Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles, eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles and four trailing wheels on two axles. The type was first used by the Northern Pacific Railway, and initially named the Northern Pacific, but railfans and railroad employees have shortened the name since its introduction. It is most-commonly known as a Northern.

Overview

Development

The wheel arrangement was a progression from the Mountain type and, like the Berkshire and Hudson types, an example of the "Super Power" concept in steam locomotive design that made use of the larger firebox that could be supported by a four-wheel trailing truck, which allowed greater production of steam. The four-wheel leading truck gave stability at speed and the eight driving wheels gave greater adhesion. The type evolved in the United States soon after the

Lima Locomotive Works Lima Locomotive Works (LLW) was an American firm that manufactured railroad locomotives from the 1870s through the 1950s. The company's name is derived from the location of its main manufacturing plant in Lima, Ohio ( ). The shops were located be ...

introduced the concept of "Lima Super Power" in 1925, making heavy 2-8-2 and 2-8-4 locomotives. The prototype was built by American Locomotive Company (ALCO) for the Northern Pacific Railway (NP) in 1926, with a very large firebox with a grate, designed to burn low quality lignite coal. The four-wheel trailing truck weighed about more than two-wheel trucks of the time and could carry an additional of engine weight; the difference of was available for increased boiler capacity.Alfred W. Bruce. (1952). ''The Steam Locomotive in America: Its Development in the Twentieth Century''. New York. pp. 296, 299, 308–309. Timken 1111

The type arrived when nearly all the important steam locomotive design improvements had already been proven, including Superheaters, mechanical stokers, outside valve gear and the Delta trailing truck. One-piece, cast steel bed-frames with integrally cast cylinders gave the strength and rigidity to use Roller bearings. In 1930, the Timken Company used the Timken 1111, a built by ALCO with roller bearings on all axles, to demonstrate the value of their sealed roller bearings. The Timken 1111 was subsequently sold to the NP, where it became NP No. 2626, their sole Class A-1 locomotive. The stability of the wheel arrangement meant that driving wheels up to diameter could be used for high speed passenger and fast freight operation. Lateral control devices allowed these locomotives to traverse relatively sharp curves despite their drivers. The increased boiler size possible with this type, together with the high axle loads permitted on mainlines in North America, resulted in the design of some massive locomotives, some of which weighed as much as 450 tons, including the tender. The was suitable for both express passenger and fast freight service, though it was not suited to heavy drag freight trains. Although locomotives of the wheel arrangement were used in a number of countries, those that were developed outside North America included various design features which set them apart from North American practice. Scaled down examples of the type were exported by two American builders, ALCO and Baldwin Locomotive Works, for lines in

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. Most were two-cylinder locomotives, but five classes of three-cylinder s were built: * The simplex 06 class by the

Deutsche Reichsbahn The ''Deutsche Reichsbahn'' (), also known as the German National Railway, the German State Railway, German Reich Railway, and the German Imperial Railway, was the Weimar Republic, German national Rail transport, railway system created after th ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. * The simplex H class by the Victorian Railways in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. * The compound 242A1 class of the Société nationale des chemins de fer français ( SNCF) in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. * The simplex 477 class tank engines by CKD for Czechoslovak State Railways; 60 4-8-4T locomotives were built between 1951 and 1955, the last new steam engines built in

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

. * An experimental high-pressure compound locomotive of the New York Central (NYC).

The Northern name

Since the was first used by the Northern Pacific Railway, the type was named "Northern". Most North American railroads used this name, but some adopted different names. * "Heavy Mountain" or "New Mountain" on the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe (ATSF). Original blueprints of class 3751 designate the 4-8-4 as a "Mountain" or "Heavy Mountain". The index to the blueprints reference the 3751 class as "Mountain, 4-Wheel Trailer". Early correspondence of the ATSF refer to this type as "New Mountains". The Santa Fe never adopted the "Northern" designation. * "Big Apple" on the Central of Georgia Railway (CG). * "Confederation" on the Canadian National Railway (CN), named because they were purchased in 1927, the 60th anniversary of Canada's confederation in 1867. The "Confederation" 4-8-4s were later renamed by the CN to the generic "Northern" name in later years. * "Dixie" on the Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway (NC&StL). * "Golden State" on the Southern Pacific Railroad (SP), temporarily renamed "General Service" during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and also referred to as "GS" by Western Pacific for those GSs which were diverted to the WP from SP's order by the War Production Board. * "Greenbrier" on the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O). * "J" on the Norfolk and Western Railway (N&W). * "FEF" (Four-Eight-Four) on the

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad is a Railroad classes, Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United Stat ...

(UP). * "Niagara" on the New York Central Railroad (NYC). * "Niágara" on the (N de M) and in

. * "Pocono" on the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad (Lackawanna). * "Potomac" on the Western Maryland Railway (WM). * "Wyoming" on the Lehigh Valley Railroad (LV). The Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad (RFP) gave each of its three classes a separate name, the "General" of 1937, the "Governor" of 1938 and the "Statesman" of 1944.

Demise

The big-wheeled was at home on heavy passenger trains and quite capable of speeds over , but freight was the primary revenue source of the railroads; in that service the Northern had limitations. The adhesive weight on a was limited to about 60% of the engine's weight, not including the dead weight of the tender. Henry Bowen, the Chief Mechanical Engineer of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) from 1928 to 1949, tested the first two CPR K-1a Northerns introduced by his predecessor, then he designed a Selkirk type using the same boiler. The resulting T-1a Selkirk locomotive had the same number of axles as the Northern, but the driving wheels were reduced from in diameter, while the additional pair of driving wheels increased the tractive effort by 27%. In a later variant, Bowen added a booster to the trailing truck, enabling the Selkirk to exert nearly 50% more tractive effort than the similar-sized K-1a Northern. When it was demonstrated that a three-unit EMD F3 diesel-electric consist that weighed slightly less than the total engine and tender mass of a CPR K-1a Northern could produce nearly three times its tractive effort, high-powered steam locomotives were retired as quickly as finance allowed.

