At the turn of the century, increasing passenger traffic left the railroads with a need for a locomotive with greater steaming capacity than a 4-6-0 Ten-Wheeler, more pulling power than a 4-4-2 Atlantic and more speed than a 2-6-2 Prairie. Combining the best features of these three, the 4-6-2 Pacific was developed in 1902. This design balanced the necessary features very well and the Pacific quickly became the standard passenger locomotive for virtually every railroad in the U.S.