4-8-4 - WikiHQ

Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles, eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles and four trailing wheels on two axles. The type was first used by the Northern Pacific Railway, and initially named the Northern Pacific, but railfans and railroad employees have shortened the name since its introduction. It is most commonly known as a Northern, among various names.

Overview

Development

thumb|left|[[Union Pacific 844, the only steam locomotive never retired by a North American Class I railroad]]

The wheel arrangement was a progression from the Mountain type and, like the Berkshire and Hudson types, an example of the "Super Power" concept in steam locomotive design that made use of the larger firebox that could be supported by a four-wheel trailing truck, which allowed greater production of steam. The four-wheel leading truck gave stability at speed and the eight driving wheels gave greater adhesion. The type evolved in the United States soon after the Lima Locomotive Works introduced the concept of "Lima Super Power" in 1925, making heavy 2-8-2 and 2-8-4 locomotives. The prototype was built by American Locomotive Company (ALCO) for the Northern Pacific Railway (NP) in 1926, with a very large firebox with a grate, designed to burn low quality lignite coal. The four-wheel trailing truck weighed about more than two-wheel trucks of the time and could carry an additional of engine weight; the difference of was available for increased boiler capacity.

thumb|350px|Roller-bearing equipped [[Timken 1111 (Northern Pacific 2626)]]

The type arrived when nearly all the important steam locomotive design improvements had already been proven, including superheaters, mechanical stokers, outside valve gear and the Delta trailing truck. One-piece, cast steel bed-frames with integrally cast cylinders gave the strength and rigidity to use Roller bearings. In 1930, the Timken Company used the Timken 1111, a built by ALCO with roller bearings on all axles, to demonstrate the value of their sealed roller bearings. That locomotive was subsequently sold to the NP, where it became NP No. 2626, their sole Class A-1 locomotive.

thumb|[[South Australian Railways 520 class]]

In 1943, the first of twelve streamlined South Australian Railways 520 class locomotives were delivered from the Islington Workshops in Adelaide. Although they were large locomotives, they were designed to run on lightly constructed track, with the engine's weight being spread over eight axles. Their coupled wheels were specially balanced for running.

thumb|left|[[Victorian Railways H220 Heavy Harry]]

The H class three-cylinder of the Victorian Railways, built in 1941, was designed for heavy passenger work on the line between Melbourne and Adelaide. Nicknamed Heavy Harry, it was the largest steam locomotive built in Australia and, after the NSWGR D57 4-8-2 and the South Australian Railways 500/500B class, the third-most-powerful non-articulated locomotive. It was one of the five Australian classes of three-cylinder locomotives.

Construction of three locomotives commenced at the Newport Workshops in 1939 and three sets of frames were manufactured. Although work was halted due to the outbreak of the Second World War, a shortage of motive power caused by increased wartime traffic resulted in authorisation being given for the completion of class leader H220. The locomotive went into service on 7 February 1941, but remained the sole member of the class because the other two partly built locomotives were never completed. Since the necessary upgrades to the Adelaide line was deferred, H220 operated only on the line between Melbourne and Albury in New South Wales.

Brazil

To meet the acute locomotive shortages in Brazil after the Second World War, 27 scaled down American Niágara locomotives were ordered by the Brazilian (DNEF) from ALCO in 1946. These locomotives were supplied to the (VFRGS), which then purchased another fifteen directly from ALCO in 1947. They were designated the 1001 class. In 1956 and 1957, some of them were sold to Bolivia. The Baldwin Locomotive Works supplied similar locomotives to the (RMV no. 601 to 604), the (RVPSC no. 801 to 806) and the (NOB no. 621 to 623).

After his retirement from the (SNCF) in France, French engineer André Chapelon was appointed as the chief designer of locomotives at the French state-owned sales consortium (GELSA). In 1949, a contract was signed between DNEF and GELSA for the construction of 24 locomotives with a axle load. The order also included 66 Berkshires. All ninety locomotives were delivered by January 1953.

The 24 class 242F Niágara locomotives were built by Société de Construction des Batignolles (). They were two-cylinder simple expansion locomotives, designed to burn poor quality local coal with a low calorific thermal value, with coupled wheels of diameter and a grate area of . They were coupled to big tenders which a coal capacity of . The Belpaire firebox included a combustion chamber and the boiler pressure was a high . One member of the class was tested on the Reseau Breton line in France before being shipped to Brazil.

The DNEF allocated the locomotives to four of Brazil's state railways. Under Brazilian railway conditions, these modern locomotives were not popular with local railwaymen and were not used as much as had been hoped. Their maximum axle load of restricted their usefulness, as did their long tenders. In some places the turntables were too short to turn the locomotives and they had to be turned on triangles. In addition, the building specifications had called for a locomotive capable of a maximum speed of and the ability to negotiate curves with a minimum radius of . This last point proved to be a source of contention when it was later discovered that the curves in some places were of less than radius. As a consequence, the locomotives were involved in a number of derailments.

In the late 1960s, they were relegated down from first class passenger trains. Some locomotives, allocated to Southern Brazil, were also tried in Bolivia.

Canada

Since the Canadian mainlines were generally laid with rail, Canadian were heavy and weighed in with axle loads up to .

