Editing 2-8-2 (section)

==Overview==
The 2-8-2 wheel arrangement allowed the locomotive's [[Firebox (steam engine)|firebox]] to be placed behind instead of above the driving wheels, thereby allowing a larger firebox that could be both wide and deep. This supported a greater rate of combustion and thus a greater capacity for steam generation, allowing for more power at higher speeds. Allied with the larger [[driving wheel]] diameter which was possible when they did not impinge on the firebox, it meant that the 2-8-2 was capable of higher speeds than a {{nowrap|[[2-8-0]]}} with a heavy train. These locomotives did not suffer from the imbalance of reciprocating parts as much as did the [[2-6-2]] or the {{nowrap|[[2-10-2]]}}, because the [[center of gravity]] was between the second and third drivers instead of above the centre driver.

The first 2-8-2 locomotive was built in 1884. It was originally named ''Calumet'' by Angus Sinclair, in reference to the {{nowrap|2-8-2}} engines built for the [[Baltimore and Ohio Chicago Terminal Railroad#History|Chicago & Calumet Terminal Railway]] (C&CT). However, this name did not take hold.<ref name="LeMassena">LeMassena, Robert. (1993). ''America's Workhorse Locomotive: the 2-8-2''. Quadrant Press, Inc., p. 6. {{ISBN|0-915276-54-2}}</ref>

The wheel arrangement name "Mikado" originated from a group of [[:ja:国鉄9700形蒸気機関車|Japanese type 9700]] 2-8-2 locomotives that were built by [[Baldwin Locomotive Works]] for the {{Track gauge|3ft6in|lk=on}} gauge [[Nippon Railway]] of [[Japan]] in 1897. In the 19th century, the Emperor of Japan was [[Emperor of Japan#Addressing and naming|often referred to as "the Mikado"]] in English. The [[Gilbert and Sullivan]] opera, ''[[The Mikado]]'', set in Japan, had premiered in 1885 and achieved great popularity in both Britain and America.<ref>[http://www.jrtr.net/jrtr29/back.html Japan Railway & Transport Review No. 29] - retrieved 26 October 2006. [https://web.archive.org/web/20130715063059/http://www.jrtr.net/jrtr29/back.html Archived] 21 June 2013.</ref>

The 2-8-2 was one of the more common configurations in the first half of the 20th century, before [[dieselisation]]. Between 1917 and 1944, nearly 2,200 of this type were constructed by Baldwin, the [[American Locomotive Company]] (ALCO) and the [[Lima Locomotive Works]], based on designs by the [[United States Railroad Administration]] (USRA). It was also known as the "McAdoo Mikado" in the United States, after [[William Gibbs McAdoo]] who was appointed as [[Director General of Railroads]] when the United States commenced hostilities during the latter part of the [[First World War]] and the USRA was established. Of all of the USRA designs, the Mikado proved to be the most popular. The total American production was about 14,000, of which 9,500 were for local customers and the rest exported.<ref name="Bruce">Bruce, Alfred. (1952). ''The Steam Locomotive in America: Its Development in the Twentieth Century''. W.W. Norton, pp. 296–298.</ref>

"Mikado" remained the type name until the [[attack on Pearl Harbor]] in 1941. Seeking a more American name, "MacArthur", after General [[Douglas MacArthur]], came into use to describe the locomotive type in the United States. After the war, the type name "Mikado" again became the most common for that locomotive type.<ref name="steamlocomotive.com">[http://www.steamlocomotive.com/mikado/ Steam Locomotive dot com: 2-8-2 "Mikado" Type Locomotives] - retrieved 26 October 2006. [https://web.archive.org/web/20130612223127/http://www.steamlocomotive.com/mikado/ Archived] 21 June 2013.</ref>