2-4-0
Encyclopedia
Under the Whyte notation
for the classification of steam locomotive
s, 2-4-0 represents the wheel arrangement
of two leading wheel
s on one axle, four powered and coupled driving wheel
s on two axles, and no trailing wheel
s.
The notation 2-4-0T indicates a tank locomotive
of this wheel arrangement (its water is carried in tanks mounted on the locomotive, rather than in an attached tender).
Because of its popularity for a period with English railways, noted railway author C Hamilton Ellis considered the 2-4-0 designation to have the nickname (under the Whyte notation
) of 'Old English'.
and 2-2-2
types, giving better adhesion. The type was initially designed for freight haulage.
, the Birmingham and Gloucester Railway
, the North Midland Railway
and the London and South Western Railway
(LSWR) before 1846. One of the earliest examples was the broad-gauge GWR Leo Class
, designed by Daniel Gooch
and built by R and W Hawthorn and Company
, Fenton, Murray and Jackson
, and Rothwell and Company during 1841 and 1842.
During 1846-7 Alexander Allan
of the newly created London and North Western Railway
(LNWR) created the 'Crewe type'
of locomotive, with 2-2-2
for passenger classes and 2-4-0 for freight. These designs were widely copied by other railways both in the UK and overseas during the 1850s and 1860s. Between 1846 and 1880 the 2-4-0 was the standard type for freight and mixed traffic locomotives and was built in large numbers by among others, the LNWR (1846–96), the Midland Railway
(1846–1880), the North Eastern Railway
(1856–88), the Great Eastern Railway
(1856–1902), the Great Northern Railway
(1849–97).
During the mid 1840s Sir John Hawkshaw
developed a new style of 2-4-0 passenger locomotive with outside cylinders in front of the leading wheel
s and the rear driving axle
behind the firebox (steam engine). This layout provided running steady at high speeds, despite a long overhang at the front. Joseph Beattie
of the London and South Western Railway
was one of the first British locomotive engineers to use this type on express locomotives. Thus from 1858 he began experimenting with 2-4-0 designs for passenger work, culminating in his 'Seven-Foot' 2-4-0 express passenger locomotives built between 1859-1868. Beattie was also responsible for the long-lived 0298 Class
of 2-4-0 well tanks designed for suburban passenger work in 1874, some examples of which were still working in 1961.
Other UK 2-4-0s were designed by James Holden
for the Great Eastern Railway
, including the T19, the "Humpty Dumpty" and the T26. The type was also used by engineers such as Joseph Armstrong
on the Great Western Railway
and Francis Webb
on the London and North Western Railway
– one of the latter's types, the Improved Precedent/Jumbo class
Hardwicke famously won the "Race to the North
" for the LNWR.
After 1854, the 'Hawkshaw type' of 2-4-0 was adopted by Beyer, Peacock and Company
who built many examples of the type for export including to the Swedish State Railways (Statens Järnvägar) in 1856, and the Zealand Railway Denmark
in 1870. The Friedrich-Franz Railway, Grand Dutchy of Mecklenburg Switzerland
bought 19 'Hawkshaw style' 2-4-0 locomotives
from Richard Hartmann
in Chemnitz
from 1864-1869.
Bavarian B V
and Bavarian B VI
2-4-0 locomotives of the Royal Bavarian State Railways
(Königlich Bayerische Staats-Eisenbahnen) were the first types to be produced in Bavaria in large numbers (208 in all between 1853 and 1863). One example is preserved in the Nuremberg Transport Museum
.
Between 1877 and 1885, 294 passenger locomotives of the Prussian P 2
class were delivered to Prussian State Railways
and its forebears.
A locomotive of this type hauled the first Orient Express
from Paris
to Munich
– a notable achievement for a small locomotive.