Usage

Australia

A total of twenty-three locomotives operated in Australia, built to three distinct designs. In 1929, the ten gauge South Australian Railways 500 class Mountain types of 1926 were equipped with steam boosters in the form of small auxiliary steam engines to increase their power. This necessitated the replacement of their two-wheel trailing trucks with four-wheel bogies. The booster contributed an additional to the tractive effort and permitted an increase in the locomotive's load across the Mount Lofty Ranges to 540 tons. In their new configuration, they were reclassified to 500B class.National Railway Museum, Port Adelaide - 500B-class 4-8-4 steam locomotive No.504 "TOM BARR-SMITH"
- retrieved 1 November 2006 520 class loco-South Australia-1984

In 1943, the first of twelve streamlined South Australian Railways 520 class locomotives were delivered from the Islington Workshops in

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

. Although they were large locomotives, they were designed to run on lightly constructed track, with the engine's weight being spread over eight axles. Their -diameter coupled wheels were specially balanced for running.National Railway Museum, Port Adelaide - 520-class 4-8-4 steam locomotive No.523 "Essington Lewis"
- retrieved 1 November 2006 H220-Newport

The H class three-cylinder of the Victorian Railways, built in 1941, was designed for heavy passenger work on the line between

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

and Adelaide. Nicknamed ''Heavy Harry'', it was the largest steam locomotive built in Australia and, after the NSWGR D57 4-8-2 and the South Australian Railways 500/500B class, the third-most-powerful non-articulated locomotive. It was one of the five Australian classes of three-cylinder locomotives. Construction of three locomotives commenced at the

Newport Workshops The Newport Railway Workshops is a facility in the Melbourne suburb of Newport, Victoria, Newport, Australia, that builds, maintains and refurbishes Rolling stock, railway rollingstock. It is located between the Williamstown railway line, Willia ...

in 1939 and three sets of frames were manufactured. Although work was halted due to the outbreak of the

, a shortage of motive power caused by increased wartime traffic resulted in authorisation being given for the completion of class leader H220. The locomotive went into service on 7 February 1941, but remained the sole member of the class because the other two partly-built locomotives were never completed. Since the necessary upgrades to the Adelaide line was deferred, H220 operated only on the line between Melbourne and Albury in

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

Brazil

To meet the acute locomotive shortages in Brazil after the Second World War, 27 scaled down American Niágara locomotives were ordered by the Brazilian (DNEF) from ALCO in 1946. These locomotives were supplied to the (VFRGS), which then purchased another fifteen directly from ALCO in 1947. They were designated the 1001 class. In 1956 and 1957, some of them were sold to

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

. The Baldwin Locomotive Works supplied similar locomotives to the (RMV no. 601 to 604), the (RVPSC no. 801 to 806) and the (NOB no. 621 to 623). After his retirement from the ( SNCF) in

, French engineer André Chapelon was appointed as the chief designer of locomotives at the French state-owned sales consortium (GELSA). In 1949, a contract was signed between DNEF and GELSA for the construction of 24 locomotives with a axle load. The order also included 66 Berkshires. All ninety locomotives were delivered by January 1953. The 24 class 242F Niágara locomotives were built by Société de Construction des Batignolles (). They were two-cylinder simple expansion locomotives, designed to burn poor quality local coal with a low calorific thermal value, with coupled wheels of diameter and a grate area of . They were coupled to big tenders which a coal capacity of . The Belpaire firebox included a combustion chamber and the boiler pressure was a high . One member of the class was tested on the Reseau Breton line in France before being shipped to Brazil. The DNEF allocated the locomotives to four of Brazil's state railways. Under Brazilian railway conditions, these modern locomotives were not popular with local railwaymen and were not used as much as had been hoped. Their maximum axle load of restricted their usefulness, as did their long tenders. In some places the turntables were too short to turn the locomotives and they had to be turned on triangles. In addition, the building specifications had called for a locomotive capable of a maximum speed of and the ability to negotiate curves with a minimum radius of . This last point proved to be a source of contention when it was later discovered that the curves in some places were of less than radius. As a consequence, the locomotives were involved in a number of derailments. In the late 1960s, they were relegated down from first class passenger trains. Some locomotives, allocated to Southern Brazil, were also tried in

Canada

Since the Canadian mainlines were generally laid with rail, Canadian were heavy and weighed in with axle loads up to . When the Canadian National Railway (CN) introduced its first in 1927, it used the name " Confederation" for the type, to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Canadian Confederation. The CN employed a total of 160 Confederation locomotives. Canadian Northern 6400 1939

* Altogether forty locomotives were delivered in 1927, twenty Class U-2-a from the Canadian Locomotive Company and twenty Class U-2-b from the Montreal Locomotive Works (MLW). * Another twenty Class U-2-c came from MLW in 1929 and another five Class U-2-d, also from MLW, in 1936. * The CN U-4a was one of the few streamlined Confederation types, with five locomotives built by MLW and also introduced in 1936. U-4a No. 6400 achieved fame in 1939 by heading the royal train (see 1939 royal tour of Canada) and being exhibited at the New York World's Fair in the same year. * Between 1940 and 1944, a total of ninety more Confederation locomotives, built in four batches, were added to the CN roster. The Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) experimented with the wheel arrangement in 1928, when two K-1a class locomotives were built in its Angus shops in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, the first locomotives to be built with a one-piece cast-steel frame in Canada. However, since the CPR mainlines were built to high standards, the railway preferred to develop the Hudson type for passenger work since it gave adequate power and was cheaper to maintain, while a ten-coupled type, the Selkirk, was adopted for heavy-duty work. Nevertheless, although the two CPR Northerns remained orphans, they proved their worth continuously for 25 years on overnight passenger trains between Montreal and

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

. Before their retirement in 1960, they were converted to oil-burners and worked freight trains in the prairie provinces.

Chile

In 1936, the German builder Henschel & Son supplied ten gauge locomotives to the (State Railways or FdE) of

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

, designated the . They were called (Super Mountains), since they followed the Mountain that was introduced six years earlier. They were equipped with mechanical stokers and Vanderbilt tenders and weighed 185 tonnes in working order. On test, they produced at a coal consumption of and a water consumption of per kilometre. The design was not repeated, however, and the FdE returned to the wheel arrangement with its subsequent acquisitions. The was used on the line from Almeda to Talca until it was replaced by diesels in 1969. One of them, no. 1009, is preserved in the Santiago Railway Museum.

