In view of the increasing loads in express train service around the turn of the century, the Grand Duchy of Baden State Railways launched a tender for a heavy express locomotive, in which seven designs took part. The requirement was to transport trains weighing 200 tonnes up gradients of 0.33 percent at a speed of 100 km/h. The contract went to Maffei, which also later developed the express trains for Baden.

In 1902, at the time of delivery, they were the largest of their kind in Europe with an operating weight of around 75 tonnes, which rested on a chassis with the axle configuration 4-4-2 (Atlantic). They were powered by a saturated compound engine, the four cylinders of which all acted on the first coupled axle. In contrast to the later Maffei express locomotives, the frame was not yet designed as a bar construction, but as a plate frame, as was usual at the time. Due to the elongated firebox, the distance between the rear coupled axle and the trailing axle was very large. The latter was designed as an Adam's axle, since the ash pan would not have allowed space for a drawbar.

Due to the long wheelbase and a large driving wheel diameter of 2,100 mm, the locomotives were remarkably smooth running right from the start. During test runs in 1904 with a train of four cars, top and average speeds of 144 and 116 km/h were reached. The first was broken three years later by the Bavarian S 2/6, which was also a Maffei design, but unlike the II d it was only developed as a one-off for test purposes.

The first production batch of twelve engines was manufactured by Maffei and delivered in 1902, another came in 1905 from the Karlsruhe mechanical engineering company and comprised six units. After the First World War, a total of ten engines had to be handed over to France. This left only seven units, as one engine had to be scrapped as early as 1903 due to an accident. The locomotives that remained in Germany were still intended to be redesignated as class 14⁴, but they could not expect a long life due to their only two coupled axles and were therefore retired in 1925. The now French locomotives remained in service for another nine years.

The S 2/5 was an Atlantic express locomotive that was developed at the beginning of the century together with the S 3/5. Both implemented learnings from the locomotives borrowed from Baldwin and were the first German locomotives with a continuous bar frame. 

The bar frame consisted of much thicker metal than the plate frames used up until then and therefore had a lower installation height. The result was not only a sleeker look with see-through undercarriage, but also much better accessibility to the internal parts of the chassis. Especially in locomotives with more than two cylinders, the inside cylinders could be serviced more easily.

Compared to the 1,870 mm coupled wheel diameter of the S 3/5, the wheels of the S 2/5 had a diameter of 2,000 mm, making it suitable for longer journeys on flat land at high speed. Due to the larger diameter, however, the last coupled axle had to be replaced with a trailing axle, which reduced the possible traction. As a result, the S 2/5 was able to run up to 135 km/h in tests, but the permitted speed was set at 110 km/h like its sister. Initially it also pulled high-value international trains, but soon its tractive power was no longer sufficient for the increased loads and so it was replaced by the S 3/5 and S 3/6.

Schematic drawing with dimensions

Die Lokomotive, May 1906

A total of ten engines were delivered in 1904, which were relocated to the Palatinate network in 1910. After it was founded, the Reichsbahn still registered half of the stock, which was given the numbers 14 141 to 14 145 in 1925. They were phased out in the next two years.

In order to gain experience with steam locomotive designs from the USA, the Bavarian State Railways ordered four locomotives from Baldwin in 1899 and 1900. These were the two type E I Consolidations and the two type S 2/5 Atlantics. What both had in common was the four-cylinder Vauclain compound engine and the bar frame. The S 2/5 was based on the Milwaukee Road class A-1, but to save weight the drivers were made smaller by six inches.

The special feature of the Vauclain drive was that all four cylinders were outside the frame and were easily accessible. Although this design did not become established in Europe, the Bavarian State Railway adopted the bar frame for all later four-cylinder locomotives. This made maintenance of the cylinders located within the frame easier. The bar frame was later also used on the standard locomotives of the Reichsbahn, even though in principle only a few southern German influences were allowed on these. The two S 2/5 remained in service between Munich and Salzburg for more than 20 years, but were decommissioned in 1923 and were therefore no longer renumbered as Reichsbahn class 14.

Almost identical to the Japanese Atlantics with the JNR numbers 6600 to 6623 were the six locomotives that the Cape Government Railways received from Baldwin in 1897. The order came about because the CGR could not order from the British manufacturers as usual due to strikes and Baldwin had already developed a locomotive that largely met the requirements. Only the heating surface was slightly enlarged and the engine had to be converted to South African Johnston couplers, which is why a lower purchase price could be offered. They were assigned to Class 4, which also included 4-6-0 locomotives.

