These locomotives were popular in Europe, particularly in Germany and Russia; British use of the type was confined to the period during and after World War II. In the United States, the 2-10-0 was not widely popular but was a favorite of a small number of railroads which operated mostly in mountainous terrain. Among these was the Erie Railroad, a major Chicago to New York trunk line railroad, and the Pennsylvania Railroad, whose heavily graded routes crossed the Allegheny Mountains.
The 2-10-0's main advantage was that five out of six of its axles were powered, meaning almost all the weight was available for traction rather than being distributed over pilot and trailing wheels. The long rigid wheelbase caused problems on tightly curved track, so blind drivers were the norm, either on the central axle, and/or on the second and/or fourth axles. Often lateral motion devices were attached to the leading drive axle.
The wheel arrangement's disadvantages included the firebox size restriction caused by the lack of trailing wheel. This meant the firebox was fitted in between the wheels (common on earlier locomotives) and was long and narrow, or if mounted above the driving wheels, was wide and long but shallow. Many locomotives chose the latter option. A firebox mounted over the drivers also restricted the diameter of the driving wheels, which in turn limited speed. As with the Consolidation (2-8-0), "chopping" at speed ensured a rough ride for the crew due to instability caused by the wheel arrangement. In fact, backing any locomotive without a trailing axle was restricted to under twenty miles per hour or less. Most 2-10-0s were not operated at speeds greater than 50mph (80km/h).
The first Decapods were built for the Lehigh Valley Railroad in the late-1860s. They proved too rough on the track because of their long coupled wheelbase.[1] No more followed for 19 years, until the Northern Pacific Railway bought two for use on the switchbacks over Stampede Pass, while the 2-mile (3.2km) tunnel was being built.[2] In low-speed service where high tractive effort was critical, these Decapods were successful. Small numbers of other Decapods were built over the next twenty years, mostly for service in steeply graded mountainous areas where power at low speeds was the requirement. The type did not prove as popular as the successful Consolidation (2-8-0) type. Among Decapod users was the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. The engines were tandem compounds but their ongoing reversing limitations became the genesis of the 2-10-2 wheel arrangement.
The first boost in the number of Decapods occurred when Imperial Russia ordered approximately 1,200 Decapods from American builders during World War I. When the Bolshevik revolution occurred in 1917, 857 had already been delivered,[3] but more than 200 were either awaiting shipment or were in the process of construction.[3] These stranded locomotives were adopted by the United States Railroad Administration (USRA), the body created by the Government to oversee and control the railroads during the War, converted to American standards, and put to use on American railroads. Small and light-footed, these Russian decapods proved popular with smaller railroads, and many of them remained in service long after the USRA's control of the railroads ceased.[4] Many indeed lasted until the end of steam on those railroads.
The same Russian Decapod, showing the large gap between the boiler and drivers, typical of locomotives designed for Russia
Swengel suggested the 2-10-0 arrangement was 'obsolete' by 1916, when the Pennsylvania Railroad commenced an experiment with a 2-10-0 locomotive at its Juniata plant.[5] Most 10 coupled engines constructed for U.S. railroads during World War I were of the USRA 2-10-2 arrangement, but the PRR committed to 122 of the 2-10-0s.[6][7] Swengel argued this commitment to the 2-10-0, nicknamed "Deks", was controversial even in 1916 and was more so in 1922 when the PRR placed additional orders. The PRR was soon the biggest user of Decapods in the United States. The type was ideally suited to the Pennsy's heavily graded Allegheny Mountains routes, which required lugging ability according to tractive effort, not speed according to horse power.