In New Zealand 2 classes of Tank locomotive
were built with the 2-4-0T wheel arrangement. They were the NZR D class [1874] and the NZR L class [1878], both classes were designed for mixed traffic use. 5 D locos were built by Dubs and Company in Glasgow Scotland, 19 were built by Neilson and Company and 11 were built by Scott Brothers Ltd of Christchurch. All ten L locos were built by the Avonside Engine Company in Bristol
. The first members of the D class entered service in 1874, and all had left the service of NZR by the end of 1927, which allowed the D classification to be used again in 1929. Out of the 33 D locomotives that were built, 7 have been preserved although only D 16 and D 140 are in operational condition. The first L built entered service in 1878 and another 9 Ls were ordered. Out of the 10 Ls built, 3 have survived long enough to be preserved [207 [507], 208 [508] and 219 [509] and all 3 are operational. In 1893-94, three of the 'L' class 2-4-0 T locomotives were rebuilt at Newmarket workshops with a larger boiler and enlarged cylinders to a 4-4-0 side tank arrangement. This new design was classified 'La' but again the limited coal bunker became a liability. The answer was to provide a larger coal bunker and a trailing pony truck giving them a 4-4-2 T wheel arrangement, and a further four 'L' class were converted. Three were not rebuilt but sold to the PWD in 1901-1903. Three new 4-4-2 T locomotives were built in 1902-1903 and when the conversion program had been completed in 1903, the classification, for all ten locomotives, was changed back to 'L'.
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, 2-4-0 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 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 on one axle, 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 no 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.
The notation 2-4-0T indicates a tank locomotive
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 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...
of this wheel arrangement (its water is carried in tanks mounted on the locomotive, rather than in an attached tender).
Alternative notation
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...
: 1'B (also known as German classification and Italian classification) - French classification: 120
- 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...
: 23 - Swiss classification: 2/3
- Russian classification: 1-2-0
Because of its popularity for a period with English railways, noted railway author C Hamilton Ellis considered the 2-4-0 designation to have the nickname (under the Whyte notation
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...
) of 'Old English'.
History
The 2-4-0 configuration was developed in the late 1830s or early 1840s as an enlargement of the 2-2-02-2-0
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 2-2-0 represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, two powered driving wheels on one axle, and no trailing wheels...
and 2-2-2
2-2-2
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 2-2-2 represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle two powered driving wheels on one axle, and two trailing wheels on one axle. The wheel arrangement both provided more stability and enabled a larger firebox...
types, giving better adhesion. The type was initially designed for freight haulage.
UK usage
The type was used on the Liverpool and Manchester RailwayLiverpool and Manchester Railway
The Liverpool and Manchester Railway was the world's first inter-city passenger railway in which all the trains were timetabled and were hauled for most of the distance solely by steam locomotives. The line opened on 15 September 1830 and ran between the cities of Liverpool and Manchester in North...
, the Birmingham and Gloucester Railway
Birmingham and Gloucester Railway
The Birmingham and Gloucester Railway is a railway route linking Birmingham to Gloucester in England.It is one of the world's oldest main line railways and includes the famous Lickey Incline, a dead-straight stretch of track running up the 1-in-37 gradient of the Lickey Ridge...
, the North Midland Railway
North Midland Railway
The North Midland Railway was a British railway company, which opened its line from Derby to Rotherham and Leeds in 1840.At Derby it connected with the Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway and the Midland Counties Railway at what became known as the Tri Junct Station...
and the London and South Western Railway
London and South Western Railway
The London and South Western Railway was a railway company in England from 1838 to 1922. Its network extended from London to Plymouth via Salisbury and Exeter, with branches to Ilfracombe and Padstow and via Southampton to Bournemouth and Weymouth. It also had many routes connecting towns in...
(LSWR) before 1846. One of the earliest examples was the broad-gauge GWR Leo Class
GWR Leo Class
The Great Western Railway Leo Class 2-4-0 broad gauge steam locomotives for goods train work. This class was introduced into service between January 1841 and July 1842, and withdrawn between September 1864 and June 1874....
