4-4-4
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, 4-4-4 represents the wheel arrangement
Wheel arrangement
In rail transport, a wheel arrangement is a system of classifying the way in which wheels are distributed beneath a locomotive.. Several notations exist to describe the wheel assemblies of a locomotive by type, position, and connections, with the adopted notations varying by country...
of four 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 on two axles, four powered and coupled driving wheel
Driving wheel
On a steam locomotive, a driving wheel is a powered wheel which is driven by the locomotive's pistons...
s on two 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 on two axles. In the United States, this arrangement was named the Reading type, since the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad was the first to use it. 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...
, this type was known as the Jubilee.
Other equivalent classifications are:
UIC classification
UIC classification
The 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...
: 2B2 (also known as German classification and Italian classification)
French classification: 222
Turkish classification
Turkish classification
In 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...
: 26
Swiss classification: 2/6
Usage=
A single, experimental 4-4-4, classified as S 2/6
Bavarian S 2/6
The Royal Bavarian State Railways' sole class S 2/6 steam locomotive was built in 1906 by the firm of Maffei in Munich, Germany. It was of 4-4-4 wheel arrangement in the Whyte notation, or 2'B2' h4v in the UIC classification scheme, and was a 4-cylinder, von Borries, balanced compound locomotive. ...
, was built for the Royal Bavarian State Railway Company in 1906 by the firm of J.A. Maffei. It was successful in an experimental sense but was too light to haul passenger trains of useful capacity. It was fast, attaining 154 km/h (95.7 mph) on test, and was semi-streamlined with a pointed nosecone and fairings around the cylinders, stack and dome, and slanted-back cab windows. It inspired the later Bavarian S 3/6 4-6-2
4-6-2
4-6-2, in the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles , six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles, and two trailing wheels on one axle .These locomotives are also known as Pacifics...
"Pacifics". It passed to the Deutsche Reichseisenbahnen when the German railways were centralised, and was classified as BR 15, number 15 001. It was taken out of service in 1925, and was restored by Maffei to be exhibited at the Munich Transport Exhibition of that year. After the exhibition ended, it was placed in the Nuremberg Transport Museum, where it remains.
United States
The Philadelphia and Reading Railway built four C1a ClassReading Company C1a Class
The C1a Class were a type of 4-4-4 steam locomotive built for the Philadelphia and Reading Railway in 1915. Four locomotives were built, road numbers #110-113. They used front and rear trucks that were effectively identical...
locomotives in 1915. They proved to be quite unstable; after that year, they were rebuilt to 4-4-2
4-4-2 (locomotive)
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 4-4-2 represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles , four powered and coupled driving wheels on two axles, and two trailing wheels on one axle...
"Atlantic" locomotives. The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was one of the oldest railroads in the United States and the first common carrier railroad. It came into being mostly because the city of Baltimore wanted to compete with the newly constructed Erie Canal and another canal being proposed by Pennsylvania, which...
created a single 4-4-4 in 1934, rebuilding a 4-4-2
4-4-2 (locomotive)
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 4-4-2 represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles , four powered and coupled driving wheels on two axles, and two trailing wheels on one axle...
"Atlantic" into a solitary class J-1, named Lady Baltimore. Along with the single class V-2 4-6-4
4-6-4
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 4-6-4 represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles , six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles, and four trailing wheels on two axles .Other equivalent classifications are:UIC classification:...
Lord Baltimore, it was built for new lightweight passenger trains, in the Lady Baltimores case the Abraham Lincoln on the Chicago and Alton Railroad, a wholly owned subsidiary of the B&O. Despite the Alton's flat territory and straight track, the locomotive did not do well. It was returned to the B&O and was again modified at the railroad's Mount Clare shops, a less streamlined cab and front end being fitted. Subsequently, it was placed into local service on the railroad's Wheeling Division, mostly operating between Holloway
Holloway, Ohio
Holloway is a village in Belmont County, Ohio, United States. It is part of the Wheeling, West Virginia Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 345 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Holloway is located at ....
and Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
. It proved no more successful in that service, and was sent to the B&O's Riverside Shop for storage; it was scrapped in 1949.
Canada
The Canadian Pacific RailwayCanadian 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...
built two classes of 4-4-4 "Jubilee" locomotives. Both were semi-streamlined, in a similar fashion to the 4-6-4
4-6-4
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 4-6-4 represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles , six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles, and four trailing wheels on two axles .Other equivalent classifications are:UIC classification:...
