Editing 2-8-8-2

{{Short description|Articulated locomotive wheel arrangement}}
{{for|the minor planet|2882 Tedesco}}
[[File:Virginian Railway Class USB -727.jpg|thumb|300x300px|[[Virginian Railway]] USB class 2-8-8-2 No. 727]]
A '''2-8-8-2''', in the [[Whyte notation]] for describing [[steam locomotive]] [[wheel arrangement]]s, is an [[articulated locomotive]] with a two-wheel [[leading truck]], two sets of eight [[driving wheel]]s, and a two-wheel [[trailing truck]]. The equivalent [[UIC classification]] is, refined to Mallet locomotives, '''(1′D)D1′ 4v'''. These locomotives usually employ the [[Mallet locomotive|Mallet]] principles of articulation—with the rear engine rigidly attached to the boiler and the front engine free to rotate—and [[compound locomotive|compounding]].  The 2-8-8-2 was a design largely limited to American locomotive builders. The last 2-8-8-2 was retired in 1962 from the N&W's roster, two years past the ending of steam though steam was still used on steel mill lines and other railroads until 1983.

Other equivalent classifications are: 
: [[UIC classification]]: '''(1′D)D1′'''
: [[French classification]]: '''140+041''' 
: [[Turkish classification]]: '''45+45''' 
: [[Swiss classification]]: '''4/5+4/5'''

A similar wheel arrangemement exists for [[Garratt locomotive]]s, but is referred to as [[2-8-0+0-8-2]] since both engine units swivel.

The first 2-8-8-2 was built in 1909 by [[Baldwin Locomotive Works|Baldwin]], who sold two to the [[Southern Pacific Railroad]] (classified [[Southern Pacific class MC-1|MC-1]]), and then three each to the [[Union Pacific Railroad]] and UP-owned [[Oregon Railroad and Navigation Company]].  Baldwin conceived the type as an expansion of the [[2-6-6-2]] permitting a greater [[tractive effort]].

The next order for the type was from the Southern Pacific; these differed in being [[cab forward]] locomotives, so that the crew could have better visibility and breathing in the SP's long tunnels and [[snow shed]]s.  They were very successful, and SP continued to order cab-forward locomotives, building an eventual fleet of 256 of numerous classes; later cab-forwards were [[4-6-6-2]]s (originally 2-6-6-2s) and [[4-8-8-2]]s.

The 2-8-8-2 proved itself to be a capable hauler on mountain grades, enabling the replacement of several smaller locomotives and hauling longer trains than before.  Most of them were not fast; they hauled at drag freight speeds, up to {{convert|25|mph|km/h|0|abbr=on}}.  However, the [[Norfolk and Western Railway|Norfolk and Western]] Y6 class were designed to run up to {{convert|55|mph|km/h|0|abbr=on}}.  The locomotives were adopted by a broad spectrum of mountain railroads, including the Norfolk & Western, [[Southern Railway (US)|Southern]], [[Virginian Railway|Virginian]], [[Great Northern Railway (U.S.)|Great Northern]], [[Clinchfield Railroad|Clinchfield]], [[Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad|Denver & Rio Grande Western]], [[Reading Railroad|Reading]], [[Western Maryland Railway|Western Maryland]], [[Missouri Pacific Railroad|Missouri Pacific]], [[St. Louis - San Francisco Railway|Frisco]], and the [[Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railway]].  On many railroads, the locomotives of the type were the most powerful on the roster.  When built, the 2-8-8-2s of the [[Western Pacific Railroad]] were among the most powerful steam locomotives in the world and formed the basis for the later [[2-8-8-4]] "Yellowstone" type engines used by the Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range.

The last compound [[Mallet locomotives]] to operate on major railroads in the United States were the 2-8-8-2 Y6b class of the [[Norfolk and Western Railway]]. After their final modifications in the 1950s, they were said to be capable of 170,000&nbsp;lbs tractive effort in simple-expansion mode, although some have questioned this claim (the original design tractive effort was 152,206 lbs SIMPLE and 126,838 lbs COMPOUND).  The last were retired in May 1960.

As of 2008, there are two surviving 2-8-8-2 locomotives, both former Norfolk & Western. [[Norfolk and Western 2050|N&W 2050]] is from the railroad's Y3a class; [[American Locomotive Company|Alco's]] Richmond works built it in 1923 and it is displayed at the [[Illinois Railway Museum]] in [[Union, Illinois]]. [[Norfolk and Western 2156|N&W 2156]], the most powerful extant steam locomotive in the world (in terms of tractive effort), is from the railroad's Y6a class; N&W's own [[Roanoke Shops]] built it in 1942 and it is owned by the [[National Museum of Transportation]] in [[St. Louis, Missouri]]. The 2156 was displayed at the [[Virginia Museum of Transportation]] in [[Roanoke, Virginia]] from 2015 to 2020, after which it returned to the Museum of Transportation in St. Louis.

==References==
* {{cite web|last=Carson|first=Neil| title=2-8-8-2| url=http://www.trains.com/Content/Dynamic/Articles/000/000/001/815lfopk.asp| access-date=7 December 2004|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041014222452/http://www.trains.com/Content/Dynamic/Articles/000/000/001/815lfopk.asp|archive-date=14 October 2004}}
* {{cite book| author=Jeffries, Lewis I.| title=N&W: Giant of Steam| edition=Rev.| year=2005 }}

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110216130529/http://spec.lib.vt.edu/imagebase/norfolksouthern/full/ns1000.jpeg builder's photo of N&W 2156, Virginia Tech collection]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110607150407/http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=216197 picture of N&W 2156 in 1985]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110716111503/http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=822263 picture of N&W 2156 in 2007]
*[http://www.toytrains1.com/articulated5.htm Web Site of ToyTrains1 2-8-8-2 Articulated Steam Locomotives]

{{Whyte types}}

[[Category:2-8-8-2 locomotives| ]]
[[Category:Whyte notation|88,2-8-8-2]]
[[Category:Mallet locomotives]]