, designed by Daniel Gooch
Daniel Gooch
Sir Daniel Gooch, 1st Baronet was an English railway and transatlantic cable engineer and Conservative politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1865 to 1885...
and built by R and W Hawthorn and Company
Hawthorn Leslie and Company
R. & W. Hawthorn Leslie and Company, Limited, usually referred to as Hawthorn Leslie, was a shipbuilding and locomotive manufacturer. The Company was founded on Tyneside in 1886 and ceased building ships in 1982.-History:...
, Fenton, Murray and Jackson
Fenton, Murray and Jackson
Fenton, Murray and Jackson was an engineering company at the Round Foundry off Water Lane in Holbeck, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.-Fenton, Murray and Wood:...
, and Rothwell and Company during 1841 and 1842.
During 1846-7 Alexander Allan
Alexander Allan (locomotive engineer)
Alexander Allan was a Scottish mechanical engineer. He was born at Montrose, Angus, in 1809 and died on 2 June 1891.From 1843 to 1853 he was Works Manager at the Crewe Works of the Grand Junction Railway, later London and North Western Railway, under Francis Trevithick. Here he was responsible for...
of the newly created London and North Western Railway
London and North Western Railway
The London and North Western Railway was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. It was created by the merger of three companies – the Grand Junction Railway, the London and Birmingham Railway and the Manchester and Birmingham Railway...
(LNWR) created the 'Crewe type'
Crewe type (locomotive)
The Crewe type locomotive was a design of steam locomotive designed by Alexander Allan and William Buddicom during the 1840s. It was widely copied elsewhere, particularly in France.-History:...
of locomotive, with 2-2-2
2-2-2
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 2-2-2 represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle two powered driving wheels on one axle, and two trailing wheels on one axle. The wheel arrangement both provided more stability and enabled a larger firebox...
for passenger classes and 2-4-0 for freight. These designs were widely copied by other railways both in the UK and overseas during the 1850s and 1860s. Between 1846 and 1880 the 2-4-0 was the standard type for freight and mixed traffic locomotives and was built in large numbers by among others, the LNWR (1846–96), the Midland Railway
Midland Railway
The Midland Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844 to 1922, when it became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway....
(1846–1880), 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...
(1856–88), the Great Eastern Railway
Great Eastern Railway
The Great Eastern Railway was a pre-grouping British railway company, whose main line linked London Liverpool Street to Norwich and which had other lines through East Anglia...
(1856–1902), the Great Northern Railway
Great Northern Railway (Great Britain)
The Great Northern Railway was a British railway company established by the Great Northern Railway Act of 1846. On 1 January 1923 the company lost its identity as a constituent of the newly formed London and North Eastern Railway....
(1849–97).
During the mid 1840s Sir John Hawkshaw
John Hawkshaw
Sir John Hawkshaw , was an English civil engineer.-Early life:He was born in Leeds, Yorkshire and was educated at Leeds Grammar School...
developed a new style of 2-4-0 passenger locomotive with outside cylinders in front of the 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 and the rear driving axle
Driving wheel
On a steam locomotive, a driving wheel is a powered wheel which is driven by the locomotive's pistons...
behind the firebox (steam engine). This layout provided running steady at high speeds, despite a long overhang at the front. Joseph Beattie
Joseph Hamilton Beattie
Joseph Hamilton Beattie was a locomotive engineer with the London and South Western Railway.Beattie was a highly innovative engineer, introducing the country's first successful 2-4-0 locomotive, pioneering coal-burning fireboxes, feedwater heating and balanced slide valves. His locomotives were...
of the London and South Western Railway
London and South Western Railway
The London and South Western Railway was a railway company in England from 1838 to 1922. Its network extended from London to Plymouth via Salisbury and Exeter, with branches to Ilfracombe and Padstow and via Southampton to Bournemouth and Weymouth. It also had many routes connecting towns in...
was one of the first British locomotive engineers to use this type on express locomotives. Thus from 1858 he began experimenting with 2-4-0 designs for passenger work, culminating in his 'Seven-Foot' 2-4-0 express passenger locomotives built between 1859-1868. Beattie was also responsible for the long-lived 0298 Class
LSWR 0298 Class
The London and South Western Railway 0298 Class or Beattie Well Tank is a class of British steam locomotive. They are 2-4-0WT well tanks, originally built between 1863 and 1875 for use on passenger services in the suburbs of London, but later used on rural services in South West England...
of 2-4-0 well tanks designed for suburban passenger work in 1874, some examples of which were still working in 1961.