"Royal Hudson
Royal Hudson
The term Royal Hudson refers to a group of semi-streamlined 4-6-4 Hudson steam locomotives owned by the Canadian Pacific Railway and built by Montreal Locomotive Works . The engine was built in 1938. In 1939, King George VI allowed the CPR to use the term after Royal Hudson number 2850 transported...
" and 2-10-4
2-10-4
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, a 2-10-4 locomotive has two leading wheels, ten driving wheels , and four trailing wheels...
"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....
" locomotives. The F2a was styled after the Milwaukee Road "Hiawatha" "Atlantic", but with a 4-wheel trailing truck to support a longer firebox.
Class F2a consisted of five locomotives, #3000-3004. They can be easiest distinguished from the other type through the main rods being connected to the leading pair of drivers. Some trouble was discovered with this arrangement, as they had a tendency to bend the main rods in reverse. However, they did hold the Canadian record for speed, at 112.5 mph, during a braking test. The 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....
was smoothly rounded and streamlined, with two stainless-steel bands. None of this group survive.
Canadian Railway Museum
The Canadian Railway Museum Musée Ferrovaire Canadien) is a rail transport museum in Delson/Saint-Constant, Quebec south of Montreal.-Collection:...
in Delson, Quebec
Delson, Quebec
Delson is an off-island suburb of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is situated 8 mi/13 km SSE of Montreal within the regional county municipality of Roussillion in the administrative region of Montérégie. The population as of the Canada 2006 Census was 7,322.On its small territory, Delson is crossed...
, while #2929 is at Steamtown National Historic Site
Steamtown National Historic Site
Steamtown National Historic Site is a railroad museum and heritage railroad located on in downtown Scranton, Pennsylvania, at the site of the former Scranton yards of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad . The museum is built around a working replica turntable and a roundhouse that is...
in Scranton, Pennsylvania
Scranton, Pennsylvania
Scranton is a city in the northeastern part of Pennsylvania, United States. It is the county seat of Lackawanna County and the largest principal city in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area. Scranton had a population of 76,089 in 2010, according to the U.S...
.
United Kingdom
In Britain the 4-4-4 arrangement was confined to 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 and there to specific applications requiring either high speed stability in both directions (created by a symmetrical arrangement with bogies front and rear) or a powerful locomotive with as short a fixed wheelbase as possible. Eric G. Barker designed three examples for the Wirral Railway
Wirral Railway
The Wirral Railway was incorporated in 1863 as the Hoylake Railway , with powers to build lines from Birkenhead to New Brighton, and to Parkgate on the western side of the Wirral Peninsula; the latter line was not built. Between 1872 and 1882 the HR was renamed twice, and extensions of the line...
in 1896. The North Eastern Railway
North Eastern Railway (UK)
The North Eastern Railway , was an English railway company. It was incorporated in 1854, when four existing companies were combined, and was absorbed into the London and North Eastern Railway at the Grouping in 1923...
Class D was designed by Vincent Raven
Vincent Raven
Sir Vincent Litchfield Raven KBE was chief mechanical engineer of the North Eastern Railway from 1910 to 1922.- Biography :...
in 1913. Between 1931 and 1936 they were rebuilt with a 4-6-2T wheel layout and re-classified as A8
LNER Class A8
The London and North Eastern Railway Class A8 was a type of 4-6-2T steam locomotive, designed by both Vincent Raven and Nigel Gresley. They were rebuilt from the LNER Class H1, a 4-4-4T. In 1931, H1 No. 2162 was rebuilt as a 4-6-2T and given the A8 classification...
. The H-Class locomotives built for the Metropolitan Railway
Metropolitan railway
Metropolitan Railway can refer to:* Metropolitan line, part of the London Underground* Metropolitan Railway, the first underground railway to be built in London...
in the 1920s are an example of both these factors leading to a rare use of the 4-4-4 arrangement.
Australia
The Western Australia Government Railway N ClassWAGR N Class
The WAGR N Class tank engines were 4-4-4T type steam locomotives operated by the Western Australian Government Railways. The type was introduced in 1896 and initially served in both Perth and Kalgoorlie, but traffic was lost to Kalgoorlie within a few years and the type was withdrawn to Perth...
4-4-4 tank engines were introduced in 1896.