The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway's K-4 class were a group of ninety 2-8-4 steam locomotives purchased during and shortly after World War II.

[1] Unlike many other railroads in the United States, the C&O chose to nickname this class "Kanawha", after the river in West Virginia, rather than "Berkshire", after the region in New England.

In the early 1940s, as the United States entered World War II, the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O) was looking to roster large locomotives to aid their aging 2-8-2 "Mikados" in general freight service.

[2] The steam domes were positioned in front of the sandboxes for the NKP and PM 2-8-4s, since they allowed for efficient steam passages while traveling on level territories, but the design feature was prone to water-overflowing at the C&O's downhill grades in the Allegheny and Blue Ridge Mountains.

[2] The K-4s were mostly assigned to heavy and high speed freight services throughout the north-eastern regions of the United States and part of Ontario, Canada by the Pere Marquette.