to replace four of the original 9 feet (2,743 millimetres) diameter driving wheeled engines, re-using the engine numbers of the locomotives being replaced. These four replacement engines had slightly smaller 8 feet 10 inches (2,692 millimetres) diameter driving wheels.

In 1881, this wheel arrangement was also used by the Great Western Railway on William Dean's experimental locomotive no. 9. Since it was so prone to derailing as to be unable to be moved from the workshops where it was built, it did no work and was rebuilt to a 2-2-2 tender locomotive in 1884. Dugald Drummond of the London and South Western Railway built a 4-2-4T F9 class combined locomotive and inspection saloon in 1899. It was little used after Drummond's death in 1912.

United States of America
The engine C.P. Huntington was one of three identical 4-2-4 tank locomotives. They were the first locomotives to be purchased by Southern Pacific Railroad in 1863, for use on light commuter services in the Sacramento area. The locomotives had serious shortcomings. The single driving axle did not carry the full weight of the engine's rear end due to the trailing truck and, in addition to being too light, it therefore lacked adhesion to reliably pull trains, especially on gradients. The short water tank on the Forney-type frame prevented the locomotives from traveling any moderate distance without consuming all of their water. As a result, these locomotives were only used when absolutely necessary.


In 1863, a sister engine, the T.D. Judah, was built by the Cooke Locomotive Works for a railroad which was unable to pay for it and was purchased by the Central Pacific Railroad. This locomotive was rebuilt to a 4-2-2 wheel arrangement in 1872.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4-2-4T

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Cheers,
USS ALASKA
Those big 4-2-4s look odd to our eyes, but they were very stable and very fast, averaging 60mph, and one was recorded at 83mph down Dainton bank (one of the big 4-4-0 saddle tanks achieved 88mph in the same place with the up Plymouth mails conveying urgent despatches during the ACW). The change in wheel diameter was in answer to increasing loads and to reduce the stress on the crank axle. These regularly achieved speeds must be seen against the background of the "standard gauge lines which were barely averaging 50mph at the time and speeds of 60 were considered excessive. Indeed some of Stephenson's engines, the so called long boilers were unstable at these speeds.
 
Those big 4-2-4s look odd to our eyes, but they were very stable and very fast, averaging 60mph, and one was recorded at 83mph down Dainton bank (one of the big 4-4-0 saddle tanks achieved 88mph in the same place with the up Plymouth mails conveying urgent despatches during the ACW). The change in wheel diameter was in answer to increasing loads and to reduce the stress on the crank axle. These regularly achieved speeds must be seen against the background of the "standard gauge lines which were barely averaging 50mph at the time and speeds of 60 were considered excessive. Indeed some of Stephenson's engines, the so called long boilers were unstable at these speeds

Those Brit 4-2-2s and 4-2-4s...the driver size is so impressive. Size envy!

Cheers!
USS ALASKA
 
0-4-2

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en.wikipedia.org/wiki/0-4-2#/media/File:WheelArrangement_0-4-2.svg

Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 0-4-2 represents the wheel arrangement with no leading wheels, four powered and coupled driving wheels on two axles and two trailing wheels on one axle. While the first locomotives of this wheel arrangement were tender engines, the configuration was later often used for tank engines, which is noted by adding letter suffixes to the configuration, such as 0-4-2T for a conventional side-tank locomotive, 0-4-2ST for a saddle-tank locomotive, 0-4-2WT for a well-tank locomotive and 0-4-2RT for a rack-equipped tank locomotive. The arrangement is sometimes known as Olomana after a Hawaiian 0-4-2 locomotive of 1883.

The earliest recorded 0-4-2 locomotives were three goods engines built by Robert Stephenson and Company for the Stanhope and Tyne Railway in 1834.

The first locomotive built in Germany in 1838, the Saxonia, was also an 0-4-2. In the same year Todd, Kitson & Laird built two examples for the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, one of which, LMR 57 Lion, has been preserved. The Lion had a top speed of 45 miles per hour (72 kilometres per hour) and could pull up to 200 tons (203 tonnes).

Over the next quarter of a century, the type was adopted by many early British railways for freight haulage since it afforded greater adhesion than the contemporary 2-2-2 passenger configuration, although in time they were also used for mixed traffic duties.