When the Canadian National Railway (CN) introduced its first in 1927, it used the name "Confederation" for the type, to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Canadian Confederation. The CN employed a total of 160 Confederation locomotives.

thumb|[[Canadian National Railway|A Canadian National Railway U-4-a, a streamlined 4-8-4 of which one, Canadian National 6400, is preserved. The other 7 preserved examples are non streamlined.]]

Altogether forty locomotives were delivered in 1927, twenty Class U-2-a from the Canadian Locomotive Company and twenty Class U-2-b from the Montreal Locomotive Works (MLW).
Another twenty Class U-2-c came from MLW in 1929 and another five Class U-2-d, also from MLW, in 1936.
The CN U-4a was one of the few streamlined Confederation types, with five locomotives built by MLW and also introduced in 1936. U-4a No. 6400 achieved fame in 1939 by heading the royal train (see 1939 royal tour of Canada) and being exhibited at the New York World's Fair in the same year.
Between 1940 and 1944, a total of ninety more Confederation locomotives, built in four batches, were added to the CN roster.

The Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) experimented with the wheel arrangement in 1928, when two K-1a class locomotives were built in its Angus shops in Montreal, the first locomotives to be built with a one-piece cast-steel frame in Canada. However, since the CPR mainlines were built to high standards, the railway preferred to develop the Hudson type for passenger work since it gave adequate power and was cheaper to maintain, while a ten-coupled type, the Selkirk, was adopted for heavy-duty work. Nevertheless, although the two CPR Northerns remained orphans, they proved their worth continuously for 25 years on overnight passenger trains between Windsor Station (Montreal) and Union Station (Toronto). Before their retirement in 1960, they were converted to oil-burners and worked freight trains in the prairie provinces.

Chile

In 1936, the German builder Henschel & Son supplied ten gauge locomotives to the (State Railways or FdE) of Chile, designated the . They were called (Super Mountains), since they followed the Mountain that was introduced six years earlier. They were equipped with mechanical stokers and Vanderbilt tenders and weighed 185 tonnes in working order. On test, they produced at a coal consumption of and a water consumption of per kilometre. The design was not repeated, however, and the FdE returned to the wheel arrangement with its subsequent acquisitions. The was used on the line from Almeda to Talca until it was replaced by diesels in 1969. One of them, no. 1009, is preserved in the Santiago Railway Museum.

China

thumb|China Railways KF Class

In 1933, the Beijing–Hankou Railway in China needed new locomotives for their Guangzhou to Shaoguan line, where gradients of around two percent, curves with less than radius and low capacity bridges existed. The requirement was therefore for a locomotive with high tractive effort and a low axle load. In 1935 and 1936, 24 600-series locomotives, designed and built in the United Kingdom by Vulcan Foundry, were delivered to the railway. The locomotives represented a significant improvement over previous designs and incorporated a more efficient E-type superheater and duplex steam valve to allow better steaming without enlarging the boiler, while the wheel arrangement allowed better weight distribution.

When the Changsha–Guangzhou Railway was completed in October 1936, the locomotives were transferred to operate over the northern section between Hankou and Changsha on this new mainline, which connected Guangzhou with Tianjin and Beijing.

Following the establishment of the People's Republic of China, the locomotives were designated the China Railways KF class. Some of the locomotives survived in service until the early 1970s. One of them, no. 607, is preserved at the National Railway Museum in the United Kingdom and another is in China at the Beijing Railway Museum.

Czechoslovakia

The 60 T tank engines of Czechoslovak State Railways' 477 class represent the ultimate development of the CKD 4-8-2 tender locomotive, but added a four-wheel trailing truck as part of the conversion to a tank locomotive. One of five classes of three cylinder locomotives known, they were the last steam locomotives delivered to the Czechoslovak State Railways, with the last group built in 1955. Used primarily in local passenger service, they were pulling regularly timetabled trains as late as 1981.

thumb|CSD 477.043 in the Railway Museum at Lužná u Rakovníka

Three are preserved, as of 2018 two of them were still operational (013 and 043).

France

The lone prototype, numbered 242A1, of the (SNCF) was one of the five known classes of three-cylinder locomotives. It also had the distinction, along with an experimental high pressure locomotive of the New York Central Railroad in the United States, of being one of the two compound . It was rebuilt by Andre Chapelon from the unsuccessful 1932 three-cylinder simple expansion locomotive No. 241.101 of the into a compound locomotive. This remarkable locomotive achieved extraordinary power outputs and efficiency in coal and water consumption, but no further examples were built since the SNCF focused on electric traction for its future motive power development.

thumb|left|SNCF No. 242A1

No. 242A1 was put through trials on many test runs which showed that this locomotive was equal in power output to the existing SNCF electric locomotives at the time. Here, for the first time in Europe, was a steam locomotive with a axle load which was not only at least as powerful as the most powerful existing high-speed electric locomotive, but which could repeatedly achieve its maximum power without any mechanical trouble. Developing and with of peak tractive effort and of mean tractive effort; nothing in Europe could match it.

While No. 242A1 was being tested, electrical engineers were designing the locomotives for the line between Paris and Lyon, which was to be electrified. An electric locomotive that was to be slightly more powerful than the successful Paris to Orléans 2-D-2 type electric locomotive was being contemplated. When the test results of No. 242A1 became known, however, the design was hurriedly changed to incorporate the maximum capacity possible with a axle load, resulting in the 9100 class with a power output of more than more than that of the original design.

