Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 2-2-2 represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, two powered driving wheels on one axle, and two trailing wheels on one axle. The wheel arrangement both provided more stability and enabled a larger firebox than the earlier 0-2-2 and 2-2-0 types. This configuration was introduced in 1834 on Robert Stephenson's 'Patentee locomotive' but it was later popularly named Jenny Lind, after the Jenny Lind locomotive which in turn was named after the popular singer. They were also sometimes described as Singles, although this name could be used to describe any kind of locomotive with a single pair of driving wheels.
Equivalent classifications
Other equivalent classifications are:
UIC classification: 1A1
French classification: 111
Turkish classification: 13
Swiss classification: 1/3
History
The 2-2-2 configuration appears to have been developed by Robert Stephenson and Company in 1834, as an enlargement of their 2-2-0 Planet configuration, offering more stability and a larger firebox. The new type became known as Stephenson's Patentee locomotive. Adler, the first successful locomotive to operate in Germany, was a Patentee supplied by Robert Stephenson and company in component form in December, 1835 was one of the earliest examples. Other examples were exported to the Netherlands, Russia and Italy. By 1838 the 2-2-2 had become the standard passenger design by Robert Stephenson and Company. Eighteen of the first nineteen locomotives ordered by Isambard Kingdom Brunel for the opening of the Great Western Railway in 1837/8 were of the 2-2-2 type. These included six 2-2-2 locomotives built by Charles Tayleur at his Vulcan Foundry. Also in 1837 the successful North Starbroad gauge locomotive was delivered to the Great Western Railway by Stephenson, becoming the first of a class of twelve locomotives by 1841. North Star at Swindon
The first steam railway locomotive built in Belgium in 1835, and was built by John Cockerill under license to a design by Robert Stephenson & Co. It was built for use on the first main line on the European mainland, the Brussels-Mechelen line. A replica was built at the workshops of Boissellerie Cognaut for the 150th anniversary of the formation of Belgium.
Italy
Two 2-2-2 locomotives were imported from Longridge and Co of Bedlington Ironworks England for the Naples–Portici railway in 1839 named Bayard and Vesuvio. A replica of 'Bayard is at the Naples Railway Museum.
Germany
Most of the earliest locomotives to operate in what is now Germany before the mid-1840s were 2-2-2s delivered by UK manufacturers. However, by 1839 the type was also being built locally seeList of Bavarian locomotives and railbuses. The Pegasus of 1839 was the first locomotive to be built by the Sächsische Maschinenbau-Compagnie in Chemnitz. August Borsig and Company manufactured Beuth in 1843 which was highly successful; its valve design became de facto standard for locomotives for decades to come. By 1846 he had manufactured more than a hundred similar locomotives. Both the Leipzig-Dresden Railway and Royal Bavarian State Railways built several 2-2-2 classes 1841-1859. Similarly, the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg Friedrich-Franz Railway grouped various 2-2-2 steam locomotives procured from German manufacturers between 1848 and 1863 into its Mecklenburg I class.
One of last 2-2-2 tank locomotives were ordered by Latvian Railways, for local traffic. The locomotives Tk class were designed by German Hohenzollern, and 20 were manufactured in Germany and Latvia in 1928-1934. They were next seized by Soviet railways. After World War II one served in Poland as OKa1 class.
CP 1 - D Luiz I, a 2-2-2 locomotive, built by Beyer-Peacock in 1862 for the Portuguese Royal Train. Currently is under major restoration at Entroncamento yard together with the Royal train wagons.