From the mid-1860s onwards, the 0-4-2 wheel arrangement tended only to be used on tank engines in the United Kingdom. Exceptions were in Scotland on the Caledonian and Glasgow and South Western railways and in southern England on the London Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR) and the London and South Western Railway. The LB&SCR uniquely built express passenger 0-4-2 tender classes until 1891.

The Casper for South Fork and Eastern railroad used an locomotive number two "Daisey" an 1885 Baldwin 0-4-2T locomotive to haul its logging operations in its early days (Baldwin builder number 7558). That locomotive still survives and is on display next to the skunk train depot on Laurel Street in Fort Bragg. Viewing the locomotive is free to the public in the little mall next door to the train depot. There is also an 18 0-4-0t locomotive on display. That locomotive is California Western railroad locomotive number one (was assembled in 1875 by a smaller locomotive manufacture, but serial numbers on the frame point to the Baldwin locomotive works.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/0-4-2

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Cheers,
USS ALASKA
 
0-4-4

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Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 0-4-4 represents the wheel arrangement of no leading wheels, four powered and coupled driving wheels on two axles, and four trailing wheels on two axles. This type was only used for tank locomotives. In American cities, the type known as a Forney locomotive, was used on the narrow curves of elevated railways and other rapid transit lines. In the UK 0-4-4 tanks were mainly used for suburban or rural passenger duties.

The Forney is a type of tank locomotive patented by Matthias N. Forney between 1861 and 1864. Forney locomotives include the following characteristics:

  • An 0-4-4T (or 0-4-6T) wheel arrangement, that is four driving wheels followed by a truck with four (or six) wheels.
  • No flange on the second pair of driving wheels.
  • The fuel bunker and water tank placed over the four-wheel truck.

The locomotives were set up to run cab (or bunker) first, effectively as a 4-4-0 (or 6-4-0). The 4-4-0 wheel arrangement, with its three-point suspension, was noted for its good tracking ability, while the flangeless middle wheels allowed the locomotive to round tight curves. Placing the fuel and water over the truck rather than the driving wheels meant the locos had a constant adhesive weight, something other forms of tank locomotive did not. Large numbers of Forney locos were built for the surface and elevated commuter railroads that were built in cities such as New York, Chicago and Boston. These railroads required a small, fast locomotive that tracked well and could deal with tight curves. Their short runs meant the limited fuel and water capacity was not a problem, making the Forney ideal. However, as these railroads began to electrify or were replaced by subways at the end of the 19th century, Forneys began to disappear. Forneys were also popular on the 2 ft (610 mm) narrow gauge railroads of Maine. The use of these locomotives differed in that they were run smokestack leading, like a conventional locomotive, and all driving wheels were flanged. The latter resulted in Maine narrow gauge railroads having comparatively broad radius curves. Further developments included the introduction of locomotives with a leading pony truck, giving a 2-4-4 wheel arrangement. This was done to improve tracking ability in these locomotives. The 0-4-4T type was a precursor of other designs which may have drawn on the Forney, such as the Boston & Albany and Central of New Jersey 4-6-4T, which have been only called "tank engines". A similar locomotive was produced by the Mason Locomotive Works. The engines were three-foot gauge types 2-6-6T known as the "Mason Bogies." They were purchased in quantity by the Denver, South Park & Pacific Railroad. Unlike the Forneys, the Mason Bogies were actually articulated locomotives, whose boilers and fuel/water tanks were on the main frame and the engine was on a steam truck (hence the name "bogie")articulated to pivot beneath the boiler. Because the steam truck was articulated, the reach rod and reversing lever was positioned above well above the main frame earning the locomotives the nickname "sewing machines." (See: Mason Bogies.) Today, Forney locomotives can still be seen on Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad Museum and at the Forney Transportation Museum. The No. 3 and No. 5 locomotives on the Disneyland Railroad were originally built as Forneys, but are now 2-4-4T Boston-type locomotives.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forney_locomotive

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http://www.trainsarefun.com/lirr/lirr engines/tank-forney/0-4-4-T Forney Nos. 159-158-at Baldwin Loco Wks-05-1892.JPG

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https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3c/Clapham_Stewarts_Lane_Locomotive_Depot_ex-SE&C_0-4-4T_geograph-2688016-by-Ben-Brooksbank.jpg
2991

Cheers,
USS ALASKA
 
2-4-4

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In Whyte notation, a 2-4-4, or Boston-type, is a steam locomotive with two unpowered leading wheels followed by four powered driving wheels and four unpowered trailing wheels.