The performances of the Mistral and other heavy passenger express trains would therefore not have been so outstanding if No. 242A1 had not existed and Andre Chapelon therefore indirectly influenced French electric locomotive design. In addition, No. 242A1 demonstrated the suitability of the Sauvage-Smith system of compounding for French conditions and the designs for future French steam locomotives that were prepared but never produced, were to make use of the Sauvage-Smith compounding system.

In service, No. 242A1 was allocated to the Le Mans depot and, between 1950 and 1960, it hauled express trains over the between Le Mans and Brest. It did not remain in service long, however, and was withdrawn and scrapped in 1960.

The PLM built its 242.AT.1 to 120 class tank engines from 1926 to 1929; however, they were all retired by the 1960s. This did not stop one engine, 242.AT.6, from being preserved at the Cité du Train, thus becoming the only preserved French 4-8-4, and the largest preserved tank engine in France.

Germany

In 1939, the Deutsche Reichsbahn placed two prototype three-cylinder DRB Class 06 2D2-h3 heavy express locomotives in service, built by Krupp in 1938. Along with the lone 242A1 of the (SNCF) and the lone Victorian Railways H class in Australia, it was one of the five known classes of three-cylinder locomotives. Due to the outbreak of the Second World War and construction problems, only the two locomotives were produced.

With three cylinders, large diameter coupled wheels, a high boiler pressure and of tractive effort, they were capable of a maximum speed of and could haul a 650-tonne train at . Many parts, such as the boiler, were standardised with that of the DRG Class 45 heavy freight locomotive. The streamlined Class 06, the only German , was the biggest steam locomotive ever built in Germany. The two locomotives were shedded in Frankfurt and were placed in service on the line to Erfurt. No. 06.002 was bombed and destroyed during the hostilities and No. 06.001 survived until 1951, when it was retired and scrapped.

The boiler of both the 06 and 45 were designed along the lines of Robert Garbe and Richard Paul "Kunibald" Wagner, who held that a combustion chamber or double-expansion compound steam engines were unnecessary when using superheated steam. While the DB railways in the FRG salvaged the Class 45 design by fitting it with a badly needed mechanical stoker, there was no need for the powerful Class 06 Express locos; when express traffic resumed, DB Class V 200 and DB Class E 10 Diesel-hydraulic and AC electric engines made any investment into pre-World War II steam engines unacceptable for the DB leadership even though Friedrich Witte or Adolph Giesl-Gieslingen proposed many improvements.

Mexico

In 1946, the (N de M) placed orders with American Locomotive Company and Baldwin Locomotive Works for sixty Niágara locomotives for use on its principal express passenger services on upgraded lines, but the order was reduced to 32 in favour of diesel-electric locomotives. These QR-1 class locomotives were used mainly on lines north of Mexico City and were nicknamed . All were taken out of service in the late 1960s. Most survived and No. 3028, although not in operating condition, was stored on the deadline at the New Hope and Ivyland Railroad in New Hope, Pennsylvania.

New Zealand

New Zealand adopted the narrow gauge to minimise railway construction costs and, due to the mountainous terrain, the loading gauge was restricted to a maximum height of and width of , making it one of the most restrictive loading gauges in the world. While this undoubtedly reduced the cost of building the two hundred-odd tunnels on the railway system, it posed major problems for locomotive designers which were exacerbated by an axle load limit of .

After the Soviet Union and South Africa, the New Zealand Railways Department (NZR) had the largest fleet of locomotives outside North America, with 71 similar locomotives in the K class, KA class and KB class.

thumb|left|NZR KA class no. 942

After the construction of thirty K class locomotives, the NZR developed the design to strengthen the frame and introduced other improvements, such as roller bearings on all axles and ACFI () feedwater heaters. Introduced from 1939, they were also built in NZR workshops, most of them with streamlined shrouding to cover the external pipe work of their feedwater heater systems. The first 35 locomotives were designated KA class and worked on the North Island mainlines with the older K class locomotives.

South Africa

thumb|SAR Class 25NC no. 3410

Between 1953 and 1955, the South African Railways (SAR) placed fifty Class 25NC Northern locomotives in service. Designed under the direction of Chief Mechanical Engineer L.C. Grubb, eleven of these locomotives were built by North British Locomotive Company (NBL) and 39 by Henschel & Son. They were tended by Type EW1 tenders which rode on six-wheeled bogies. Two versions of the same locomotive were built, the Class 25NC being the non-condensing version, hence the "NC" suffix to the class number.

thumb|left|SAR Class 25 no. 3511

Ninety Class 25 condensing locomotives were introduced simultaneously, acquired as a means to deal with the shortage of adequate supplies of suitable locomotive water in the arid Karoo. The design work on the engine's condensing apparatus and the enormous condensing tender was carried out by Henschel, who built one locomotive complete with tender as well as sixty of the condensing tenders, to which they held the patent. The other 89 condensing locomotives and thirty tenders were built by NBL.

thumb|left|Class 26 Red Devil no. 3450

The Class 26, popularly known as the Red Devil, was rebuilt from Henschel-built Class 25NC no. 3450 by mechanical engineer David Wardale. The rebuilding took place at the Salt River shops of the SAR in Cape Town and was based on the principles developed by Argentinian mechanical engineer Livio Dante Porta. The primary objectives of the modifications were to improve the combustion and steaming rate to reduce the emission of wasteful black smoke and to overcome the problem of clinkering. This was achieved by the use of a Gas Producer Combustion System (GPCS), which relies on the gasification of coal on a low temperature firebed so that the gases are then fully burnt above the firebed. The GPCS minimises the amount of air being drawn up through the firebed, the main source of air required for combustion being through ancillary air intakes on the firebox sides above the firebed.

