Queensland C16 class locomotive

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Queensland Railways C16 class
Type and origin
Power typeSteam
Builder Evans, Anderson, Phelan & Co (41)
North Ipswich Railway Workshops (51)
Toowoomba Foundry (15)
Walkers Limited (45)
Build date1903-1918
Total produced152
Specifications
Configuration:
​
 •  Whyte 4-8-0
Gauge 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Leading dia. 28 in (711 mm)
Driver dia.45 in (1,143 mm)
Wheelbase 45 ft 0 in (13.72 m)
Length52 ft 5+1⁄2 in (15.99 m)
Height12 ft 6 in (3.81 m)
Axle load 8.25 long tons (9.24 short tons; 8.38  t)
Total weight80.5 long tons (90.2 short tons; 81.8  t)
Fuel typeCoal
Fuel capacity8 long tons (8.96 short tons; 8.13  t)
Water cap.3,000 imp gal (14,000 L; 3,600 US gal)
Firebox:
 • Firegrate area		18.5 sq ft (1.72 m2)
Boiler pressure175 lbf/in2 (1,207 kPa)
Heating surface1,093 sq ft (101.5 m2)
Cylinders 2 outside
Cylinder size 16 in × 22 in (406 mm × 559 mm)
Career
Operators Queensland Railways
Numbers4, 6-14, 19-22, 31, 34-39, 41, 43, 44, 51, 63-65, 67, 69, 72.74, 96-99, 105-111, 118, 131-133, 139-142, 167-172, 176, 178, 395, 414-433, 510-537, 614-675
Preserved106
Disposition1 preserved, 151 scrapped

The Queensland Railways C16 class locomotive is a class of 4-8-0 steam locomotives that was operated by the Queensland Railways.

Contents

Construction

Per Queensland Railway's classification system the class was designated the C16 class, C representing they had four driving axles, and the 16 the cylinder diameter in inches. The prototype, N°395, was the first engine to be built by the then new North Ipswich Railway Workshops. It was the only Queensland Railway engine with the exception of the Garratt classes to be fitted with a screw reverser. After successful trials, an order for a further 20 was placed in March 1906 and construction began in earnest. The first engines had an unusual combined number and builder’s plate mounted on the sides of the cab. In early years, the class was often referred to as the Ipswich C16 class to distinguish them from the C16 Baldwin class of the previous century. [1] [2] [3]

Most were painted black to haul livestock trains. Three were painted were specially turned out to haul the heavy Sydney Mail to Wallangarra with 427 painted brown, 428 blue and 429 green until larger locomotives took over this duty. Engines constructed from around 1910 were given indiscriminate numbers by being allocated numbers of scrapped locomotives with the brass number plate recycled. [1] [3]

Superheating trial

In 1920s, superheating was trialled on ten engines. Operation of these superheated engines proved costly despite tests proving savings in coal and water consumption. The principal problem was lubrication of slide valves with the higher temperatures. This caused wear and cutting of the valve and port faces with resultant steam leaks. The original cast iron valves were replaced with bronze ones but produced little improvement. In 1929, it was decided to not to superheat any more slide valve engines and those so fitted reverted to saturated steam as boiler renewals became necessary. Eleven engines were loaned to the Commonwealth Railways in 1942 for use on the Central Australia Railway as NMB55-NMB65, returning in 1944. [3]

As saturated engines they were soon replaced on more important duties by their successor, the C17 Class. The engines that survived until the last decade of steam were mainly used for heavy shunting in yards such as Rockhampton where the loads were beyond the capacity of the PB15 class.

Modifications

The class received a number of modifications during their lives. The early engines had sandboxes on the running boards rather than mounted on the boiler. All, except the class leader, had these replaced by a “standard” Baldwin style sandbox on their boilers. Association of American Railroads Master Mechanics smokeboxes commenced being fitted to members of the class in 1945. This greatly improved their performance. All engines remaining in service, except N°106, were similarly altered. These modified engines could be distinguished by their tapered stove pipe chimney.

Preservation

One has been preserved. Initially preserved at Redbank Locomotive Museum, 106 moved to the DownsSteam Tourist Railway & Museum in October 2001 where restoration was completed in 2021. [4]

On August 18, 2023, C16 106 performed its first mainline test under its own steam. [5]

Related Research Articles

A superheater is a device used to convert saturated steam or wet steam into superheated steam or dry steam. Superheated steam is used in steam turbines for electricity generation, steam engines, and in processes such as steam reforming. There are three types of superheaters: radiant, convection, and separately fired. A superheater can vary in size from a few tens of feet to several hundred feet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NZR A class (1906)</span>

The NZR A class were a class of steam locomotives built in 1906 with a 4-6-2 wheel arrangement for the New Zealand Railways Department (NZR). The class should not be confused with the older and more obscure A class of 1873. They were designed by the NZR's Chief Mechanical Engineer, A. L. Beattie and his Chief Draughtsman, G. A. Pearson to replace less powerful locomotives struggling with increasing loads on the South Island Main Trunk Railway, and in anticipation of the traffic volumes that would be created upon the completion of the North Island Main Trunk railway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2-6-0+0-6-2</span> Garratt locomotive wheel arrangement

Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 2-6-0+0-6-2 represents the wheel arrangement of an articulated locomotive with two separate swivelling engine units, arranged back to back with the boiler and cab suspended between them. Each engine unit has two leading wheels in a leading truck, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles and no trailing wheels.

