2-10-4
Encyclopedia
Whyte notation
The Whyte notation for classifying steam locomotives by wheel arrangement was devised by Frederick Methvan Whyte and came into use in the early twentieth century encouraged by an editorial in American Engineer and Railroad Journal...
for the classification of steam locomotive
Steam locomotive
A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...
s, a 2-10-4 locomotive
Locomotive
A locomotive is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word originates from the Latin loco – "from a place", ablative of locus, "place" + Medieval Latin motivus, "causing motion", and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, first used in the early 19th...
has two leading wheel
Leading wheel
The leading wheel or leading axle 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 in a truck...
s, ten driving wheel
Driving wheel
On a steam locomotive, a driving wheel is a powered wheel which is driven by the locomotive's pistons...
s (in other words, five driven axles), and four trailing wheel
Trailing wheel
On a steam locomotive, a trailing wheel or trailing axle is generally an unpowered wheel or axle located behind the driving wheels. The axle of the trailing wheels was usually located on a trailing truck...
s. These were referred to as the "Texas" type in most of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, the "Colorado" type on the Burlington Route
Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad
The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad was a railroad that operated in the Midwestern United States. Commonly referred to as the Burlington or as the Q, the Burlington Route served a large area, including extensive trackage in the states of Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri,...
and the "Selkirk"
Selkirk locomotive
The Selkirk locomotives were 36 steam locomotives of the 2-10-4 wheel arrangement built for Canadian Pacific Railway by Montreal Locomotive Works, Montreal, Quebec, Canada....
type in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
Other equivalent classifications are:
- UIC classificationUIC classificationThe UIC classification of locomotive axle arrangements describes the wheel arrangement of locomotives, multiple units and trams. It is set out in the International Union of Railways "Leaflet 650 - Standard designation of axle arrangement on locomotives and multiple-unit sets". It is used in much...
: 1E2 (also known as German classification and Italian classification) - French classification: 152
- Turkish classificationTurkish classificationIn the Turkish classification system for railway locomotives, the number of powered axles are followed by the total number of axles. It is identical to the Swiss system except that the latter places a slash between the two numbers.Thus0-6-0 becomes 33...
: 58 - Swiss classification: 5/8
- Russian classification: 1-5-2
This locomotive type can either be viewed as a 2-10-2
2-10-2
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 2-10-2 represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, usually in a leading truck, ten powered and coupled driving wheels on five axles, and two trailing wheels on one axle, usually in a trailing truck...
"Santa Fe" type with an enlarged firebox requiring the larger trailing truck, or a longer 2-8-4
2-8-4
In the Whyte notation, a 2-8-4 is a railroad steam locomotive that has one unpowered leading axle followed by four powered driving axles and two unpowered trailing axles. This locomotive type is most often referred to as a Berkshire, though the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway used the name Kanawha for...
"Berkshire" type requiring extra driving wheel
Driving wheel
On a steam locomotive, a driving wheel is a powered wheel which is driven by the locomotive's pistons...
s to fit within axle load
Axle load
The axle load of a wheeled vehicle is the total weight felt by the roadway for all wheels connected to a given axle. Viewed another way, it is the fraction of total vehicle weight resting on a given axle...
ing limits. Indeed, examples of both of those evolutionary progressions can be found.
Santa Fe 3829
The Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway took delivery of locomotive 3829 from the Baldwin Locomotive WorksBaldwin Locomotive Works
The Baldwin Locomotive Works was an American builder of railroad locomotives. It was located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, originally, and later in nearby Eddystone, Pennsylvania. Although the company was very successful as a producer of steam locomotives, its transition to the production of...
in 1919, a member of the 3800 class of 2-10-2s fitted with a four wheel trailing truck. Nearly 100 more 3800 class locomotives were delivered after 3829, all with the 2-10-2 wheel arrangement. 3829 was used by the Santa Fe as an experimental locomotive. Photographs exist that show 3829 fitted with at least two different four wheel trailing truck designs through the years. No additional members of the 3800 class have been documented with four wheel trailing trucks and 3829 was scrapped in 1955 with a four wheel trailing truck.