The modified locomotive became the only Class 26. Compared to an unmodified Class 25NC, the Red Devil achieved a 28% measured saving on coal and a 30% measured saving on water, measured during freight service, and a 43% increase in drawbar power based on the maximum recorded drawbar power. Its approximate maximum range in full load freight service on 1% to % grades was based on its coal capacity, and based on its water capacity. The maximum recorded freight load hauled relative to gradient was on 2% grades, and it could haul a passenger train at a constant speed of on 1% grades. The Red Devil great power, however, also turned out to be its one weakness. The Class 25NC had already proven to be on the slippery side and the much more powerful Class 26, with essentially still the same dimensions as the Class 25NC, was even worse. It was a poor performer at starting or at low speeds on steep gradients.

United Kingdom

In 1938 William Stanier considered a 4-6-4 express passenger locomotive design, together with a 4-8-4 version as a large mixed-traffic locomotive. War intervened and suspended development of express passenger locomotives, but the 4-8-4 design was re-examined in 1942 by Fairburn, the acting CME, as a possible post-war type for fast goods trains.

While no steam locomotives were known to be this type, an experimental diesel-mechanical locomotive, the British Rail 10100, had this wheel arrangement, but it was scrapped after a gearbox failure caused a loss of interest in the project.

United States

thumb|Spokane, Portland and Seattle No. 700

thumb|Women [[wiper (occupation)|wipers of the Chicago and North Western Railroad cleaning one of the "Northern" H-class steam locomotives, Clinton, Iowa, 1943]]

The American was a heavy locomotive, with nearly all examples in the United States having axle loads of more than . On railroads with rail of , axle loads of more than were permitted. Exceptionally heavy were therefore introduced on the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe (Santa Fe), Chicago and North Western (CNW), Chesapeake and Ohio (C&O), Milwaukee Road (MILW), Northern Pacific (NP), Norfolk and Western (N&W), Spokane, Portland and Seattle (SP&S) and Western Maryland (WM) railroads. The Santa Fe Class 2900 had the heaviest axle load of all at as well as being the heaviest ever built, weighing total. The lightest in the United States were the six H-10 class locomotives of the Toledo, Peoria and Western (TPW), with an axle load of .

Some were used on exceptionally long runs.

The Santa Fe Heavy Mountains were rostered to haul the Chief and Fast Mail trains between La Junta, Colorado, and Los Angeles across , and also handled the Grand Canyon Limited between Los Angeles and Wellington, Kansas, across . From 1942, they ran through from Los Angeles to Kansas City via the Belen Cutoff and Amarillo, Texas, a distance of , setting a new record for through steam locomotive rosters.
The Niagaras of the New York Central Railroad (NYC) also accomplished long runs on New York to Chicago passenger trains, including the Chicagoan and the Commodore Vanderbilt.
The Northern Pacific hauled the North Coast Limited across from St. Paul, Minnesota, to Livingston, Montana.
The Great Northern S-2 Class of hauled the Empire Builder across from St. Paul, Minnesota, to Wenatchee, Washington, and possibly as far west to Seattle, a maximum distance of .

Several of the earlier locomotive models were modified or rebuilt during their service lives.

Santa Fe developed their for years, and named the classes based on the number of the first locomotive in the class. The fourteen 3751 class locomotives that were introduced in 1927 and 1928 were of conservative design, with driving wheels and a boiler pressure of . In 1938, these locomotives were rebuilt with more modern features, including new Boxpok driving wheels, wider steam passages to and from the cylinders, the boiler pressure raised to and roller bearings on all engine axles. This gave them a maximum drawbar power of at . Engine No. 3752 was equipped with Franklin rotary cam poppet valve gear and achieved the very low steam rate of 13.5 lb per indicated horsepower-hour These locomotives were permitted to run at , but they were alleged to have exceeded several times.
The S-2 Class Northerns of the Great Northern Railway were rebuilt to have Timken roller bearings on every axle in 1945, replacing their original plain bearings. Vestibule cabs were added to engine 2577 in the early 1930s and engines 2582, 2586, 2587 and 2588 by the late 1940s.

