0-2-2

Stephenson's Rocket, an early 0-2-2 locomotive.

An 0-2-2, in the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives by wheel arrangement, is one that has two coupled driving wheels followed by two trailing wheels, with no leading wheels. The configuration was briefly built by Robert Stephenson and Company for the Liverpool and Manchester Railway

Equivalent classifications

Other equivalent classifications are:

• UIC classification: A1 (also known as German classification and Italian classification)
• French classification: 011
• Turkish classification: 12
• Swiss classification: 1/2

History

The 0-2-2 or Northumbrian wheel arrangement was briefly used by Robert Stephenson and Company on locomotives for the Liverpool and Manchester Railway from 1829, but quickly became superseded by the 2-2-0 Planet and the 2-2-2 Single configurations as locomotives grew larger. The most famous 0-2-2 is Stephenson's Rocket of 1829. Eight subsequent Stephenson locomotives for the Liverpool and Manchester Railway were of the 0-2-2 type; these were Meteor, Comet, Dart, Arrow, Phoenix, North Star, Northumbrian, and Majestic, following which Stephenson locomotives switched to the 2-2-0 type.

The Rocket's fellow competitor in the Rainhill Trials, John Ericsson and John Braithwaite's Novelty, was also an 0-2-2 well tank locomotive. In Novelty's case both the driving wheels and trailing wheels were the same size.