Other UK 2-4-0s were designed by James Holden
James Holden (engineer)
James Holden was an English locomotive engineer.He is remembered mainly for the "Claud Hamilton" 4-4-0, his pioneering work with oil fuel, and his unique "Decapod".- Biography :...
for the Great Eastern Railway
Great Eastern Railway
The Great Eastern Railway was a pre-grouping British railway company, whose main line linked London Liverpool Street to Norwich and which had other lines through East Anglia...
, including the T19, the "Humpty Dumpty" and the T26. The type was also used by engineers such as Joseph Armstrong
Joseph Armstrong (engineer)
Joseph Armstrong was a British locomotive engineer and the second locomotive superintendent of the Great Western Railway...
on the Great Western Railway
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
and Francis Webb
Francis Webb (engineer)
Francis William Webb was a British engineer responsible for the design and manufacture of locomotives for the London and North Western Railway .- Biography :...
on the London and North Western Railway
London and North Western Railway
The London and North Western Railway was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. It was created by the merger of three companies – the Grand Junction Railway, the London and Birmingham Railway and the Manchester and Birmingham Railway...
– one of the latter's types, the Improved Precedent/Jumbo class
LNWR Improved Precedent Class
The London and North Western Railway Improved Precedent Class or "Jumbo" Class is a class of 2-4-0 steam locomotive originally designed for express passenger work....
Hardwicke famously won the "Race to the North
Race to the North
The Race to the North is the name given to two summers in the late 19th century when British passenger trains belonging to different companies would literally race each other from London to Scotland over the two principal rail trunk routes connecting the English capital city to Scotland - the West...
" for the LNWR.
Rest of World
Beyer, Peacock and Company
Beyer, Peacock and Company was an English railway Locomotive manufacturer with a factory in Gorton, Manchester. Founded by Charles Beyer and Richard Peacock, it traded from 1854 until 1966...
who built many examples of the type for export including to the Swedish State Railways (Statens Järnvägar) in 1856, and the Zealand Railway Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
in 1870. The Friedrich-Franz Railway, Grand Dutchy of Mecklenburg Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
bought 19 'Hawkshaw style' 2-4-0 locomotives
Mecklenburg III
The Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg Friedrich-Franz Railway grouped early, 2-4-0, passenger train locomotives from the Friedrich-Franz Railway into its Class III.- History :...
from Richard Hartmann
Richard Hartmann
Richard Hartmann was a German engineering manufacturer.- Life :Richard Hartmann was born on 8 November 1809 in Barr, Bas-Rhin, the son of a tawer . In his Alsace homeland he learnt the trade of a toolmaker...
in Chemnitz
Chemnitz
Chemnitz is the third-largest city of the Free State of Saxony, Germany. Chemnitz is an independent city which is not part of any county and seat of the government region Direktionsbezirk Chemnitz. Located in the northern foothills of the Ore Mountains, it is a part of the Saxon triangle...
from 1864-1869.
Bavarian B V
Bavarian B V
The Bavarian B V steam engines were early German 2-4-0 locomotives of the Royal Bavarian State Railways ....
and Bavarian B VI
Bavarian B VI
The Bavarian B VI steam engines were locomotives with the Royal Bavarian State Railways .This class was a development of the B V; its dimensions, heating area and grate area being almost the same, only the driving wheel diameter being larger...
2-4-0 locomotives of the Royal Bavarian State Railways
Royal Bavarian State Railways
As a nation-state, Germany did not come into being until the creation of the German Empire in 1871 from the various German-speaking states such as Prussia, Bavaria, Saxony, Baden and Württemberg. By then each of the major states had formed its own state railway and these continued to remain...
