Railroad History

Passenger and Commuter Rail

Railroading Today

Rolling Stock

Infrastructure and Terms

Museums and Tourism

Miscellaneous

About The Site

[?] Subscribe To This Site

The 2-6-2 Prairie Type Steam Locomotive

The 2-6-2 Prairie Type steam locomotive had been in use in other parts of the world, or built with tanks (meaning, the locomotive’s water hold was a tank mounted directly over the boiler, instead of its typical location, in a trailing tender) since the 1880s. However, a 2-6-2 tender-design was not manufactured until 1900 when the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad (the Burlington Route) took delivery of the model from the Brooks Locomotive Works. Because the Burlington planned to use the locomotives along its granger lines through the farms and fields of the midwestern prairies the 2-6-2s were dubbed “Prairies”.

The 2-6-2 Prairie Type was developed from the 2-6-0 Mogul Type. Moguls were another of the early steam locomotive designs similar to the Ten-wheeler and Consolidation. Also like the 2-8-0 (Consolidation) and 4-6-0 (Ten-wheeler), the Mogul, of the 2-6-0 wheel arrangement, was developed to replace the ubiquitous American Type, which saw use all across the country on everything from freight to passenger trains.

The success of the 2-6-0 wheel arrangement came with the addition of the free swiveling “bogie” front truck originally patented by Levi Bissell in the late 1850s. After this pilot truck was attached on the Mogul it greatly increased the locomotive’s abilities to negotiate curves and the rough track conditions of the day. Also, due to the Mogul’s greater adhesion over an American Type and lower cost compared to a Ten-wheeler, with its design flaw corrected it sold quite well, particularly on short lines where money was not only tighter but also because the 2-6-0 could travel on light track due to its lightweight.

However, the 2-6-2 Prairie Type was never as successful or reliable as the Mogul, and faced many of the same instability problems as the 2-10-2 Santa Fe type encountered. Due to imbalancing (which not only caused wear on the locomotive but also the track) and slow track speeds by the 1920s many railroads began to dislike the 2-10-2. Still, many railroads wound up owning the model (around 2,200 were eventually constructed) and the United States Railroad Administration, during takeover of the nation’s railroads during World War I, used many light and heavy versions of the Santa Fe Type. Interesting, just as the 2-10-2 wheel arrangement was named for the Santa Fe Railway it also went on to own the most 2-6-2s. Even though both locomotives had significant drawbacks apparently the ATSF found them satisfactory enough to be used in daily service.

Still, even though the Prairie had many design flaws over 1,000 were eventually produced in the United States (and over 1,700 worldwide). Today, 95 of this wheel arrangement still survive, with thirteen that remain in operation (the one operational 2-6-2T can be found in California).

For more information on the Prairie Type steam locomotive consider How a Steam Locomotive Works by author Karen Parker, which explores in great detail how exactly each component of a steam locomotive works but is also easy enough to read for anyone to understand. The book has received excellent reviews and is a great resource on steam locomotives and a fine reference tool; you should find it very useful.

Also, consider the book American Steam Locomotives from author Brian Solomon. While this publication does not include quite as much technical data as Parker's book, How a Steam Locomotive Works, it is still a very good resource with lots of information and best of all, is loaded with photographs! If you're interested in perhaps purchasing either (or both) of these books please visit the links below which will take you to ordering information through Amazon.com, the trusted online shopping network.

footer for prairie type page