Virginia and Truckee 21 J.W. Bowker, the last remaining Baldwin 2-4-0.
(Xboxtravis7992, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons)
2-4-0 PORTER WHEEL ARRANGEMENT
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 2-4-0 represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, four powered and coupled driving wheels on two axles and no trailing wheels. In most of North America it became known as a Porter.
The notation 2-4-0T indicates a tank locomotive of this wheel arrangement, on which its water and fuel is carried on board the engine itself, rather than in an attached tender.
The 2-4-0 Wheel Arrangement. Front of locomotive at left.
(Gwernol, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)
Usage
In the collection of the California State Railroad Museum is the J.W. Bowker locomotive, a 2-4-0 engine built by Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1875 for the Virginia and Truckee Railroad. Today, the J.W. Bowker is the sole remaining Baldwin 2-4-0 in existence.
At the Cedar Point amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio, four 2-4-0s run tourist trains around a 2 mi (3.2 km) loop of track alongside Lake Erie and pass many of the park's attractions. Two of the 2-4-0s were built by Vulcan Iron Works as 0-4-0Ts in 1922 and 1923 and now run as the Myron H. no. 22 and Judy K. no. 44 respectively. They are the two main engines for the Cedar Point & Lake Erie Railroad. The third engine was built by H.K. Porter, Inc. as an 0-4-0T in 1942 and now runs as the George R. no. 4. The fourth engine was built by Davenport Locomotive Works as a 2-4-4T in 1927 and now runs as the G. A. Boeckling no. 1. No. 1 was converted from oil-burning in 2010 and all engines now run on coal. One of the oldest 2-4-0s in the US is the John Bull.
Baldwin's Montezuma of 1871, the first locomotive built for the Denver & Rio Grande.
(John Carbutt, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)
Virginia and Truckee 21, the J. W. Bowker and the SF1, City of San Francisco in 1944.
(Unknown, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)
The John Bull.
(Public domain, Library of Congress via Wikimedia Commons)
