Locomotives / Train Sets

4-8-2 (Mountain)

Steam Locomotive

Series: "Mountain"

Entry Last Edited: 01/17/2024 | Content ©www.RailRoadJunction.net | The following text is exclusive to this site.

The 4-8-2 arrived in its true form in 1908 with New Zealand Railways Department and proved excellent for heavy-haul mountain routes.

The 4-8-2 was classified as such due to its paired leading wheels (four in all) followed by eight driving wheels (four to a loco side) and a single pair of trailing wheels (one on each side). As such, fourteen total wheels were seen in the design with seven to a side. The 4-8-2 was an evolution of the preceding 4-6-2 (Pacific) and proved exceptional in heavy haul, mountainous terrain routes.

First recognized tank versions were in 1988 by the Colony of Natal (South Africa). Tender versions followed in 1906 and the first "true" type was seen in 1908 in New Zealand - the NZR X-class under the New Zealand Railways Department banner. This model was designed by A.L. Beattie and built at the Addington Workshops.

Its general design was consistent with steam, locomotives of the period. A cow-catcher was fitted at front along with lighting and the smoke funnel. The body of the locomotive was cylindrical in its general shape, the lines broken up only by the boxy driving cabin seated over the aft section of the frame. The wheels were exposed along the sides of the frame and the large drive wheels were particularly notable. The tender was attached to the rear of the locomotive to facilitate feeding of the steam unit.

Customers of the 4-8-2 wheel arrangement proved plenty (as did the builders involved in bringing the series to life across the globe). This included operators in Africa, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and North America. The design proved exceptionally popular in the United States market as a replacement for the Pacific types. At least 2,200 Mountain locomotives were built in the United States alone and these featured by some forty operators from coast-to-coast.

Some of the last global 4-8-2s were built into the 1950s and not retired until the 1970s.

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Specifications [ 4-8-2 (Mountain) ]

American Locomotive Company (ALCO) / Vulcan Iron Works - United States; Armstrong Whitworth / Cardiff Locomotive Workshops / Eveleigh Locomotive Workshops / Clyde Engineering / Perry Engineering / Walkers Limited - Australia; Angus Shops / Montreal Locomotive Works - Canada; Skoda Works - Czechoslovakia; Epernay - France; Henschel and Son / Friedrich Krupp AG / Borsig Locomotiv Werke - Germany; Addington Workshops / Hillside Railway Workshop - New Zealand; North British Locomotive Company - Scotland
Builder

New Zealand
Origin

1908 - 1955
Production Run

10,000 units
Production Total

Rear-Right
Driver Position

12.5m | 41.0 ft
Length
NOTE: May include length of entire train set

203,665 kg
(449,081 lb | 224 US Tons)
Weight

Steam
Power Source

1 x Coal-fired steam engine.
Engine / Drive Source

115.0 kph
(71.5 mph)
Max Speed

Wheel Arrangement
(Loco Facing Left)

Series Variants
4-8-2 - Base Series Designation based on wheel arrangement.
"Mountain Type" - Series Name.
241 Type - Spanish market form.
Class 19 - South African market form.
Class 19D
Class 4A-8-2 - Southern Rhodesia market form.
X-class 4-8-2 - New Zealand market form.
Pu29 - Polish market form.

Operating Countries
Angola; Australia; Bulgaria; Canada; Czechoslovakia; France; Mozambique; New Zealand; Philippines; Poland; Rhodesia; South Africa; Spain; United Kingdom; United States

Customers / Operators:
Benguela Railway; Bulgarian State Railways; Canadian National; Canadian Pacific; Chemins de fer de Est; Czechoslovak State Railways; East German Deutsche Reichsbahn; New South Wales Government Railways (NSWGR); Philippine National Railways; Polish State Railways (PKP Group); South Australian Railways; Tasmanian Government Railways
NOTE: Includes both past and present

Image of the 4-8-2 (Mountain)

Port side color illustration of a 4-8-2 steam locomotive unit.
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