Although the first locomotives already had two coupled axles, the simplest design consisted of a two-axle locomotive with only one axle driven. A difference can be made here between the variant in which the front axle is driven and the variant in which the rear axle is driven.
Depending on the designation system, these two forms are denoted as follows:
NorthumbrianPlanetUICA11AWhyte0-2-22-2-0Switzerland1/21/2France011110Turkey1212
The first locomotive ever to be built with the 0-2-2 wheel arrangement is Stephenson's “Rocket”, which won the Rainhill race in 1829 and brought with it many new innovations which were picked up by other locomotives of the time to come. Although the “Locomotion No. 1” from 1825 already had coupled axles, no heavy loads had to be towed on the Rainhill. So Stephenson decided that the additional complexity for coupled axles was not worth it and therefore only powered the front axle.
Stephenson reduced the diameter of the rear wheels to save cost and weight. On the other hand, the front wheels could be made larger in order to keep the rotational speed within limits at increasing speeds. He now delivered eight more locomotives to the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, all of which had the same wheel arrangement. From then on, he moved the boiler further forward in order to put a larger proportion of the weight on the front axle and thus get more traction. The name commonly used in Anglo-Saxon countries for this wheel arrangement was taken from one of these eight engines, the “Northumbrian”.
![Image of “Planet”](./data/photos/Planet_2.jpg)
Image of “Planet”
A problem with the 0-2-2 locomotives was that the cylinders were located at the rear of the locomotive due to the front driving axle, where the firebox was normally located. In order not to get excessively long steam pipes, the steam chest also had to be attached to the rear. So only two options were open: either the firebox had to be on the front side of the locomotive, so that the driver and fireman were separated, or a complex returning flue had to be installed so that the firebox and steam collection were next to or on top of each other.
The solution was to move the driven axle to the rear and thus leave the steam collection and cylinders at the front. The first engine with this design was “Planet”, which Stephenson developed in 1830 for the Liverpool and Manchester Railway. The cylinders were located above the carrying axle and inside the frame, which led to optimal, very short steam paths and was to become the dominant design in British locomotive construction well into the 20th century.
These two wheel arrangements were very popular in the 1830s, until they were replaced by 2-2-2 wheel arrangements in express service and four-coupled in other duties. The only later applications for steam locomotives with 0-2-2 or 2-2-0 wheel arrangement were in the area of tank locomotives, when low-cost traction units were developed for low-density branch lines. These were used in German-speaking countries dubbed “omnibus locomotives” or “luggage locomotives”, were used in the autotrains in Anglo-Saxon countries and formed the basis for the development of steam railcars.
For the opening of Austria's first steam-powered railway, the Kaiser-Ferdinands-Nordbahn ordered two two-axle steam locomotives from Stephenson in Newcastle. They were of a standard type offered at the time and had a rear driven axle with five foot wheels. After a voyage across the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, they were unloaded in Trieste and transported across the Semmering by horse-drawn carriage. They were baptized with the names “Austria” and “Moravia”.
After all, “Austria” was the locomotive that undertook the first test run on the line between Floridsdorf and Deutsch-Wagram on November 13, 1837. It is therefore considered the first steam locomotive that ran in Austria. A memorial in Deutsch-Wagram has been commemorating this journey since 1987.
With their 20 hp, they were soon too weak for most tasks. As a result, they had to hand over more and more services to the three-axle locomotives ordered directly after them. Since the operation of two-axle locomotives in Austria was forbidden after a serious accident in France in 1842 and a conversion to three-axle locomotives was not possible, they were soon parked and scrapped.
General |
Built | 1837 |
Manufacturer | Stephenson |
Axle config | 2-2-0 (Planet) |
Gauge | 4 ft 8 1/2 in (Standard gauge) |
Dimensions and Weights |
Empty weight | 16,535 lbs |
Service weight | 20,062 lbs |
Adhesive weight | 9,921 lbs |
Axle load | 9,921 lbs |
Fuel capacity | coal |
Boiler |
Grate area | 5.8 sq ft |
Firebox area | 32.6 sq ft |
Tube heating area | 258.3 sq ft |
Evaporative heating area | 290.9 sq ft |
Total heating area | 290.9 sq ft |
Power Plant |
Driver diameter | 60 in |
Boiler pressure | 51 psi |
Expansion type | simple |
Cylinders | two, 10 x 16 in |
Power |
Power source | steam |
Estimated power | 27 hp (20 kW) |
Optimal speed | 15 mph |
Starting effort | 1,150 lbf |
Calculated Values |
Factor of adhesion | 1 : 8.63 |
Power-to-weight ratio | 0.0013 hp/lb |
Heating Area Equivalent | 454 sq ft |
Cylinder volume/HAE | 1 : 975.45 |
Adhesive weight/Total | 1 : 2.02 |
Tractive force/Heating area | 1 : 888.58 |
Grate area/Heating area | 1 : 44.44 |
Firebox/Tube area | 1 : 7.92 |
After a few months in service with the “Rocket”, Stephenson used the experiences to develop an improved successor. Since the placement of the cylinders of the predecessor was unfavorable for the running characteristics, the driving axle was moved to the rear and the cylinders were installed horizontally in front of the driving axle and inside the frame. It was probably the first locomotive with this arrangement, which later became the standard.
This arrangement not only improved the running characteristics, but also allowed the cylinders to be mounted inside the smokebox, thereby reducing losses from condensation. Also new was a steam dome, with which dryer steam could be extracted from the boiler. In addition, the front and rear buffers and couplers were roughly in the places where they are today.
On November 23, 1830, it was able to prove its performances by completing the 31 miles from Liverpool to Manchester in about an hour. The prototype was followed by six more by Stephenson and three made by Fenton, Murray and Jackson to the same design.
In the years that followed, many locomotives were built in several countries based on the “Planet” pattern, so that the 2-2-0 wheel arrangement was later named after it. The Liverpool & Manchester alone got 16 of them. The original “Planet” was first modernized in 1833 and retired in 1840. A replica that was built in 1992 was used regularly until 2017.
General |
Built | 1830 |
Manufacturer | Robert Stephenson & Co., Fenton, Murray & Jackson |
Axle config | 2-2-0 (Planet) |
Gauge | 4 ft 8 1/2 in (Standard gauge) |
Dimensions and Weights |
Service weight | 17,920 lbs |
Adhesive weight | 11,480 lbs |
Total weight | 29,120 lbs |
Axle load | 11,480 lbs |
Water capacity | 480 us gal |
Fuel capacity | 2,240 lbs (coal) |
Boiler |
Grate area | 6.5 sq ft |
Firebox area | 37.4 sq ft |
Tube heating area | 407.7 sq ft |
Evaporative heating area | 445 sq ft |
Total heating area | 445 sq ft |
Power Plant |
Driver diameter | 60 in |
Boiler pressure | 50 psi |
Expansion type | simple |
Cylinders | two, 11 x 16 in |
Power |
Power source | steam |
Estimated power | 40 hp (30 kW) |
Optimal speed | 19 mph |
Starting effort | 1,371 lbf |
Calculated Values |
Factor of adhesion | 1 : 8.38 |
Power-to-weight ratio | 0.0022 hp/lb |
Heating Area Equivalent | 631.8 sq ft |
Cylinder volume/HAE | 1 : 849.06 |
Adhesive weight/Total | 1 : 1.56 |
Tractive force/Heating area | 1 : 692.59 |
Grate area/Heating area | 1 : 62.70 |
Firebox/Tube area | 1 : 10.91 |