It is said that the chief engineer of the CGR, H.M. Beatty, was impressed by the robust construction and he valued the merits of the bar frame so much that his later designs also all got a bar frame. After the founding of the South African Union in 1910 and the merger of the railway administrations, it became apparent, as with the Japanese sisters, that the locomotives had too little adhesive weight to reliably start heavy trains. They were therefore classified as obsolete, but remained in use on their main route until 1931.

The class of the D Chicago & North Western was one of the first Atlantics with a wide firebox. With this arrangement, it was quickly discovered that firing was much easier and that much power could even be delivered with inferior coal. Production consisted of a first variant, of which 77 were built between 1900 and 1907, and another, of which 14 were built in 1908.

The first variant had an inside Stephenson valve gear with valves that were also inside the frame. The last ten of the second variant were built with a Walschaert valve gear and Young rotary valves.

The locomotives pulled trains, usually consisting of ten, sometimes eleven cars. 74 were later retrofitted with a superheater. When the wooden cars were replaced with steel cars and more powerful express locomotives were introduced, the class D was used in commuter and local traffic. Almost all locomotives survived into the late 1930s, 15 even survived into the late 1940s.

The class E-1 of the Erie Railroad consisted of 29 Atlantic express locomotives built by Baldwin between 1899 and 1901 and rated for speeds of 100 mph. They were Camelback locomotives with a square Wootten firebox measuring 96 by 96 inches.

Propulsion was provided by a Vauclain compound engine, i.e. with high and low pressure cylinders one above the other. A rebuild began as early as 1904, in which the four cylinders were replaced by two cylinders with simple expansion. One also increased the distance between the tube sheets by six inches to increase the heating surface area.

As a development of the C1 with a small boiler, Ivatt had number 251 built in 1902, which was also an Atlantic. The most striking difference was the significantly larger boiler, which had a diameter of 5 ft 6 in instead of 4 ft 8 in. Based on the American model, its firebox stood on the frame behind the coupled axles and was significantly wider. This should serve the goal of being able to produce large amounts of steam even at the highest speeds.

The prototype had only two cylinders, slightly larger than those of the smaller Atlantic. The slide valves were soon exchanged for piston valves, improving performance. Initially 80 production pieces of this version were built between 1904 and 1908. Ten more followed in 1910, which had a factory superheater and operated with a boiler pressure of just 150 instead of 170 psi. The earlier pieces also got a superheater later.

Individual examples were built with four compound cylinders and a 200 psi pressure boiler as a trial. Number 292, which was already built in 1904, made the start. As a compound locomotive of the De Glehn type, it had external high-pressure cylinders that drove the rear coupled axle and internal low-pressure cylinders that drove the front coupled axle. The valve gear was designed in such a way that it could start up as a four-cylinder engine with simple steam expansion and then be switched to compound action. This locomotive had a boiler pressure of 200 psi and was in service until 1927.

No. 251

J.R. Howden, „The Boys' Book of Locomotives”

Similar to the 292 was the 1421, also built at Doncaster in 1907. It had a similar engine, but larger low-pressure cylinders. After receiving a superheater in 1914, it was converted into a simple two-cylinder engine in 1920 and thus joined the 91 examples of the production version.

An exception was number 1300, built by the Vulcan Foundry in 1905, which like the small Atlantic had a long, narrow firebox. The arrangement of the cylinders corresponded to the other two four-cylinder locomotives, but the valve gear differed. It had an automatic starting device, which initially worked with two cylinders with simple steam expansion and automatically switched to compound operation with all four cylinders as speed increased. Like the 1421, it received a superheater in 1914 and was converted to a two-cylinder engine in 1917.

The 279, which had been part of the series production, was converted into a four-cylinder locomotives in 1915. Here, however, simple steam expansion was still used, which is why all cylinders now had a diameter of 15 instead of 19 inches. It remained in service in this form until 1938, when it received two new 20-inch diameter cylinders from the K2 class Mogul. 