(Königlich Bayerische Staats-Eisenbahnen) were the first types to be produced in Bavaria in large numbers (208 in all between 1853 and 1863). One example is preserved in the Nuremberg Transport Museum
Nuremberg Transport Museum
The Nuremberg Transport Museum is based in Nuremberg, Germany, and consists of the Deutsche Bahn's own DB Museum and the Museum of Communications . It also has two satellite museums at Koblenz-Lützel and Halle...
.
Between 1877 and 1885, 294 passenger locomotives of the Prussian P 2
Prussian P 2
The Prussian Class P 2 consisted of various types of early, passenger train, steam locomotive operated by the Prussian state railways. There were 294 2-4-0 locomotives, 24 0-4-2 locomotives and two engines with a 4-4-0 wheel arrangement...
class were delivered to Prussian State Railways
Prussian state railways
The term Prussian state railways encompasses those railway organisations that were owned or managed by the State of Prussia...
and its forebears.
A locomotive of this type hauled the first Orient Express
Orient Express
The Orient Express is the name of a long-distance passenger train service originally operated by the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits. It ran from 1883 to 2009 and is not to be confused with the Venice-Simplon Orient Express train service, which continues to run.The route and rolling stock...
from Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
to Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
– a notable achievement for a small locomotive.
In New Zealand 2 classes of Tank locomotive
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 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...
were built with the 2-4-0T wheel arrangement. They were the NZR D class [1874] and the NZR L class [1878], both classes were designed for mixed traffic use. 5 D locos were built by Dubs and Company in Glasgow Scotland, 19 were built by Neilson and Company and 11 were built by Scott Brothers Ltd of Christchurch. All ten L locos were built by the Avonside Engine Company in Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
. The first members of the D class entered service in 1874, and all had left the service of NZR by the end of 1927, which allowed the D classification to be used again in 1929. Out of the 33 D locomotives that were built, 7 have been preserved although only D 16 and D 140 are in operational condition. The first L built entered service in 1878 and another 9 Ls were ordered. Out of the 10 Ls built, 3 have survived long enough to be preserved [207 [507], 208 [508] and 219 [509] and all 3 are operational. In 1893-94, three of the 'L' class 2-4-0 T locomotives were rebuilt at Newmarket workshops with a larger boiler and enlarged cylinders to a 4-4-0 side tank arrangement. This new design was classified 'La' but again the limited coal bunker became a liability. The answer was to provide a larger coal bunker and a trailing pony truck giving them a 4-4-2 T wheel arrangement, and a further four 'L' class were converted. Three were not rebuilt but sold to the PWD in 1901-1903. Three new 4-4-2 T locomotives were built in 1902-1903 and when the conversion program had been completed in 1903, the classification, for all ten locomotives, was changed back to 'L'.
Usage in fiction
- One of Disney's cartoon characters who was used in the movie DumboDumboDumbo is a 1941 American animated film produced by Walt Disney and released on October 23, 1941, by RKO Radio Pictures.The fourth film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, Dumbo is based upon the storyline written by Helen Aberson and illustrated by Harold Pearl for the prototype of a...
, Casey Junior, is a little 2-4-0 tender locomotive. - In the Bugs BunnyBugs BunnyBugs Bunny is a animated character created in 1938 at Leon Schlesinger Productions, later Warner Bros. Cartoons. Bugs is an anthropomorphic gray rabbit and is famous for his flippant, insouciant personality and his portrayal as a trickster. He has primarily appeared in animated cartoons, most...
cartoon, Hare TriggerHare TriggerHare Trigger is a 1945 Warner Brothers Merrie Melodies cartoon short starring Bugs Bunny directed by Friz Freleng. It marks the first appearance of Yosemite Sam, who appears as a train robber...
, it showed two 2-4-0 tender locomotives passing a telephone pole repeating, Bread and butter.