South African Class GMA 4-8-2+2-8-4 South African Class GMA 4-8-2+2-8-4 The South African Railways Class GMA 4-8-2+2-8-4 of 1954 was an articulated steam locomotive. Between 1954 and 1958, the South African Railways placed 120 Class GMA Garratt articulated steam locomotives with a 4-8-2+2-8-4 Double Mountain type wheel arrangement in service. All the locomotives could be configured as either a Class GMA branch line or a Class GMAM mainline engine. This was the most numerous Garratt class in the world. The light rail branch line Class GMA and mainline Class GMAM Garratt locomotive, a single Class which could be configured for either branch line or mainline
2-8-8-2 still used on steel mill lines and other railroads until 1983. Other equivalent classifications are: UIC classification: 1DD1 (also known as German classification and Italian classification) French classification: 140+041 Turkish classification: 45+45 Swiss classification: 4/5+4/5 The first 2-8-8-2 was built in 1909 by Baldwin, who sold two to the Southern Pacific Railroad (classified MC-1), and then three each to the Union Pacific Railroad and UP-owned Oregon Railroad and Navigation Company. Baldwin conceived the type as an expansion of the 2-6-6-2 permitting a greater tractive effort. The next order for the type was from the Southern Pacific; these differed in being