The PRR bought 598 2-10-0s including 123 built at its own shops. In one of the largest locomotive orders ever, the rest came from the Baldwin Locomotive Works. The PRR 2-10-0s weighed 386,100lb (175.1t) and developed about 90,000lbf (400.3kN) of tractive effort[lower-roman 1] with an axle loading of over 70,000lb (32t). The engines steamed at 250psi (1.72MPa) and had a relatively large superheater. The grate area of about 70sqft (6.5m2) was on the small side, but a mechanical stoker partly compensated for this.[6]
The PRR decapod, class I1s, was unlike the Russian decapod; it was huge, taking advantage of the PRR's heavy trackage and high axle loading, with a fat, free-steaming boiler that earned the type the nickname of 'Hippos' on the PRR. Two giant cylinders (30½ x 32inch) gave the I1s power and their tenders permitted hard and long workings between stops. They were unpopular with the crews, for they were hard riding.[8] The last operations on the PRR were 1957.[8]
A small number of other Decapods were ordered by other railroads; the I-2 Decapods built for the Western Maryland Railway were the largest ever built, at almost 420,000lb (190t) weight, and are a notable exception to the rule of thumb for the comfort of the ride on a 2-10-0 wheel arrangement, crews said the engines cruised smoothly up to 50mph without becoming a rough ride. (After the running gear was redesigned by the WM) The WM's I-2 are also noted as the strongest Decapods ever built, at 96,315lbs of tractive effort. (Not to be confused with the 10 Russian Decapods the WM held in their roster, which were standard Russian Decapods aside from heavier steel frames the WM used to replace the original cast iron frames, the new frames also made the WM Russian Decapods 2 inches longer than other Russian Decapods)
Baldwin developed two standard 2-10-0s for railroads with low axle-load requirements.[9]
Thirteen Decapod locomotives survive in the US, including two Baldwin standards, six Russian Decapods and one PRR I1. Two, Great Western 90, a Baldwin Decapod at the Strasburg Rail Road, and Frisco 1630, a Russian Decapod at the Illinois Railway Museum, are operational. One Decapod survives as a static exhibit at the North Carolina Transportation Museum in Spencer, North Carolina (Seaboard Air Line 2-10-0 #544).
The 2-10-0 arrangement was a very popular one in Germany. The first were built by the individual state railways from 1915 to 1918, and these later became the DRGBR58. The DRG then produced a number of standard classes of 2-10-0s: the heavy 3-cylinder BR44 (1753 built), the two-cylinder version BR43 (35 built), and the lightweight BR50 (3164 built). During wartime, the BR44 and BR50 designs were simplified as ÜK (Übergangs Kriegslokomotiven, or interim war locomotives). By 1941, it was clear that even these were too complicated, expensive, time-consuming to build, and used too much material in short supply, so new Kriegslokomotive (war locomotive) designs were developed: the lightweight BR52 (7794 built) and the intermediate weight BR42 (859 built).
Postwar locomotives of these types, particularly the BR 52, were spread all over Europe and were taken into service by the railways of many different countries:
Locomotives with ten driving wheels were rare in British railway history. In 1913 an initial design for a four-cylinder 2-10-0 of 53,328 pounds-force (237,000N)tractive effort was produced by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway, but none were built. This had been inspired by Jean-Baptiste Flamme's Type 36 (SNCB)[fr] 2-10-0s working in Belgium and used a similar tapered boiler, with the round-topped firebox almost filling the loading gauge.[10] The first 2-10-0 was built during the Second World War, as a variant of the "Austerity" 2-8-0 for lightly built railways.[11]
The only other 2-10-0 type was the 251-strong Standard class 9F introduced by British Railways in 1954.[12] The class included 92220 Evening Star, the last steam locomotive built for British Railways, in 1960;[13] and 92203 (named Black Prince when preserved), which in 1983 set a record for the heaviest steam locomotive-hauled train in Britain when it started a 2,162-ton train at Foster Yeoman quarry in Somerset.[14]
The State Railroads of Finland purchased 20 American Decapods after WWII - these were originally built for the Soviet Union, but never delivered to them. Of the 20 engines, 10 were made by Baldwin, 10 by Alco. Since they were originally built for the USSR, they had the correct gauge for Finland, too (1,524mm (5ft) exactly). One (Alco # 75214, 1947) is preserved at the Finnish Railway Museum in Hyvinkää, Finland. The Finnish designation was Tr2.
The locomotive was nicknamed Truman in Finland. It was used for hauling heavy freight trains.