China

In 1933, the Beijing–Hankou Railway in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

needed new locomotives for their

Guangzhou Guangzhou, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Canton or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, southern China. Located on the Pearl River about nor ...

to Shaoguan line, where gradients of around two percent, curves with less than radius and low capacity bridges existed. The requirement was therefore for a locomotive with high tractive effort and a low axle load. In 1935 and 1936, 24 600-series locomotives, designed and built in the United Kingdom by Vulcan Foundry, were delivered to the railway. The locomotives represented a significant improvement over previous designs and incorporated a more efficient E-type superheater and duplex steam valve to allow better steaming without enlarging the boiler, while the wheel arrangement allowed better weight distribution. When the

Changsha Changsha is the capital of Hunan, China. It is the 15th most populous city in China with a population of 10,513,100, the Central China#Cities with urban area over one million in population, third-most populous city in Central China, and the ...

–Guangzhou Railway was completed in October 1936, the locomotives were transferred to operate over the northern section between Hankou and Changsha on this new mainline, which connected Guangzhou with

Tianjin Tianjin is a direct-administered municipality in North China, northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the National Central City, nine national central cities, with a total population of 13,866,009 inhabitants at the time of the ...

and

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

. Following the establishment of the People's Republic of China, the locomotives were designated the China Railways KF class. Some of the locomotives survived in service until the early 1970s. One of them, no. 607, is preserved at the National Railway Museum in the United Kingdom and another is in China at the Beijing Railway Museum.

Czechoslovakia

The 60 T tank engines of Czechoslovak State Railways' 477 class represent the ultimate development of the CKD 4-8-2 tender locomotive, but added a four-wheel trailing truck as part of the conversion to a tank locomotive. One of five classes of three cylinder locomotives known, they were the last steam locomotives delivered to the Czechoslovak State Railways, with the last group built in 1955. Used primarily in local passenger service, they were pulling regularly timetabled trains as late as 1981. 477_Farbe

Three are preserved, as of 2018 two of them were still operational (013 and 043).

France

The lone prototype, numbered 242A1, of the (SNCF) was one of the five known classes of three-cylinder locomotives. It also had the distinction, along with an experimental high pressure locomotive of the New York Central Railroad in the United States, of being one of the two compound . It was rebuilt by Andre Chapelon from the unsuccessful 1932 three-cylinder simple expansion locomotive no. 241.101 of the into a compound locomotive. This remarkable locomotive achieved extraordinary power outputs and efficiency in coal and water consumption, but no further examples were built since the SNCF focused on electric traction for its future motive power development. SNCF Class 242 A1

No. 242A1 was put through trials on many test runs which showed that this locomotive was equal in power output to the existing SNCF electric locomotives at the time. Here, for the first time in Europe, was a steam locomotive with a axle load which was not only at least as powerful as the most powerful existing high-speed electric locomotive, but which could repeatedly achieve its maximum power without any mechanical trouble. Developing and with of peak tractive effort and of mean tractive effort; nothing in Europe could match it. While no. 242A1 was being tested, electrical engineers were designing the locomotives for the line between

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

and

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

, which was to be electrified. An electric locomotive that was to be slightly more powerful than the successful Paris to

Orléans Orléans (,"Orleans"
(US) and ''Mistral'' and other heavy passenger express trains would therefore not have been so outstanding if no. 242A1 had not existed and Andre Chapelon therefore indirectly influenced French electric locomotive design. In addition, no. 242A1 demonstrated the suitability of the Sauvage-Smith system of compounding for French conditions and the designs for future French steam locomotives that were prepared but never produced, were to make use of the Sauvage-Smith compounding system. In service, no. 242A1 was allocated to the Le Mans depot and, between 1950 and 1960, it hauled express trains over the between Le Mans and Brest. It did not remain in service long, however, and was withdrawn and scrapped in 1960.

Germany

In 1939, the

placed two prototype three-cylinder DRB Class 06 2D2-h3 heavy express locomotives in service, built by Krupp in 1938. Along with the lone 242A1 of the (SNCF) and the lone Victorian Railways H class in Australia, it was one of the five known classes of three-cylinder locomotives. Due to the outbreak of the Second World War and construction problems, only the two locomotives were produced. With three cylinders, large diameter coupled wheels, a high boiler pressure and of tractive effort, they were capable of a maximum speed of and could haul a 650 tonne train at . Many parts, such as the boiler, were standardised with that of the DRG Class 45 heavy freight locomotive. The streamlined Class 06, the only German , was the biggest steam locomotive ever built in Germany. The two locomotives were shedded in

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

and were placed in service on the line to Erfurt. No. 06.002 was bombed and destroyed during the hostilities and no. 06.001 survived until 1951, when it was retired and scrapped. The boiler of both the 06 and 45 were designed along the lines of Robert Garbe and Richard Paul "Kunibald" Wagner, who held that a combustion chamber or double-expansion compound steam engines were unnecessary when using superheated steam. While the DB railways in the FRG salvaged the Class 45 design by fitting it with a badly-needed mechanical stoker, there was no need for the powerful Class 06 Express locos; when express traffic resumed, DB Class V 200 and DB Class E 10 Diesel-hydraulic and AC electric engines made any investment into pre-World War II steam engines unacceptable for the DB leadership even though Friedrich Witte or Adolph Giesl-Gieslingen proposed many improvements.

Mexico

In 1946, the (N de M) placed orders with American Locomotive Company and Baldwin Locomotive Works for sixty Niágara locomotives for use on its principal express passenger services on upgraded lines, but the order was reduced to 32 in favour of diesel-electric locomotives. These QR-1 class locomotives were used mainly on lines north of

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

and were nicknamed . All were taken out of service in the late 1960s. Most survived and No. 3028, although not in operating condition, was stored on the deadline at the New Hope and Ivyland Railroad in New Hope, Pennsylvania.

