A Meyer locomotive is a type of articulated locomotive that has two separate bogies, upon which the boiler and firebox swivel. The design was never as popular as the Garratt or Mallet locomotives. It can be best regarded as 19th Century competition for the early compound Mallet and also the Fairlie articulated designs. Most single cab modern trains are of a similar design such as power cars, freight diesel locomotives, and some passenger locomotives.
![The first Meyer locomotive (Neustadt [de], 1851) preceded Meyer's design by a decade SB Neustadt.png](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e5/SB_Neustadt.png/300px-SB_Neustadt.png)
The Meyer was in fact invented by Austrian engineer Wenzel Günther of the Wiener Neustädter Lokomotivfabrik for the Semmering Trials of 1851. However, the technology wasn't yet developed for the steam to be reliably transported to the bogies with reasonable amount of leaks, and despite generally good performance of the design on the trials the company abandoned the idea.
It was reinvigorated by Frenchman Jean-Jacques Meyer (1804-1877), who took out a patent on the design in 1861. The first locomotive, an 0-4-4-0 named the Future (French : L'Avenir), was built by Société J. F. Cail et Cie. in 1868 with the support of a state subsidy.
No wheels are rigidly affixed to the boiler; all are mounted on bogies placed directly under the boiler/cab unit (comparable with a modern diesel or electric locomotive). This compares with a Mallet, where the rear set of wheels are attached to the frame, and only the front set swivels as a bogie. Therefore, boiler overhang is less than that of the Mallet locomotive on a curve of the same radius. Meyers are usually set up as a tank engine, with the boiler/cab unit carrying the water and fuel supplies.
A disadvantage of the design is that the firebox is directly above the rear power unit, which limits its size. With two power bogies, flexible steam pipes must be provided to all cylinders. This was difficult to achieve with 19th Century technology. Early Mallet locomotives had compound cylinders, so high pressure steam was provided to the rigid power unit, while the front cylinders (requiring flexible steam pipes) received low pressure steam.
Meyer locomotives were most common in continental Europe, particularly Germany. A number of Meyer locos can still be found on the narrow gauge railways in Saxony. The most common locomotive is the Saxon IV K.
The Switzerland Bernina Railway had two rotary snowplows built by Schweizerische Lokomotiv- und Maschinenfabrik in 1910 and 1912. To work on the tight curves of the 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) meter gauge mountain railway they had to be selfpropelled, the two snow blowers were thus built with a Meyer drive system. [1] Both have been preserved, Xrot d 9213 is still in working condition on the Rhaetian Railway, based in Pontresina, as of 2010.
The Kitson Meyer is a variant of the Meyer layout most closely associated with Kitson & Co. of Leeds, but was also built by other locomotive builders.The Meyer design was modified by moving the rear power unit further back and allowed the firebox to be between the two power units (as in a Garratt type locomotive), thus allowing a larger firebox. The length of engine was increased, with the extra length behind the cab being used for additional water tanks. Some designs had an auxiliary chimney at the rear to avoid the need for an exhaust steam pipe running the length of the engine.
The design originated from an idea by Robert Stirling, Locomotive Superintendent of the Anglo-Chilian Nitrate & Railway Company. After placing an order with Kitsons for some conventional locos, he approached them with his ideas for an articulated loco. Kitsons further developed the idea, the first loco being constructed in 1894.
Kitson Meyers were widely used in South America, particularly on the Colombian and Chilean railways. It was regarded as the best performing of all articulated designs for railway lines that constantly curved. Four 2-6-0+0-6-2 tank locomotives also had a brief service in the Philippines, serving the Manila Railway and the Manila Railroad Companies between 1914 and 1925. [2] However, fewer than 100 Kitson Meyers were ever built and it was generally thought that the design suffered from competition with the Garratt.
One Kitson-Meyer locomotive known to survive sits in a rather poor state of preservation in Taltal, an old nitrate port town in the Antofagasta Region of Chile. It is parked in front of two old passenger coaches from the nitrate railway at coordinates 25°24′17.6″S70°28′57.6″W / 25.404889°S 70.482667°W . Three Kitson Meyers of the Transandine Railways also have survived, one in Argentina (Tafi Viejo; as of 2013 in derelict condition) and two in Chile (#3348 at Los Andes station workshop, seen under restoration on 8-Sep-2013 and Serial #4664 Operating #3349 at the Museo Ferroviario de Santiago, Parque Quinta Normal, Santiago de Chile, in cosmetically restored condition). There are also six very derelict locos in the "Locomotive Graveyard" at Uyuni, Bolivia (October 2013).
