The standard class 4 tank locomotive was developed to replace older tank locomotives for use with fast commuter and suburban trains. It was based on the LMS Fairburn 2-6-4T and had a similar driving wheel diameter of five feet eight inches. For a wider range of uses, the loading gauge was reduced by slightly rounding off the driver's cab and the water tanks. The smaller cylinders, which were compensated for with a higher boiler pressure, also contributed to this.

Most of the locomotives were made in Brighton, where a total of 130 were built. Another 15 were from Derby and ten from Doncaster. Another order for 15 locomotives was canceled in view of the dieselisation. The fact that only small detail changes were made to the locomotives during the period of operation shows that the design itself was successful. It also served as the basis for the standard class 4 4-6-0 tender locomotive. 

The locomotives were used almost all over the country. Only in the Western Region was the GWR's Large Prairie available in sufficient numbers to be able to dispense with the 2-6-4T. The first machine was scrapped in 1962 after it suffered a broken frame. Since older classes were phased out first, the 2-6-4T was only phased out between 1964 and 1967. A total of 15 have survived to this day, some of which are used regularly.

When the 2-4-2T tank locomotives in use on the commuter lines around Copenhagen were not powerful enough anymore, the DSB ordered Borsig to design a more powerful locomotive. To increase pulling power, the S^II received a third driving axle and three cylinders, along with a two-axle trailing bogie to carry more supplies. Mainly designed for passenger traffic, it was also to be used for freight trains when needed.

Only the first two were built in Germany by Borsig, 18 more came from Frichs in Denmark. They were rated for 350-tonne passenger trains at 85 km/h, or for 700-tonne freight trains. In the thirties, the locomotives got condensers for use in tunnels in Copenhagen. In the same decade, they got smoke deflectors to increase forward view. They were withdrawn between 1961 and 1970 and today, two are still existing.

Although the FNM also operated an electrified suburban network around Milan, steam locomotives were needed for the more distant destinations. A tank locomotive was commissioned to speed up traffic, which should combine good acceleration with a maximum speed of 100 km/h. The order went to CEMSA, whose works in Saronno were located along the line of the FNM.

The four locomotives were apparently based on plans that came from Borsig. The 2-6-4T wheel arrangement was typical of modern passenger tank locomotives and combined good running characteristics with a large firebox and large supplies. The boiler delivered 1,060 hp permanently and 1,200 hp for short periods. The three cylinders, together with the 1,620 mm large driving wheels, ensured good acceleration.

The locomotives were used to run direct connections from Milan to Como, Varese, Laveno, Erba and Asso. For some other lines, the axle load of 16.5 tonnes was too high. After the main lines had been electrified, these locomotives could not be used on the secondary lines. So they were retired in 1952 and scrapped shortly thereafter.

The class 66 tank locomotive was developed as one of the last new-build steam locomotives of the Bundesbahn, of which only two were built in 1955. In its basic design, it corresponded to the class 65, but was smaller and had one less driving axle. In addition, it had a lower axle load for use on secondary lines and at the same time a larger driving wheel diameter in order to still be able to reach 100 km/h. On the one hand, it was intended to replace old passenger locomotives such as the Prussian P 8 and T 18, but also freight locomotives such as the T 14. With a combustion chamber boiler, roller bearings and a modern feed water heater, they corresponded to the current state of development. In addition, welding technology was consistently used in their production and the comfort of the crew was also taken into account when designing cab.

Since the first mainline diesel locomotives suitable for operation on branch lines were ready for use at this time, no further class 66 locomotives were built. The two existing locomotives were soon equipped with push-pull controls and were mainly used for passenger service. A third, almost identical locomotive was delivered to the Mülheimer Ruhrtalbahn in 1959. The Bundesbahn later took it over as number 66 6006. The two locomotives originally built for the Bundesbahn were retired in 1967 and 1968 and today 66 002 can be seen in the Bochum-Dahlhausen Railway Museum. There are now indications that the locomotive shown there is in fact the 66 6006 and was only given the Bundesbahn number.

In the 1910s the Great Central Railway needed new tank locomotives to serve coal traffic between the mining areas of Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire and the port at Immingham. Due to the good experiences with the class D of the Lancashire, Derbyshire and East Coast Railway, which had the wheel arrangement 0-6-4T, this was used as a basis.

It received a larger superheated boiler similar to that of the 4-4-0 class 11E. In order to be able to carry this, a leading axle was added. The result was the class 1B, which was the first standard gauge British 2-6-4T tank locomotive. With a coal capacity of 4.5 tons and 3,000 gallons of water, the supplies were not much smaller compared to most British tender locomotives. 

In everyday life it turned out that the frame was severely stressed by the position of the inside cylinders. In addition, the braking power was hardly sufficient for use with coal trains in the intended area. Since coal traffic there was ultimately declining, they were used in coal traffic in flatter areas. At the LNER they were first called class L1 and renamed L3 in 1945 due to another locomotive. 19 of the 20 came to British Railways and were withdrawn by 1955.

