The type is sometimes named Columbia after a Baldwin 2-4-2 locomotive was showcased at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition held at Chicago, Illinois.

The engine, named Hope and built by Kerr, Stuart and Company, remained in service until 1904 when operations on the railway were suspended.

After fifty years of service, Washington was dumped in the Oreti River, Southland, as a flood protection measure.

K92 has been restored to full active service and has re-established her position on the Kingston Flyer train, which was made famous by the K class at the end of the 19th century.

Francis Webb of the London and North Western Railway also designed two 2-4-2 classes which eventually totaled 380 locomotives, built between 1879 and 1898.

One of John Aspinall's Class 5 locomotives, built for the L&YR in 1889, is preserved at the National Railway Museum, York.

The Baldwin Locomotive Works built a demonstrator tender type engine which was displayed at the Columbian Exposition of 1893.

But the two-wheeled lead truck was never well-suited to high speed service on far-flung North American rails.