Editing 2-6-4

{{Short description|Locomotive wheel arrangement}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2020}}
{{Infobox steam wheel arrangement
| name             = 2-6-4 (Adriatic)
| image            = WheelArrangement 2-6-4.svg
| alt              = Diagram of one small leading wheel, three large driving wheels joined together with a coupling rod, and two small trailing wheels
| caption          = Front of locomotive at left
| image2           = PPR No 1.jpg
| alt2             = 
| caption2         = [[South African Class D 2-6-4T|PPR 55 Tonner 2-6-4T, SAR Class D]]
<!--Equivalent classifications-->
| hatnote          = 
| UIC/Germany/Italy= 1C2, 1'C2'
| French/Spanish   = 132
| Turkish          = 36
| Swiss            = 3/6
| Russian          = 1-3-2
<!--First known tank engine version-->
| date             = 1898
| country          = South Africa
| locomotive       = [[South African Class D 2-6-4T|PPR 55 Tonner]]
| railway          = Pretoria-Pietersburg Railway
| designer         = [[Beyer, Peacock & Company]]
| builder          = Beyer, Peacock & Company
| evolvedfrom      = 
| evolvedto        = 
| mainbenefit      = 
| maindrawback     = 
<!--First known tender engine version-->
| date2            = 1901
| country2         = [[Cape Colony|Cape of Good Hope]]
| locomotive2      = [[South African Class 6Z 2-6-4|CGR 6th Class 2-6-4]]
| railway2         = [[Cape Government Railways]]
| designer2        = [[Hazlitt Beatty]]
| builder2         = [[Neilson & Company#Turn of the 20th century|Neilson, Reid & Company]]
| evolvedfrom2     = [[2-6-2]]
| evolvedto2       = 
| mainbenefit2     = 
| maindrawback2    = 
<!--First known "True type" version-->
| date3            = 
| country3         = 
| locomotive3      = 
| railway3         = 
| designer3        = 
| builder3         = 
| evolvedfrom3     = 
| evolvedto3       = 
| mainbenefit3     = 
| maindrawback3    = 
}}

Under the [[Whyte notation]] for the classification of [[steam locomotives]], a '''{{nowrap|2-6-4}}''' locomotive has two [[leading wheel]]s, six coupled [[driving wheel]]s and four [[trailing wheel]]s.

==Overview==
With only a few known exceptions, the Adriatic wheel arrangement was usually used on [[tank locomotive]]s, for which various suffixes to indicate the type of tank would be added to the wheel arrangement, for example {{nowrap|2-6-4T}} for an engine with side-tanks.

===Tender locomotives===
The earliest known example was the [[South African Class 6Z 2-6-4|South African Class 6Z]], designed by [[Cape Government Railways]] (CGR) Chief Locomotive Superintendent [[Hazlitt Beatty]] in 1901. The first engines of the class were modified [[2-6-2]] Prairie locomotives which were equipped with two-axle trailing bogies. In 1902, more were placed in service, but built with the {{nowrap|2-6-4}} wheel arrangement. The latter were the first known tender locomotives in the world to be built with this wheel arrangement.<ref name="Durrant" >{{Durrant-Twilight|page=11}}</ref><ref name="Neilson">Neilson, Reid works list, compiled by Austrian locomotive historian Bernhard Schmeiser</ref><ref name="Holland 1"/>

===Tank locomotives===
[[Tank engine]]s with the [[2-6-4T]] wheel arrangement were produced for many different railway systems worldwide and were mainly used for freight and suburban passenger working. They have been less successful on express passenger trains. The earliest known example also originated in South Africa, the [[South African Class D 2-6-4T|Pretoria-Pietersburg Railway's 55 Tonner]] of 1898.<ref name="Holland 1">{{Holland-Vol 1|pages=52-54, 56, 120, 122, 126}}</ref><ref name="Holland 2">{{Holland-Vol 2|page=136}}</ref><ref name="Paxton-Bourne">{{Paxton-Bourne|pages=29, 45, 112, 156}}</ref>