Some Northern locomotives were also rebuilt from older engines. Between 1945 and 1947, the Reading Railroad rebuilt thirty of their heavy I-10 class Consolidations to booster-fitted Northern locomotives with driving wheels. An additional ring was added at the smokebox end of the boiler, which increased the length of the boiler tubes from to , and a larger smokebox was installed which increased the distance between the tube plate and the chimney centre line from . Steam pressure was raised from . Four syphons were fitted, three in the firebox proper and one in the combustion chamber. A twelve-wheeled tender was attached, weighing 167 tons in working order, with a capacity of 23.5 tons of coal and of water. A new cast-steel frame was used, with the cylinders cast integral and roller bearings on all axles. They were reclassified to T1 and numbered 2100 to 2129. Two of these locomotives, preserved for hauling special trains, were still in use in 1963.

thumb|[[Southern Pacific GS-4 class]]

The Northerns were workhorses that went without much public recognition, with a few exceptions. The GS-4 class Golden State locomotives of Southern Pacific Railroad (SP), of which 36 were built by Lima Locomotive Works in 1941 and 1942, were semi-streamlined and were given a striking livery with a broad orange valence over the wheels below a narrow red band that came halfway up the cab windows. The locomotives headed the Coast Daylight train on the railroad's Coast Line between Los Angeles and San Francisco. The television program Adventures of Superman is introduced with a shot of an SP GS-4 as the narrator declares that Superman is "more powerful than a locomotive." One of them, Southern Pacific 4449, has been restored and is in operating condition.

Even after the demise of steam, the Northern type has been in the spotlight of publicity and, along with Union Pacific 844 of the Union Pacific FEF Series and Norfolk and Western 611 of the Norfolk and Western Class J series, among other Northerns, have been the favoured type to provide mainline excursions in the United States. The former is the only steam locomotive of a Class I railroad never to have been retired.

North American production list

Most North American s were built by ALCO, Lima and the Baldwin Locomotive Works, while Canadian National Railway's fleet was built by Montreal Locomotive Works. Only the Canadian Pacific Railway, the Norfolk and Western Railway, the St. Louis Southwestern Railway (Cotton Belt) and the Reading Railroad built or rebuilt their own. The Missouri Pacific rebuilt one class of their s from their class BK-63 2-8-4s.

The Northern type was used by 37 railroads in the Americas, including 31 railroads in the United States, three in Canada, one in Mexico and two in Brazil. In all, there were fewer than 1,200 locomotives of this type in North America, compared to the approximately 2,500 Mountain types and 6,800 Pacific types. By far the largest fleet was owned by the CN and its subsidiary, the Grand Trunk Western Railroad, with altogether 203 locomotives.

| M-64 || 1700–1713 || Baldwin || 1929 || All scrapped between 1951 and 1956.

| M-68 || 1800–1804 || Baldwin || 1938 || All scrapped between 1952 and 1954.

| rowspan=2 | Great Northern Railway (20 "Northerns")

| S-1 || 2550–2555 || Baldwin || 1929 || All scrapped between 1956 and 1963.

| S-2 || 2575–2588 || Baldwin || 1930 || First 4-8-4s built with 80" driving wheels. 2584 preserved at the Havre depot in Havre, Montana, remainder scrapped between 1955 and 1963.

| rowspan=2 | Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad (36 "Northerns")

| O-5 || 5600–5607 || Baldwin || 1930 || All scrapped by 1955.

| O-5a || 5608–5635 || CB&Q || 1936–1940 || Six converted to oil burning O-5b class while in revenue service by the CB&Q. 5614, 5629, 5631 and 5633 preserved.

| rowspan=4 | Milwaukee Road (52 "Northerns")

| S1 || 9700 || Baldwin || 1930 || Renumbered 250 in 1938, retired 1954 and scrapped.

| S1 || 251 || MILW || 1938 || Retired 1954 and scrapped.

| S2 || 201–240 || Baldwin || 1937, 1940 || Scrapped between 1948 and 1954.

| S3 || 260–269 || Alco || 1943 || 261 used as an excursion locomotive, 265 preserved at the Illinois Railway Museum, remainder scrapped between 1954 and 1959.

| rowspan=2 | Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway (25 "Dixies")

| J-2 || 565–569 || Alco || 1930 || Scrapped by 1952.

| J-3 || 570–589 || Alco || 1942 || 576 preserved and under restoration by the Nashville Steam Preservation Society in Centennial Park in Nashville, Tennessee; and the only surviving 4-8-4 that worked for Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railroad, remainder scrapped between 1952 and 1955.

| rowspan=2 | St. Louis Southwestern Railway aka "Cotton Belt" (20 "Northerns")

| L-1 || 800–809 || Baldwin || 1930 || All Scrapped by 1953.

| L-1 || 810–819 || SSW || 1937, 1942–1943 || 819 is the youngest and only surviving Class L1 Northern and under restoration at the Arkansas Railroad Museum in Pine Bluff, Arkansas.

| rowspan=8 | Southern Pacific (70 "Golden States" or "General Service")

| GS-1 || 4400–4409 || Baldwin || 1930 || All Scrapped between 1953 and 1959.

| GS-2 || 4410–4415 || Lima || 1936 || All Scrapped between 1955 and 1958.

| GS-3 || 4416–4429 || Lima || 1937 || All Scrapped by 1957.

| GS-4 || 4430–4457 || Lima || 1941 || 4449 preserved and is the only surviving GS-4 and the only surviving Daylight painted steam locomotive. It is used as an excursion loco.

| GS-5 || 4458–4459 || Lima || 1942 || Essentially 2 experimental GS-4 locomotives fit with roller bearings. Scrapped by 1958.

