Editing 2-8-0 (section)

===United Kingdom===
[[File:GWR 2800 Class 2857 Locomotive Severn Valley Railway (1).jpg|thumb|[[GWR 2800 Class]]]]
The 2-8-0 gradually became the standard heavy-freight steam locomotive type in the United Kingdom during the first half of the 20th century, replacing the [[0-8-0]] types that had appeared as [[mineral locomotive]]s in the 1890s. These had themselves been a replacement for these heavier tasks of the 0-6-0 locomotives used for freight since the mid 19th century. The 0-6-0 remained a common type for lighter use and on branch lines, but the 0-8-0 largely disappeared in favour of the better-riding 2-8-0.

The first 2-8-0 to be built in Britain was the [[Great Western Railway]]'s [[GWR 2800 Class|2800 Class]], with 84 locomotives built between 1903 and 1919, followed by a further 83 of the very similar [[GWR 2884 Class]] between 1938 and 1942. In 1904, [[George Whale]] of the [[London and North Western Railway]] (LNWR) began to rebuild some of his predecessor's [[LNWR Class B|Class B]] [[0-8-0]] [[compound locomotive]]s to 2-8-0, [[LNWR Class E|classes E]] and [[LNWR Class F|F]].

With coal trains increasing in size and scale, the GWR needed to develop a more powerful locomotive to meet these requirements, on what were relatively short haul routes. Thus in 1906, Chief Engineer G.J. Churchward took the basic design of his GWR 2800 Class, and adapted it. After proposing a 2-8-2T design, Churchward developed the UK's first 2-8-0 tank engine, the [[GWR 4200 Class|4200 class]].

[[File:GCR O4 63601 at Doncaster Works.JPG|thumb|left|Preserved GCR Class 8K]]
In 1911, [[John G. Robinson]] of the [[Great Central Railway]] (GCR) introduced his very successful [[GCR Class 8K]] for heavy freight. 129 of these were originally built by the GCR. During the First World War, the design was adopted by the [[Ministry of Munitions]] and it became the standard locomotive of the [[Railway Operating Division]] of the [[Royal Engineers]] as the [[ROD 2-8-0]]. Altogether, 521 of these ROD locomotives were built during the war. After the war, large numbers of these were purchased by the LNWR and GWR, while some were also sold to a private Australian coal company, J&A Brown in New South Wales. Altogether, 273 were purchased by the LNWR during the early 1920s.<ref name="Oberg"/>

[[File:Doncaster station geograph-2463320-by-Ben-Brooksbank.jpg|thumb|[[GNR Class O2]]]]
Other successful 2-8-0 designs were built in the UK. The [[GNR Class O1]] and [[GNR Class O2|O2]] were introduced by [[Nigel Gresley]] of the [[Great Northern Railway (Great Britain)|Great Northern Railway]] in 1913 and 1918, respectively, and the [[S&DJR 7F 2-8-0|Class 7F]] by Henry Fowler of the [[Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway]] in 1914. Whilst most British 2-8-0 designs were intended for heavy freight, the [[GWR 4700 Class]] were designed for heavy mixed-traffic work, but were initially employed mainly on fast overnight freight trains; later they were used on express excursions in the summer.<ref>{{cite book |last=le Fleming |first=H.M. |editor-last=White |editor-first=D.E. |title=The Locomotives of the Great Western Railway, part nine: Standard Two-Cylinder Classes |date=February 1962 |publisher=[[Railway Correspondence and Travel Society|RCTS]] |isbn=0-901115-37-1 |oclc=655827210 |page=J25 }}</ref>

The most successful British 2-8-0 class was the [[LMS Stanier Class 8F|Class 8F]], designed in 1935 by [[William Stanier]] for the [[London, Midland and Scottish Railway]]. By 1946, 852 had been built. During the Second World War, the [[War Department (United Kingdom)|War Department]] originally chose the class 8F as its standard freight locomotive, and large numbers of them saw service overseas, notably in the Middle East.

The Class 8F was superseded after 1943 by the cheaper [[WD Austerity 2-8-0]] for war service. A total of 935 of these were built and again, many saw service overseas.

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