==Usage==
===Austria===
[[File:Kkstb 210.09 + 86.21 werksfoto 1910.jpg|thumb|Austrian class 210]]
Two [[Imperial Royal Austrian State Railways|Austrian]] express tender locomotive types were of this wheel arrangement, the {{illm|210 class|de|kkStB 210}} of 1908 and {{illm|310 class|de|kkStB 310}} of 1911 designed by [[Karl Gölsdorf]]. The type therefore became known as the Adriatic arrangement, named for the [[Adriatic Sea]] which bordered [[Austria-Hungary]].

===Brazil===
Preserved meter gauge locomotive [[Dona Joaninha]], built to haul sugar cane in Brazil, uses the 2-6-4 wheel arrangement.

===Finland===
[[File:Baldwin264.jpg|thumb|left|Class Vk1 2-6-4T no. 305 of the [[Finnish State Railways]]]]
[[Finland]] had three locomotive classes with a 2-6-4T wheel arrangement, the Classes Vk1, Vk2 and Vk3. All three classes were nicknamed ''Iita''.

The Class Vk1, numbered 301 to 305, were delivered in 1900 from [[Baldwin Locomotive Works]] of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Class Vk1 ''Iita'' were also nicknamed ''Amerikan'' because they were built in the United States.

The Class Vk2 were numbered 454 to 455.

The [[Finnish Steam Locomotive Class Vk3]] were numbered 456 and 487 to 492. They were built in 1915 by [[Tampella]], a Finnish heavy industry manufacturer, and were used for local passenger duties. One of them, Vk3 No 489, is preserved at the [[Finnish Railway Museum]].

{{-}}
===Germany===
[[Image:DB 66 002-7 1 - in Bochum-Dahlhausen.jpg|thumb|Preserved DB Class 66 002]]Two [[Deutsche Bundesbahn]] (DB) 2-6-4T Class 66 locomotives, designed for fast [[goods train]] and [[passenger train]] service, were built in 1955 as part of the DB's ''Neubaulok'' construction programme. They were both withdrawn from service in 1968. One, DB 66 002, has been preserved at the Bochum-Dahlhausen Railway Museum.
[[File:50 Jahre Bayrisches Eisenbahnmuseum (48035282708).jpg|thumb|TAG 8]]
For the private [[TAG Tegernsee Immobilien und Beteiligung|TAG]], which operated the railway line from [[Schaftlach station|Schaftlach]] to [[Tegernsee station|Tegernsee]], the 2-6-4T steam locomotive ''TAG 8'' was built in 1942, using wheels from [[DRG Class E 79]]. It was in service until 1970 and has been preserved in the [[Bavarian Railway Museum]].

===Sweden===
[http://www.svenska-lok.se/damp.php?s=19&litra=Sb&typenr= SJ type SB] with driving wheels 1.75 m diameter for passenger use, built Motala 1917, one preserved.

[http://www.svenska-lok.se/damp.php?s=19&litra=J&typenr= SJ type J] with driving wheels 1.3 m diameter for mixed traffic use, built Atlas, Motala and Nohab, 1914–1918. Four preserved.

===Switzerland===
[https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SBB_Historic_-_049_-_3_6_gekuppelte_4_Zylinder-Heissdampf-Tender-Lokomotive_f%C3%BCr_die_Bern-Neuenburg-Bahn.tif 2-6-4 tank locomotives] were built by SLM in 1913 for use on the Berne-Neuenberg railway. They were still in use at Basel in 1956. Of slightly British appearance, at that time they were used to transfer stock between the French and Swiss systems, the former having not yet been electrified.

