Articulated Steam Locomotives of the World

Lionel Wiener published his classic work 'Articulated Locomotives'  in 1930, I have a copy of the reprint by Kalmbach Publishing. Much of what appears here is based on the book, it's a vast subject and I have no intention to repeat what is well covered elsewhere on the web. Rather I will try to highlight unusual types, particularly with reference to surviving examples and those which survived into my gricing lifetime (ie the last 40 - 50 years). Anyone with a serious interest in the subject should forget the web and instead consult the bibliography - I would welcome additions to that list. I would also welcome suitable pictures - unless it is of a type which is not illustrated here, by and large, I do not intend to upload archive pictures, I could scan many out of the books but I do not think that is an appropriate thing to do in this case.

Previous visitors to this section should note the following additions:

• Active Garratt locomotives 2024 (9th January 2024)

• Surviving Garratt locomotives (updated 30th June 2023) 

• Active Garratt locomotives 2023 (updated 20th March 2023)

• Active Garratt locomotives 2022 (updated 22nd December 2021)

• A preserved Japanese narrow gauge Luttermöller (27th January 2021) 

• Active Garratt locomotives 2021 ( updated 1st January 2021)

• Picture of Dresden Transport Museum's Pechot Bourdon on loan to the Frankfurt Feldbahn Museum (17th December 2019)

• Picture of ex-SAR NGG 129 undergoing steam testing in late 2019 (10th November 2019)

• Bagnall Meyer at Cripple Creek and Victor Railroad (new pictures 15th October 2017)

• Mallets at Cripple Creek and Victor Railroad and Black Hills Central Railroad (23rd September 2017)

• New Zealand Geared Locomotives (3rd February 2017)

• New Facebook page for active Beyer Garratts (28th January 2016)

• Pictures of Jung 'semi-Lüttermoller' preserved in Germany (21st June 2015)

• Picture of NSWGR 6029 (added 2nd June 2015)

• Restoration of Big Boy 4014 and C&O 1309 noted (8th May 2014)

• Pictures of Australian Standard Garratt G33 (25th March 2014)

• YouTube Section on Narrow Gauge Articulated Steam Locomotives of Indonesia (26th December 2013)

• Picture of Puffing Billy Garratt (25th September 2013)

• Pictures of restored Puffing Billy Climax (6th September 2013)

• Picture of Ferrymead Heisler in New Zealand (9th July 2013)

• A page of preserved American geared locomotives, courtesy of Donald Nute (28th March 2013).

• Picture of recently restored Mallet, Clover Valley Lumber Co. 4 (12th March 2013)

• Pechot-Bourdon at Dresden Transport Museum, Germany illustrated (25th April 2011)

• Fairlie at Obersheinsdorf, Germany illustrated (25th April 2011)

It makes sense to follow Wiener's classification, but that doesn't mean my coverage will be exhaustive too.

True Articulated Locomotives

1. Articulated Locomotives having one driven and one undriven bogie - eg single Fairlies

2. Articulated Locomotives with one engine and two driven bogies - eg geared locomotives such as Shay, Climax, Heisler (updated 28th March 2013)

3. Articulated Locomotives with two engines and two two sets of driving wheels - eg double Fairlies, Meyers, Garratts (updated 17th December 2019)

4. New Zealand Geared Locomotives (new, short section with a photograph and key link, added 3rd February 2017)

Semi-articulated Locomotives

1. Semi-articulated Locomotives with a single engine and two driven trucks eg Klien-Lindner axle locomotives (updated 27th January 2021)

2. Semi-articulated Locomotives with two engines and two sets of driving wheels eg Mallets

Temporarily Articulated Locomotives or Locomotives with Auxiliary Engines

1. Booster Engines

Utilisation of the tender's weight for propulsion

1. No Engine to the Tender eg modified Engerths, Stütz tender locomotives

2. Steam Tenders

Wikipedia and other Web Resources:

Summary page with its own reference list of links including pages for some of the main types - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Articulated_locomotive, but this is a very poor substitute for the books listed below and it is anything but definitive (as is this set of pages). There are a number of web pages which deal with specific types of articulated locomotives and these are listed in the relevant sections - please email me suggested additions. Note that my HTML editor has serious problems with hyperlinks that contain accented letters - the links may not work but the correct address is shown and can be copied and pasted into your browser.

