Editing 2-8-8-0 (section)

=== United States ===
The [[Great Northern Railway (U.S.)|Great Northern Railway]] used the 2-8-8-0s as their N-1's which were built by Baldwin in 1912. They were rebuilt by GN in 1932 as a N-2, and later re-rebuilt in 1940 as an N-3, The locomotives, after their third rebuild into a N-3, had a larger boiler and bigger tender. The N-3's served on the GN for a collective 45 years (including previous service lives as N-1 and N-2 classes), in use until retired in 1957.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.greatnorthernempire.net/index2.htm?GNEGNSteamRosterN3.htm|title = Great Northern Empire - then and Now}}</ref>

The [[Union Pacific Railroad]] also operated this type. The Union Pacific 2-8-8-0s were built in 1918 and 1924 by ALCO-Brooks. The locomotives were used to haul heavy loads over Sherman Hill on the UP. An example of one is Union Pacific #3559, which was built July 1924 by ALCO-Brooks. The locomotives were most likely retired in the late 1940s to early 1950s because of slow speeds on freight, hauling at 12 miles an hour. In comparison, the [[Union Pacific 9000 class|9000 class]] of the Union Pacific can pull the same weight at 50 miles an hour.

Out east, the [[Reading Railroad]] had 2-8-8-0s for coal switching on Steep Hills, also known as the Reading N-1, and the [[Baltimore and Ohio Railroad|Baltimore and Ohio]] operated this type, with the B&O owning dozens of examples, most notably the EL-3 class. They were retired by the early 1950s.  In the Midwest, the [[Kansas City Southern Railway|Kansas City Southern]] was a principal user of this configuration.<ref>
{{cite web 
 |url=http://www.toytrains1.com/articulated3.htm
 |title= 2-8-8-0 Bull Moose Articulated Steam Locomotives
 |date= 4 February 2013
 |website=Web Site of ToyTrains1
 |access-date=January 3, 2014}}
</ref>

The [[Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway]] was the first to use the configuration. In 1911, their own workshop took a pair of standard 2-8-0 and combined them into a 2-8-8-0 [[Mallet locomotive|Mallet]] articulated locomotive. Four examples were built, but were never entirely satisfactory and were converted back to 2-8-0 in 1923.<ref name= "american-rails.com">
{{cite web
 |url=http://www.american-rails.com/el.html
 |title=The B&O's Class EL 2-8-8-0s
 |website=www.american-rails.com
 |publisher=Adam Burns
 |access-date=January 2, 2014}}
</ref> The first 2-8-8-0 operated by Baltimore and Ohio was numbered EL-1/a, which was built in 1916 at [[Baldwin Locomotive Works]].<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.steamlocomotive.com/2-8-8-0/?page=bo | title=Baltimore & Ohio 2-8-8-0 "Consolidation Mallet" Type Locomotives | access-date=January 2, 2014 | first1=Steve | last1=Lanso | website=steamlocomotive.com/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140103215719/http://www.steamlocomotive.com/2-8-8-0/?page=bo | archive-date=January 3, 2014 | df=mdy-all }}</ref> The western end of their network had [[ruling gradient]]s greater than 2%, and the 2-8-8-0 offered exceptional [[tractive effort]], enabling a single locomotive to move the heaviest freight trains. As well as building these locomotives from scratch, the last in 1920, ten were converted from [[0-8-8-0]] configuration in 1920 and a further ten from [[2-8-8-2]] in 1922. These locomotives remained in operation until after [[World War II]], the last being withdrawn in 1955.

No 2-8-8-0 locomotives survive today; all were scrapped. However, one tender from the 2-8-8-0 #759 of the Kansas City Southern Railroad has been preserved, while the locomotive was scrapped. It is now preserved at the Illinois Railway Museum.