===New Zealand===
The [[Ferrymead Railway]] in [[Christchurch]], New Zealand, has a {{RailGauge|3ft6in|allk=on}} gauge {{nowrap|2-6-4T}} locomotive that was in regular operation until taken off-line for boiler repairs around 2009. It was built by [[Baldwin Locomotive Works]] in 1901.<ref>{{cite book|last=Garner|first=John|title=Guide to New Zealand Rail Heritage|publisher=IPL Books|year=1996|isbn=0-908876-99-8}}</ref>

The [[NZR WF class|Wf class]] of the [[New Zealand Government Railways]] was built between 1903 and 1928 and was a general purpose tank design. It was used all over New Zealand and identical locomotives were also in service as the Ds class of the [[Tasmanian Government Railways]]. Three [[NZR WF class|Wf class]] locomotives survived in preservation:
* Wf386, one of the engines used on the first Wellington to Auckland train, is preserved at [[Steam Incorporated|Paekakariki]].
* Wf392 was sold to the [[Tasmanian Government Railways]] and used as a Ds class locomotive. Its boiler is on display at [[Don River Railway]]
* Wf393 is preserved at [[Ferrymead Railway]].
* Wf403 is preserved at [[Nelson Railway Society]].

{{-}}
===South Africa===
[[File:CGR Type A 2-6-4T no. 31 1902.jpg|thumb|CGR Type A 2-6-4T]]
Between 1898 and 1900, the Pretoria-Pietersburg Railway (PPR) placed six {{nowrap|2-6-4T}} locomotives in service, built by [[Beyer, Peacock & Company]]. During the [[Second Boer War]], they were first taken over by the ''[[Netherlands-South African Railway Company|Nederlandsche-Zuid-Afrikaansche Spoorwegmaatschappij]]'' (NZASM) and then by the Imperial Military Railways (IMR). After the war, they were taken onto the roster of the [[Central South African Railways]] (CSAR) and in 1912 they were assimilated into the South African Railways (SAR) as [[South African Class D 2-6-4T|Class D]].<ref name="Holland 1"/><ref name="Holland 2"/><ref name="Paxton-Bourne"/><ref name="SAR Renumber">Classification of S.A.R. Engines with Renumbering Lists, issued by the Chief Mechanical Engineer’s Office, Pretoria, January 1912, pp. 7, 11, 13, 19 (Reprinted in April 1987 by SATS Museum, R.3125-6/9/11-1000)</ref>

In 1901, the CGR placed four 6th Class {{nowrap|[[2-6-2]]}} Prairie tender steam locomotives in service, designed at the Salt River works of the CGR and built by [[Neilson & Company#Turn of the century|Neilson, Reid & Company]]. During trials, it was found that they were inclined to be unsteady at speed and the locomotive design was therefore modified to a {{nowrap|2-6-4}} wheel arrangement by replacing the trailing carrier wheels with a two-axle bogie. Another four locomotives incorporating this modification were ordered later in 1901 and delivered in 1902, the first tender locomotives in the world to be built with this wheel arrangement. The change in design resulted in a marked improvement in the locomotive's stability at speed and the first four locomotives were therefore also modified accordingly. In 1912, when they were assimilated into the SAR, these eight locomotives were all designated [[South African Class 6Z 2-6-4|Class 6Z]].<ref name="Durrant"/><ref name="Neilson"/><ref name="Holland 1"/><ref name="Paxton-Bourne"/><ref name="SAR Renumber"/>

In 1902, the CGR placed two [[CGR Type A 2-6-4T|Type A]] Adriatic narrow gauge locomotive in construction service on the [[Avontuur]] branch, which was being built out of [[Port Elizabeth]] through the Langkloof. They were built by [[Manning Wardle]] and, at a width of {{convert|7|ft|9|in|m|3|abbr=off}}, they were the widest locomotives to see service on any of the {{convert|2|ft|mm|abbr=off}} narrow gauge lines in South Africa.<ref name="Paxton-Bourne"/>

