South Australian Railways V class explained

South Australian Railways V class
Powertype:Steam
Builder:Beyer, Peacock & Co
James Martin & Co
Serialnumber:1597-1599, 1619, 67-70
Builddate:1876, 1893
Totalproduction:8
Whytetype:0-4-4
Length:21feet
Height:2.9m (09.5feet)
Fueltype:Coal
Boilerpressure:1300NaN0
Tubearea:231.3square feet
Fireboxarea:25.6square feet
Totalsurface:256.9square feet
Cylindercount:2
Cylindersize:9.5x
Tractiveeffort:39102NaN2
Operator:South Australian Railways
Operatorclass:V
Fleetnumbers:V9-V12, V143-V146
Preservedunits:V9
Disposition:1 preserved, 7 scrapped

The South Australian Railways V class was a class of 0-4-4 steam locomotives operated by the South Australian Railways.

History

In November 1876 the South Australian Railways took delivery of four 0-4-4 locomotives from Beyer, Peacock & Co, Manchester for use on the lightly laid Kingston-Naracoorte railway line. After final assembly was completed in South Australia, all entered service between January and May 1877. They were built to the same design as the Norwegian State Railways V1 class.[1]

They were not a success being too light and having insufficient water capacity for the 84 kilometre journey, requiring a water gin to be attached. In 1879, two W class locomotives were transferred with V9 becoming the shunter at Kingston wharf and the other three stored.[1]

In 1882, V12 was returned to service at Port Germein before moving to Port Pirie, while in the same year V10 was transferred to Port Wakefield, the latter was joined by V11 in 1885. In 1888, V9 moved to Port Augusta. From November 1891 until May 1893, V11 was loaned to BHP to operate on its lightly laid Broken Hill network. All four were rebuilt between 1891 and 1896. Between September and December 1893, a further four were delivered from James Martin & Co.[1]

They operated at various locations including Peterborough, Port Lincoln, Terowie and Wallaroo. Some were loaned interstate during the construction of the Yallourn Power Station. Most were withdrawn in the 1930s and 1940s with V9 plinthed at Pioneer Park, Naracoorte.[1]

Class list

NumberBuilderBuilder's
number
In serviceNotes
V9Beyer, Peacock & Co1597February 1877preserved at Pioneer Park, Naracoorte
V10Beyer, Peacock & Co1598February 1877
V11Beyer, Peacock & Co1599January 1877
V12Beyer, Peacock & Co1619May 1877
V143James Martin & Co67September 1893
V144James Martin & Co68October 1893
V145James Martin & Co69November 1893
V146James Martin & Co70December 1893

Literature

Notes and References

  1. "Mechanical Horses: The V Class of the SAR" Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin issue 755 September 2000 pages 332-337