| GS-6 || 4460–4469 || Lima || 1943 || 4460 is the oldest and only surviving GS-6 and the last GS Class 4-8-4 built today displayed at the Museum of Transportation in Kirkwood next to St. Louis, Missouri.

| GS-7 || SSW #801-802, #804-805, #807-809 SP #4479-4481 || Baldwin || 1930 || Scrapped.

| GS-8 || SSW #813, #813, #817-818 SP #4488 (SSW #813), 4485-4487 (815-818) || SSW's Pine Bluff Shops || 1930 || Scrapped.

| Southern Pacific subsidiary, Texas and New Orleans Railroad (4 "Golden States")

| GS-1 || 700–703 || Baldwin || 1930 || Scrapped.

| Timken Roller Bearing Company (demonstrator)

| A-1 || 1111 || Alco || 1930 || to NP 2626.

| Wabash Railroad (25 "Northerns")

| O-1 || 2900–2924 || Baldwin || 1930–1931 || Scrapped.

| rowspan=4 | Lehigh Valley Railroad (37 "Wyomings")

| T-1a || 5100–5110 || Baldwin || 1931–1932 || Scrapped.

| T-2a || 5200–5210 || Alco || 1931–1932 || Scrapped.

| T-2b || 5211–5220 || Alco || 1943 || Scrapped.

| T-3 || 5125–5129 || Baldwin || 1934–1935 || Scrapped.

| rowspan=4 | New York Central Railroad (28 "Niagaras")

| HS-1a || 800 || Alco || 1931 || Experimental prototype. Deemed a failure and spent the rest of its career as a switcher locomotive. Scrapped 1955.

| S-1a || 6000 || Alco || 1945 || Scrapped.

| S-1b || 6001–6025 || Alco || 1945–1946 || Scrapped.

| S-2a || 5500 || Alco || 1946 || Fit wit poppet valves. Scrapped.

| rowspan=2 | Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (12 "Greenbriers")

| J-3 || 600–606 || Lima || 1935, 1942 || Named after Virginia statesmen. All Scrapped between 1950 and 1955.

| J-3-A || 610–614 || Lima || 1948 || No. 614 preserved and is the last commercially built passenger steam locomotive in the U.S. and is currently the world's most advanced steam locomotive. It is currently at the Strasburg Rail Road in Ronks, Pennsylvania, undergoing a complete rebuild to operable condition as of July 2025. Remainder scrapped between 1952 and 1958.

| Ontario Northland Railway (5 "Northerns")

| 1100 || 1100–1104 || CLC || 1936 || All scrapped between 1947 and 1959.

| Atlantic Coast Line Railroad (12 "1800s")

| R-1 || 1800–1811 || Baldwin || 1938 || All scrapped between 1953 and 1959.

| rowspan=3 | Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad (27, names by class below)

| Generals || 551–555 || Baldwin || 1937 || All scrapped by 1949.

| Governors || 601–612 || Baldwin || 1938, 1942 || All scrapped by 1950.

| Statesmen || 613–622 || Baldwin || 1944–1945 || All scrapped between 1951 and 1959.

| Toledo, Peoria and Western Railway (6 "Northerns")

| H-10 || 80–85 || ALCO || 1937 || All Scrapped between 1947 and 1953.

| rowspan=3 | Union Pacific Railroad (45 "Northerns" or "Four-Eight-Fours"/"FEFs")

| FEF-1 || 800–819 || Alco || 1937 || 814 preserved in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

| FEF-2 || 820–834 || Alco || 1939 || 833 preserved in Ogden, Utah.

| FEF-3 || 835–844 || Alco || 1944 || 838 stored in Cheyenne, Wyoming, 844 is the oldest operating steam engine on a Class One Railroad and is used as an excursion locomotive.

| Wisconsin Central Railway (4 "Northerns")

| O-20 || 5000–5003 || Lima || 1938 || All Scrapped between 1949 and 1953.

| Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway (3 "Northerns")

| E-1 || 700–702

| BLW || 1938 || NP A-3 class; 700 survives and is used as an excursion loco.

| rowspan=2 | Missouri Pacific Railroad (40 "Northerns")

| (ex-BK-63) || 2101–2125 || MP || 1940–1942 || Rebuilt from 2-8-4 class BK-63. All scrapped between 1945 and 1959.

| N-73 || 2201–2215 || Baldwin || 1943 || Scrapped between 1953 and 1958. Wartime restrictions prohibited the MP from designing their own Northern. This class was based on the D&RGW "1800s" design.

| Norfolk and Western Railway (14 "J"s)

| J || 600–613 || N&W || 1941–1950 || 611 has been restored and returned to revenue service for excursions in the summer of 2015 and is the only survivor.

| Central of Georgia Railway (8 "Big Apples")

| K || 451–458 || Lima || 1943 || Scrapped by 1953.

| Delaware and Hudson Railway (15 "Northerns")

| K-62 || 300–314 || Alco || 1943 || Scrapped between 1949 and 1955.

| St. Louis – San Francisco Railway (25 "Northerns")

| 4500 || 4500-4524 || Baldwin || 1942–1943 || 4500, 4501, 4516 and 4524 preserved.

| Western Pacific Railroad (6 "Northerns")

| GS-64 || 481–486 || Lima || 1943 || Built to SP GS-6 specifications due to WPB restrictions.

| Reading Railroad (30 "Northerns")

| T-1 || 2100–2129 || RDG || 1945–1947 || 2100, 2101, 2102, and 2124 preserved. Converted from Class I-10sa 2-8-0 locomotives.