This unusual wheel arrangement does not appear to have been used on the mainline railways in the UK. It was however one of the configurations used on the Mason Bogie articulated locomotives, in the USA during the 1870s and 1880s. Five examples were constructed at the Mason Machine Works for the narrow gauge Boston, Revere Beach and Lynn Railroad 1883-1887. The railway subsequently received twenty-one further examples between 1900 and 1914, constructed by the Taunton Locomotive Manufacturing Company, Manchester Locomotive Works, and ALCO. Developmentally, there are two logical ways of reaching this wheel formula: to add a forward axle to a Forney locomotive to improve its ability to negotiate curves, or to add a second trailing axle to a Columbia design, notably in a 2-4-4(T) configuration to expand its coal capacity.

Four 2-4-4T passenger locomotives were built by the Czechoslovak Škoda for Lithuania in 1932 and marked as Tk class. They were seized by the USSR in 1940, then by the Germans.[1] One was used after World War II in Poland as the OKf100-1 until 1950.[2]

Other tank locomotives with 2-4-4T arrangement:

  • Bavarian D XII
  • French T5 6601 - 6637 of AL railway
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2-4-4

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en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mason_Bogie#/media/File:BRBL_6_Bldr.jpg

Cheers,
USS ALASKA
 
I’d like to note, because the OP doesn’t make it totally clear, that the 4-6-0 actually predates the 2-6-0 slightly due to the Bissel truck mentioned in the 2-6-0 entry not being built until the 1860s. The 4-6-0 had the same sort of suspension as the 4-4-0 so was a linear development. Balancing weight was important early on for steam locomotives due to poor track and early 2 wheel pilot trucks liked to derail. Thus, 4-6-0s would have been more common during the war. In fact, some were ordered just to meet wartime traffic demands!
 
I’d like to note, because the OP doesn’t make it totally clear, that the 4-6-0 actually predates the 2-6-0 slightly due to the Bissel truck mentioned in the 2-6-0 entry not being built until the 1860s.

The earliest 2-6-0 designs had more primitive suspension arrangements up front that allowed less lateral movement. Railroads very much wanted that third powered axle for low speed freight trains, but needed to keep the overall wheelbase length short. The early models had limited success.

Serious demand for the 4-6-0 ten wheeler came somewhat later, as passenger trains grew and more railroads were prepared to deal with a longer locomotive.
 
I’d like to note, because the OP doesn’t make it totally clear, that the 4-6-0 actually predates the 2-6-0 slightly due to the Bissel truck mentioned in the 2-6-0 entry not being built until the 1860s. The 4-6-0 had the same sort of suspension as the 4-4-0 so was a linear development. Balancing weight was important early on for steam locomotives due to poor track and early 2 wheel pilot trucks liked to derail. Thus, 4-6-0s would have been more common during the war. In fact, some were ordered just to meet wartime traffic demands!

4-6-0

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Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives by wheel arrangement, 4-6-0 represents the configuration of four leading wheels on two axles in a leading bogie and six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles with the absence of trailing wheels. In the mid 19th century, this wheel arrangement became the second most popular configuration for new steam locomotives in the United States, where this type is commonly referred to as a ten-wheeler. As a locomotive pulling trains of lightweight all-wood passenger cars in the 1890–1920s, it was exceptionally stable at near 100 mph (160 km/h) speeds on the New York Central's New York to Chicago Water Level Route and on the Reading Railroad's Camden to Atlantic City, NJ, line. As passenger equipment grew heavier with all steel construction, heavier locomotives replaced the ten-wheeler.