New Zealand

New Zealand adopted the narrow gauge to minimise railway construction costs and, due to the mountainous terrain, the loading gauge was restricted to a maximum height of and width of , making it one of the most restrictive loading gauges in the world. While this undoubtedly reduced the cost of building the two hundred-odd tunnels on the railway system, it posed major problems for locomotive designers which were exacerbated by an axle load limit of .The Nineteenth Century Heritage: The Steam Railways
/ref> After the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, the New Zealand Railways Department (NZR) had the largest fleet of locomotives outside North America, with 71 similar locomotives in the K class, K^A class and K^B class. The K class was designed by R.J. Gard to the requirements of Locomotive Superintendent P.R. Angus and was built locally at the Hutt Workshops of the NZR. The first locomotives were delivered during the depths of the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

in 1932. The grate and comparatively large boiler was slung low on a narrow frame to keep within the height restrictions, and width restrictions were adhered to with sloped cab sides and the mounting of two single stage air compressors in front of the smokebox. Locomotive Ka 942

After the construction of thirty K class locomotives, the NZR developed the design to strengthen the frame and introduced other improvements, such as roller bearings on all axles and ACFI () feedwater heaters. Introduced from 1939, they were also built in NZR workshops, most of them with streamlined shrouding to cover the external pipe work of their feedwater heater systems. The first 35 locomotives were designated K^A class and worked on the North Island mainlines with the older K class locomotives. Six more were built, designated K^B class, for service on the steeply graded Midland line on the South Island. These locomotives were equipped with trailing truck boosters, which raised their tractive effort by . On occasion, these recorded speeds up to . The streamlining shrouds of the K^A and K^B classes were removed in the late 1940s when the ACFI feedwater heaters were replaced with exhaust steam injectors. The last of these locomotives was withdrawn in 1968 due to dieselisation. Seven have been preserved, K class numbers 900, 911 and 917, K^A class numbers 935, 942 and 945 and K^B class no. 968.

South Africa

Between 1953 and 1955, the South African Railways (SAR) placed fifty Class 25NC Northern locomotives in service. Designed under the direction of Chief Mechanical Engineer L.C. Grubb, eleven of these locomotives were built by North British Locomotive Company (NBL) and 39 by Henschel & Son. They were tended by Type EW1 tenders which rode on six-wheeled bogies. Two versions of the same locomotive were built, the Class 25NC being the non-condensing version, hence the "NC" suffix to the class number. 3511 - Hartswater 240481

Ninety Class 25 condensing locomotives were introduced simultaneously, acquired as a means to deal with the shortage of adequate supplies of suitable locomotive water in the arid Karoo. The design work on the engine's condensing apparatus and the enormous condensing tender was carried out by Henschel, who built one locomotive complete with tender as well as sixty of the condensing tenders, to which they held the patent. The other 89 condensing locomotives and thirty tenders were built by NBL. The Type CZ condensing tenders were slightly longer than their engines. One-third of the total length of the tender was taken up by the water tank and coal bunker, while the rest was taken up by eight large radiators on each side, cooled by five steam-driven roof-mounted fans. Roller bearings were used throughout on all these locomotives, including the coupling and connecting rods, the crosshead gudgeon pins as well as the three-axle bogies of both the standard and condensing tenders. The leading bogies and coupled wheels had Cannon-type axle boxes. The cylinders and frames were cast in one piece, while the steel cylinders and steam chests were fitted with cast iron liners. The tender frames of both locomotive types were also one-piece steel water-bottom castings. Since they were entirely mounted on roller bearings, very little effort was required to move these big locomotives. On the condensing locomotives, spent steam was recycled and condensed back to water for repeated use. Since the steam was not expelled up the chimney, the smokebox contained a steam turbine-driven fan beneath the chimney to keep the draught going. Visual evidence of this altered and slightly longer smokebox is the locomotive's banjo-face smokebox front. The condensing system proved extremely efficient and reduced water consumption by as much as 90% by using the same water up to eight times over, which gave the Class 25 a range of between water refills. In addition, the hot condensate feedwater resulted in significantly reduced coal consumption. However, the Class 25 was a complex locomotive that required high maintenance, especially on the turbine blower fans in the smokebox, whose blades needed to be replaced frequently due to damage by solid particles in the exhaust. The equally complex condensing tender also required frequent maintenance. Between 1973 and 1980, partly motivated by the spread of electric and diesel-electric traction, all but three of the locomotives were converted to free-exhausting and non-condensing locomotives and reclassified to Class 25NC. In the process their condensing tenders were also rebuilt to ordinary coal-and-water tenders by removing the condensing radiators and roof fans and replacing it with a massive round-topped water tank. Since the tenders were built on single cast-steel main frames, it was impractical to attempt to shorten them. Locomotives with these rebuilt Type EW2 tenders were soon nicknamed (Sausage dog or Dachshund). 3450 - Pretoria 250481

The Class 26, popularly known as the ''Red Devil'', was rebuilt from Henschel-built Class 25NC no. 3450 by mechanical engineer David Wardale. The rebuilding took place at the Salt River shops of the SAR in

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

and was based on the principles developed by Argentinian mechanical engineer Livio Dante Porta. The primary objectives of the modifications were to improve the combustion and steaming rate to reduce the emission of wasteful black smoke and to overcome the problem of clinkering. This was achieved by the use of a Gas Producer Combustion System (GPCS), which relies on the gasification of coal on a low temperature firebed so that the gases are then fully burnt above the firebed. The GPCS minimises the amount of air being drawn up through the firebed, the main source of air required for combustion being through ancillary air intakes on the firebox sides above the firebed.The Ultimate Steam Page
/ref>
/ref>
/ref> The modified locomotive became the only Class 26. Compared to an unmodified Class 25NC, the ''Red Devil'' achieved a 28% measured saving on coal and a 30% measured saving on water, measured during freight service, and a 43% increase in drawbar power based on the maximum recorded drawbar power. Its approximate maximum range in full load freight service on 1% to % grades was based on its coal capacity, and based on its water capacity. The maximum recorded freight load hauled relative to gradient was on 2% grades, and it could haul a passenger train at a constant speed of on 1% grades. The ''Red Devil'' great power, however, also turned out to be its one weakness. The Class 25NC had already proven to be on the slippery side and the much more powerful Class 26, with essentially still the same dimensions as the Class 25NC, was even worse. It was a poor performer at starting or at low speeds on steep gradients.

