A tank locomotive (occasionally tank engine, especially in England, notably used in reference to Thomas the Tank Engine) is a steam locomotive that carries its own fuel and water on it, instead of pulling it behind it in a tender. A tank engine (occasionally tank locomotive, especially in England, notably used in reference to Thomas the Tank Engine) is a steam locomotive that carries its own fuel and water on it, instead of pulling it behind it in a tender. ... Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location (dark green) within the United Kingdom (light green), with the Republic of Ireland (blue) to its west Languages English Capital London Largest city London Area – Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population – Total (mid... Thomas the Tank Engine. ... Great Western Railway No. ... A British tender locomotive Steam locomotives often haul a tender, which is a special railroad car designed to hold the locomotives fuel and water. ...

Types of tank

There are a number of types of tank locomotive, based on the location and style of the water tanks. These include the side tank, the saddle tank, the pannier tank, the well tank and others.

A side tank

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Side tank

The water is contained in rectangular tanks mounted on each side of the locomotive, next to the boiler. This is the most common configuration. The side tanks can restrict access to the motion.
A tank locomotive (occasionally tank engine) is a steam locomotive that carries its own fuel and water with it, instead of pulling it behind it in a tender. ... The Walschaert valve gear on a steam locomotive (a PRR E6s). ...

A saddle tank

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Saddle tank

The water tank sits on top of the boiler like a saddle. Generally the tank is curved in cross-section, like an inverted 'U'. This was a fairly popular arrangement especially for smaller locomotives, and especially in industrial use. It gave a greater water supply, but restricted the maximum size of the boiler and restricted access to it for cleaning. The water is pre-heated by the boiler, but the locomotive has a higher centre of gravity and hence must operate at lower speeds.
A tank locomotive (occasionally tank engine) is a steam locomotive that carries its own fuel and water with it, instead of pulling it behind it in a tender. ... In physics, the center of gravity (CoG) of an object is the average location of its weight. ...

A pannier tank

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Pannier tank

This variety of tank, used almost exclusively by the British Great Western Railway, and in Belgium, involved box-shaped tanks attached to the sides of the boiler. Unlike the side tank, they did not go all the way down and there was space between the tank and the footplate. This lowered the centre of gravity compared to a saddle tank, whilst allowing access to the motion.
A tank locomotive (occasionally tank engine) is a steam locomotive that carries its own fuel and water with it, instead of pulling it behind it in a tender. ... The original Bristol Temple Meads station, first terminus of the GWR, is the building to the left of this picture The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company, linking South West England, the West Country and South Wales with London. ... The footplate of a steam locomotive is a large metal plate that rests on top of the frames. ...

A well tank

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Well tank

In this design, used in earlier and smaller locomotives, the water is stored in a 'well' on the underside of the locomotive, generally between the locomotive's frames. This does not restrict access to the boiler, but space is limited there and the design is therefore not suitable for locomotives that need a good usable range before refilling.
A tank locomotive (occasionally tank engine) is a steam locomotive that carries its own fuel and water with it, instead of pulling it behind it in a tender. ...

Rear Tank

In this design, the tank is placed behind the cab, usually over a supporting bogie. This removes the weight of the water from the driving wheels, giving the locomotive a constant tractive weight. The disadvantage is a reduction in water carrying capacity. A rear tank is an essential component of the American Forney type of loco. Forney is a city located in Kaufman County, Texas. ...

Wing Tank

Wing Tanks are side tanks that run the length of the smokebox, instead of the full length of the boiler. They were mainly used on narrow gauge industrial locomotives that could be frequently re-filled with water and where side or saddle tanks would restrict access to inside valve gear.
Narrow-gauge railways are railroads (railways) with track spaced at less than the standard gauge of 4 ft 8 in (1. ...

A front view of a wing tank

Image File history File links WingTank. ... Image File history File links WingTank. ...