The DD class (later reclassified into D1, D2 and D3 subclasses) was a passenger and mixed traffic steam locomotive that ran on Victorian Railways from 1902 to 1974. Originally introduced on mainline express passenger services, they were quickly superseded by the much larger A2 class and were relegated to secondary and branch line passenger and goods service, where they gave excellent service for the next fifty years. The DD design was adapted into a 4-6-2T tank locomotive for suburban passenger use, the DDE (later D4) class. They were the most numerous locomotive class on the VR, with a total of 261 DD and 58 locomotives built.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New South Wales C36 class locomotive</span>

The New South Wales C36 class was a class of two-cylinder, simple, non-condensing, coal-fired superheated, 4-6-0 express passenger steam locomotives built by Eveleigh Railway Workshops and Clyde Engineering for the New South Wales Government Railways in Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queensland C17 class locomotive</span>

The Queensland Railways C17 class locomotive was a class of 4-8-0 steam locomotives operated by the Queensland Railways.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">3265</span>

3265 is a preserved former New South Wales Government Railways C32 class steam locomotive. Built in 1902 by Beyer, Peacock & Company, England, it is owned by the Powerhouse Museum and based at the NSW Rail Museum, Thirlmere.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queensland PB15 class locomotive</span>

The Queensland Railways PB15 class locomotive is an old class of 4-6-0 steam engines operated by the Queensland Railways.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South African Class 16C 4-6-2</span> Class of 30 South African 4-6-2 locomotives

The South African Railways Class 16C 4-6-2 of 1919 was a steam locomotive.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queensland AC16 class locomotive</span>

The Queensland Railways AC16 class locomotive was a class of 2-8-2 steam locomotives operated by the Queensland Railways.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South African Class 14B 4-8-2</span> Class of 15 South African 4–8-2 locomotives

The South African Railways Class 14B 4-8-2 of 1915 was a steam locomotive.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South African Class 14A 4-8-2</span>

The South African Railways Class 14A 4-8-2 of 1914 was a steam locomotive.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South African Class NG G11 2-6-0+0-6-2</span>

The South African Railways Class NG G11 2-6-0+0-6-2 of 1919 is a class of narrow gauge steam locomotives.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South African Class 10C 4-6-2</span>

The South African Railways Class 10C 4-6-2 of 1910 was a steam locomotive from the pre-Union era in Transvaal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South African Class 10B 4-6-2</span>

The South African Railways Class 10B 4-6-2 of 1910 was a steam locomotive from the pre-Union era in Transvaal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South African Class 10A 4-6-2</span>

The South African Railways Class 10A 4-6-2 of 1910 was a steam locomotive from the pre-Union era in Transvaal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South African Class 6L 4-6-0</span>

The South African Railways Class 6L 4-6-0 of 1904 was a steam locomotive from the pre-Union era in the Cape of Good Hope.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queensland C19 class locomotive</span>

The Queensland Railways C19 class locomotive was a class of 4-8-0 steam locomotives operated by the Queensland Railways.

The South African Railways Class MC 2-6-6-0 of 1912 was a steam locomotive.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NER Class B1</span>

The NER B and B1 Classes were two classes of 0-6-2 tank locomotives designed by Thomas William Worsdell for heavy freight and mineral on the North Eastern Railway, introduced in 1886. They were tank engine versions of the NER C1 Class 0-6-0, using both simple expansion and also the von Borries configuration for two-cylinder compound locomotives. Both types were later rebuilt using superheated steam and the compounds were also rebuilt as simple expansion locomotives, and eventually formed a single class. Many of the superheated locomotives were also later returned to saturated steam as their original boilers wore out. As a result the classes have had a very complex mechanical history.

References

  1. 1 2 Armstrong, John (1985). Locomotives in the Tropics Volume 1. Brisbane: Australian Railway Historical Society. pp. 83–86, 107–109. ISBN   0 909937 13 3.
  2. ↑ Turner, Jim (1997). Australian Steam Locomotives 1896-1958. Kenthurst: Kangaroo Press. p. 55. ISBN   086417778X.
  3. 1 2 3 Oberg, Leon (2010). Locomotives of Australia 1850s-2010. Dural: Rosenberg Publishing. pp. 123/124. ISBN   9781921719011.
  4. ↑ Project 106: The Pride of Toowoomba DownsSteam Tourist Railway & Museum
  5. ↑ "C16 106 "The Pride of Toowoomba" first mainline trial after restoration | C16 106 "The Pride of Toowoomba" gracefully coasting through Shepperd heading for Wyreema on the first mainline trial after two decades under restoration... | By DownsSteam Tourist Railway & Museum - Facebook". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 19 August 2023.

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