Soviet Union

Outside North America, the largest fleet of locomotives was the Class P36 of the (SZhD) or Soviet Railways, of which 251 were built by the

Kolomna Kolomna (, ) is a historic types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in Moscow Oblast, Russia, situated at the confluence of the Moskva River, Moskva and Oka Rivers, (by rail) southeast of Moscow. Population: History Mentioned for the fir ...

locomotive works between 1949 and 1956. As the last Soviet standard class steam locomotive, the Class P36 shared some common components and design attributes with earlier standard Soviet designs such as the L class Decapod type and LV class Santa Fe type, as well as some common attributes with the P34 class Mallet and P38 class Yellowstone type Mallet. For example, the P36 and LV classes shared the same feedwater heater, made by the Bryansk machine factory. Apart from a trio of fully streamlined Baltic-type locomotives, they were the only semi-streamlined steam locomotives built in Russia. The Class P36 was one of the best passenger steam locomotive classes built in the Soviet Union. They had boilers with of heating surface that had a working boiler pressure of . Russian-designed roller bearings were fitted throughout and the boilers were designed to provide a continuous steaming capacity of per of heating surface in the boiler. With its cylinders and diameter coupled wheels, it could easily attain speeds up to with passenger trains of up to . The Class P36 first appeared on the '' Oktyabrskaya Railway'' (October Railway) to haul principal express trains between

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

and Leningrad, but they did not remain on this mainline long. Diesels took over after only a few years and the P36 class locomotives were transferred to other lines and depots, such as the Moscow– Kursk and Moscow– Ryazan lines, Kalinin, Krasnoyarsk, Belarusian Railway, Melitopol depot, Kuibyshev and Alexandrov depot. Later, when electrification and dieselisation expanded, many of the Class P36 locomotives were transferred to work on the

Lviv Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

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, Eastern Siberia, and Transbaikal Railways. The last was withdrawn from regular scheduled express passenger train service in 1974. All were staged in full working order and kept in reserve for times of extraordinary demand. At certain intervals, the locomotives were taken out from staging, steamed up and put to work to haul trains to test the condition of the locomotives. In the late 1980s, these strategic reserves of locomotives were disbanded and the Class P36 locomotives were distributed to museums and for preservation. Some that had not seen regular use for more than fifteen years and were in the worst mechanical condition, were scrapped. It was found that the roller bearings suffered most by standing unused. When the computerised new class numbers were introduced by the Russian Ministry of Railways, the Class P36 were designated Class 1000.0001 to 1000.0251. In the 1990s, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, a number were sold to private train operators.

Spain

The 242F class express passenger locomotives were designed by the Red Nacional de los Ferrocarriles Españoles (RENFE) in 1955 and were remarkably well-proportioned. Developed from a preceding Mountain type, they had improved steam passages and developed 30 to 40 per cent more power at medium cut-offs and high speed. Ten of these locomotives were built by in

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to burn fuel oil. They had Witte type smoke deflectors and were fitted with a double KylChap (Kylälä-Chapelon) blast-pipe, a Worthington feedwater heater and a (TIA) water-softening device. To increase the comfort of the locomotive crew, the cabs had wooden floors mounted on springs, and the seats of the driver and fireman were also sprung, a very welcome improvement for long runs on poor tracks. These locomotives were painted in a green livery when turned out from the builder's works at Barcelona and were consequently nicknamed (The Greens). The 242F class was the fastest Spanish steam locomotive. When tested on the line from Barcelona to Tarragona across of practically level and straight line between Vilanova i la Geltrú and Sant Vicent, a speed exceeding was sustained twice, first with a train of 430 tons and then with a train of 480 tons. High-capacity tests took place between

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

and Ávila when a train weighing 426 tons, including a dynamometer car, was hauled at sustained speeds of up a gradient of (1 in 286), up a gradient of (1 in 95) and up a gradient of (1 in 44.5). The gross horsepower figures recorded with the dynamometer car were 1790, 2350 and 2320 respectively, the calculated horsepower on the rail being 2600, 3400 and 3580. The latter output translates to about . With these locomotives, there was some concern about water supply. The capacity of the tender was limited at only and, with few watering points in service, the full capacity of the locomotive was not always used for fear of running short of this essential commodity in the semi-arid Spanish landscape. For example, for the stretch between Medina del Campo and Burgos that rises with an uphill start, three intermediate stops, one slack and some shunting movements to couple extra coaches to the train, the amount of water consumed was about . All ten locomotives were allocated to the Miranda de Ebro shed to haul principal heavy express trains. In the 1960s, they were a familiar sight at the head of the premier express trains, but in 1971 they were transferred entirely to semi-fast passenger trains and even to the haulage of heavy seasonal fruit trains between Castejón and Alsasua from October to January. One locomotive, no. 242F.2009, is preserved at the Madrid Railway Museum.

United Kingdom

In 1938 William Stanier considered a 4-6-4 express passenger locomotive design, together with a 4-8-4 version as a large mixed-traffic locomotive. War intervened and suspended development of express passenger locomotives, but the 4-8-4 design was re-examined in 1942 by Fairburn, the acting CME, as a possible post-war type for fast fitted freights. While no steam locomotives were known to be this type, an experimental diesel-mechanical locomotive, the British Rail 10100, had this wheel arrangement, but it was scrapped after a gearbox failure caused a loss of interest in the project.

United States

The American was a heavy locomotive, with nearly all examples in the United States having axle loads of more than . On railroads with rail of , axle loads of more than were permitted. Exceptionally heavy were therefore introduced on the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe (Santa Fe), Chicago and North Western (CNW), Chesapeake and Ohio (C&O),

Milwaukee Road The Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (CMStP&P), better known as the Milwaukee Road , was a Class I railroad that operated in the Midwestern United States, Midwest and Pacific Northwest, Northwest of the United States from 1847 ...

(MILW), Northern Pacific (NP), Norfolk and Western (N&W), Spokane, Portland and Seattle (SP&S) and Western Maryland (WM) railroads. The Santa Fe Class 2900 had the heaviest axle load of all at as well as being the heaviest ever built, weighing total. The lightest in the United States were the six H-10 class locomotives of the Toledo, Peoria and Western (TPW), with an axle load of . Some were used on exceptionally long runs. * The Santa Fe Heavy Mountains were rostered to haul the ''Chief'' and ''Fast Mail'' trains between

La Junta, Colorado La Junta is a home rule municipality in, the county seat of, and the most populous municipality of Otero County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 7,322 at the 2020 United States census. La Junta is located on the Arkansa ...