Schematical drawing of No. 292

Locomotive Magazine, May 1908

Since the production version already provided very good service, no further special versions were built. Like their predecessors, they easily reached 90 mph and, in contrast to these, were able to pull up to 500 long tons at high speeds. The LNER also referred to them as class C1, while the smaller C1s now became C2s. Although one machine was equipped with a booster in 1923 to increase the tractive effort, the tractive effort of the other machines was apparently still sufficient and so this was later removed again.

Regular service on the heaviest express trains ended in the 1920s with the introduction of the A1 class Pacifics. The C1 now tended to pull lighter express trains and stood in for failed Pacifics. Especially in the latter area of operation, they often proved that they could also take over these trains without any problems and thus provided train services that were actually significantly higher than the services originally intended for them. From about 1950 they mainly only pulled regular passenger trains before they were retired between 1954 and 1960.

Shortly before the turn of the century, Henry Ivatt had the task of developing a new locomotive for the increasing loads of the most important express trains. He had to measure himself against the singles from his predecessor Patrick Stirling, who were still considered excellent and very fast, but no longer powerful enough. Here, for the first time in Great Britain, the wheel arrangement 4-4-2 was used, which originally came from the USA and was known there as “Atlantic”. The difference was that the Atlantic was developed in the US from the 4-4-0 “American” to allow for a larger firebox and smoother running, while in the UK it was a 4-2-2 “Single” with an extra coupled axle. 

No. 990 “Henry Oakley” at the Doncaster Works Open Day, July 2003

Our Phellap

The class also represented a departure from British tradition in other respects, most notably with its externally mounted cylinders. The class was initially only named after the first machine built with the number 990 and later got the designation C1. To distinguish them from the larger boiler design of 1902, the locomotives are generally known simply as “C1 (small boiler)” or “Small Atlantics”. Because of the American influence, they were also nicknamed “Klondykes” after the Klondike Gold Rush. A single example, number 271, was built in 1902 with four small simple acting cylinders.

Schematic drawing

Locomotive Magazine, October 1900

A total of 22 pieces were made. The locomotives easily reached 90 mph, which proved difficult in everyday use on routes such as between London and Doncaster. At some speeds, it was often found that the cylinders were too small to implement the boiler's output. This led to unfavorable valve gear settings during operation, which led to high steam consumption.

In 1909, number 988 was the only one equipped with a superheater according to the Schmidt patent. The boiler pressure was reduced from 175 to 160 psi and in return the cylinder diameter was increased from 19 to 20 inches. From 1914 all other machines were converted with the Robinson superheater. From 1923, the machines were listed as class C2 by the LNER. The decommissioning began as early as 1935 and lasted until 1946. Today only number 990, which was built first, still exists, which bears the name “Henry Oakley” after the former managing director of the Great Northern. 

Schematic drawing with dimensions

Die Lokomotive, June 1904

The 57 series IId machines of the Kaiser Ferdinands-Nordbahn were the first Atlantic locomotives in Europe. The trailing axle was fixed in the frame, but was only just behind the second coupled axle. In the kkStB they became the class 308 and the twelve machines from 1908 with steam dryers became the 308.5. Three units were converted to the class 227 with a 4-6-0 wheel arrangement. The Warsaw-Vienna Railway received 18 locomotives that were almost identical. After World War I almost half ended up in either Czechoslovakia or Poland. Regardless of the operator, the locomotives had almost completely disappeared around 1940.

In 1901, Karl Gölsdorf had the class 108 built, which was the first Atlantic in Austria-Hungary with a four-cylinder compound engine. The requirement was to accommodate a powerful express locomotive with the largest possible tender on the existing 16 meter turntables. This meant that the total wheelbase could be a maximum of 16,440 mm.

The length of the locomotive was kept short by extending the firebox to the rear edge of the frame. The crew stood on the platform between the locomotive and the tender, while the firebox had to be placed between the wheels between the second driving axle and the trailing axle due to the short wheelbase. The new, four-axle tender could hold 21 cubic meters of water and 9 cubic meters of coal, which allowed a long range.

The locomotives briefly produced up to 1,600 hp and could reach speeds of up to 143 km/h. However, for operational reasons, the maximum permitted speed was only 100 km/h. They were able to pull 220 tonnes at 75 km/h on an incline of one percent.

In addition to the 25 machines of the kkStB, the Südbahn also purchased eleven. After the First World War, the kkStB machines went to the ČSD, which remained in use there as the class 275.0 until 1948. However, those from the Südbahn came to the BBÖ in 1923 and remained in use until 1934.