Inverted Saddle Tank

The inverted saddle tank was a variation of the Wing Tank where the two tanks were joined underneath the smokebox and supported it. This rare design was used for the same reasons as the wing tank but provided slightly greater water capacity.

Pros and cons

The benefits of tank locomotives include:

• Bi-directionality: most tank locomotives are capable of running at full speed in either direction. Most tender locomotives are unable to do this, because the heavy tender is not designed to be pushed and may become unstable at higher speeds. Tender locomotives generally require turning facilities, such as a turntable or wye, at each end of the run. A tank locomotive, on the other hand, can simply run around the train and pull it back in the other direction.

• Fuel and water add to adhesive weight: the usable tractive weight of a locomotive is the product of the weight on its drivers multiplied by the factor of adhesion. Therefore, up to the limits of the maximum permissible axle loading, and other loading limits, the more weight on the driving wheels the better. In a tank locomotive the weight of its own fuel and water increase the available tractive weight.

• Compactness: A tank locomotive is shorter than the equivalent tender locomotive. This is important in environments limited space for locomotives, for example the headshunt of a run-round loop.

• Efficiency: Many tank locomotives tanks are designed to be in contact with and be heated by, the boiler. Pre-heated water will reach boling point faster than the colder water available from a tender.

There are corresponding disadvantages: A small turntable at the Orange Empire Railway Museum in Perris, CA. In rail terminology, a turntable is a device used to turn railroad rolling stock. ... A wye in American railroad terminology, known as a triangle in British terminology, is a triangular shaped arrangement of tracks with a switch at each corner. ... On a steam locomotive, a driving wheel is a powered wheel which is driven by the locomotives pistons (or turbine, in the case of a steam turbine locomotive). ... In railroad engineering, the factor of adhesion of a locomotive is the weight on the driving wheels divided by the starting tractive effort. ... On railways, the axle load is the maximum weight of a train per pair of wheels allowable for a given section of track. ...

• Limited fuel and water capacity: a tender can typically contain far more of both than is available on a tank locomotive. This restricts the range of tank locomotives between fueling and watering points.

• Varying adhesive weight: Use of the fuel and water for the purposes of adhesive weight means that the adhesive weight of the locomotive decreases as they are used up.

• Axle loading limits a problem: For larger tank locomotives, it is hard to put much fuel and water aboard without requiring more axles than a rigid frame can handle.

Popularity

Worldwide, tank locomotives varied in popularity. They were more common in areas where space was at a premium, mostly Europe and other areas where the railways came later and had to fit into the towns rather than the towns growing around the rails. With their limited fuel and water capacity, they were not favored in areas where long runs between stops were the norm.

They were very common in the United Kingdom, France, and in particular Germany where examples of large tank locomotives were built. In the United States they tended to be restricted to push-pull suburban service, always the tank engine's forte, and also for switching service in terminals and locomotive shops. They were also popular in logging, mining and industrial service. A single GWR autocoach capable of push-pull operation. ... A modern US switcher, an EMD SW1500. ...

In Australia, the main engines used on the rebuilt West Coast Wilderness Railway in Tasmania are reconditioned tank locomotives. The West Coast Wilderness Railway, Tasmania is a reconstruction of the Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company railway between Queenstown and Regatta Point. ... Emblems: Flora - Tasmanian Blue Gum; Fauna - none Motto: Ubertas et Fidelitas (Fertility and Faithfulness) Slogan or Nickname: The Apple Isle Other Australian states and territories Capital Hobart Government Const. ...