, and

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

across , and also handled the ''Grand Canyon Limited'' between Los Angeles and Wellington, Kansas, across . From 1942, they ran through from Los Angeles to Kansas City via the Belen Cutoff and

Amarillo, Texas Amarillo ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for "yellow") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Potter County, Texas, Potter County, though most of the southern half of the city extends into Randall County, Texas, Randall County ...

, a distance of , setting a new record for through steam locomotive rosters.Vernon L. Smith. ''The Case for the American Steam Locomotive''. Trains Magazine, August 1967 * The Niagaras of the New York Central Railroad (NYC) also accomplished long runs on New York to

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

passenger trains, including the ''Chicagoan'' and the ''Commodore Vanderbilt''. * The Northern Pacific hauled the ''North Coast Limited'' across from St. Paul, Minnesota, to Livingston, Montana. * The Great Northern S-2 Class of hauled the ''Empire Builder'' across from St. Paul, Minnesota, to Wenatchee, Washington, and possibly as far west to

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

, a maximum distance of . Several of the earlier locomotive models were modified or rebuilt during their service lives. * Santa Fe developed their for years, and named the classes based on the number of the first locomotive in the class. The fourteen 3751 class locomotives that were introduced in 1927 and 1928 were of conservative design, with driving wheels and a boiler pressure of . In 1938, these locomotives were rebuilt with more modern features, including new Boxpok driving wheels, wider steam passages to and from the cylinders, the boiler pressure raised to and roller bearings on all engine axles. This gave them a maximum drawbar power of at . Engine No. 3752 was equipped with Franklin rotary cam poppet valve gear and achieved the very low steam rate of 13.5 lb per indicated horsepower-hour These locomotives were permitted to run at , but they were alleged to have exceeded several times. * The heavy Class H Northerns of the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad were rebuilt in 1940 with lightweight rods, Boxpok driving wheels and roller bearings on all axles, and the boiler pressure was raised from . Some years later, 24 of them underwent another rebuild which included new nickel-steel frames, new cylinders, pilot beams and air reservoirs, new fireboxes and other minor improvements. These were reclassified as Class H-1. * The S-2 Class Northerns of the Great Northern Railway were rebuilt to have Timken roller bearings on every axle in 1945, replacing their original plain bearings. Vestibule cabs were added to engine 2577 in the early 1930s and engines 2582, 2586, 2587 and 2588 by the late 1940s. Some Northern locomotives were also rebuilt from older engines. Between 1945 and 1947, the Reading Railroad rebuilt thirty of their heavy I-10 class Consolidations to booster-fitted Northern locomotives with driving wheels. An additional ring was added at the smokebox end of the boiler, which increased the length of the boiler tubes from to , and a larger smokebox was installed which increased the distance between the tube plate and the chimney centre line from . Steam pressure was raised from . Four syphons were fitted, three in the firebox proper and one in the combustion chamber. A twelve-wheeled tender was attached, weighing 167 tons in working order, with a capacity of 23.5 tons of coal and of water. A new cast-steel frame was used, with the cylinders cast integral and roller bearings on all axles. They were reclassified to T1 and numbered 2100 to 2129. Two of these locomotives, preserved for hauling special trains, were still in use in 1963. 4449idle

The Northerns were workhorses that went without much public recognition, with a few exceptions. The GS-4 class ''Golden State'' locomotives of Southern Pacific Railroad (SP), of which 36 were built by Lima Locomotive Works in 1941 and 1942, were semi-streamlined and were given a striking livery with a broad orange valence over the wheels below a narrow red band that came halfway up the cab windows. The locomotives headed the '' Coast Daylight'' train on the railroad's Coast Line between Los Angeles and

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

. The television program '' Adventures of Superman'' is introduced with a shot of an SP GS-4 as the narrator declares that

Superman Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...

is "more powerful than a locomotive." One of them, Southern Pacific 4449, has been restored and is in operating condition. Even after the demise of steam, the Northern type has been in the spotlight of publicity and, along with Union Pacific 844 of the Union Pacific FEF Series and Norfolk and Western 611 of the Norfolk and Western Class J series, among other Northerns, have been the favoured type to provide mainline excursions in the United States. The former is the only steam locomotive of a Class I railroad never to have been retired.American-Rails.com - The 4-8-4 Northern Type
(Accessed on 10 November 2016)

North American production list

Most North American s were built by ALCO, Lima and the Baldwin Locomotive Works, while Canadian National Railway's fleet was built by Montreal Locomotive Works. Only the Canadian Pacific Railway, the Norfolk and Western Railway, the St. Louis Southwestern Railway (Cotton Belt) and the Reading Railroad built or rebuilt their own. The Missouri Pacific rebuilt one class of their s from their class BK-63 2-8-4s. The Northern type was used by 37 railroads in the Americas, including 31 railroads in the United States, three in Canada, one in Mexico and two in Brazil. In all, there were fewer than 1,200 locomotives of this type in North America, compared to the approximately 2,500 Mountain types and 6,800 Pacific types. By far the largest fleet was owned by the CN and its subsidiary, the Grand Trunk Western Railroad, with altogether 203 locomotives.

Preservation by country

In many countries, the was a late development of the steam locomotive, close to the time of steam's demise. Many more were therefore preserved than other older wheel arrangements, either plinthed or in museums, with several being kept in running condition. Some of the more notable preserved Northerns worldwide are listed here by country of origin. ; Australia * South Australian Railways 504 "Tom Barr Smith": on static display at the National Railway Museum, Port Adelaide. * South Australian Railways 520 "Sir Malcolm Barclay‑Harvey": Restored to service in 1972, operating the SteamRanger tourist railway between Mount Barker and Victor Harbor at the time. Removed from operation in 1998, but currently undergoing restoration. * South Australian Railways 523 "Essington Lewis": on static display at the National Railway Museum, Port Adelaide. * Victorian Railways H220 (aka "Heavy Harry"): On static display at the Newport Railway Museum in

, this locomotive is the only surviving three-cylinder example of a 4-8-4. ; Canada * Canadian National 6153: On static display at the Canadian Railway Museum in Delson, Quebec. * Canadian National 6167: On static display in downtown

Guelph Guelph ( ; 2021 Canadian Census population 143,740) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Known as The Royal City, it is roughly east of Kitchener, Ontario, Kitchener and west of Downtown Toronto, at the intersection of Ontario Highway 6, ...

