4-4-0, in the Whyte notation, denotes a steam locomotive with a wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles (usually in a leading bogie), four powered and coupled driving wheels on two axles, and no trailing wheels.

First built in the 1830s, locomotives with this wheel arrangement were known as "standard" or "Eight-Wheeler" type. In the first half of the 19th century, almost every major railroad in North America owned and operated locomotives of this type, and many rebuilt their and locomotives as 4-4-0s.

In April 1872, Railroad Gazette used "American" as the name of the type. The type subsequently also became popular in the United Kingdom, where large numbers were produced.

The vast majority of 4-4-0 locomotives had tenders, though some tank locomotives (designated 4-4-0T) were built.

Development

American development

Five years after new locomotive construction had begun at the West Point Foundry in the United States with the Best Friend of Charleston in 1831, the first 4-4-0 locomotive was designed by Henry R. Campbell, at the time the chief engineer for the Philadelphia, Germantown and Norristown Railway. Campbell received a patent for the design in February 1836 and soon set to work building the first 4-4-0. A number of individual engines have been custom-built for theme parks in recent years, resembling early designs in appearance.

British development

The first British locomotives to use this wheel arrangement were the broad gauge 4-4-0 tank engine designs which appeared from 1849. The first British tender locomotive class, although of limited success, was the broad gauge Waverley class of the Great Western Railway, designed by Daniel Gooch and built by Robert Stephenson & Company in 1855.

The first American-style British 4-4-0 tender locomotive on , designed by William Bouch for the Stockton & Darlington Railway in 1860, followed American practice with two outside cylinders.

Britain's major contribution to the development of the 4-4-0 wheel arrangement was the inside cylinder version, which resulted in a steadier locomotive, less prone to oscillation at speed. This type was introduced in Scotland in 1871 by Thomas Wheatley of the North British Railway.

Use

Australia

thumb|[[South Australian Railways S class 4-4-0 locomotive No. 151, here at Murray Bridge in 1951, had the largest driving wheels on an Australian locomotive]]

Australia's first 4-4-0 locomotives were introduced by the South Australian Railways in 1859. From that initial order for two locomotives, the numbers of this wheel arrangement multiplied and eventually appeared in most of the Australian colonies. Tender, tank and saddle tank versions, varying in size from small locomotives to express passenger racers with driving wheels, worked in Victoria, New South Wales, Western Australia and Tasmania on , and

gauge.

The locomotives originally came from British builders such as Dübs & Company and Beyer, Peacock & Company; however, from the late 1870s into the 1880s, railways also bought locomotives from American builders, mostly from Baldwin, and a few from the Rogers Locomotive & Machine Works in New Jersey. From the 1880s onward, local firms such as James Martin & Co. in Gawler, South Australia, and the Phoenix Foundry in Ballarat, Victoria would also build them. In New South Wales and Victoria, the 4-4-0 were predominant for mainline passenger services until the early 1900s. In Western Australia, some were later converted to a wheel arrangement.

Finland

thumb|Finnish Class A4 locomotive of 1872

In Finland, the 4-4-0 was represented by the Classes A1, A2, A3, A4, A5, A6 and A7.

  • The Class A4 was a class of nine locomotives, built in 1872 and 1873 by the Baldwin Locomotive Works for use on the Hanko–Hyvinkää railway.
  • The Finnish Steam Locomotive Class A5 was a class of only two locomotives, built in 1874 and 1875 by the Finnish State Railroad's workshops in Helsinki. One of them is preserved at the Finnish Railway Museum.

Indonesia

thumb|Java [[Staatsspoorwegen's narrow gauge 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) 2-B two-cylinder compound saturated steam from Hanomag]]

The 4-4-0 two-cylinder compound tender locomotives began to set its step on Java in 1900s. The Staatsspoorwegen (SS) ordered 44 of these from 3 different manufacturers, they were from Hanomag, Sächsische Maschinenfabrik (Hartmann) and Werkspoor and they were imported in 1900–1910.

thumb|B51 12 is preparing for steam

After they had already arrived in Java, they were classified as SS Class 600 with 1,503 mm driving wheels which way much bigger than any operational SS locomotives at the time and used as the main workhorse for express trains. The SS 600s could be found hauling local trains in Tanah Abang–Rangkasbitung–Merak/Labuan, Madiun–Kertosono–Blitar and Babat–Jombang lines. Some of them were also found in Maos–Kroya–Kutoarjo and Surabaya–Pasuruan lines. Then, the SS sent their five SS 600s to South Sumatra due to the increasing needs of railway transport in there. These locomotives were withdrawn from active service momentarily in 1929-1934 during the Great Depression because of their cylinder compound technology which has a complicated mechanism system so the SS had to save its budget by preserving these locomotives, but they received extensive maintenance so they still could be used normally.

