Soviet State 2-8-8-4 Locomotives in Russia

Class P38 (Locobase 733)

Data from "SZD-Baureihe P38" in Wikipedia at [], last accessed 3 November 2019.

The only Mallets built for either Russian or Soviet railroads. Two engines built. A relatively light and late articulated that had high maintenance costs and was difficult to work in cold weather. A photo shows that above the usual array of drivers and valve gear and pistons and whatnot, the boiler had a streamlined nose much like a 1950s automobile from a Detroit design studio.

NB: The driver wheelbase given in Locobase is correct. Five of the six intervals between axles measured 1,625 mm (5 ft 4 in). The rear engine's wheelbase was longer than the front because of a 175 mm greater distance (1,800 mm/5 ft 10 3/4 in total ) between the third and fourth axles.

Despite the shortcomings, these big articulateds may have served the Soviet State for decades except for a decision at the 20th Party Congress of the CPSU (Communist Party of the Soviet Union) in February 1956. A defensible argument for ending steam locomotive production in favor of widespread electrification meant all design efforts would stop.