, Ontario. * Canadian National 6200: Canada Science and Technology Museum,

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

, Ontario. * Canadian National 6213: On static display in downtown

, Ontario, at the Toronto Railway Heritage Centre. * Canadian National 6218: Fort Erie Railroad Museum, Fort Erie, Ontario. Used by CN on excursions in the 1960s and 1970s. * Canadian National 6400: Canada Science and Technology Museum,

, Ontario. * Canadian Pacific 3100: Canada Science and Technology Museum,

, Ontario. * Canadian Pacific 3101: On display at EVRAZ (formerly IPSCO Steel),

Regina, Saskatchewan Regina ( ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province, and is a commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. As of the 2021 Canadian census, ...

. ; China * Class KF1 006: Displayed at the China Railway Museum,

. * Class KF 7: Displayed at the National Railway Museum,

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

, England. ;MexicoSurviving 4-8-4 steam locomotives in Mexico
/ref> * N de M 3027: Guadalajara, Jalisco. * N de M 3028: Retired in 1966, acquired by the Great North Eastern Railroad Foundation, and displayed at the Altamont, New York, fairgrounds until 1983. On lease to the New Hope and Ivyland Railroad. * N de M 3030: Zacatecas, Zacatecas. * N de M 3031: Huehuetoca,

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. * N de M 3033: Pachuca, Hidalgo. * N de M 3034: Puebla, Puebla. * N de M 3035: Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes. * N de M 3036: Leon, Guanajuato. * N de M 3038:

. * N de M 3039: Monterrey, Nuevo Leon. * N de M 3040: Oriental, Puebla. * N de M 3056: Tequisuiapan, Queretaro. ; New Zealand * K 900: On static display at the Museum of Transport & Technology,

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

* K 911: Under overhaul by the Mainline Steam Heritage Trust, Plimmerton. * K 917: Stored, missing many parts, Steam Incorporated, Paekākāriki. * K^A 935: Awaiting overhaul at the Silver Stream Railway, near

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

, New Zealand. * K^A 942: In service at the Mainline Steam Heritage Trust, Plimmerton. Was used on mainline excursions. * K^A 945: Stored in dismantled condition at Steam Incorporated, Paekākāriki. * K^B 968: Owned by the Canterbury Railway Society, leased to the Mainline Steam Heritage Trust. Under overhaul at Christchurch. ; South Africa * Class 25 3511: Condenser, staged at Beaconsfield, Kimberley. * Class 25NC 3405: Displayed at the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre, Quainton, England * Class 25NC 3432: Stored at Mainline Steam, Auckland, New Zealand. * Class 25NC 3437: Owned by Steamnet 2000, restored and steamed in April 2017. * Class 25NC 3442: Operated by Rovos Rail, Capital Park,

Pretoria Pretoria ( ; ) is the Capital of South Africa, administrative capital of South Africa, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to the country. Pretoria strad ...

. * Class 25NC 3454: Ex condenser with dual Lempor exhaust, staged at

Bloemfontein Bloemfontein ( ; ), also known as Bloem, is the capital and the largest city of the Free State (province), Free State province in South Africa. It is often, and has been traditionally, referred to as the country's "judicial capital", alongsi ...

. * Class 25NC 3484: Ex condenser, operated by Rovos Rail, Capital Park,

. * Class 25NC 3508: Stored at Mainline Steam, Auckland, New Zealand. * Class 25NC 3533: Ex condenser, operated by Rovos Rail, Capital Park,

. * Class 26 3450: The ''Red Devil'', staged at Monument Station,

. ; Soviet Union * P36-0001: Restored to working order at Roslavl in 2005. Currently displayed at Rizhsky Station, Moscow. * P36-0027: Tikhoretsk for restoration to working order. * P36-0031: Troitsk in working order. * P36-0032: The only private steam locomotive operated in Russia, owned by GW Travel. * P36-0050: Brest Railway Museum. * P36-0058: Zlatoust derelict. * P36-0064: Brest Railway Museum, Belarus Railways. * P36-0071: Cosmetically restored and on display in Nizhny Novgorod. * P36-0091: Skovorodino station. * P36-0094: Belogorsk station. * P36-0096: Severobaik station. * P36-0097: Seyatel Station Museum. * P36-0107: Park near

Irkutsk Irkutsk ( ; rus, Иркутск, p=ɪrˈkutsk; Buryat language, Buryat and , ''Erhüü'', ) is the largest city and administrative center of Irkutsk Oblast, Russia. With a population of 587,891 Irkutsk is the List of cities and towns in Russ ...

. * P36-0110: Mogzhon station. * P36-0111: Orsha station,

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

. * P36-0120: Now restored to working order at Tikhoretsk. Returned to Moscow 03/09/13 for the '1520 Railway Exhibition' at Scherbinka. Currently based in Moscow. * P36-0123: Prora Museum, Ruegen Island, Germany. * P36-0124: Chernyshevsk depot. * P36-0147: Sharya station. * P36-0182: Cosmetically restored and on display in Chelyabinsk. * P36-0192: Taiga station. * P36-0218: Tikhoretsk/Bataysk, restored to working order. * P36-0228: Uulan Baatar Railway Museum,

Mongolia Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south and southeast. It covers an area of , with a population of 3.5 million, making it the world's List of countries and dependencies by po ...

. * P36-0232: Cosmetically restored at Zlatoust in 2009 for display in Samara. May display a different number. * P36-0249: Shushary Railway Museum, St. Petersburg. * P36-0250:

Tashkent Tashkent (), also known as Toshkent, is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uzbekistan, largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of more than 3 million people as of April 1, 2024. I ...

