2-3-2K

The 2-3-2K (factory designation P12, Russian: П12) was an experimental steam locomotive built in the Soviet Union for hauling express passenger trains. Designed at the Kolomna Works in Kolomna, two examples were constructed between 1937 and 1938. They operated express services before World War II. The P12 factory-type locomotive was developed at the Kolomna Works in Kolomna as an experimental high-speed machine for express passenger trains. At the time, the new mass-produced Soviet express locomotive IS had a design speed of 115 km/h. After evaluating various wheel arrangements, engineers selected the 2'C2' configuration, denoted as 2-3-2 in Russian notation. Initial plans called for driving wheels of 1,850 mm diameter for a design speed of 130 km/h, but these were enlarged to 2,000 mm, raising the design speed to 150 km/h. The design was completed between 1935 and 1936 under the leadership of engineers L. Lebedyansky and M. Shchukin. The People's Commissariat of Transport ordered two units. The locomotives received no official railway designation but are known in literature as 2-3-2K to distinguish them from the similar 2-3-2V built in Luhansk.