Under the

Whyte notation The 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 twenti ...

for the classification of

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, Fuel oil, oil or, rarely, Wood fuel, wood) to heat ...

s, 2-2-2 represents the

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 ...

of two leading wheels on one axle, two powered

driving wheel On a steam locomotive, a driving wheel is a powered wheel which is driven by the locomotive's pistons (or turbine, in the case of a steam turbine locomotive). On a conventional, non-articulated locomotive, the driving wheels are all coupled t ...

s on one axle, and two trailing wheels on one axle. The wheel arrangement both provided more stability and enabled a larger firebox than the earlier 0-2-2 and 2-2-0 types. This wheel arrangement is sometimes described as a Single, although this name could be used to describe any kind of locomotive with a single pair of driving wheels.

Equivalent classifications

Other equivalent classifications are: * UIC classification: 1A1 (also known as German classification and Italian classification) *

French classification Under the French classification system for locomotive wheel arrangements, the system is slightly different for steam and electric/diesel vehicles. Steam The French system counts axles, rather than wheels. As with Whyte notation, a conventional r ...

: 111 * Turkish classification: 13 * Swiss classification: 1/3

History

The 2-2-2 configuration appears to have been developed by Robert Stephenson & Company in 1834, as an enlargement of their 2-2-0 ''Planet'' configuration, offering more stability and a larger firebox. The new type became known as Stephenson's Patentee locomotive. Adler, the first successful locomotive to operate in Germany, was a ''Patentee'' supplied by Robert Stephenson & Company in component form in December, 1835 was one of the earliest examples. Other examples were exported to the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

and

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. By 1838 the 2-2-2 had become the standard passenger design by Robert Stephenson & Company. Eighteen of the first nineteen locomotives ordered by

Isambard Kingdom Brunel Isambard Kingdom Brunel ( ; 9 April 1806 – 15 September 1859) was an English civil engineer and mechanical engineer who is considered "one of the most ingenious and prolific figures in engineering history", "one of the 19th-century engi ...

for the opening of the

Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a History of rail transport in Great Britain, British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, ...

in 1837/8 were of the 2-2-2 type. These included six

2-2-2 locomotives The symbol , known in Unicode as hyphen-minus, is the form of hyphen most commonly used in digital documents. On most keyboards, it is the only character that resembles a minus sign or a dash, so it is also used for these. The name ''hyphen-min ...

built by Charles Tayleur at his Vulcan Foundry. Also in 1837 the successful '' North Star'' broad gauge locomotive was delivered to the Great Western Railway by Stephenson, becoming the first of a class of twelve locomotives by 1841. North Star photograph

Later UK developments

Sharp, Roberts & Company constructed more than 600 2-2-2 locomotives between 1837 and 1857. Ten of these supplied to the

Grand Junction Railway The Grand Junction Railway (GJR) was an early railway company in the United Kingdom, which existed between 1833 and 1846. The line built by the company, which opened in 1837, linked the Liverpool and Manchester Railway to Birmingham via Warri ...

became the basis of Alexander Allan's successful designs for the railway from 1845 (the first of which, formerly named ''Columbine'', is preserved). John Rennie supplied 2-2-2 locomotives to the London and Croydon Railway from 1838 and the London and Brighton Railway in 1840.

Arend Arend may refer to: * Arend (locomotive), ''Arend'' (locomotive), one of the two first steam locomotives in the Netherlands * Arend, Iran, a village * Arendsee (lake) or Lake Arend, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany * 50P/Arend or Comet Arend, a periodic com ...

("eagle") was one of the two first steam locomotives in the Netherlands, built by R. B. Longridge and Company of

Bedlington Bedlington is a town and former civil parish in Northumberland, England, with a population of 18,470 measured at the 2011 Census. Bedlington is an ancient market town, with a rich history of industry and innovative residents. Located roughly ...