Douglas Self's pages on unusual and extreme steam locomotives covers some amazing creatures, most of which are necessarily not articulated  - http://www.douglas-self.com/MUSEUM/LOCOLOCO/locoloco.htm. For his summary on articulated locomotives see http://www.douglas-self.com/MUSEUM/LOCOLOCO/articult/articult.htm. 

A mid-1930s viewpoint - http://mikes.railhistory.railfan.net/r095.html.

Bibliography, I doubt many of these books are still 'in print', please let me know of any more suitable titles to list:

Note these links:

Trackside Publications - http://www.tracksidepublication.com/ - link is now dead

Locomotives International - http://www.locomotivesinternational.co.uk

Books specifically on the subject of articulated steam locomotives

'Articulated Locomotives', Lionel Wiener, republished by Kalmbach, 1970/1, ISBN 0890240191

Articulated Locomotives of the World - a pictorial survey, Binns, Bradford Barton, 197x, ISBN 085153-291-2

Climax - An Unusual Steam Locomotive, Taber & Casler, Railroadians of America Inc., 1960, ISBN ?, I can't trace one.

The Climax Locomotive, Thompson, Dunn, Hauff et al, Oso, ISBN 0964752166, 978-0964752160 

Fairlie Articulated Locomotives - Vol 1 On the American Continent, Binns, Trackside Publications, 2001, ISBN 1-900095-16-5

The Fairlie Locomotive, Rowland Abbott, 1970, ISBN 13: 9780715349021

Garratt Locomotives of the World, Durrant, David & Charles, 1981, ISBN 0-7153-7641-1 originally published as 'The Garratt Locomotive' in 1969

The Heisler Locomotive 1891-1941, Anon, Kline, 1982 , ISBN ?

Kitson Meyer Articulated Locomotives, Binns, Wyvern Press, 1985, ISBN ?

Kitson Meyer Articulated Locomotives, Binns, 2nd Impression, Locomotives International, 1993, ISBN 0-907941-37-0

Kitson Meyer Articulated Locomotives, Binns, revised and enlarged edition, Locomotives International, 2003, ISBN 0-907941-19.X

Locomotoras Garratt de España y del Mundo, Rowe and Álvarez, 2000, ISBN, 84-86758-26-2

Meyer Articulated Locomotives, Binns & Koch, Trackside Publications, 1997, ISBN 1-900095-07-6

The Shay Locomotive, Richard A. Henderson, John C. Benson, George R. Kadelak, Steve Hauff, White River Productions, 2021, ISBN 978-1-932804-43-9

The Shay Locomotive: Titan of the Timber, Koch, World Press, 1971, ASIN: B0006WIHIE

Articulated Steam Locomotives of North America - Volume 1 by Robert A. LeMassena, Sundance Publications 1979 ISBN 0-913582-26-3

Articulated Steam Locomotives of North America - Volume 2 by Robert A. LeMassena, Sundance Publications 1991 ISBN 0-913582-54-9

Books with a wider range with significant content on articulated steam locomotives

The Era of the Bush Tramway in New Zealand, Mahoney, IPL Books, 1998, ISBN 0-908876-80-7

Du Croo and Brauns Locomotives, de Bruin, Stichting Rail Publicaties, 1987, ISBN 90 - 71513 - 02 -5

Orenstein and Koppel Locomotives, Works List 1892 - 1945, Ficke, Bude, Murray, Arley Hall, 1978, ISBN 0 9506092 1 8 (there is a German language version)

World of South American Steam, Christian and Mills, privately published, 1974