Preservation

Polish-built side tank locomotive 7646 "Northampton" at its naming ceremony in 2001

Tank locomotives are popular with heritage railways for a number of reasons. They are usually cheaper to purchase than a tender locomotive due to their smaller size. This is also an advantage when working out the cost of transportation to the heritage line, many of which are isolated from the national rail network. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1024x768, 190 KB)Naming of locomotive Northampton. Original photograph: taken 10th August 2002 by Simon Jenkins. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1024x768, 190 KB)Naming of locomotive Northampton. Original photograph: taken 10th August 2002 by Simon Jenkins. ... A scene on a heritage railway. ... A British tender locomotive Steam locomotives often haul a tender, which is a special railroad car designed to hold the locomotives fuel (wood or coal) and water. ... Logo of British Rail British Railways (BR), later rebranded as British Rail, ran the British railway system from the nationalisation of the Big Four British railway companies in 1948 until its privatisation in stages between 1994 and 1997. ...

Most heritage railways only have short lines and do not often have turntables at both ends of the line. A tank locomotive has good visibility for the driver in both directions. As the trains being hauled are usually light the tank locomotive is more fuel efficient than a large tender locomotive. A branch line is a relatively minor railway line which branches off a more important through route. ... A small turntable at the Orange Empire Railway Museum in Perris, CA. In rail terminology, a turntable is a device used to turn railroad rolling stock. ... Fuel efficiency relates the efficiency of converting energy contained in a carrier fuel to kinetic energy or work. ...

Add to this the lower cost of maintaining the engine and the lower amount of wear and tear on the track. Another fact to consider is that many tank locomotives were bought from former industrial railways rather than the national network. Due to the higher availability it would be easier to secure a suitable locomotive for a reasonable price.

Tank locomotives in fiction

Duck the Great Western Engine is an example of a fictional pannier tank locomotive.

The most famous fictional tank locomotive is Thomas the Tank Engine from The Railway Series by Rev. W. Awdry. Thomas is based on a London, Brighton and South Coast Railway class E2 0-6-0 side tank. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1024x768, 246 KB) Summary Artists impression of Duck the Great Western Engine from The Railway Series by W.V. Awdry. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1024x768, 246 KB) Summary Artists impression of Duck the Great Western Engine from The Railway Series by W.V. Awdry. ... Montague Duck the Great Western Engine. ... A locomotive (from Latin loco motivus) is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train, and has no payload capacity of its own; its sole purpose is to move the train along the tracks. ... The Three Graces, here in a painting by Sandro Botticelli, were the goddesses of charm, beauty, nature, human creativity and fertility in Greek mythology. ... Thomas the Tank Engine. ... Map showing the railways on the fictional Island of Sodor (click to enlarge). ... The Reverend Wilbert Vere Awdry, OBE, (June 15, 1911 – March 21, 1997) was a clergyman, railway enthusiast and childrens author, best known as the creator of Thomas the Tank Engine. ... The LB&SCRs coat of arms, displayed above the entrance to Gipsy Hill railway station. ... 0-6-0 is also the emergency telephone number in Mexico, similar to the United Statess 9-1-1. ...

The railways on the Island of Sodor are home to many different types of tank locomotive. Percy the Small Engine is an 0-4-0 saddle tank, and Duck the Great Western Engine is an 0-6-0 pannier tank. A map of the Island of Sodor showing the Railway system (click to enlarge). ... Percy the Small Engine Percy the Small Engine is a fictional living and talking steam engine from the childrens television series, Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends, and The Railway Series books written by the Reverend Wilbert Vere Awdry and his son, Christopher Awdry. ... Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 0-4-0 represents one of the simplest possible types, that with two axles and four wheels, all of which are driven. ... Montague Duck the Great Western Engine. ...

Another famous tank locomotive is Ivor the Engine who worked for the Merioneth and Llantisilly Rail Traction Company Limited. He was featured in his own eponymous TV Series created by Oliver Postgate. Ivor the Engine was the first animation by Oliver Postgate and Peter Firmin. ... An eponym is the name of a person, whether real or fictitious, which has (or is thought to have) given rise to the name of a particular place, tribe, discovery or other item. ... This article or section is missing needed references or citation of sources. ... Oliver Postgate (born 1925) is the creator and writer of some of the most popular childrens television programmes ever seen in Britain. ...

See also

• Steam locomotive nomenclature