, Northumberland in 1839. The Great Western Railway continued to order both

broad gauge A broad-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge (the distance between the rails) broader than the used by standard-gauge railways. Broad gauge of , more known as Russian gauge, is the dominant track gauge in former Soviet Union countries ...

and

standard gauge A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), international gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge in Europe, and SGR in East Africa. It is the ...

locomotives on the railway, including the

Firefly The Lampyridae are a family of elateroid beetles with more than 2,000 described species, many of which are light-emitting. They are soft-bodied beetles commonly called fireflies, lightning bugs, or glowworms for their conspicuous production ...

and Sun classes (1840–42), which were enlarged versions of North Star. Bury, Curtis and Kennedy supplied six 2-2-2 locomotives to the Bristol and Gloucester Railway in 1844, and fourteen to the

Great Southern and Western Railway The Great Southern and Western Railway (GS&WR) was an Irish gauge () railway company in Ireland from 1844 until 1924. The grew by building lines and making a series of takeovers, until in the late 19th and early 20th centuries it was the larges ...

in Ireland in 1848, (the last of these has been preserved at Cork Kent railway station.

The Jenny Lind locomotive, designed by David Joy and built in 1847 for the

London, Brighton and South Coast Railway The London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR (known also as the Brighton line, the Brighton Railway or the Brighton)) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1846 to 1922. Its territory formed a rough triangle, with London at ...

by the E. B. Wilson and Company of

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

, became the basis of hundreds of similar passenger locomotives built during the 1840s and 1850s by this and other manufacturers for UK railways. The

London and North Western Railway The London and North Western Railway (LNWR, L&NWR) was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. In the late 19th century, the LNWR was the largest joint stock company in the world. Dubbed the "Premier Line", the LNWR's main line connec ...

''Cornwall'' locomotive was designed at Crewe Works as a 4-2-2 by

Francis Trevithick Francis Trevithick (1812–1877), from Camborne, Cornwall, was one of the first locomotive engineers of the London and North Western Railway (LNWR). Life Born in 1812 as the son of Richard Trevithick, he began the study of civil engineering a ...

in 1847, but was rebuilt as a 2-2-2 in 1858. Although by the 1860s the 2-2-2 configuration was beginning to be superseded by the 2-4-0 type with better adhesion, the invention of steam sanding gave 2-2-2 singles a new lease of life, and they continued to be built until the 1890s. Notable late examples include William Stroudley's singles of 1874–1880, William Dean's 157 class of 1878–79, and his 3001 class (1891–92), both for the Great Western Railway. James Holden of the

Great Eastern Railway The Great Eastern Railway (GER) was a pre-grouping British railway company, whose main line linked London Liverpool Street to Norwich and which had other lines through East Anglia. The company was grouped into the London and North Eastern R ...

created some 2-2-2 singles in 1889 by removing the coupling rod from a 2-4-0.

Belgium

The first steam railway locomotive built in Belgium in 1835, and was built by John Cockerill under license to a design by Robert Stephenson & Company It was built for use on the first main line on the European mainland, the Brussels-Mechelen line. A replica was built at the workshops of Boissellerie Cognaut for the 150th anniversary of the formation of

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

. Brussels-Mechelen line

Italy

Two 2-2-2 locomotives were imported from Longridge and Co of Bedlington Ironworks England for the Naples–Portici railway in 1839 named Bayard and Vesuvio. A replica of 'Bayard is at the Naples Railway Museum.

Germany

Most of the earliest locomotives to operate in what is now Germany before the mid-1840s were 2-2-2s delivered by UK manufacturers. However, by 1839 the type was also being built locally ''see''

List of Bavarian locomotives and railbuses This List covers the locomotives and railbuses of the Bavarian railways, excluding those of the Palatinate (region), Palatinate (''Pfalz''). The locomotives and railbuses of the Palatinate when it belonged to Kingdom of Bavaria, Bavaria are in th ...