Lima revives the 2-10-4
The 2-10-4 type was revived in 1925 by the Lima Locomotive WorksLima Locomotive Works
Lima Locomotive Works was an American firm that manufactured railroad locomotives from the 1870s through the 1950s. The company took the most distinctive part of its name from its main shops location in Lima, Ohio. The shops were located between the Baltimore & Ohio's Cincinnati-Toledo main line...
, and this time it was an expansion of the 2-8-4 "Berkshire" type that Lima had pioneered. The four-wheel trailing truck allowed a much larger firebox and thus a greater ability to generate heat (and thus steam) - the Superpower design, as Lima's marketing department called it, meant for a locomotive that could develop great power at speed and not run out of steam-generating ability. A version of the Berkshire with ten driving wheels instead of eight was an obvious development, and the first delivered were to the Texas and Pacific Railway
Texas and Pacific Railway
The Texas and Pacific Railway Company was created by federal charter in 1871 with the purpose of building a southern transcontinental railroad between Marshall, Texas, and San Diego, California....
, after which the type was named.
The C&O perfects the type
The early Lima Texas types were low-drivered, 60 through 64 inches (152 through 163 cm) in diameter, which did not give enough space to fully counterweight the extremely heavy and sturdy side rods and main rods required for such a powerful locomotive's piston thrusts. That changed with the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad in 1930, who stretched an Erie RailroadErie Railroad
The Erie Railroad was a railroad that operated in New York State, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, originally connecting New York City with Lake Erie...
high-drivered Berkshire type to produce 40 of the T-1, a Texas with 69 inches (175.3 cm) drivers that was both powerful and fast, fast enough for the new higher-speed freight services the railroads were introducing. All subsequent Texas types were of this higher-drivered sort.
The Pennsylvania Railroad's "War Babies"
The Pennsylvania RailroadPennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad was an American Class I railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy", the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
(PRR) ordered few new locomotives after 1930; electrification
Electrification
Electrification originally referred to the build out of the electrical generating and distribution systems which occurred in the United States, England and other countries from the mid 1880's until around 1940 and is in progress in developing countries. This also included the change over from line...
both ate up the railroad's resources and provided a supply of excess steam locomotives, soaking up any requirement for new power. It was not until World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
had begun that the PRR's locomotive fleet began to look inadequate. The Pennsylvania Railroad urgently needed new, modern freight power. The War Production Board
War Production Board
The War Production Board was established as a government agency on January 16, 1942 by executive order of Franklin D. Roosevelt.The purpose of the board was to regulate the production and allocation of materials and fuel during World War II in the United States...
prohibited working on a new design, and in any case there was not enough time to trial a prototype. Instead, the PRR cast around for other railroads' designs it might modify for PRR use, settling on the C&O T-1. Some modifications were made for the PRR; the PRR drop-coupler, sheet steel pilot
Pilot (locomotive)
In railroading, the pilot is the device mounted at the front of a locomotive to deflect obstacles from the track that might otherwise derail the train. In some countries it is also called cowcatcher or cattle catcher....
, a PRR style cab
Control car (rail)
A control car is a generic term for a non-powered railroad vehicle that can control operation of a train from the end opposite to the position of the locomotive...
, a large PRR tender, a Keystone
Keystone (steam automobile)
The Keystone Steamer was an American automobile manufactured from 1899 until 1900 in Lebanon, Pennsylvania .Manufacturer was the Keystone Match & Machine Company, founded in 1894 and offering bicycles from 1896 . In 1899 the company offered an interesting but complicated steam car...
numberplate up front, and other modifications. It still betrayed its foreign heritage by lacking the PRR trademark Belpaire firebox
Belpaire firebox
The Belpaire firebox is a type of firebox used on steam locomotives. It was invented by Alfred Belpaire of Belgium. It has a greater surface area at the top of the firebox, improving heat transfer and steam production...
and by having a booster engine
Booster engine
A booster engine for steam locomotives is a small two-cylinder steam engine back-gear-connected to the trailing truck axle on the locomotive or, if none, the lead truck on the tender. A rocking idler gear permits it to be put into operation by the engineer...
on the trailing truck. 125 locomotives were built between 1942 and 1944, the largest fleet of Texas type locomotives in existence. All were sold for scrap as the Pennsylvania Railroad dieselized.
