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 A W class locomotive at the head of a short narrow‑gauge mixed train, about 1880 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The South Australian Railways W and Wx class was a class of 2-6-0 steam locomotives operated by the South Australian Railways. Some were used by the Commonwealth Railways in the Northern Territory and by contractors.
The W class was the second class of locomotive built to the 2-6-0 (Mogul) wheel arrangement to be supplied to the South Australian Railways (SAR) – the first being the U class, of which there were only eight. The class eventually totalled 35 in number and saw service on every SAR narrow gauge line. The locomotives were first introduced in 1878 during a period of rapid expansion of the railway system.
The class were ordered as light goods locomotives for use on the expanding South Australian Railways 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) gauge lines, necessarily limited in size and weight by the lightweight 40 lb/yd rails used at the time. [1] The locomotives were built by Beyer, Peacock & Co. of Manchester.
Early W class units were used during construction of the Central Australia Railway between Port Augusta and Quorn in 1878 before entering revenue service with SAR. During their operational career, the locomotives were used within South Australia on the isolated Eyre Peninsula Railway, in the south east on now closed lines in the Kingston, Naracoorte and Mount Gambier areas as well as the line north from Port Augusta. Many were sold or leased to contractors and they were also used by the Railways Construction Branch. [2] Several of the locomotives were sold to C&E Millar and used for construction of the Palmerston and Pine Creek Railway in the Northern Territory and would continue to work the isolated line for the remainder of their operational lives. [3]
From 1903, the SAR began to rebuild W class locomotives with upgraded boilers increased to 145 psi (1,000 kPa) pressure, which improved the tractive effort to 8,566 lbf (38.10 kN). [1] 18 of the class were rebuilt and designated Wx class.
In 1911, administrative responsibility for the Northern Territory, including the Palmerston and Pine Creek Railway, was passed from South Australia to the Commonwealth. Five unmodified W class locomotives were transferred to Commonwealth Railways at the Parap railway workshops and designated NF class. The condition of these locomotives was such that W35 and W41 were stripped down and the parts from both used to make NF7 an operational locomotive. Commonwealth Railways purchased an additional two locomotives of the class in 1915 from private interests involved with building the Eyre Peninsula Railway. [4]
By 1929, unmodified W class units had been withdrawn from service by South Australian Railways and the majority sold for scrap. TW22 had been sold to Western Australian Government Railways in 1893 and was not withdrawn until 1958. W38, in private hands with Baxter and Saddler from 1896, was condemned in 1955. Several Wx class units were also withdrawn in 1929, but a small number endured until 1959 [3] when the SAR's South-eastern Division narrow-gauge lines were converted to 1600 mm (5 ft 3 in).
The six units converted by Commonwealth Railways to NF class were withdrawn between 1928 and 1945; three worked on the North Australia Railway operating the line during World War II. NF6 was destroyed during the first Japanese air raid on Darwin in 1942 [4] while shunting munitions on the Stokes Hill jetty. The locomotive was blown into the harbour and although both driver and fireman survived, the fate of NF6 remains unknown as it has never been located. [5] [ failed verification ]
Two have been preserved:[ needs update ]
Pichi Richi Railway is a 39 kilometres narrow-gauge heritage railway in the southern Flinders Ranges of South Australia between Quorn and Port Augusta. For much of its length the line lies in the picturesque Pichi Richi Pass, where the line was completed in 1879 as work proceeded north to build a railway to the "Red Centre" of Australia – the Central Australia Railway.
The former Central Australia Railway, which was built between 1878 and 1929 and closed in 1980, was a 1,241 km (771 mi) 1067 mm narrow gauge railway between Port Augusta and Alice Springs. A standard gauge line duplicated the southern section from Port Augusta to Maree in 1957 on a new nearby alignment. The entire Central Australia Railway was superseded in 1980 after the standard gauge Tarcoola–Alice Springs Railway was opened, using a new route up to 200 km to the west. A small southern section of the original line between Port Augusta and Quorn has been preserved as the Pichi Richi Tourist Railway.
Pine Creek is a small town in the Katherine region of the Northern Territory, Australia. As at the 2021 Census there were 318 residents of Pine Creek, which is the fourth largest town between Darwin and Alice Springs.
