Editing 2-8-8-4 (section)

==Northern Pacific==
The [[Northern Pacific Railway]] was the first railroad to order a 2-8-8-4. The first was built in 1928 by [[American Locomotive Company]]; at the time, it was the largest locomotive ever built. It had the largest [[Firebox (steam engine)|firebox]] ever applied to a steam locomotive, some {{Convert|182|ft2|m2}} in area, to burn Rosebud coal, a cheap low-quality coal. But the firebed was too large for the available draft and the fire burned poorly and developed under 5,000 horsepower. The problem was mitigated by blocking off the first few feet of the grates. [[Baldwin Locomotive Works]] built 11 more for the Northern Pacific in 1930. No examples have been preserved.