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Quote: ndbprr Pure passenger engines had drivers approaching 8' in diameter. The logic is easy. A passenger train doesn't weigh as much as a freight, goes faster and is more economically run with larger wheels as they make fewer revolutions. -- I am not sure that this is the logic... Larger wheels go further for each revolution allowing higher speed. While the "more economical per revolution" argument may be true, I do not think it is the primary one. Think about the first non-geared "Penny-farthing" bicycles with the big front wheel. Since there was no gearing, and you could only pedal so fast, it was necessary to make the front wheel bigger to achieve higher speeds. In any case, a "general rule of thumb" is that engines with 4 wheels on the leading truck (e.g. 4-6-2, 4-6-4) were designed for higher speeds (passenger and/or express trains of perishables), whether or not they ended up being used for that service or not. Andrew
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