The first railway in colonial South Australia was a line from the port of Goolwa on the River Murray to an ocean harbour at Port Elliot, which first operated in December 1853, before its completion in May 1854.
The North Australia Railway was a 509 km (316 mi) 1,067 mm narrow gauge railway in the Northern Territory of Australia which ran from the territory capital of Darwin, once known as Palmerston, to Birdum, just south of Larrimah. Initially its name was the Palmerston and Pine Creek Railway. The first section was opened 1889, the last in 1929. The railway closed in 1976.
The Commonwealth Railways were established in 1917 by the Government of Australia with the Commonwealth Railways Act to administer the Trans-Australia and Port Augusta to Darwin railways. It was absorbed into Australian National in 1975.
The Steamtown Peterborough Railway Preservation Society Inc. was a not-for-profit incorporated society that operated a heritage steam railway from Peterborough, South Australia, north along a section of the Peterborough to Quorn railway line, between 1977 and 2002. The society based its operations on the former South Australian Railways roundhouse at Peterborough and purpose-built sheds and yard at Peterborough West.
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 Commonwealth Railways NSU class was a class of diesel-electric locomotives built in 1954 and 1955 by the Birmingham Railway Carriage and Wagon Company, England, for the Commonwealth Railways to be deployed on the narrow-gauge Central Australia Railway and North Australia Railway.
The NT class were a class of diesel-electric locomotives built between 1965 and 1968 by Tulloch Limited, Rhodes for the Commonwealth Railways. They saw service on the Central Australia Railway and North Australia Railway, and on the Port Lincoln Division of Australian National.
The Commonwealth Railways NM class locomotive was a class of 4-8-0 locomotives of the Commonwealth Railways, Australia. The class operated on 1,067 mm narrow gauge lines in South Australia and the Northern Territory.
The Commonwealth Railways NB class originated in a shipment of four 0-6-0, 1067 millimetres gauge, saddle tank steam locomotives built by the Vulcan Iron Works of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. They were imported to Australia in 1916 for construction work at the naval base at Henderson, Western Australia. Their tractive effort was 9500 pounds.
The South Australian Railways T class was a class of 4-8-0 steam locomotives operated by the South Australian Railways. Several were sold to the Tasmanian Government Railways; some others operated on the Commonwealth Railways.
Pine Creek railway station is a disused railway station and museum on the former North Australia Railway in Pine Creek in the Northern Territory of Australia. The station is located 235 km (146 mi) from the original Darwin station, and was the southern terminus of the line until 1914. The station precinct is the most complete remaining example of infrastructure associated with the line.
Port Augusta railway station is a rail station located on the Adelaide-Port Augusta railway line in Port Augusta, South Australia.
The NDH class railcars are a class of self propelled diesel-hydraulic railcars designed by Commonwealth Engineering and built by the Gloucester Railway Carriage & Wagon Company in England for the Commonwealth Railways, Australia in 1954. They were known as Gloucester railcars.
The first South Australian Railways I class locomotive was built by Neilson and Company, Scotland for the Canterbury Provincial Railways, New Zealand in 1873 and numbered 9. In May 1878, the South Australian Railways (SAR) purchased it. The ship that transported it to South Australia was wrecked, but the locomotive was salvaged and entered service on the SAR in April 1879 as number 38. In 1880 or 1881, it was renumbered 48. It was allocated to "I" class – which was ultimately to be known as the "first I class" – in 1887 or 1888. In October 1905, the SAR withdrew it from service, then sold it in May 1906 to the South Australian Harbours Board for use in the construction of the Outer Harbour breakwater. It was scrapped in August 1909.
The eight members of the South Australian Railways U class were the first narrow-gauge 1067 mm locomotives on the South Australian Railways and the first of many steam locomotives built by Beyer, Peacock and Company for the railway. They entered service in 1876: four on the Port Wakefield to Hoyleton line and four on the Port Pirie to Crystal Brook line. Subsequently they operated on the Port Wakefield, Port Pirie and Port Augusta lines.
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.
The South Australian Railways O Class (1st) locomotives were built by Baldwin Locomotive Works for the South Australian Railways (SAR). They entered service in 1881 on the SAR system and were both withdrawn and scrapped by 1904.
Media related to South Australian Railways W class at Wikimedia Commons