This is a list of steam locomotive wheel types and the names used to distinguish them. It is drawn from posts to the uk.railway newsgroup in April 2000 under a thread named "pacfics, atlantics and consolidations" (yes, spelled just like that). The main contributors were Don Galt and John Beaulieu to whom much thanks.

It was mainly in the USA and Canada that wheel types were typically given names. Only a handful of these names made their way into international use. The practice probably originated with locomotive builders who wanted informal terms for quick reference. In many cases the name derived simply from the name of the company for which the locomotive was being built.

Here is a partial list, with in some cases what is believed to be the origin of the name. Note that there are some instances of duplicate names.

2-4-2 Columbia

2-6-0 Mogul

2-6-2 Prairie

2-8-0 Consolidation

2-8-2 Mikado

2-8-4 Berkshire (pronounced Burke-sher; from the Boston and Albany, part of the New York Central system, which crossed the Berkshire mountains in Massachusetts)

2-10-0 Decapod (obvious)

2-10-2 Santa Fe

2-10-4 Texas (from Texas and Pacific)

2-10-4 Selkirk (from the Selkirk Mountains on the Canadian Pacific)

4-4-0 American (this became the ubiquitous type for railroads pushing west in the mid 19th century)

4-4-2 Atlantic (from the Atlantic Coast Line)

4-4-4 Jubilee

4-6-0 Ten-wheeler

4-6-2 Pacific (from the Missouri Pacific)

4-6-4 Hudson (the New York Central main line follows the Hudson River)

4-8-0 Twelve-wheeler

4-8-2 Mountain (from the Allegheny Mountains of the Chesapeake and Ohio)

4-8-4 Northern (from the Northern Pacific)

4-10-0 Mastodon

4-10-2 Southern Pacific

4-10-2 Overland (from the Union Pacific)

4-12-2 Union Pacific

A few articulated and other multi-cylinder locomotive types were given names other then Mallet, viz:

2-6-6-6 Allegheny (from the Chesapeake and Ohio)

2-8-8-4 Yellowstone (from the Northern Pacific - the name came from the River and the Division over which the locomotives ran)

4-6-6-4 Challenger (from the Union Pacific)

4-8-8-4 Big Boy (from the Union Pacific)

"Mallets" were normally 2-8-8-0 arrangement but could vary.

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