France
From 1910 to 1951, the French industry built more than 500 decapods for three railway companies (Paris-Orléans, Nord, Est) and for the national railways (SNCF). Moreover, at the end of World War II, SNCF inherited more than 200 units of German decapods built in France, mostly BR 44. The last decapod, a SNCF 150P, was withdrawn in 1968. All 2-10-0s, of French or of German design, proved reliable and powerful in service. One can notice that some engines of the Paris-Orléans company were dedicated to passenger service on difficult mountain lines.
Poland
PKP class Ty23 in front of the H. Cegielski Poznań worksPreserved PKP class Ty246
Between early 1920s and 1958 Polish industry delivered to PKP some 1200 decapods of classes Ty23[de; pl], Ty37[de; pl], Ty45[de; pl] and Ty51[de; pl]. PKP also operated German decapods BR 52 (Ty2) and BR 42 (Ty3), as well as American ones (Ty246[pl], nicknamed "Trumman"). They were used to work the heaviest goods trains.
2-10-0 were fairly common freight locomotives in the former Soviet Union. They came from several sources: US imports (class Ye (Russian: серия Е), built by ALCO and Baldwin, respectively), German war trophy DRB 52 class locomotives (what became the Soviet TE-series) and locally built. The locally built 2-10-0 locomotives were represented by some TE (built from captured German parts), SO (Sergo Ordjonikidze) and L (Lebedyanski)–series locomotives. The L-series locomotives were one of the more advanced steam locomotives built in the former Soviet Union. They used an automatic stoker to feed coal and had a relatively low axle load (18 tonnes or 40,000lb) to be compatible with the war-torn railroads of the former Soviet Union. Several examples of these locomotives are still preserved in working order.
There is a 2-10-0 Lebedyanski series locomotive L 4657, marooned in a siding at Port Baikal.[16]
Footnotes
↑ Maximum cutoff as built was nominally 50% (with small auxiliary ports to aid in starting) so "tractive effort" couldn't be calculated in the usual way. Cutoff on most engines was eventually extended and PRR claimed 96,000 lb for them.
↑ Solomon, Brian (2015). The Majesty of Big Steam. Voyageur Press. p.102.
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 4-6-2 represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles and two trailing wheels on one axle. The 4-6-2 locomotive became almost globally known as a Pacific type after a locomotive built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in Philadelphia was shipped across the Pacific Ocean to New Zealand.
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, a 2-10-4 locomotive has two leading wheels on one axle, usually in a Bissel truck, ten coupled driving wheels on five axles, and four trailing wheels on two axles, usually in a bogie. These were referred to as the Texas type in most of the United States, the Colorado type on the Burlington Route, and the Selkirk type in Canada.
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 2-10-2 represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels, ten powered and coupled driving wheels, and two trailing wheels. In the United States and elsewhere the 2-10-2 is known as the Santa Fe type, after the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway that first used the type in 1903.
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 4-2-0 represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles, two powered driving wheels on one axle and no trailing wheels. This type of locomotive is often called a Jervis type, the name of the original designer.
A 4-6-0 steam locomotive, under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives by wheel arrangement, has four leading wheels on two axles in a leading bogie and six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles with the absence of trailing wheels.
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 2-8-0 represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, usually in a leading truck, eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles, and no trailing wheels. In the United States and elsewhere, this wheel arrangement is commonly known as a Consolidation, after the Lehigh and Mahanoy Railroad’s Consolidation, the name of the first 2-8-0.
In the Whyte notation, a 6-2-0 is a railroad steam locomotive that has an unpowered three-axle leading truck followed by a single powered driving axle. This wheel arrangement is associated with the Crampton locomotive type, and in the USA the single class were sometimes referred to as Cramptons.
Locomotive classification on the Pennsylvania Railroad took several forms. Early on, steam locomotives were given single-letter classes. As the 26 letters were quickly assigned, that scheme was abandoned for a more complex system. This was used for all of the PRR's steam locomotives, and — with the exception of the final type bought — all electric locomotives also used this scheme.
The Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) N1s was a class of 2-10-2 "Santa Fe" steam locomotives built for the Pennsylvania's Lines West. 60 engines were built between December 1918 and November 1919, and worked heavy mineral freight to and from ports on the Great Lakes until their retirement in the late 1940s. All examples were scrapped by 1950.
The Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) class I1s steam locomotives were the largest class of 2-10-0 "Decapods" in the United States. From 1916 to 1923, 598 locomotives were produced. They were the dominant freight locomotive on the system until World War II and remained in service until 1957. Nicknames for the type included Decs and Hippos, the latter due to their large boiler.
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 0-10-0 represents the wheel arrangement of no leading wheels, ten powered and coupled driving wheels on five axles and no trailing wheels. In the United Kingdom, this type is known as a Decapod, a name which is applied to 2-10-0 types in the United States. In the United States, the type is known as ten-coupled.
A 4-4-4-4 steam locomotive, in the Whyte notation for describing locomotive wheel arrangements, has a four-wheel leading truck, two sets of four driving wheels, and a four-wheel trailing truck. While it would be possible to make an articulated locomotive of this arrangement, the only 4-4-4-4s ever built were duplex locomotives—with two sets of cylinders driving two sets of driven wheels in one rigid frame, essentially a 4-8-4 with divided drive.
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 4-8-0 represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles, usually in a leading truck or bogie, eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles and no trailing wheels. In North America and in some other countries the type was usually known as the Twelve-wheeler.
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 0-8-0 represents the wheel arrangement of no leading wheels, eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles and no trailing wheels. Locomotives of this type are also referred to as eight coupled.
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 2-4-0 represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, four powered and coupled driving wheels on two axles and no trailing wheels. In most of North America it became known as a Porter.
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives by wheel arrangement, 4-10-2 represents the arrangement of four leading wheels, ten powered and coupled driving wheels and two trailing wheels. In South Africa, where the wheel arrangement was first used, the type was known as a Reid Tenwheeler. In the United States of America it was known as a Southern Pacific on the Southern Pacific Railroad and as an Overland on the Union Pacific Railroad.
The GER Class A55 or Decapod was an experimental steam locomotive with an 0-10-0T wheel arrangement designed by James Holden for the Great Eastern Railway. It was the first ten-coupled steam locomotive in Great Britain.
The PRR J1 was a class of 2-10-4 "Texas" type steam locomotives built between 1942 and 1944. The J1 had over 95,000 pounds-force (422.6 kN) of tractive effort, plus an additional 15,000 lbf (66.7 kN) if the booster engine was used.
The Russian locomotive class Ye, and subclasses Yea, Yek, Yel, Yef, Yem, Yemv and Yes were a series of 2-10-0 locomotives built by American builders for the Russian railways in World War I and again in World War II. They were lightweight engines with relatively low axle loadings.
A duplex locomotive is a steam locomotive that divides the driving force on its wheels by using two pairs of cylinders rigidly mounted to a single locomotive frame; it is not an articulated locomotive. The concept was first used in France in 1863, but was particularly developed in the early 1930s by the Baldwin Locomotive Works, the largest commercial builder of steam locomotives in North America, under the supervision of its then chief engineer, Ralph P. Johnson.
References
Armstrong, John (1978). Creative Model Railroad Design. Waukesha, Wisconsin: Kalmbach Publishing Company. ISBN0-89024-538-X.
Boddy, M.G.; Brown, W.A.; Neve, E.; Yeadon, W.B. (November 1983). Fry, E.V. (ed.). Part 6B: Tender Engines - Classes O1 to P2. Locomotives of the L.N.E.R. Kenilworth: RCTS. ISBN0-901115-54-1.
Drury, George H. (1993), Guide to North American Steam Locomotives, Waukesha, Wisconsin: Kalmbach Publishing Company, pp.176, 351, ISBN0-89024-206-2, LCCN93041472
Swengel, F.M. (1967). The American Steam Locomotive, Vol. 1, The Evolution of the Steam Locomotive. Davenport, Iowa: MidWest Rail Publications.
Walford, John; Harrison, Paul (2008). Volume Four: The 9F 2-10-0 Class. A Detailed History of British Railways Standard Steam Locomotives. Bristol: RCTS. ISBN978-0-901115-95-9.
Woods, Don (1973). I remember Pennsy. Earlton: Audio-Visual Degins.
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