During Japanese occupation in 1942, all of private/state railway companies of the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) were renumbered based on Japanese numberings, without exception to SS Class 600s were renumbered to B51 and it still used after Indonesian Independence with their Djawatan Kereta Api (DKA) or Department of Railways of the Republic of Indonesia up to now. One unit of B51 was sent out again to West Sumatra to serve coal train transport in Muaro–Pekanbaru line till it closed in September, 1945. From 44 locomotives, only B51 12 (ex-SS 612) of Hanomag is preserved. Previously, B51 12 was a yard shunter of Bojonegoro railway station. The B51 12 was once a static display for more than 30 years at Ambarawa Railway Museum, before finally fully restored in 2012 to haul the Ambarawa excursion train for Ambarawa–Tuntang line beside the Esslingen B25 02 and 03 which were used on rack line between Jambu–Bedono.

Mozambique

thumb|left|Restored [[South African Class NG6 4-4-0|Beira Railway Falcon F2]]

Between 1895 and 1898, Pauling & Company placed 42 Falcon F2 and F4 4-4-0 tender locomotives in service on the narrow gauge railway which was being constructed for the Beira Railway in Mozambique. They were supplied in six batches by Falcon Engine & Car Works in England and the Glasgow Railway Engineering Company in Scotland.

In service, these locomotives were nicknamed Lawleys after the Beira Railway construction subcontractor. The construction of the last batch of ten F4 locomotives was subcontracted by Falcon to the Glasgow Railway Engineering Company in Scotland and these were consequently often referred to as the Drummond F4.

The Falcon F4 was larger and heavier than the earlier F2, with a tractive effort that was increased from the of the F2 to at 75% boiler pressure. It could haul up the ruling gradients, compared to the that the F2 could manage.

Cape gauge

thumb|left|[[CGR 1st Class 4-4-0T|CGR 1st Class with optional tender]]

Seven side-tank locomotives were built for the Cape Government Railways (CGR) by Robert Stephenson & Company in 1875. Since they were found to be fast and reliable engines, four more were delivered in 1880, built by Neilson & Company and practically identical to the previous seven, but equipped with small optional four-wheeled water tenders. They were all designated 1st Class when a locomotive classification system was introduced by the CGR.

In 1879, the Cape Government Railways placed four 1st Class tender locomotives in service, built by the Avonside Engine Company. They were intended for fast passenger service on the Cape Western and Eastern systems and were followed by eleven more from Neilson & Company in 1880.

William Adams built a series of standard gauge 4-4-0T classes for the North London Railway between 1863 and 1876. He went on to build the LSWR 46 Class for the London and South Western Railway in 1879. Other British 4-4-0T types included the A Class of the Metropolitan Railway, built by Beyer, Peacock & Company from 1864, and the Highland Railway O Class of 1878 and P class of 1893–94. Also in 1864, John Lambie of the Caledonian Railway built twelve Class 1 4-4-0T locomotives.

Inside cylinder tender locomotives

thumb|A [[LB&SCR B4 class c.1910 typical of the British inside frame/inside cylinder layout]]

Between 1876 and 1903, Samuel Johnson of the Midland Railway built 350 inside cylinder tender locomotives to various designs, notably the Midland Railway 483 Class. The type was particularly refined by John F. McIntosh of the Caledonian Railway with his Dunalastair and Breadalbane classes of 1896 to 1898. In addition, Wilson Worsdell of the North Eastern Railway designed six classes between 1896 and 1909. Other notable classes included the London and South Western Railway’s T9 class of 1899 and the London and North Western Railway’s Precursor Class of 1904.

United States

thumb|[[Atlantic, Mississippi and Ohio Railroad|AM&O No. 87, delivered on flatcars due to breaks-of-gauge]]

Since the first locomotives in the United States were imported from the United Kingdom, the British was also adopted by the first United States railroads. When new locomotive construction began in the United States in 1831, some new railroads opted for a different gauge, resulting in breaks-of-gauge as railroads began to be joined. Apart from freight reloading issues, another result was that new locomotives for some of these railroads had to be delivered on flatcars.

The 4-4-0 played a major role in the development of rail transport in the United States. Some of the notable 4-4-0 locomotives that saw service on United States railroads are:

thumb|An [[Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway|AT&SF on a passenger train across Kansas, c. 1895]]

thumb|right|[[Pennsylvania Railroad class D6 No. 317, built in 1881.]]

