2-8-8-8-4 and a 2-8-2. Unlike their progenitor which lasted only a few years in service, these two locomotives remained in service until 1953. 2-8-8-8-4 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, a 2-8-8-8-4 has two leading wheels, three sets of eight driving wheels, and four trailing wheels. Other equivalent classifications are: UIC classification: 1DDD2 (also known as German classification and Italian classification) French classification: 140+040+042 Turkish classification: 45+44+46 Swiss classification: 4/5+4/4+4/6 The equivalent UIC classification is to be refined to (1'D)D(D2') for these engines. Only one 2-8-8-8-4 was ever built, a Mallet-type for the Virginian Railway in 1916.
Minim (palaeography) Minim (palaeography) In palaeography, a minim is a short, vertical stroke used in handwriting. The word is derived from the Latin "minimum", meaning "least" or "smallest". A minim is the basic stroke for the letters i, m, n, and u in uncial script and later scripts deriving from it. Parts of other letters are based on minims as well: when a minim is extended above the line, it becomes an "ascender", as in the letters d and b, and when it is extended below the line, it becomes a "descender", as in the letters p and q. It is a