United States
The first 4-6-0 locomotive built in the United States was the Chesapeake, built by Norris Locomotive Works for the Philadelphia and Reading railroad in March 1847. There are still conflicting opinions as to who the original designer of this type was. Many authorities attribute the design to Septimus Norris of Norris Locomotive Works, but in an 1885 paper, George E. Sellers attributes the design to John Brandt who worked for the Erie Railroad between 1842 and 1851. According to Sellers, the Erie's own management didn't feel it in their best interests to pursue construction, so Brandt approached Baldwin Locomotive Works and Norris with the design. Baldwin was similarly uninterested, but Norris liked the idea. James Millholland of the Reading also saw the 4-6-0 design and ordered one from Norris for the Reading. However, Sellers may have misinterpreted some of the information since Millholland did not work for the Reading until 1848, a year after the locomotive was built. Furthermore, Sellers refers to the first 4-6-0 to be constructed as the Susquehanna, which was the Erie railroad's first 4-6-0, not the Reading's. The attribution to Septimus Norris stems from a patent, allegedly filed in 1846, that many sources cite for this locomotive type. However, such a patent has not yet been found in searches at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Septimus Norris did file a patent in 1854 for running gears, and the patent application showed a 4-6-0 wheel arrangement in the drawing. Norris' wording in the 1854 patent was vague with regard to the 4-6-0 wheel arrangement and the filing did not specifically claim invention of the 4-6-0 configuration. A few days after William Norris completed the Chesapeake, Hinkley Locomotive Works completed their first 4-6-0 locomotive, the New Hampshire, for the Boston and Maine Railroad. The first 4-6-0 from Rogers Locomotive and Machine Works was the already-mentioned Susquehanna for the Erie Railroad. Baldwin's first 4-6-0 locomotive did not appear until 1852. Through the 1860s and into the 1870s, demand for locomotives of the 4-6-0 wheel arrangement grew as more railroad executives switched from purchasing a single, general-purpose type of locomotive such as the 4-4-0 American at that time, to purchasing locomotives designed for a specific purpose. Both the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) and the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) were early adopters of the 4-6-0, using them for fast freight as well as heavy passenger trains.

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4-6-0 Camelback locomotive

SOO_2645_North_Freedom%2C_WI%2C_2004-10-10.jpg

Soo Line No. 2645 of 1900 on display in North Freedom, Wisconsin


Above taken from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4-6-0

@DaveBrt 's website http://www.csa-railroads.com/ lists 5 hits for 4 x 6 x 0s

Cheers,
USS ALASKA
 
4-4-2
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Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives by wheel arrangement, 4-4-2 represents a configuration of a four-wheeled leading bogie, four powered and coupled driving wheels, and two trailing wheels supporting part of the weight of the boiler and firebox. This allows a larger firebox and boiler than the 4-4-0 configuration. This wheel arrangement is commonly known as the Atlantic type, although it is also sometimes called a Milwaukee or 4-4-2 Milwaukee, after the Milwaukee Road, which employed it in high speed passenger service.

United Kingdom
The 4-4-2T Atlantic was introduced into the United Kingdom in 1880 by William Adams, who designed the LT&SR 1 Class on behalf of Thomas Whitelegg of the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway (LT&SR). This was the first use of this wheel arrangement in the world. It was intended for heavy suburban trains around London and 36 locomotives were built by Sharp Stewart and Company and Nasmyth, Wilson and Company between 1880 and 1892. Adams later developed the type into his successful suburban 415 class for the London and South Western Railway. The LT&SR continued to build 4-4-2 tank locomotives after 1897, with the Class 37, Class 51 and Class 79. Henry Ivatt of the Great Northern Railway (GNR) also built sixty Class C2 tank locomotives between 1898 and 1907, for use on local and commuter trains in Yorkshire and North London.

United States
The original Atlantics in the United States were built with the hauling of wood-frame passenger cars in mind and came in a variety of configurations, including the four-cylinder Vauclain compound which had previously been used on express 4-4-0 American, 4-6-0 Ten-wheeler and 2-4-2 Columbia locomotives. Around the 1910s, railroads started buying heavier steel passenger cars, which precipitated the introduction of the 4-6-2 Pacific type as the standard passenger locomotive. Nonetheless, the Chicago and North Western, Southern Pacific, Santa Fe and Pennsylvania railroads used 4-4-2 Atlantics until the end of steam locomotive use in the 1950s, with some even being utilized in local freight and switching service.


2828502003277487760077.jpg

Detroit, Toledo & Ironton 4-4-2 #45 on display at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan.


cnj_456.jpg

Jersey Central camelback versions of the Atlantic


e54f5dc11e21d567de904b2515c8dcba.jpg

Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway Aspinall Highflyer Atlantic


Cheers,
USS ALASKA
 
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