Talk:2-8-8-8-4

Note: The following deletion debate on a related entry resulted in a vote to keep entries in this group. Cheers! bd2412 T 02:16, 4 April 2007 (UTC)

I'm not sure but I think it is not a word for a wiktionary. Contrary we must to have all "words" as 3-5-2, 3-4-3, 3-3-4, 4-3-3 and so on because all of them are "A popular soccer formations". In any case, it can't be an "English adverb" --VPliousnine 09:43, 15 November 2006 (UTC)
 * Keep. Perhaps it should be a noun, but it describes an identifiable thing with a set meaning. There are quite a few combinations of numbers that serve similar functions. This also happens to be a steam locomotive configuration. bd2412 T 14:33, 15 November 2006 (UTC)


 * Keep. See BD 2-4-1-2 above (I doubt there are more than a dozen loco wheel formations and rather fewer soccer formations, and until you've seen the definition of one or two, they are fairly opaque). --Eng in ear 23:34, 15 November 2006 (UTC)


 * For someone with the tag "Enginear" you should know better ;-) There are at least 50 steam locomotive combinations excluding rare ones, and at least a few dozen have names: 4-4-2 is Atlantic ... Robert Ullmann 00:01, 16 November 2006 (UTC)


 * Yes, careless indeed! Thinking back to my steam trainspotting days, I suppose there were about a dozen, and several names, in use in England in 1960 alone, and we didn't have anything bigger than Pacifics ... it's just it takes a while to blow out the cobwebs before I can get that bit of my brain up to speed. --Eng in ear 01:37, 16 November 2006 (UTC)

So... keep. Pedant 02:32, 15 January 2007 (UTC)
 * I count 81. A drop in the bucket for the whole of the dictionary. Let's collect 'em all. bd2412 T 01:45, 16 November 2006 (UTC)


 * Yes, it's a small, finite (in practical terms) set, so let's. To come up with a figure like 81, I guess you still have some reference books, so you'd better lead, and I'll try to find some good cites.  I see that Robert Ullmann helped cite anorakish so he may know more than either of us. ;-D  --Eng in ear 13:03, 16 November 2006 (UTC)


 * Actually, I have the single greatest reference book ever conceived - the train lovers of Wikipedia! :) bd2412 T 15:52, 16 November 2006 (UTC)


 * Some of the above are extremely rare (in practice), but they're all set meanings that are verifiable without much difficulty. bd2412 T 15:56, 16 November 2006 (UTC)


 * Wow! Have added to my to-do list, and will try to cite those for which we already have entries...though not all at once. Where could anyone find a line straight enough to run a 4-14-4 (or a 0-12-0)? The Nullarbor Plain? And how would you ever get it in and out of a depot!  --Eng in ear 15:31, 18 November 2006 (UTC)
 * Iowa . I take that back; it's the Russians who use it! bd2412 T 19:42, 20 November 2006 (UTC)

Striking and closing as kept (obviously). bd2412 T 22:38, 2 March 2007 (UTC)