===United Kingdom===
The first British examples of the 2-6-4T wheel arrangement were two locomotives built for the narrow-gauge [[Leek and Manifold Valley Light Railway#Locomotives and rolling stock|Leek & Manifold Valley Light Railway]] in 1904. The first {{RailGauge|4ft8.5in|al=on|allk=on}} examples were the [[GCR Class 1B|class 1B]] of the [[Great Central Railway]], built in 1914.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Haresnape |first1=Brian |last2=Rowledge |first2=Peter |title=Robinson Locomotives: A Pictorial History |date=May 1982 |publisher=[[Ian Allan Publishing]] |location=Shepperton |isbn=0-7110-1151-6 |id=DX/0582 |page=106 }}</ref>

[[Richard Maunsell]] of the [[South Eastern and Chatham Railway]] (SECR) designed the [[SECR K and SR K1 classes|K class]] in 1914 for express passenger duties, and in 1925 introduced a three-cylinder variant [[SECR K and SR K1 classes|K1 class]] for the [[Southern Railway (UK)|Southern Railway]]. These locomotives proved to be unsteady at speed and, following the [[Sevenoaks railway accident]] in 1927, they were rebuilt as [[2-6-0]] tender locomotives. Maunsell did however use the type more successfully for his [[SR Class W|W class]] freight locomotives of 1930.

[[File:Heritage.rail.750pix.jpg|thumb|[[BR Standard Class 4 2-6-4T]] No. 80136]]
Between 1927 and 1947, the [[London, Midland and Scottish Railway]] (LMS) built nearly five hundred 2-6-4Ts for suburban passenger work to four similar designs (see [[LMS/BR Class 4 2-6-4T locomotives|LMS/BR Class 4 {{nowrap|2-6-4T}} locomotives]]). The last of these, the [[LMS Fairburn 2-6-4T|LMS Fairburn]], continued to be built by [[British Rail]]ways (BR) until 1951. Fairburn's LMS design also formed the basis of the very successful [[BR Standard Class 4 2-6-4T|BR Standard Class 4]], which continued to be produced until 1957.

[[Image:NCC WT Class loco no 4.JPG|thumb|left|Preserved NCC WT class no. 4]]
Between 1946 and 1950, [[George Ivatt]] of the LMS also built eighteen {{RailGauge|5ft3in|al=on|allk=on}} examples of a very similar design at [[Derby Works]], for use in [[Northern Ireland]]. These later became the [[NCC Class WT|Northern Counties Committee WT class]].

A prototype of the [[London and North Eastern Railway]] (LNER) [[LNER Thompson Class L1|L1 class]], designed by [[Edward Thompson (engineer)|Edward Thompson]], was built in 1945. The remaining 99 members of the class were built under British Railways administration during the period from 1948 to 1950.

{{-}}
===United States===
{{Expand section|date=May 2024}}
The [[Reading Company]] used 2-6-4T Adriatics for commuter service.

==Model railroading==
The [[Lionel Corporation]] used the 2-6-4 wheel arrangement in many of its model steam locomotives, including the 2037 used in the infamous pastel-coloured ''Girls' Train''.<ref>[http://www.tandem-associates.com/lionel/lionellocomotives.htm Tandem Associates - Lionel Locomotives]</ref> Their 2-6-4 model was based on the [[Pennsylvania Railroad K4 class|Pennsylvania Railroad’s K4 class]] ''pacific'', even though this was a 4-6-2 rather than a 2-6-4.<ref >{{Cite web
  |title=LIONEL TRAINS LOCOMOTIVE No. 2035
  |url=http://www.tandem-associates.com/lionel/lionel_trains_2035_loco.htm
  |website=Identification Guide for Lionel Electric Trains
}}</ref>

==References==
{{Commons category}}

{{Reflist}}

{{Whyte types}}

[[Category:2-6-4 locomotives| ]]
[[Category:1C2 locomotives| ]]
[[Category:Whyte notation]]