A Garratt locomotive is a type of articulated steam locomotive invented by British engineer Herbert William Garratt that is articulated into three parts. Its boiler, firebox, and cab are mounted on a centre frame or "bridge". The two other parts, one at each end, have a pivot to support the central frame; they consist of a steam engine unit – with driving wheels, trailing wheels, valve gear, and cylinders, and above it, fuel and/or water storage.
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 closed its railway operations in the early 1960s. It retained its stock market listing until 1976, when it was bought and absorbed by National Chemical Industries of Saudi Arabia.
The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) Garratt was a class of Garratt 2-6-0+0-6-2 steam locomotive designed for heavy freight. A total of 33 were built from 1927, making them the most numerous class of Garratt in Britain.
Indian Railways operates India's railway system and comes under the purview of the Ministry of Railways of Government of India. As of 2023, it maintains over 108,706 km (67,547 mi) of tracks and operates over 13,000 trains daily with a fleet of 14,800 locomotives. The railways primarily operates a fleet of electric and diesel locomotives along with a few compressed natural gas (CNG) locomotives. Steam locomotives are operated on mountain railways and on heritage trains.
The London and North Eastern Railway Class U1 was a solitary 2-8-0+0-8-2 Garratt locomotive designed for banking coal trains over the Worsborough Bank, a steeply graded line in South Yorkshire and part of the Woodhead Route. It was both the longest and the most powerful steam locomotive ever to run in Britain. It was built in 1925 with the motion at each end being based on an existing 2-8-0 design. The original number was 2395, and it was renumbered 9999 in March 1946, and then 69999 after nationalisation in 1948, although it retained its cab-side plate bearing its original number throughout its life. The locomotive ran for some time as an oil burner, and was tried out on the Lickey Incline in 1949–1950 and again, after the electrification of its home line, in 1955. These trials were unsuccessful, and so the locomotive was withdrawn in 1955 and scrapped.
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives by wheel arrangement, the 2-8-0+0-8-2 is a Garratt locomotive. The wheel arrangement is effectively two 2-8-0 locomotives operating back to back, with the boiler and cab suspended between the two power units. Each power unit has a single pair of leading wheels in a leading truck, followed by four coupled pairs of driving wheels and no trailing wheels.
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 2-6-0+0-6-2 represents the wheel arrangement of an articulated locomotive with two separate swivelling engine units, arranged back to back with the boiler and cab suspended between them. Each engine unit has two leading wheels in a leading truck, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles and no trailing wheels.
The South African Railways Class GL 4-8-2+2-8-4 of 1929 was an articulated steam locomotive.
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives by wheel arrangement, a 4-8-2+2-8-4 is a Garratt articulated locomotive consisting of a pair of 4-8-2 engine units back to back, with the boiler and cab suspended between them. The 4-8-2 wheel arrangement has four leading wheels on two axles, usually in a leading bogie, eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles and two trailing wheels on one axle, usually in a trailing truck. Since the 4-8-2 type is generally known as a Mountain, the corresponding Garratt type is usually known as a Double Mountain.
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives by wheel arrangement, a 2-8-2+2-8-2 is an articulated locomotive using a pair of 2-8-2 power units back to back, with the boiler and cab suspended between them. The 2-8-2 wheel arrangement has a single pair of leading wheels in a leading truck, followed by four coupled pairs of driving wheels and a pair of trailing wheels in a trailing truck. Since the 2-8-2 type was known as Mikado, the corresponding Garratt and Modified Fairlie types were usually known as Double Mikado.
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives by wheel arrangement, the 4-8-0+0-8-4 is a Garratt articulated locomotive. The wheel arrangement is effectively two 4-8-0 locomotives operating back to back, with the boiler and cab suspended between the two engine units. Each engine unit has two pairs of leading wheels in a leading bogie, followed by four coupled pairs of driving wheels and no trailing wheels. A similar wheel arrangement exists for the Union Pacific Big Boy, but is referred to as 4-8-8-4 since only the front engine unit swivels.
The South African Railways Class NG G11 2-6-0+0-6-2 of 1919 is a class of narrow gauge steam locomotives.
The South African Railways Class FC 2-6-2+2-6-2 of 1925 was an articulated steam locomotive.
The South African Railways Class FD 2-6-2+2-6-2 of 1926 was an articulated steam locomotive.
The South African Railways Class GA 2-6-0+0-6-2 of 1921 was an articulated steam locomotive.
The South African Railways Class GB 2-6-2+2-6-2 of 1921 was an articulated steam locomotive.
The South African Railways Class GC 2-6-2+2-6-2 of 1924 was an articulated steam locomotive.
The Bengal Nagpur Railway class N was a class of 4-8-0+0-8-4 Garratt steam locomotives built by Beyer, Peacock & Company in England in 1929. At the time of their construction, they had the largest water capacity of any Garratt, in addition to being the largest locomotives in India. The class N Garratts were introduced following successful performance results from the earlier HSG Garratts. Due to their heavy weight, they were restricted to 90 lb/yard rails. They had straight-ported cylinders; it is not known if this suited them for hauling slow, heavy coal traffic. Like the earlier HSG Garratts, they worked on the Chakradharpur-Jharsuguda and the Anara-Tatanagar sections. After electrification, they were used at Rourkela. They could haul 2400 tonnes on a 1 in 100 gradient.
The Bengal Nagpur Railway class NM was a class of ten 4-8-0+0-8-4 Garratt locomotives manufactured by Beyer, Peacock & Company in England. This was modified N class Garratt. It had Thermic siphon and arch tubes for better performance. It worked on the Bilaspur-Katni line and Anuppur-Chirmiri branch line for hauling coal. Probably because of Poppet valves, they retired early.
The Bengal Nagpur Railway class P was a class of four 4-8-2+2-8-4 Garratt locomotives. It was developed from BNR class N and BNR class NM. The Anuppur-Chirmiri section had severe curves and it needed an engine with a trailing bogie. Its boiler was slightly enlarged similar to the NM.