In his short career as Chief Mechanical Engineer at the LMS, Charles Fairburn designed only one steam locomotive. This was a direct development of Stanier's 2-6-4T, having a shorter rigid wheelbase to be able to negotiate tighter curves. This also led to a weight that was 3 tons 8 cwt lighter.

236 were built for the LMS and BR at Derby between 1945 and 1950. In 1950 and 1951, 41 more were built at Brighton for the Southern Region. They also formed the basis for the BR Standard class 4 tank. Withdrawals took place between 1961 and 1967 and two are surviving at the Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway. As of 2024, 42073 is operational and 42085 is being overhauled.

The LMS Fowler class 4P was the first in a series of 2-6-4T tank locomotives designed for long-distance commuter services. It was introduced in 1927 by Henry Fowler and formed the basis for derivatives by Stanier, Fairburn and Riddles. 125 of this class were build in Derby until 1934.

Their leading axle was of the same type as the one used on the Schenectady Moguls the Midland Railway received in 1899. They had a relatively high ratio of superheating and driving wheels of 5 ft 8 in which were good for speeds of 80 mph (129 km/h) and more. The last 30 locomotives built had more modern cabs with side windows and doors.

They were not only used for commuter trains, but also as bankers for passenger and goods trains on the Shap incline. They were withdrawn between 1959 and 1966 and none was preserved. In 2015, the LMS Patriot Project announced that they are planning to build a new member of this class when their No. 5551 “The Unknown Warrior” has been completed.

In 1934, William Stanier had 37 2-6-4T tank locomotives built at Derby which were numbered 2500 to 2536. In most respects they were based on Fowler's 2-6-4T. But the new locomotives were intended for heavy suburban traffic with tight schedules over the old London, Tilbury and Southend Railway line. To get high acceleration rates despite large driving wheels with a diameter of 5 ft 9 in or 1,753 mm, they got three cylinders. Although they fulfilled their requirements, the third cylinder led to complicated maintenance.

To ease maintenance, production of a two-cylinder variant started in 1935. The diameter of the cylinders had been increased from 16 to 19 5/8 inches to get a similar tractive effort with the same boiler pressure. The boiler was somewhat larger in all dimensions. By 1943, nine batches had been produced at Derby and two by North British for a total of 206. Between the batches, there had differences in the surface of tubes, flues and the superheater. 

From 1945, Fairburn's 2-6-4T was built on the basis of Stanier's design with the same boiler. Withdrawals started in 1960. The last three-cylinder locomotive was gone in 1962, but the last one with two cylinders only disappeared in 1967. The only one that is still existing today is 2500, the first to be built. It belongs to the National Railway Museum at York, but was moved to the Bury Transport Museum in 2023.

Numbers 7 to 10 of the Malta Railway were the last and heaviest locomotives this small seven-mile line had received. The first one was built in 1895 by Beyer, Peacock & Co. after the two previous locomotives built by Manning, Wardle were found to have too much weight on the driving axles. It was based on a 2-6-4T delivered to the Minas and Rio Railway in Brazil, but did not have a cow catcher and a steam sander.

In comparison to locomotives 5 and 6, the new one could be distinguished by the inclined cylinders. It had more weight on the leading Bissel truck and some of the water was being carried next to the coal bunker to get additional weight away from the driving axles. In the result, the driving axles together only carried a weight of 19 tons and 16 cwt. The locomotive could still haul 150 tons with 25 mph on the level and had no problems with the 2 1/2 percent inclines on the line.

Since No. 7 fulfilled all expectations, three more locomotives were built in 1896, 1899 and 1905. The last one differed from the others in that it had cylinders with a diameter of only 18 instead of 20 inches to reduce costs. In World War I, they had to haul trains of up to twelve coaches. Later when they got new boilers, these were still saturated and identical to the original boilers. Their end came in 1931 when the railway had lost to buses and the line was closed.

When the NZR needed new locomotives für suburban service, initial plans to rebuild the 2-6-2 class V into tank locomotives were skipped in favor of the new build of the class W^F. These were 2-6-4T tank locomotives designed by the Railways Department's Chief Mechanical Engineer A. L. Beattie and NZR Chief Draftsman G.A. Pearson. With a maximum axle load of 9.3 tons, they were also light enough for branch line service.

Between 1904 and 1908, the NZR built 26 in their Addington and Hillside shops and got ten from A & G Price. Price also built two for the Public Works Department. As late as in 1928, the company built three more for the NZR. Initially they were also used on main lines, but soon only in suburban service and on branch lines.

Two each were used for tests with oil firing and one-person operation. Due to locomotive shortages in Tasmania, the TGR bought four each in 1939 and 1944 and designated them class DS. These were withdrawn between 1953 and 1956. The NZR withdrew the last ones only in 1968. Three were preserved, but none of them is operational although No. 403 is the only one with actual plans for restoration.