The reciprocation rods, when working near the centre of gravity, induce severe side-to-side nosing which results in intense instability if unrestrained either by a long wheelbase or by the leading and trailing trucks.

The principal 2-6-2T locomotives which were built for the 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) narrow gauge system of the Victorian Railways (VR), are the now famous "Puffing Billy" engines.

When the VR decided to close the Upper Ferntree Gully to Gembrook narrow gauge route in the mid-1950s, enthusiasts mounted a successful campaign to retain the line as a preservation project.

Today, the Puffing Billy Railway is one of Victoria's main tourist attractions has a fleet of saved and modified 2-6-2T engines on its active steam roster and.

It was built in August 1918 by the North Ipswich Railway Workshops as an experimental engine burning coke instead of coal.

[5] Tank locomotives with this wheel arrangement spread very quickly in Germany after the good Austrian experience with the Series 30.

The Oldenburgische S 10, which was delivered in three copies in 1916, was extremely uneconomical due to the boiler, which was badly matched to the steam engine, and was taken out of service after less than ten years.

With the successful railway line construction between Djocjakarta (Yogyakarta)–Magelang in 1902, Magelang–Setjang (Secang)–Ambarawa in 1903–1905 and branch line between Setjang–Temangoeng (Temanggung)–Parakan in 1907, Nederlandsch-Indische Spoorweg Maatschappij (NIS) as a private railway company of Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) felt the need of new locomotives as a complement to their 0-6-0T NIS Class 250 which had been operational beforehand.

They ordered a new special 2-6-2T from (Werkspoor, N.V., Amsterdam), Netherlands with specifications has a maximum axle weight of 10 tons with an effective tractive force of 5000 kg, could pass on the 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) gauge Riggenbach rack line between Jambu–Bedono–Gemawang which has 6.5% incline with 8 carriages or wagons at a speed of 30 km/h (18.6 mph) and could pull 200 wagons on flat line also at a speed of 30 km/h.

In addition, it has 3 sight glasses with a function to keep the water at the specified level when passing 6.5% grade which prevent any hazardous condition.

These NIS 2-6-2Ts were the first superheated engine, a split-teak wood burner, using Walschaert's steam flow systems and Belpaire type firebox.

The temperature measurement in the firebox using a remote sensing pyrometer made by Steinle & Hartug and placed in the superheater box, while the dial could be read from the cabin.

[6][7] After Indonesian Independence, by their railway administrative PJKA or Perusahaan Jawatan Kereta Api still placed them mainly at Jogja/Yogya area and around 1970s they were also dispersed around Central Java such as Purwokerto.

SS forced to postpone the purchase of new locomotives from Europe for South and West Sumatra divisions due to Great Depression in 1929.

[6] The SS 1700s were designated as universal locomotive, they could be used to work freight and passenger trains on both branch and main lines.

[10][11] During Japanese occupation in 1942–1945, the SS 1700 were renumbered as C30 class and many of these locomotives were brought by them to Malay Peninsula and Indochina just like Singapore and Cambodia while 3 units of them were moved to Muaro–Pekanbaru death railway line in Sumatra.

[7] While a locomotive that is also suspected of being a C30 class was also found as a monument in front of a pagoda in Phnom Penh, Cambodia in a derelict condition.

The H. Cegielski Metal Works in Poznań produced 122 OKl27 class 2-6-2T locomotives for the Polish State Railways (PKP) during the period between 1928 and 1933.

Romania designed the 131.000 Class to replace the older Hungarian MAV locomotives used on Căile Ferate Române (CFR) secondary lines.

Visually, the Su was the last true Russian-look design before the American influence of high running boards, bar frames and boxpok wheels became the norm.

These handrails were a result of the harsh Russian winters, when ice would build up on the running boards, making them highly dangerous.

Enginemen had fallen to their death from moving trains and the fitting of promenade deck style handrails was a safety measure ordered by the Tsar in pre-revolutionary times.

Four-wheeled tenders were also acquired on a subsequent order and the locomotives could be operated in either a tank or tank-and-tender configuration, as circumstances demanded.

[16] With an improved design of bissel truck, two more CGR locomotives which were ordered from Kitson and Company in 1903 were once again built with a 2-6-2 Prairie wheel arrangement.

[24] In contrast, 2-6-2T locomotives were very widely used on suburban passenger services, particularly by the Great Western Railway (GWR), who built four main classes between 1903 and 1947.

The Railway Operating Division received 70 2-6-2 saddle tank engines built by Baldwin Locomotive Works in the United States.

These engines, nicknamed "tortoises" were probably inspired by the saddle tanks used on forest railways in the USA ; they had very small drivers and could run tight curves.

Problems the road encountered with the type included steam leakage in the compound cylinder plumbing and instability at speed.

These engines tended to enjoy very long service lives and outlasted many newer, more efficient steam locomotives on the Santa Fe and elsewhere.

In 1902, the AT&SF had a 2-6-2 with a high, at the time, boiler pressure of 220 pounds per square inch (1,517 kilopascals), mounted on a large 41-square-foot (3.8-square-meter) fire grate.