| South Australian Railways F class of 1902 ("2nd F class") | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 F class locomotive no. 240 in 1952 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The South Australian Railways F class were a class of 4-6-2T steam locomotives operated by the South Australian Railways.
The F class hauled the majority of Adelaide's suburban passenger trains from its introduction in 1902. The first 22 were built by the Islington Railway Workshops. James Martin & Co built 12 units, with the remaining 10 built by Perry Engineering, the last entering service in October 1922. [1]
The type replaced the smaller P class 2-4-0T engines, which were struggling with the increasing sizes of suburban passenger trains. From the 1930s on lightly patronised routes, F class locomotives were replaced by Brill model 55 and 75 railcars. They continued to be deployed on busier suburban routes until they were displaced after 1955 by increasing numbers of 300 and 400 class "Red Hen" railcars. Some locomotives were retained for shunting duties at Port Adelaide and Mile End with F225, the final member of the class being condemned in 1969. [1]
The locomotives had saturated steam boilers and were considered attractive. While slow to accelerate away from stations, the locomotives were capable of reaching speeds of up to 60 mph (100 km/h). They were a capable locomotive that faced few restrictions other than on the Belair line in the Adelaide Hills, on which they were limited to hauling three carriages. [1]
Three members of the class have been preserved:
Adelaide railway station is the central terminus of the Adelaide Metro railway system. All lines approach the station from the west, and it is a terminal station with no through lines, with most of the traffic on the metropolitan network either departing or terminating here. It has nine below-ground platforms, all using broad gauge track. The station is located on the north side of North Terrace, west of Parliament House.
The Adelaide rail network is a metropolitan suburban rail system serving the city of Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. It consists of 89 railway stations across 7 lines, which served a patronage of 15.6 million people over the year 2018-19. Keolis Downer under contract from the Government of South Australia operates the Adelaide suburban rail system. The operations are set to be handed back to the hands of the public by January 2025.
South Australian Railways (SAR) was the statutory corporation through which the Government of South Australia built and operated railways in South Australia from 1854 until March 1978, when its non-urban railways were incorporated into Australian National, and its Adelaide urban lines were transferred to the State Transport Authority.
The Redhen railcars was the nickname given to the 300 and 400 classes of diesel-hydraulic railcars designed by the South Australian Railways and built at its Islington Railway Workshops between 1955 and 1971. The railcars, which operated in Adelaide suburban service until 1996, remain a nostalgic part of South Australian memory. Some continue to be operated by the SteamRanger Heritage Railway, the National Railway Museum, Port Adelaide and other railway preservation entities.
Railmotor is a term used in the United Kingdom and elsewhere for a railway lightweight railcar, usually consisting of a railway carriage with a steam traction unit, or a diesel or petrol engine, integrated into it.
The Bridgewater railway line was the name given to the "South line", the westernmost component of the Adelaide–Melbourne railway line, built in 1883 through the Adelaide Hills. The term was applied in connection with South Australian Railways suburban passenger services from the capital city, Adelaide, terminating at Bridgewater railway station. In 1987, poor patronage led to the services being curtailed 15.7 kilometres to Belair and the line was consequently renamed the Belair line.
The National Railway Museum, Port Adelaide, South Australia is the largest under-cover railway museum in Australia. More than 100 major exhibits, mainly from the South Australian Railways (SAR) and Commonwealth Railways and their successor, Australian National, are displayed at its 3.5 hectares site. A large archival collection of photographs of those railways and records created by them is also managed by the museum. The museum operates with a large number of volunteers.
The railways of New South Wales, Australia, use a large variety of passenger and freight rolling stock. The first railway in Sydney was opened in 1855 between Sydney and Granville, now a suburb of Sydney but then a major agricultural centre. The railway formed the basis of the New South Wales Government Railways. Passenger and freight services were operated from the beginning. By 1880, there was a half hourly service to Homebush.
The South Australian Railways 620 class was a class of 4-6-2 steam locomotives operated by the South Australian Railways.
The Marton–New Plymouth line (MNPL) is a secondary railway in the North Island of New Zealand that links the Taranaki and Manawatū-Whanganui regions. It branches from the North Island Main Trunk railway (NIMT) at Marton and runs near the South Taranaki Bight of the west coast before turning inland, meeting the Stratford–Okahukura Line (SOL) at Stratford and running to New Plymouth. Construction of the line was completed in 1885, and along with the SOL it provided an alternate route to the NIMT with the SOL's completion in 1933 until the latter was mothballed in 2010. In its early days, the North Island's first regional express, the New Plymouth Express ran on the line, but it has been freight-only since the cancellation of passenger services on the line in 1977.
The South Australian Railways 700 class was a class of 2-8-2 steam locomotives operated by the South Australian Railways.
The South Australian Railways 710 class was a class of 2-8-2 steam locomotives operated by the South Australian Railways.
The South Australian Railways R class engine, later upgraded to Rx Class engine is a class of 4-6-0 steam engines operated by the South Australian Railways.
The South Australian Railways P class was a class of 2-4-0T steam locomotives operated by the South Australian Railways.
The Milang railway line was a branch line, now closed, of the former South Australian Railways that left the mainline to Victor Harbor at the farming locality of Sandergrove, 9 km (5.6 mi) south of Strathalbyn and 89.7 km (55.7 mi) by rail from Adelaide. From there it proceeded in a south-easterly direction for 13.1 km (8.1 mi) to the riverport of Milang on Lake Alexandrina, in the estuary of the River Murray. The line was opened on 17 December 1884; it was formally closed on 17 June 1970. The route is now a "rail trail" that is popular with hikers. The precincts of the former Milang station house a railway museum that includes an innovative locomotive driving simulator for visitors to operate. Onsite is a centre for South Australian historical light railways.
The Roseworthy–Peterborough railway line is a closed railway line in South Australia. It was first opened from a junction at Roseworthy on the Morgan railway line through Hamley Bridge, Riverton, initially to Tarlee, then extended in stages to Peterborough. The line was closed in sections in the 1980s with the final section from Gawler to Roseworthy being used in 2007.
The first two of what later became the South Australian Railways A class of locomotives, built by Robert Stephenson and Company, England, arrived at Port Adelaide for the South Australian Railways in September and October 1868. A third, final locomotive arrived in 1873.
The two 4-4-0T steam locomotives that together comprised the first South Australian Railways F class were built in England in 1869 by the Avonside Engine Company of Bristol. No. 21 entered service on the South Australian Railways in September 1869; no. 22 followed in October.
The South Australian Railways N Class locomotives were built in 1881 by the Baldwin Locomotive Works for the South Australian Railways (S.A.R.). They were rebuilt in 1904, which vastly improved their performance and completely changed their look from a typical American locomotive of the time to a more British one.
Milang railway station was the terminus of the Milang railway line in the South Australian town of Milang.
Media related to South Australian Railways F class (1902) at Wikimedia Commons