South Australian Railways 523 "Essington Lewis": on static display at the National Railway Museum, Port Adelaide.
Victorian Railways H220 (aka "Heavy Harry"): On static display at the Newport Railway Museum in Melbourne, this locomotive is the only surviving three-cylinder example of a 4-8-4.

; Canada

Canadian National 6153: On static display at the Canadian Railway Museum in Delson, Quebec.
Canadian National 6167: On static display in downtown Guelph, Ontario.
Canadian National 6200: Canada Science and Technology Museum, Ottawa, Ontario.
Canadian National 6213: On static display in downtown Toronto, Ontario, at the Toronto Railway Heritage Centre.
Canadian National 6218: Fort Erie Railroad Museum, Fort Erie, Ontario. Used by CN on excursions in the 1960s and 1970s.
Canadian National 6400: Canada Science and Technology Museum, Ottawa, Ontario.
Canadian Pacific 3100: Canada Science and Technology Museum, Ottawa, Ontario.
Canadian Pacific 3101: On display at EVRAZ (formerly IPSCO Steel), Regina, Saskatchewan.
N de M 3027: Guadalajara, Jalisco.
N de M 3028: Retired in 1966, acquired by the Great North Eastern Railroad Foundation, and displayed at the Altamont, New York, fairgrounds until 1983. On lease to the New Hope and Ivyland Railroad.
N de M 3030: Zacatecas, Zacatecas.
N de M 3031: Huehuetoca, Mexico.
N de M 3033: Pachuca, Hidalgo.
N de M 3034: Puebla, Puebla.
N de M 3035: Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes.
N de M 3036: Leon, Guanajuato.
N de M 3038: Mexico City.
N de M 3039: Monterrey, Nuevo Leon.
N de M 3040: Oriental, Puebla.
N de M 3056: Tequisuiapan, Queretaro.

; New Zealand

K 900: On static display at the Museum of Transport & Technology, Auckland
K 911: Under overhaul by the Mainline Steam Heritage Trust, Plimmerton.
K 917: Stored, missing many parts, Steam Incorporated, Paekākāriki.
KA 935: Awaiting overhaul at the Silver Stream Railway, near Wellington, New Zealand.
KA 942: In service at the Mainline Steam Heritage Trust, Plimmerton. Was used on mainline excursions.
KA 945: Stored in dismantled condition at Steam Incorporated, Paekākāriki.
KB 968: Owned by the Canterbury Railway Society, leased to the Mainline Steam Heritage Trust. Under overhaul at Christchurch.

; South Africa

Class 25 3511: Condenser, staged at Beaconsfield, Kimberley.
Class 25NC 3405: Displayed at the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre, Quainton, England
Class 25NC 3432: Stored at Mainline Steam, Auckland, New Zealand.
Class 25NC 3437: Owned by Steamnet 2000, restored and steamed in April 2017.
Class 25NC 3442: Operated by Rovos Rail, Capital Park, Pretoria.
Class 25NC 3454: Ex condenser with dual Lempor exhaust, staged at Bloemfontein.
Class 25NC 3484: Ex condenser, operated by Rovos Rail, Capital Park, Pretoria.
Class 25NC 3508: Stored at Mainline Steam, Auckland, New Zealand.
Class 25NC 3533: Ex condenser, operated by Rovos Rail, Capital Park, Pretoria.
Class 26 3450: The Red Devil, staged at Monument Station, Cape Town.

; Soviet Union

P36-0001: Restored to working order at Roslavl in 2005. Currently displayed at Rizhsky Station, Moscow.
P36-0027: Tikhoretsk for restoration to working order.
P36-0031: Troitsk in working order.
P36-0032: The only private steam locomotive operated in Russia, owned by GW Travel.
P36-0050: Brest Railway Museum.
P36-0058: Zlatoust derelict.
P36-0064: Brest Railway Museum, Belarus Railways.
P36-0071: Cosmetically restored and on display in Nizhny Novgorod.
P36-0091: Skovorodino station.
P36-0094: Belogorsk station.
P36-0096: Severobaik station.
P36-0097: Seyatel Station Museum.
P36-0107: Park near Irkutsk.
P36-0110: Mogzhon station.
P36-0111: Orsha station, Belarus.
P36-0120: Now restored to working order at Tikhoretsk. Returned to Moscow 03/09/13 for the '1520 Railway Exhibition' at Scherbinka. Currently based in Moscow.
P36-0123: Prora Museum, Ruegen Island, Germany.
P36-0124: Chernyshevsk depot.
P36-0147: Sharya station.
P36-0182: Cosmetically restored and on display in Chelyabinsk.
P36-0192: Taiga station.
P36-0218: Tikhoretsk/Bataysk, restored to working order.
P36-0228: Uulan Baatar Railway Museum, Mongolia.
P36-0232: Cosmetically restored at Zlatoust in 2009 for display in Samara. May display a different number.
P36-0249: Shushary Railway Museum, St. Petersburg.
P36-0250: Tashkent Railway Museum, Uzbekistan.
P36-0251: Warsaw Station Museum, St. Petersburg.