Santa Fe's express locomotives
The Santa Fe, who had originated the 2-10-4 type, tried again in 1930 with #5000Santa Fe 5000
The Santa Fe 5000 is a 2-10-4 steam locomotive constructed by Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1930 for the North American Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. Locomotive number 5000 was immediately nicknamed "Madame Queen." and remained a one of a kind member of its own class...
, nicknamed "Madam Queen". This locomotive was similar to the C&O T-1 described above, with the same 69 in (1.8 m) drivers but 300 psi boiler pressure and 60% limited cutoff. It proved the viability of the type on the Santa Fe, but the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
shelved plans to acquire more.
In 1938, with the railroad's fortunes improving, the Santa Fe did acquire ten locomotives; these came with 74 in (1.9 m) drivers and 310 psi (2.1 MPa) boiler pressure, making the Santa Fe 2-10-4s the fastest and most modern of all. Of the original order of ten, five were oil-burning and five coal-burning; when the Santa Fe ordered 25 more for 1944 delivery, all were delivered equipped to burn oil. The first of the 1944 batch produced 5600 drawbar horsepower on road test, the highest figure known for a two-cylinder steam locomotive.
US Railroads that owned Texas types
| Railroad (quantity; class name) | Class | Road numbers | Builder | Build year | Notes |
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| Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often abbreviated as Santa Fe, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The company was first chartered in February 1859... (37; Texas) |
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Baldwin Baldwin Locomotive Works The Baldwin Locomotive Works was an American builder of railroad locomotives. It was located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, originally, and later in nearby Eddystone, Pennsylvania. Although the company was very successful as a producer of steam locomotives, its transition to the production of... |
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Santa Fe 5000 The Santa Fe 5000 is a 2-10-4 steam locomotive constructed by Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1930 for the North American Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. Locomotive number 5000 was immediately nicknamed "Madame Queen." and remained a one of a kind member of its own class... |
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5017 preserved | |
| Bessemer & Lake Erie Bessemer and Lake Erie Railroad The Bessemer and Lake Erie Railroad is a class II railroad that operates in northwestern Pennsylvania and northeastern Ohio.The railroad's main route runs from the Lake Erie port of Conneaut, Ohio to the Pittsburgh suburb of Penn Hills, Pennsylvania, a distance of 139 miles... (47; Texas) |
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ALCO American Locomotive Company The American Locomotive Company, often shortened to ALCO or Alco , was a builder of railroad locomotives in the United States.-Early history:... |
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| Canadian Pacific Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001... (37; Selkirk Selkirk locomotive The Selkirk locomotives were 36 steam locomotives of the 2-10-4 wheel arrangement built for Canadian Pacific Railway by Montreal Locomotive Works, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.... ) |
Selkirk locomotive The Selkirk locomotives were 36 steam locomotives of the 2-10-4 wheel arrangement built for Canadian Pacific Railway by Montreal Locomotive Works, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.... |
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MLW Montreal Locomotive Works Montreal Locomotive Works was a Canadian railway locomotive manufacturer which existed under several names from 1883–1985, producing both steam and diesel locomotives. For a number of years it was a subsidiary of the American Locomotive Company... |
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| Selkirk locomotive The Selkirk locomotives were 36 steam locomotives of the 2-10-4 wheel arrangement built for Canadian Pacific Railway by Montreal Locomotive Works, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.... |
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| Selkirk locomotive The Selkirk locomotives were 36 steam locomotives of the 2-10-4 wheel arrangement built for Canadian Pacific Railway by Montreal Locomotive Works, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.... |
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| Chesapeake and Ohio Chesapeake and Ohio Railway The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway was a Class I railroad formed in 1869 in Virginia from several smaller Virginia railroads begun in the 19th century. Led by industrialist Collis P... (40; Texas) |
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Lima Lima Locomotive Works Lima Locomotive Works was an American firm that manufactured railroad locomotives from the 1870s through the 1950s. The company took the most distinctive part of its name from its main shops location in Lima, Ohio. The shops were located between the Baltimore & Ohio's Cincinnati-Toledo main line... |