A number of large narrow gauge industrial locomotives were built in the U.K. by W. G. Bagnall of Stafford. Generally, these were constructed on the Meyer principle as 0-4-4-0 T s, but were fitted with a circular firebox that did not project below the footplate. A number were built for sugarcane railways in South Africa one of which was imported into the USA and resides on the Cripple Creek and Victor Railway in Colorado where it can be seen in pieces today. The last example, maker's number 3024, named Monarch, was built in 1953 for Bowater's Railway at Sittingbourne in Kent and now resides on the Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway.
A Mallet locomotive is a type of compound articulated steam locomotive, invented by the Swiss engineer Anatole Mallet (1837–1919).
A Fairlie locomotive is a type of articulated steam locomotive that has the driving wheels on bogies. The locomotive may be double-ended or single ended. Fairlies are most famously associated with the Ffestiniog Railway in North Wales.
A Garratt locomotive is a type of 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.
An articulated locomotive is a steam locomotive with one or more engine units that can move independently of the main frame. Articulation allows the operation of locomotives that would otherwise be too large to negotiate a railroad's curves, whether mainlines or special lines with extreme curvature such as logging, industrial, or mountain railways.
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives by wheel arrangement, a 4-6-2+2-6-4 is a Garratt or Union Garratt articulated locomotive using a pair of 4-6-2 engine units back to back, with the boiler and cab suspended between them. The 4-6-2 wheel arrangement of each engine unit has four leading wheels on two axles, usually in a leading bogie, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles, and two trailing wheels on one axle, usually in a trailing truck.
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.
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives by wheel arrangement, the 0-4-0+0-4-0 is an articulated locomotive of the Garratt type. The wheel arrangement is effectively two 0-4-0 locomotives operating back-to-back or face-to-face, with the boiler and cab suspended between the two power units. Each power unit has no leading wheels, four powered and coupled driving wheels on two axles and no trailing wheels. A similar arrangement exists for Mallet, Meyer and Fairlie locomotives, but is referred to as 0-4-4-0.
The Golwé was a type of articulated steam locomotive manufactured in Belgium for use in French West African colonies.
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives by wheel arrangement, 2-6-2+2-6-2 is an articulated locomotive using a pair of 2-6-2 power units back to back, with the boiler and cab suspended between them. The 2-6-2 wheel arrangement has a single pair of leading wheels in a leading truck, followed by three coupled pairs of driving wheels and a pair of trailing wheels in a trailing truck.
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, 0-6-0+0-6-0 represents the wheel arrangement of an articulated locomotive with two separate swivelling engine units, each unit with no leading wheels, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles and no trailing wheels. The arrangement is effectively two 0-6-0 locomotives operating back-to-back and was used on Garratt, Double Fairlie, Meyer and Kitson-Meyer articulated locomotives. A similar arrangement exists for Mallet steam locomotives on which only the front engine unit swivels, but these are referred to as 0-6-6-0.
The New South Wales AD60 class were Beyer-Garratt patent articulated four-cylinder, simple, non-condensing, coal-fired superheated, 4-8-4+4-8-4 heavy goods steam locomotives built by Beyer, Peacock & Company for the New South Wales Government Railways in Australia.
The South African Railways Class KM 0-6-0+0-6-0 of 1904 was an articulated steam locomotive from the pre-Union era in Transvaal Colony.
The South African Railways Class MA 2-6-6-0 of 1909 was a steam locomotive from the pre-Union era in the Natal Colony.
The South African Railways Class FC 2-6-2+2-6-2 of 1925 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 GM 4-8-2+2-8-4 of 1938 was an articulated steam locomotive.
Monarch is a narrow gauge steam locomotive, built by W.G. Bagnall Ltd., Stafford in 1953. It is currently on public display at the Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway. It is the last industrial narrow gauge locomotive to be built for commercial use in the UK and is constructed to a modified Meyer articulated design. It is the last of seven locomotives built to a similar design, the other six being built to 2 ft gauge and delivered to sugar estates in South Africa.
The Cape Government Railways Kitson-Meyer 0-6-0+0-6-0 of 1903 was a South African steam locomotive from the pre-Union era in the Cape of Good Hope.
The Manila Railroad 160 class of 1914 was a class of four 2-6-0+0-6-2 Double Mogul-type Kitson-Meyer locomotives. This particular class was the only type of articulated locomotive used by both the Manila Railway/Railroad Company, which were the predecessors to the Philippine National Railways. The class was introduced in 1914 and was originally intended for mixed traffic services on the Antipolo line. After that line's closure in 1917, the locomotives were transferred to the South Main Line to serve in Lucena, Quezon, and Pagsanjan, Laguna. All were withdrawn in 1925, shortly after the arrival of their replacements such as the Manila Railroad 200 class.