D6 Class

The 2F2p6t Class is a Class of Suburban tank engines with a 2-6-2 wheel arrangement that was designed by Reginald Thornton at the Eastern & Atlantic's Trenton Works.

History
Since the 1920's on the Charlotte-Durham-Richmond-Washington DC line, the Eastern & Atlantic ran push-pull suburban services usually using tank locomotives from small towns outside these large hubs, connecting with Inter-city express trains.. A few years of using F2p4t Class led to the development of the 2F2p6t Class as it was found that the stability of the locomotives at speed were suffering.

The first 20 of this class were built at Trenton works in 1925 before production was shifted to the Richmond works in 1928 to put the locomotives into service faster. The 1925-1929 run produced 65 locomotives.

Service
The 2F2p6t served their purpose well. The locomotives served long and were still in service when dieselization on most other roads occured like almost every other steam locomotive class on the Eastern and Atlantic. They were so successful in Push-pull services that the class, having ceased being built in 1932 had a second run of production in 1956 to 1958, producing an additional 35 locomotives.

THe 2F2p6ts were not without their share of accidents. In the famous Richmond collision in 1938, a 2F2p6t locomotive was shunting empty commuter coaches when it collided with a 4J2n6 Class hauling the Freightman's Friend. The collision destroyed the commuter coaches and severely damaged the 4J2n6, and delayed the Freightman's Friend for several hours.