  • Philadelphia and Reading Railway Company No. 3, built in 1842 by Eastwick & Harrison in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is one of the oldest surviving locomotives of the 4-4-0-wheel arrangement, and the sole surviving 4-4-0 of the Reading Company.
  • The General, built in 1855 by Rogers, Ketchum & Grosvenor in Paterson, New Jersey, was the fleeing locomotive during the Great Locomotive Chase of the American Civil War.
  • The Texas, built in 1856 by Danforth, Cooke & Company in Paterson, New Jersey, was the pursuing locomotive during much of the Great Locomotive Chase.
  • The Jupiter, Central Pacific Railroad’s No. 60, built by Schenectady Locomotive Works of New York in September 1868, was one of the two locomotives to meet at Promontory Summit during the Golden Spike ceremony upon the completion of the First American Transcontinental Railroad on May 10, 1869.
  • Union Pacific No. 119, built by Rogers Locomotive & Machine Works of Paterson, New Jersey in 1868, was the other locomotive at Promontory Summit on May 10, 1869.
  • The Virginia & Truckee Railroad’s Dayton, built in 1873 by the Central Pacific Railroad, had the honor of opening the branch line between Carson City and Minden in Nevada in 1906.
  • The New York Central and Hudson River Railroad No. 999, built in 1893 to haul the railroad's Empire State Express, is believed to have been the first in the United States to travel at a speed of more than .
  • Walt Disney World Railroad No. 4 Roy O. Disney, which was built in February 1916 by the Baldwin Locomotive Works as No. 66 (later No. 251 in the 1960s) for the United Railways of Yucatán in Mexico. It now operates on the railroad circling the Magic Kingdom in Orlando, Florida. Since January 2024, this locomotive has been shipped to the Strasburg Rail Road for an extensive overhaul.

thumb|left|WDWRR No. 4 Roy O. Disney, built in 1916

By 1910, the 4-4-0 was considered obsolete being replaced by Mikados, Pacifics and other larger engines, although they continued to serve to an extent into the 1950s. The last 4-4-0 to be built was a diminutive Baldwin product for the Ferrocarriles Unidos de Yucatán in 1945. Fewer than forty 4-4-0s survive in preservation in the United States, reproductions excluded. The following is a list of locations with at least one working example and tracks on which to run it.

{|class=wikitable

!Location

!Address

!Road number/Name

!Track gauge

!Number of 4-4-0s

!Year(s) built

!Notes

|-

|Dan Markoff private residence

|Las Vegas, Nevada, US

|4 Eureka

|

|style="text-align:center;"|1

|1875

|It retains its original boiler.

|-

|Nevada State Railroad Museum

|Carson City, Nevada, US

|22 Inyo

|

|style="text-align:center;"|1

|1875

|Appeared in over twenty Hollywood westerns

|-

|Prairie Dog Central Railway

|Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

|3

|

|style="text-align:center;"|1

|1882

|

|-

|South Simcoe Railway

|Tottenham, Ontario, Canada

|136

|

|style="text-align:center;"|1

|1883

|

|-

|Walt Disney World Railroad (Magic Kingdom)

|Bay Lake, Florida, US

|4 Roy O. Disney

|

|style="text-align:center;"|1

|1916

|Significantly altered from its original appearance to resemble steam locomotives from the 1880s.

|-

|Weiser Railroad (Greenfield Village)

|Dearborn, Michigan, US

|1 Edison, 7

|

|style="text-align:center;"|2

|1870; 1897

|No. 1 Edison, built in 1870, was originally an ; it was rebuilt as a 4-4-0 in 1932 by the Ford Motor Company.

|-

|Wilmington & Western Railroad

|Marshallton, Delaware, US

|98

|

|style="text-align:center;"|1

|1909

|

|}

Preservation

North America

  • Canadian National (Grand Trunk Railway) 40 built at the Portland Locomotive works in 1872, is at the Canada Science and Technology Museum, Ottawa, Ontario.
  • Canadian Pacific 22 (Prairie Dog Central) 3 built by the Dubs & Company in Glasgow, Scotland, 1882. is at the Prairie Dog Central Railway (PDC) near Winnipeg, Manitoba.
  • Canadian Pacific 29 (390) built at the CPR's DeLorimier Shops in Montreal, Quebec, 1887 is in Calgary, Alberta

References

  • Building a 1/8 scale Live Steam locomotive This site includes a full 1875 shop drawing of a Baldwin 4-4-0
  • , illustrated account of the development of the 4-4-0 in Britain