Railway Museum, Uzbekistan. * P36-0251: Warsaw Station Museum, St. Petersburg. ; Spain * RENFE242F-2009: Retired in 1973, restored in 1989, and another time in 2005. Although in running order, it is usually on static display at the Museo del Ferrocarril, housed in the former Delicias Railway Station. *Andorra, Escatrón & Samper de Calanda steam locomotives, retired in 1984. One is displayed in Casetas, Zaragoza, and the other two are displayed in Andorra, Teruel ; United States * Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe 2903: On display at the Illinois Railway Museum in Union, Illinois. * Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe 2912: On static display in Pueblo, Colorado. * Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe 2913: On display in Fort Madison, Iowa. * Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe 2921: On display at the Amtrak Station in Modesto, California. * Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe 2925: On display at the California State Railroad Museum in

Sacramento, California Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat, seat of Sacramento County, California, Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento Rive ...

. * Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe 2926: Currently under restoration for excursion service in Albuquerque at a site leased from the GSA near 8th Street and Haynes Avenue. More information a
New Mexico Steam Locomotive and Railroad Historical Society
* Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe 3751: Restored in 1991, owned by the San Bernardino Railroad Historical Society, and is operated in excursion service. It is the oldest surviving , the first one to be built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works and the first to be built for the Santa Fe. * Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe 3759: On Display in Kingman, Arizona.
Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe 3768:
On display at the Great Plains Transportation Museum in

Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the List of cities in Kansas, most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 397, ...

. * Chesapeake and Ohio 614: Restored in 1980 and again in 1995, owned by RJD America, LLC. On display at Clifton Forge, Virginia, awaiting restoration to operating condition. * Chicago, Burlington and Quincy 5614: On display at Patee Park in St. Joseph, Missouri. * Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy 5629: On display at the Colorado Railroad Museum in Golden, Colorado. * Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy 5631: On display at Rotary Park in Sheridan, Wyoming. * Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy 5633: On display at the Douglas Railroad Interpretive Center, Douglas, Wyoming. * Grand Trunk Western 6323: On display at the Illinois Railway Museum in Union, Illinois. * Grand Trunk Western 6325: Briefly operated on the Ohio Central Railroad, now on display at the Age of Steam Roundhouse in Sugarcreek, Ohio. * Great Northern 2584: On display at the Havre depot in

Havre, Montana Havre ( ) is the county seat of and the largest city in Hill County, Montana, United States. Havre is nicknamed the crown jewel of the Hi-Line (Montana), Hi-Line. It is said to be named after the city of Le Havre in France. As of the 2020 Unite ...

. * Milwaukee Road 261: Restored in 1993, owned, maintained, and operated by the Friends of the 261 in

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

. * Milwaukee Road 265: On display at the Illinois Railway Museum in Union, Illinois. * Nashville, Chattanooga, and St. Louis 576,

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

- Presently undergoing Restoration. * Norfolk and Western 611: Ran frequent excursions in the 1980s and early 1990s, then placed on static display at the Virginia Museum of Transportation,

Roanoke, Virginia Roanoke ( ) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia, United States. It lies in Southwest Virginia, along the Roanoke River, in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Blue Ridge range of the greater Appalachian Mountains. Roanok ...

. The second restoration to operational condition completed in mid 2015 at the North Carolina Transportation Museum, Spencer, North Carolina. * Reading 2100: Restored in 1988 and 1998, converted to burn oil in the Early 2000s. On long-term lease to the American Steam Railroad. Currently under restoration to operating condition. * Reading 2101: On display at the B&O Railroad Museum in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the List of United States ...

. * Reading 2102: Reading & Northern Railroad, Port Clinton, Pennsylvania, has been restored to operating condition in April 2022. * Reading 2124: Used on the "Reading Rambles" in the late 1950s and 1960s. On display at Steamtown National Historic Site in

Scranton, Pennsylvania Scranton is a city in and the county seat of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, United States. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Scranton is the most populous city in Northeastern Pennsylvania and the ...

. * Cotton Belt 819: Built in 1942, it was the last locomotive built by the Cotton Belt and the last Cotton Belt steam locomotive built. Restored to service in 1986 and housed at the Arkansas Railroad Museum in

Pine Bluff, Arkansas Pine Bluff, officially the City of Pine Bluff, is the List of municipalities in Arkansas, tenth-most populous city in the U.S. state of Arkansas and the county seat of Jefferson County, Arkansas, Jefferson County. The population of the city wa ...

. * St. Louis-San Francisco 4500: As the Frisco '' Meteor'', ran overnight passenger service between St. Louis, Tulsa and Oklahoma City. Cosmetically restored and relocated in 2011 to the Route 66 Historical Village at 3770 Southwest Blvd in

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa ( ) is the List of municipalities in Oklahoma, second-most-populous city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the List of United States cities by population, 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The po ...

. * St. Louis-San Francisco 4501: Built in 1942, ran overnight passenger service as the Frisco '' Meteor'' between St. Louis, Tulsa, and Oklahoma City. Donated to the Dallas Museum of the American Railroad in September 1964. * St. Louis-San Francisco 4516: On display at the Missouri State Fairgrounds in Sedalia, Missouri. * St. Louis-San Francisco 4524: On display at Grant Beach Park in Springfield, Missouri. This was the last steam locomotive built for the Frisco. * Spokane, Portland and Seattle 700: Restored in 1990 by the Oregon Rail Heritage Foundation, and is operated in excursion service. No. 700 is stored at the Oregon Rail Heritage Center in Portland, Oregon, along with SP 4449. It is the only surviving original Spokane, Portland and Seattle railway steam locomotive. * Southern Pacific 4449: Still in operation, served as the locomotive for the Bicentennial American Freedom Train. Stored at the Oregon Rail Heritage Center in Portland, Oregon along with SPS 700. * Southern Pacific 4460: On display at the National Museum of Transportation in St. Louis, Missouri. This was the last steam locomotive used in revenue service by SP. * Union Pacific 814: On display at the Rock Island Depot Museum in Council Bluffs, Iowa. * Union Pacific 833: On display at the Utah State Railroad Museum in Ogden, Utah. * Union Pacific 838: Union Pacific Railroad, stored in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Used solely as a source of spare parts for sister engine 844. * Union Pacific 844: Formerly Union Pacific 8444 is the last steam locomotive built for Union Pacific Railroad (12/1944). Part of UP heritage fleet, often used for running in excursion service, and on occasion revenue service. Never retired, it is the longest continuously operating steam locomotive on a Class 1 Railroad. Kept at Cheyenne, Wyoming, when not on excursion.

References

{{Whyte types 8,4-8-4