. The

Pegasus Pegasus (; ) is a winged horse in Greek mythology, usually depicted as a white stallion. He was sired by Poseidon, in his role as horse-god, and foaled by the Gorgon Medusa. Pegasus was the brother of Chrysaor, both born from Medusa's blood w ...

of 1839 was the first locomotive to be built by the Sächsische Maschinenbau-Compagnie in

Chemnitz Chemnitz (; from 1953 to 1990: Karl-Marx-Stadt (); ; ) is the third-largest city in the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Saxony after Leipzig and Dresden, and the fourth-largest city in the area of former East Germany after (East Be ...

. August Borsig and Company manufactured Beuth in 1843 which was highly successful; its valve design became de facto standard for locomotives for decades to come.Christopher Chant, 'The World's Railways, Regency House Publishing (2001)1552671607 By 1846 he had manufactured more than a hundred similar locomotives. Both the Leipzig-Dresden Railway and Royal Bavarian State Railways (Königlich Bayerische Staatsbahn) built several 2-2-2 classes 1841-1859. Similarly, the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg Friedrich-Franz Railway grouped various 2-2-2 steam locomotives procured from German manufacturers between 1848 and 1863 into its Mecklenburg I class.

Austria

The Imperial Austrian State Railways (kaiserlich-königliche österreichische Staatsbahnen or kkStB) built two successful

locomotives A locomotive is a rail vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. Traditionally, locomotives pulled trains from the front. However, push–pull operation has become common, and in the pursuit for longer and heavier freight train ...

of this wheel arrangement in 1907. Similarly the Federal Railway of Austria (BBÖ) built two examples of an express tank

locomotive A locomotive is a rail transport, rail vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. Traditionally, locomotives pulled trains from the front. However, Push–pull train, push–pull operation has become common, and in the pursuit for ...

in 1934 and 1937.

Latvia

One of last 2-2-2 tank locomotives were ordered by Latvian Railways, for local traffic. The locomotives Tk class were designed by German Hohenzollern, and 20 were manufactured in Germany and Latvia in 1928-1934. They were next seized by Soviet railways. After World War II one served in Poland as OKa1 class.Altbergs, Toms. ''The Latvian Tk tanks'', "Locomotives International" No.101, p. 54-56 Fairy Queen Engine

Preserved examples and replicas

* A replica of Adler of 1835 * A replica of North Star of 1837 * A replica of

of 1839 * A replica of Odin of 1846 (constructed at

Roskilde Roskilde ( , ) is a city west of Copenhagen on the Danish island of Zealand. With a population of 53,354 (), the city is a business and educational centre for the region and the 10th largest city in Denmark. It is governed by the administrative ...

roundhouse between 2004–2018) *LNWR No 1868 (formerly named Columbine) built 1845 * The LNWR 2-2-2 3020 Cornwall built 1847 * GS&WR Bury No. 36 of 1848, on display at Cork Kent railway station in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

* CVRR 2-2-2, ''Pioneer'', built by the Union Works, Boston Massachusetts, 1851. Held by the Smithsonian * The East Indian Railway No. 22, also known as "Fairy Queen" is a 2-2-2T built in 1855 for the East Indian Railway. It still operates for them today, making it the oldest operating steam locomotive in the world in regular service. * BBÖ Class 12 locomotive of 1937 * CP 1 - D Luiz I, a 2-2-2 locomotive, built by

Beyer, Peacock & Company Beyer, Peacock and Company was an English general engineering company and railway locomotive manufacturer with a factory in Openshaw, Manchester. Charles Beyer, Richard Peacock and Henry Robertson founded the company in 1854. The company close ...

in 1862 for the Portuguese Royal Train. Currently is under major restoration at Entroncamento yard together with the Royal Train wagons. * OKa1 (Latvian Tk-235) in Railway Museum in Warsaw

References

External links

GNR No. 229, photographed around 1900
* illustrated description of some famous singles {{Whyte types 2,2-2-2