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| Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad was a railroad that operated in the Midwestern United States. Commonly referred to as the Burlington or as the Q, the Burlington Route served a large area, including extensive trackage in the states of Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri,... (18; Colorado) |
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| Chicago Great Western Chicago Great Western Railway The Chicago Great Western Railway was a Class I railroad that linked Chicago, Minneapolis, Omaha, and Kansas City. It was founded by Alpheus Beede Stickney in 1885 as a regional line between St. Paul and the Iowa state line called the Minnesota and Northwestern Railroad... (36; Texas) |
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| Pennsylvania Railroad Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad was an American Class I railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy", the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.... (125; Texas) |
PRR J1 The PRR J1 was a class of 2-10-4 or "Texas" type steam locomotives with driving wheels built between 1943 and 1944. The J1 had over of tractive effort, plus an additional if the booster engine was used.- Features :... |
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PRR Altoona Works Altoona Works Altoona Works is a large railroad industrial complex in Altoona, Pennsylvania. It was built by the Pennsylvania Railroad to supply the railroad with locomotives, railroad cars and related equipment. For many years it was the largest railroad shop complex in the world.-History:In 1849, PRR... |
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| Texas & Pacific Texas and Pacific Railway The Texas and Pacific Railway Company was created by federal charter in 1871 with the purpose of building a southern transcontinental railroad between Marshall, Texas, and San Diego, California.... (70; Texas) |
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Texas and Pacific 610 Texas and Pacific 610 is a 2-10-4 steam locomotive that was originally operated by the Texas and Pacific Railway . In 1976, the locomotive was used to haul the American Freedom Train for the portion of its tour in Texas.... –624 |
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18 of the B&LE's 2-10-4 locomotives were sold to the Duluth, Missabe & Iron Range
Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railway
The Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railway is a railroad operating in northern Minnesota and Wisconsin that hauls iron ore and later taconite to the Great Lakes ports of Duluth and Two Harbors, Minnesota...
. The DMIR kept the "Texas" class name on these locomotives.
Preserved 2-10-4 Locomotives (North America)
| Railroad | Road number | Location |
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| AT&SF Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often abbreviated as Santa Fe, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The company was first chartered in February 1859... |
Santa Fe 5000 The Santa Fe 5000 is a 2-10-4 steam locomotive constructed by Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1930 for the North American Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. Locomotive number 5000 was immediately nicknamed "Madame Queen." and remained a one of a kind member of its own class... |
Amarillo, TX |
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Museum of Transportation Museum of Transportation The Museum of Transportation of the St. Louis County, Missouri, United States Parks Department is a museum located in the Greater St. Louis area. It was first founded in 1944 by a group of individuals dedicated to preserving the past and has a wide variety of vehicles from American history... , St. Louis, MO |
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National Railroad Museum National Railroad Museum The National Railroad Museum is a railroad museum located in Ashwaubenon, Wisconsin, in suburban Green Bay.The museum is one of the oldest institutions in the United States dedicated to preserving and interpreting the nation's railroad history. It was founded in 1956 by community volunteers in... , Green Bay, WI |
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California State Railroad Museum California State Railroad Museum The California State Railroad Museum is a museum in the state park system of California, USA, interpreting the role of the "iron horse" in connecting California to the rest of the nation. It is located in Old Sacramento at 111 I Street.... , Sacramento, CA |
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Salvador Perez Park, Santa Fe, NM | |
| B&LE Bessemer and Lake Erie Railroad The Bessemer and Lake Erie Railroad is a class II railroad that operates in northwestern Pennsylvania and northeastern Ohio.The railroad's main route runs from the Lake Erie port of Conneaut, Ohio to the Pittsburgh suburb of Penn Hills, Pennsylvania, a distance of 139 miles... |
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McKees Rocks, PA |
| CP Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001... |
