2-8-2

2-8-2 (Mikado)
Diagram of one small leading wheel, four large driving wheels joined by a coupling rod, and one small trailing wheel
USRA Light Mikado No. 639 from the Nickel Plate Road
Equivalent classifications
UIC class1D1, 1'D1'
French class141
Turkish class46
Swiss class4/6
Russian class1-4-1
First known tank engine version
First use1884
CountryAustralia
Locomotive8D15 class
RailwayQueensland Railways
BuilderDübs & Co.
Evolved from2-8-0
Evolved to2-8-4
BenefitsLarger coal bunker.
First known tender engine version
First use1884
CountryUnited States of America
LocomotiveCalumet
RailwayChicago & Calumet Terminal Railway
Evolved from2-8-0, 2-6-2
Evolved to2-8-4, 2-10-2
BenefitsLarger firebox aft of drivers

Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 2-8-2 represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, usually in a leading truck, eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles and two trailing wheels on one axle, usually in a trailing truck. This configuration of steam locomotive is most often referred to as a Mikado,[1] frequently shortened to Mike.[2]

It was also at times referred to on some railroads in the United States as the McAdoo Mikado and, during World War II, the MacArthur.[3]

The notation 2-8-2T indicates a tank locomotive of this wheel arrangement, the "T" suffix indicating a locomotive on which the water is carried in tanks mounted on the engine rather than in an attached tender.

  1. ^ "2-8-2 "Mikado" Locomotives in the USA".The name comes the first locomotives of this wheel arrangement, made by Baldwin in 1893 for Nihon Tetsudo (Japan Railways), a private railway at the time.
  2. ^ "Steam Locomotive Glossary". Railway Technical Web Pages. 28 June 2007. Archived from the original on 17 May 2013. Retrieved 8 February 2008.
  3. ^ "Ask Trains for August 2006". Kalmbach Publishing. Retrieved 29 January 2008.