Under the

Whyte notation Whyte notation is a classification method for steam locomotives, and some internal combustion locomotives and electric locomotives, by wheel arrangement. It was devised by Frederick Methvan Whyte, and came into use in the early twentieth cen ...

for the classification of steam locomotives by

wheel arrangement In rail transport, a wheel arrangement or wheel configuration is a system of classifying the way in which wheels are distributed under a locomotive. Several notations exist to describe the wheel assemblies of a locomotive by type, position, and c ...

, the is a Garratt

articulated locomotive An articulated locomotive is a steam locomotive (rarely, an electric locomotive) with one or more engine units that can move independent of the main frame. Articulation allows the operation of locomotives that would otherwise be too large to neg ...

. The wheel arrangement is effectively two 2-8-0 locomotives operating back to back, with the

boiler A boiler is a closed vessel in which fluid (generally water) is heated. The fluid does not necessarily boil. The heated or vaporized fluid exits the boiler for use in various processes or heating applications, including water heating, centr ...

and cab suspended between the two power units. Each power unit has a single pair of

leading wheel The leading wheel or leading axle or pilot wheel of a steam locomotive is an unpowered wheel or axle located in front of the driving wheels. The axle or axles of the leading wheels are normally located on a leading truck. Leading wheels are used ...

s in a leading truck, followed by four coupled pairs of driving wheels and no trailing wheels. Since the 2-8-0 type is sometimes known as a Consolidation, the corresponding Garratt type could be referred to as a Double Consolidation. A similar wheel arrangement exists for Mallet type locomotives, but is referred to as .

Overview

This Garratt wheel arrangement was somewhat common, especially for locomotives intended for freight service. The first locomotive was a single metre gauge locomotive built by Beyer, Peacock & Company in 1924 for the Burma Railways as their class GA.I. The second, and perhaps the better known, was the single Class U1 of the London & North Eastern Railway (LNER), built in 1925.

Use

Burma

Apart from their first single class GA.I locomotive of 1924, the Burma Railways acquired another locomotive from Beyer, Peacock & Company in 1927, classifying it GA.II. In that same year, another four of class GA.III were placed in service, also from Beyer, Peacock. In 1929, Krupp of Essen in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

delivered eight more, designated Class GA.IV.

India

The

Bengal Nagpur Railway The Bengal Nagpur Railway was one of the companies which pioneered development of the railways in eastern and central India. It was succeeded first by Eastern Railway and subsequently by South Eastern Railway. History The opening of the ...

in India used two of the class HSG, built by Beyer, Peacock & Company in 1925. Ten examples were purchased by the British

War Department War Department may refer to: * War Department (United Kingdom) * United States Department of War (1789–1947) See also * War Office, a former department of the British Government * Ministry of defence * Ministry of War * Ministry of Defence * D ...

in 1943 and used on the Bengal Assam Railway in India as their Class MWGX.

Mauritius

The Mauritius Railway owned three Garratts, also built by Beyer, Peacock & Company in 1927.

Turkey

The Ottoman Railways in Turkey acquired a single Garratt from Beyer, Peacock & Company in 1927.

United Kingdom

Lickey Incline 2 LNER Garratt geograph-2382157-by-Ben-Brooksbank

The London & North Eastern Railway (LNER) owned a single Class U1 Garratt, built by Beyer, Peacock & Company in 1925. It was designed by Nigel Gresley for banking coal trains over the Worsborough Bank, a steeply graded line in

South Yorkshire South Yorkshire is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and metropolitan county, metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. The county has four council areas which are the cities of City of Doncaster, Doncaster and City of Sh ...

and part of the Woodhead line. The Class U1 was both the longest and the most powerful steam locomotive ever to run in the United Kingdom.

References

External links

{{Whyte types 1D+D1 locomotives 8,2-8-0