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Heritage Park Historical Village Heritage Park Historical Village Heritage Park Historical Village is a historical park located in Calgary, Alberta. The park is located on of parkland on the banks of the Glenmore Reservoir, along the city's southwestern edge. As Canada's largest living history museum by number of exhibits, it is one of the city's most visited... , Calgary, AB |
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Canadian Railway Museum Canadian Railway Museum The Canadian Railway Museum Musée Ferrovaire Canadien) is a rail transport museum in Delson/Saint-Constant, Quebec south of Montreal.-Collection:... , Delson, QC |
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| T&P Texas and Pacific Railway The Texas and Pacific Railway Company was created by federal charter in 1871 with the purpose of building a southern transcontinental railroad between Marshall, Texas, and San Diego, California.... |
Texas and Pacific 610 Texas and Pacific 610 is a 2-10-4 steam locomotive that was originally operated by the Texas and Pacific Railway . In 1976, the locomotive was used to haul the American Freedom Train for the portion of its tour in Texas.... |
Texas State Railroad Texas State Railroad The Texas State Railroad is a historic 25-mile railroad between Rusk and Palestine, Texas. The start of the railroad dates back to 1881. Its original purpose was to bring in raw materials for a prison iron foundry and to take the finished product out. The railroad grew and eventually expanded to... , Palestine, TX |
Brazil
Outside North America, the 2-10-4 was rare. The Central Railway of Brazil, however, ordered seventeen narrow gauge (metre gauge) 2-10-4, ten from BaldwinBaldwin Locomotive Works
The Baldwin Locomotive Works was an American builder of railroad locomotives. It was located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, originally, and later in nearby Eddystone, Pennsylvania. Although the company was very successful as a producer of steam locomotives, its transition to the production of...
, which was delivered in 1940, and seven from American Locomotive Company
American Locomotive Company
The American Locomotive Company, often shortened to ALCO or Alco , was a builder of railroad locomotives in the United States.-Early history:...
, which was delivered in 1947.
South Africa
In 1937 the South African Railways (SAR) placed one Class 21South African Class 21 2-10-4
In 1937 the South African Railways placed one Class 21 steam locomotive with a Texas wheel arrangement in service, designed as a mixed traffic locomotive suitable for light rail. A simultaneously proposed heavier main line version Class 22 never materialised....
steam locomotive with a Texas wheel arrangement in service, designed as a mixed traffic locomotive suitable for light rail. It was designed by A.G. Watson, Chief Mechanical Engineer of the SAR from 1929 to 1936, and built by the North British Locomotive Company
North British Locomotive Company
The North British Locomotive Company was created in 1903 through the merger of three Glasgow locomotive manufacturing companies; Sharp Stewart and Company , Neilson, Reid and Company and Dübs and Company , creating the largest locomotive manufacturing company in Europe.Its main factories were...
in Glasgow. Only the one locomotive was built, at the time representing the maximum power obtainable on Cape gauge
Cape gauge
Cape gauge is a track gauge of between the inside of the rail heads and is classified as narrow gauge. It has installations of around .The gauge was first used by Norwegian engineer Carl Abraham Pihl and the first line was opened in 1862.- Nomenclature :...
from a ten-coupled non-articulated locomotive that was limited to a 15 long tons (15.2 t) axle load on 60 lb/yd rail. To enable it to negotiate tight curves, the third and fourth sets of driving wheels were flangeless.
The tender was an unusual experimental type using six pairs of wheels in a 2-8-2
2-8-2
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 2-8-2 represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle , eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles, and two trailing wheels on one axle...
wheel arrangement, with the leading and trailing wheels in bissel type pony trucks and the rest of the axles mounted with a rigid wheelbase. The tender’s wheel arrangement did not prove to be very successful and, with the exception of a similar tender built in the Salt River shops in Cape Town for test purposes, was not used again.
A simultaneously proposed heavier main line version Class 22 2-10-4 locomotive never materialised.
Eastern Europe
In addition, some 2-10-4 tank locomotiveTank 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 pulling it behind it in a tender. It will most likely also have some kind of bunker to hold the fuel. There are several different types of tank locomotive dependent upon...
s existed in eastern Europe. One bizarre experimental 2-10-4 built in the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
had an opposed piston drive system
Soviet opposed-piston 2-10-4
Built in 1949, this was one of a number of Soviet locomotive designs that was very successful. The cylinders were placed above the center driving axle. Unlike nearly all steam locomotives, the pistons had rods on both ends which transferred power to the wheels...
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Sources
- Barris, W., The Texas Type Locomotive. Retrieved January 1, 2003