Country of Origin.

The first locomotive to be built with a four wheel truck under the firebox and carrying a separate tender, was placed in service in 1910 by the Northern Railway Company of France. It was given the name of “Baltic” type and had a wheel arrangement of 4-6-4, representing the first real advance over the 4-6-2 “Pacific” type, the latter having a similar wheel arrangement to our A and Ab class locomotives.

Locomotives with the 4-6-4 wheel arrangement were confined to the European Railways until 1927—i.e., for seventeen years after this particular type was originally evolved.