| Victorian Railways F class | |
| Powertype: | Diesel-electric |
| Builder: | Dick Kerr Works, Preston, England |
| Builddate: | 1951–1953 |
| Totalproduction: | 16 |
| Uicclass: | C |
| Length: | 9.34m (30.64feet) |
| Fueltype: | Diesel |
| Primemover: | English Electric 6KT |
| Generator: | English Electric 801-66 |
| Tractionmotors: | English Electric 506A |
| Maxspeed: | 32km/h |
| Poweroutput: | 2600NaN0 |
| Operator: | Victorian Railways |
| Numinclass: | 16 |
| Fleetnumbers: | F201-F216 (renumbered), F310-F319 (original) |
| Firstrundate: | 1951 |
| Preservedunits: | F202, F204, F208, F211, F212, F216 |
| Disposition: | 6 preserved, remainder scrapped |
The F Class are a class of diesel locomotive shunters built by Dick Kerr Works for the Victorian Railways between 1951 and 1953. They are similar to the British Rail Class 11 and NS Class 600 shunting locomotives also built by English Electric during this period, but modified for use on the VR's 5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm) broad gauge (also known as Irish Gauge).
The F Class were ordered by the Victorian Railways as part of Operation Phoenix, a £80 million program to rebuild a network badly run down by years of Depression-era underinvestment and wartime overutilisation.[1]
The Victorian Railways purchased ten 0-6-0DE diesel shunting locomotives in 1951 from English Electric. The locomotives were built at EE's Preston workshops in the United Kingdom, and entered service from October 1951 onwards. The design is similar to that of the standard-gauge British Rail Class 11 and Nederlandse Spoorwegen 600 class locomotives, which were also being built by EE at this time.
As built the locomotives were originally numbered in the 300-series as F310-319, following on from the last of the S class diesel locomotives, S309, which entered service in February 1958, seven years after the arrival of the first F class locomotives. However, VR then placed a second order for another eight S class locomotives for use on the new North East standard gauge line which were delivered starting in November 1960. In order to vacate the 300-series numbers for the new mainline diesels, all F class locomotives were renumbered into the 200-series on in late May 1958 as F201-211. Unlike their British and Dutch counterparts, the F class locomotives were also later fitted with sideplates covering the side rods and wheel cranks. This modification was made to prevent staff from getting tangled up in the rods and cranks.
Six identical units were purchased by the State Electricity Commission of Victoria in 1952. The SEC later sold all six units to VR; the first, SEC3 in 1956, three more – SEC4, 5 and 6 – in 1959, and the remaining two, the former SEC1 and SEC2, in May 1971.[2] [3] [4] These locomotives received numbers in the 21x-series as F212-216 on entry to VR service. The first sold, F211 (formerly SEC3) received its 200-series number on entry to VR service in 1956, some two years before the ten built for VR were similarly treated.
Withdrawal of the F class locomotives began in October 1979 with the withdrawal of F214. The remaining locomotives with withdrawn between November 1979 and July 1987, when the last three locomotives, F202, F208, and F216, were taken out of service. Following withdrawal, the locomotives appear to have been placed in storage although most were later scrapped. Only one locomotive was broken up in the same year it was withdrawn; F215 was withdrawn in April 1983 and scrapped later that year.
Six of the sixteen F class locomotives were purchased from VR or donated for preservation in the early 1980s. All except F212 are owned by VicTrack and allocated to various preservation groups:
| Key: | Preserved | Scrapped |
|---|
| Number | Name | Original number | In service | Renumbered | Out of service | Current allocation | Status | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F201 | F310 | Scrapped January 1989 | South Dynon, April 1983[5] | ||||||
| F202 | Freddy | F311 | VicTrack | Stored Awaiting New Allocation | Limited to Seymour yard. Naming was unofficial. (Dec 2021) Ex Newport yard pilot, April 1983. Sold to 707 Operations where the locomotive underwent a Minor overhaul to become Operational within Newport. Had a Major Failure and is now been given back to VicTrack for being Surplus of use at 707 Operations. | ||||
| F203 | F312 | Scrapped January 1987 | |||||||
| F204 | F313 | VicTrack, Ex 707 Operations | Spare parts/Stored | Was Spare Parts for F208 "Dynon Donk" Now has been given back to VicTrack after 707 Operations deemed it Surplus of use | |||||
| F205 | F314 | Scrapped January 1987 | |||||||
| F206 | F315 | Scrapped June 1981 | |||||||
| F207 | F316 | Scrapped January 1987 | |||||||
| F208 | Dynon Donk | F317 | 707 Operations | Preserved – Operational | Naming was unofficial. Renumbered back to F317 in preservation. Is back as F208 as of 2023. | ||||
| F209 | F318 | Scrapped June | |||||||
| F210 | F319 | Scrapped June 1981 | |||||||
| F211 | Little Trimmer | SEC3 | Newport Railway Museum | Preserved – static | Renumbering date reflects transfer to VR. Naming was unofficial. Geelong, April 1983 | ||||
| F212 | SEC4 | Victorian Goldfields Railway | Preserved-operational | Renumbering date reflects transfer to VR Geelong, April 1983 | |||||
| F213 | SEC5 | Condemned March 1982 | Renumbering date reflects transfer to VR | ||||||
| F214 | SEC6 | Scrapped June 1981 | Renumbering date reflects transfer to VR | ||||||
| F215 | SEC1 | Condemned May 1983 | Renumbering date reflects transfer to VR | ||||||
| F216 | SEC2 | Newport Railway Museum | Preserved – static | Renumbering date reflects transfer to VR. Renumbered back to SEC2 in preservation. Newport yard pilot, April 1983 |