; Spain

RENFE242F-2009: Retired in 1973, restored in 1989, and another time in 2005. Although in running order, it is usually on static display at the Museo del Ferrocarril, housed in the former Delicias Railway Station.
Andorra, Escatrón & Samper de Calanda steam locomotives, retired in 1984. One is displayed in Casetas, Zaragoza, and the other two are displayed in Andorra, Teruel

; United States

Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe 2903: On display at the Illinois Railway Museum in Union, Illinois.
Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe 2912: On static display in Pueblo, Colorado.
Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe 2913: On display in Fort Madison, Iowa.
Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe 2921: On display at the Amtrak Station in Modesto, California.
Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe 2925: On display at the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento, California.
Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe 2926: Currently under restoration for excursion service in Albuquerque at a site leased from the GSA near 8th Street and Haynes Avenue. More information at New Mexico Steam Locomotive and Railroad Historical Society.
Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe 3751: Restored in 1991, owned by the San Bernardino Railroad Historical Society, and is operated in excursion service. It is the oldest surviving , the first one to be built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works and the first to be built for the Santa Fe.
Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe 3759: On Display in Kingman, Arizona.
Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe 3768: On display at the Great Plains Transportation Museum in Wichita, Kansas.
Chesapeake and Ohio 614: Restored in 1980 and again in 1995, owned by RJD America, LLC. Undergoing restoration to operating condition at the Strasburg Rail Road.
Chicago, Burlington and Quincy 5614: On display at Patee Park in St. Joseph, Missouri.
Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy 5629: On display at the Colorado Railroad Museum in Golden, Colorado.
Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy 5631: On display at Rotary Park in Sheridan, Wyoming.
Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy 5633: On display at the Douglas Railroad Interpretive Center, Douglas, Wyoming.
Grand Trunk Western 6323: On display at the Illinois Railway Museum in Union, Illinois.
Grand Trunk Western 6325: Briefly operated on the Ohio Central Railroad, now on display at the Age of Steam Roundhouse in Sugarcreek, Ohio.
Great Northern 2584: On display at the Havre depot in Havre, Montana.
Milwaukee Road 261: Restored in 1993, owned, maintained, and operated by the Friends of the 261 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Milwaukee Road 265: On display at the Illinois Railway Museum in Union, Illinois.
Nashville, Chattanooga, and St. Louis 576, Nashville, Tennessee - Presently undergoing Restoration.
Norfolk and Western 611: Ran frequent excursions in the 1980s and early 1990s, then placed on static display at the Virginia Museum of Transportation, Roanoke, Virginia. The second restoration to operational condition completed in mid 2015 at the North Carolina Transportation Museum, Spencer, North Carolina.
Reading 2101: On display at the B&O Railroad Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.
Reading 2102: Reading & Northern Railroad, Port Clinton, Pennsylvania, has been restored to operating condition in April 2022.
Reading 2124: Used on the "Reading Rambles" in the late 1950s and 1960s. On display at Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton, Pennsylvania.
Cotton Belt 819: Built in 1942, it was the last locomotive built by the Cotton Belt and the last Cotton Belt steam locomotive built. Restored to service in 1986 and housed at the Arkansas Railroad Museum in Pine Bluff, Arkansas.
St. Louis-San Francisco 4500: As the Frisco Meteor, ran overnight passenger service between St. Louis, Tulsa and Oklahoma City. Cosmetically restored and relocated in 2011 to the Route 66 Historical Village at 3770 Southwest Blvd in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
St. Louis-San Francisco 4501: Built in 1942, ran overnight passenger service as the Frisco Meteor between St. Louis, Tulsa, and Oklahoma City. Donated to the Dallas Museum of the American Railroad in September 1964.
St. Louis-San Francisco 4516: On display at the Missouri State Fairgrounds in Sedalia, Missouri.
St. Louis-San Francisco 4524: On display at Grant Beach Park in Springfield, Missouri. This was the last steam locomotive built for the Frisco.
Spokane, Portland and Seattle 700: Restored in 1990 by the Oregon Rail Heritage Foundation, and is operated in excursion service. No. 700 is stored at the Oregon Rail Heritage Center in Portland, Oregon, along with SP 4449. It is the only surviving original Spokane, Portland and Seattle railway steam locomotive.
Southern Pacific 4449: Still in operation, served as the locomotive for the Bicentennial American Freedom Train. Stored at the Oregon Rail Heritage Center in Portland, Oregon along with SPS 700.
Southern Pacific 4460: On display at the National Museum of Transportation in St. Louis, Missouri. This was the last steam locomotive used in revenue service by SP.
Union Pacific 814: On display at the Rock Island Depot Museum in Council Bluffs, Iowa.
Union Pacific 833: On display at the Utah State Railroad Museum in Ogden, Utah.
Union Pacific 838: Union Pacific Railroad, stored in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Used solely as a source of spare parts for sister engine 844.
Union Pacific 844: Formerly Union Pacific 8444 is the last steam locomotive built for Union Pacific Railroad (12/1944). Part of UP heritage fleet, often used for running in excursion service, and on occasion revenue service. Never retired, it is the longest continuously operating steam locomotive on a Class 1 Railroad. Kept at Cheyenne, Wyoming, when not on excursion.