tender engine

plural tender engines

1. rail transportAny steam locomotive that has a tender attached, carrying its supply of fuel and water; the term is normally used to distinguish from a tank engine.

   To prevent glare from open firebox doors on locomotives being observed from the air, all tender engines have been fitted with tarpaulin screens which are carried over the space between the cab and tender during blackout hours. The one shown here is on a Southern Railway locomotive.

   1939 November, Charles E. Lee, “Railways and the War — I”, in Railway Magazine, page 316, photo caption

   Synonyms: tender locomotive, tender loco