South Australian Railways Y class

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South Australian Railways Y / Yx class
Y97 on the turntable at Jamestown during a railway enthusiast trip in October 1967
Type and origin
Power typeSteam
BuilderBeyer, Peacock & Co. (50)
Islington Railway Workshops (2)
James Martin & Co (77)
Build date1885–1898
Total produced129
Specifications
Configuration:
​
 • Whyte2-6-0
Gauge1067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Length39 ft 3 in (11,963 mm)
Height11 ft 6+1⁄4 in (3512 mm)
Total weight47 long tons 15 cwt
(107,000 lb; 48.5 t)
47 long tons 15 cwt
(53.5 short tons)
Fuel typeCoal
Fuel capacity4 long tons 10 cwt
(10,100 lb; 4.6 t)
4 long tons 10 cwt
(5.0 short tons)
Water cap.1600 imperial gallons
(7300 litres; 1900 US gallons)
Boiler pressure145 lbf/in2 (1.00 MPa)
Cylinders2 outside
Cylinder size14.5 in × 20 in
(368 mm × 508 mm)
Performance figures
Tractive effort13,289 lbf (59.11 kN)
Career
OperatorsSouth Australian Railways and others
ClassY and Yx
NumbersY22, Y38, Y43, Y49, Y57-Y106, Y1108-Y142, Y147-Y179, Y195
PreservedY12, Y71, Y82, Yx86, Y97, Y109, Yx135, Yx141, Yx176
Disposition9 preserved, 121 scrapped

The South Australian Railways Y class was a class of narrow gauge steam locomotives operated by the South Australian Railways.

History[edit]

The Y class were numerically the largest class of steam locomotive operated by the South Australian Railways (SAR). With a Mogul (2-6-0) wheel arrangement widely used in Australia at the time, 129 were built between 1885 and 1898. Beyer, Peacock & Co, Manchester built 50, James Martin & Co of Gawler 77, and the SAR's Islington Railway Workshops 2. They operated across the SAR's narrow gauge network. Between 1904 and 1924, 48 were fitted with new Belpaire boilers and reclassified as the Yx class.[1][2]

They were part of what became almost an Australian 1067 mm (3 ft 6 in) standard, as locomotives of similar design served in large numbers as the Silverton Tramway Y class, Tasmanian Government Railways C class and Western Australian Government Railways G class, and also in Queensland and on the Emu Bay Railway and North Australia Railway.[3]

Some were sold for further service to railway construction companies while others saw further service on the timber railway lines of Western Australia. During World War II, 18 were sold to the Commonwealth Railways for use on the North Australia Railway as the Nfb class. Seven of these were sold in 1948 to the Tasmanian Government Railways, but only four entered service (as F1–F4).[2][4]

Preserved locomotives[edit]

As of 2022, there were 10 preserved Y and Yx class locomotives (of which Yx141 was operational), as follows:

Number System Owner or custodian Location
(as of 2022)
Y1 Silverton Tramway Company Sulphide Street Railway and Historical Museum Broken Hill, NSW[5][6]
Y12 Silverton Tramway Company National Railway Museum Port Adelaide, SA[7]
Y71 SAR then West Australian Jarrah Forest Co. South-West Rail & Heritage Centre Boyanup, WA[8][failed verification]
Y82 SAR District Council of Peterborough Peterborough, SA[9]
Yx86 SAR then Victorian Construction Co. then Bunnings Bros The Railway Museum Bassendean, WA[10]
Y97 SAR National Railway Museum Port Adelaide, SA[3]
Y109 SAR then a Western Australian timber company Manjimup Heritage Park Manjimup, WA[11][12]
Yx135 / NFB88 SAR then Commonwealth Railways (on North Australia Railway as NFB88) Old Katherine Railway Station (National Trust) Katherine, NT[13]
Yx141 SAR Pichi Richi Railway Quorn, SA[14]
Yx176 SAR then Bunning Bros Yarloop Workshops Yarloop, WA[15]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Turner, Jim (1997). Australian Steam Locomotives 1896–1958. Kenthurst: Kangaroo Press. p. 9. ISBN 086417778X.
  2. ^ a b Oberg, Leon (2010). Locomotives of Australia 1850s-2010. Dural: Rosenberg Publishing. pp. 65/66. ISBN 9781921719011.
  3. ^ a b "Locomotive Y97". National Railway Museum. National Railway Museum. 2015. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  4. ^ "Steam locomotives of the Tasmanian Government Railways and its constituents". Australian Railway History. No. 917. Redfern, NSW: Australian Railway Historical Society, New South Wales Division. March 2014. p. 14. ISSN 1449-6291.
  5. ^ "Sulphide Street Railway and Historical Museum". Broken Hill City Council. 2022. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
  6. ^ McNicol, Steve (1981). Silverton Tramway Locomotives. Elizabeth Downs: Railmac Publications. p. 6. ISBN 0 959415 30 0.
  7. ^ "Steam locomotive Y12". National Railway Museum. National Railway Museum Inc. 2022. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  8. ^ "Y71". Australian Steam. [Publisher not stated]. 2015. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  9. ^ "Y82". Australian Steam. [Publisher not stated]. 2014. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  10. ^ "Y86". Australian Steam. [Publisher not stated]. 2015. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  11. ^ "Y109". Australian Steam. [Publisher not stated]. 2015. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  12. ^ "Rail relics". Manjimup Heritage Park. Shire of Manjimup. 2022. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  13. ^ "NFB88". Australian Steam. [Publisher not stated]. 2014. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  14. ^ "Yx141". Australian Steam. [Publisher not stated]. 2017. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  15. ^ "Yx176". Australian Steam. [Publisher not stated]. 2014. Retrieved 27 September 2022.

External links[edit]

Media related to South Australian Railways Y class locomotives at Wikimedia Commons

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