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South Australian Railways A class

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South Australian Railways A class locomotive
Black and white photo of South Australian Railways A class locomotive
Type and origin
Power typeSteam
BuilderRobert Stephenson and Company
Order number1827, 1828, 2108
Build date1868
Total produced3
RebuilderIslington Workshops
Rebuild date1889 (no. 1); 1883 & 1911 (no. 19)
Number rebuilt2
Specifications
Configuration:
 • Whyte2-4-0WT
 • UIC1'B T
Gauge1600 mm (5 ft 3 in)
Leading dia.39 inches (990 millimetres)
Driver dia.60 in (1524 mm)
Minimum curve18 chains (360 metres)
Wheelbase7 ft 0 in (2130 mm)
Length:
 • Over beams26 ft 6 in (8077 mm)
Width7 ft 6 in (2290 mm) over running board[note 1]
Height12 ft 10 in (3912 mm)
Frame typePlate
Axle load:
 • Leading8 long tons 14 cwt (9.7 short tons; 8.8 t)
 • Coupled10 long tons 15 cwt (12.0 short tons; 10.9 t)
Loco weight30 long tons 4 cwt (33.8 short tons; 30.7 t) loaded
Fuel typeCoal
Fuel capacity13+34 long hundredweight (0.77 short tons; 0.70 t)
Water cap.225 imp gal (1020 L; 270 US gal)
Firebox:
 • TypeRound-top
 • Grate area11.17 sq ft (1.038 m2)
Boiler:
 • Pitch6 ft 2+12 in (1892 mm)
Boiler pressure130 lbf/in2 (896 kPa)
Safety valveSalter spring balance
Heating surface:
 • Firebox65.9 sq ft (6.12 m2)
 • Tubes751.6 sq ft (69.83 m2)
 • Total surface817.4 sq ft (75.94 m2)
CylindersTwo
Cylinder size14 in × 22 in (356 mm × 559 mm)
Valve gearStephenson's
CouplersHook and screw
Performance figures
Tractive effort7940 lbf (35.32 kN)
Career
OperatorsSouth Australian Railways
ClassA
Number in class3
Numbers1, 19, 20
First runSeptember 1868
Withdrawn1893 (no. 20), 1923 (no. 19), 1924 (no. 1)
DispositionAll scrapped
Robert Stephenson & Company builder's photo of a locomotive, as built, that together with two others became the A class. Locomotives of essentially the same design were also purchased by private railway companies in Melbourne.

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.[1]

Design

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The A class design was very similar to the 2-4-0 WT (well tank) locomotives that Stephenson supplied to the Melbourne and Hobson's Bay Railway Company between 1854 and 1871. The main difference between the locos supplied to Victoria and those supplied to South Australia was the size of the cab, with the Victorian locos having a very much smaller cab, with no side plates. Even then, the two windows on each side of the A class cab remained unglazed.[2]: 04‑685 

The three locomotives were the first broad gauge locomotives to be fitted with outside cylinders.[1]

The drawings show locomotive no. 1 in its final form with fully enclosed cab, complete with glazed side windows, a boiler the same diameter as the firebox, a dome that is smaller in diameter but taller than the original, and a new funnel with a more conventional shape. Not evident is the alteration to the front spectacle plate by which two circular windows replaced the three windows originally supplied.[2]: 04‑686 

Deployment

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When the railway line from Roseworthy to Forrester's (now known as Tarlee) was opened on 5 July 1869, it was intended that a pair of 2-4-0WT locomotives, not yet classified as A class, would operate on it. The rails were lightweight – 40 pounds/yard (20 kilograms/metre) – and soon after the line's opening in September 1869 it became evident that the locomotives were too rigid in their wheelbase and too heavy for the track.[2]: 04‑684  New F class locomotives, which entered service later in the month, took over the task.[3]

The pair were then placed in service on the Port Adelaide line, where they proved to be a much more valuable asset, so much so that a third locomotive was ordered from Robert Stephenson and Company, arriving in 1873, by which time they had become the A class. Subsequently the three engines were allocated to suburban passenger and goods services around the Adelaide metropolitan network.[4][5] In 1923 the A class were listed as being able to work on the North Terrace to Glenelg line with either freight or passenger trains; Mile End to Port Adelaide with freight trains; Port Adelaide to Dry Creek; Dry Creek to Stockade (Northfield line); Adelaide to Brighton; and Strathalbyn to Milang. Other work included shunting from Port Dock station to numerous wharfs in the area, in Islington Workshops and the Adelaide yards, and at Milang.[2]: 04‑686 

Refurbishing and withdrawal

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Refurbishing of two of the locos, including replacing the boiler, took place after about 15 years' service: no.19 in 1883 and again in 1911, and no.1 in 1889. No.20 missed out on a rebuild and, as a consequence, was the first to be withdrawn, in 1893.[2]: 04‑686  No. 19 was condemend in 1923 and no. 1 in 1924.[2]: 04‑684 

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Loco no. 1, circa 1920s – right hand side Loco no. 1, circa 1920s – left hand side Dimensioned drawing (click to enlarge)

Notes

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  1. ^ Not known. Inferred, based on SAR C class.

References

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  1. ^ a b Turner, Jim (1998). Early Australian steam locomotives 1855-1895. South Australia: Kangaroo Press. p. 42. ISBN 0-86417-875-1.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Williams, Hugh (2024). "A class steam locomotives of the South Australian Railways". Proceedings of the 2024 Convention. Modelling the Railways of South Australia. Adelaide.
  3. ^ Eardley, Gifford (August 1973). "The F-class 4-4-0 tank locomotives of South Australia". Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin. XXIV (430). Australian Railway Historical Society, New South Wales Division: 195. ISSN 0005-0105.
  4. ^ Fluck, R.E.; Sampson, R.; Bird, K.J. (1986). Steam locomotives and railcars of the South Australian Railways. South Australia: Mile End Railway Museum (S.A.) Inc. p. 45. ISBN 0959-5073-37.
  5. ^ Drymalik, Chris. "Broad gauge A-class 2-4-0 well tank locomotives". Chris's Commonwealth Railways Information (ComRails). Retrieved 30 July 2019.