3820 (pronounced Thirty-eight twenty) is a

4-6-2 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles and two trailing wheels on one axle. The locomotiv ...

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...

operated by the

New South Wales Government Railways The New South Wales Government Railways (NSWGR) was the agency of the Government of New South Wales that administered rail transport in New South Wales, Australia, between 1855 and 1932. Management The agency was managed by a range of differe ...

between 1947 and 1970. It has been preserved by the

NSW Rail Museum The NSW Rail Museum is the main railway museum in New South Wales, Australia. A division of Transport Heritage NSW, it was previously known as the New South Wales Rail Transport Museum (NSWRTM), Rail Heritage Centre and Trainworks. Transport He ...

Thirlmere Thirlmere is a reservoir in the Allerdale, Borough of Allerdale in Cumbria and the English Lake District National Park, Lake District. The Helvellyn ridge lies to the east of Thirlmere. To the west of Thirlmere are a number of fells; for inst ...

Construction

3820 was built in 1947 by the

Eveleigh Railway Workshops The Eveleigh Railway Workshops is a heritage-listed former New South Wales Government Railways yards and railway workshops and now venue hire, public housing and technology park located at Great Southern and Western railway, Redfern, City of Sy ...

as the 20th of 30 38 class locomotives built to haul express trains. The first five were built by

Clyde Engineering Clyde Engineering was an Australian manufacturer of locomotives, rolling stock, and other industrial products. It was founded in September 1898 by a syndicate of Sydney businessmen buying the Granville factory of timber merchants Huds ...

to a

streamlined Streamlines, streaklines and pathlines are field lines in a fluid flow. They differ only when the flow changes with time, that is, when the flow is not steady. Considering a velocity vector field in three-dimensional space in the framework of ...

design, whilst the later 25 locomotives in the class were built by the NSWGR's Eveleigh and

Cardiff Locomotive Workshops The Cardiff Locomotive Workshops (now known as the Cardiff Maintenance Centre) is a rail yard and rolling stock facility located between Cockle Creek and Cardiff stations near Newcastle, on the Main North railway line in New South Wales, Austr ...

and were unstreamlined. Construction was delayed mostly due to material shortages during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. It was at various times allocated to

Eveleigh Eveleigh is an inner-city suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Eveleigh is located about 3 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district and is part of the local government area of the City of Sydney. ...

Enfield Enfield may refer to: Places Australia * Enfield, New South Wales * Enfield, South Australia ** Electoral district of Enfield, a state electoral district in South Australia, corresponding to the suburb ** Enfield High School (South Australia) ...

, Lithgow and

Broadmeadow Locomotive Depot Broadmeadow Locomotive Depot (NSW depot number 2) was a large locomotive depot consisting of two Railway roundhouse, roundhouse buildings and associated facilities constructed by the New South Wales Government Railways adjacent to the marshalling ...

s.Locomotive, Steam 3820
NSW Environment & Heritage During the rundown of steam operation in New South Wales, 3820 had the distinction of some lasts: *May 1964: hauled official last steam hauled ''

Riverina Express The Riverina Express was a passenger train operated by the New South Wales Government Railways between Sydney, Griffith and Albury from September 1949 until November 1993. History The ''Riverina Express'' was introduced in September 1949 and o ...

'' in May 1964 *May 1964: last official revenue steam duty on the

Main South line The Main South Line, sometimes referred to as part of the South Island Main Trunk Railway, is a railway line that runs north and south from Lyttelton in New Zealand through Christchurch and along the east coast of the South Island to Inverca ...

beyond

Goulburn Goulburn ( ) is a regional city in the Southern Tablelands of the Australian state of New South Wales, approximately south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Canberra. It was proclaimed as Australia's first inland city through letters pate ...

*13 December 1968: was the last C38 class to be overhauled whilst in regular service, both being overhauled together at

*29 December 1970: worked the official last steam hauled express passenger train in Australia, the ''

Newcastle Flyer The Newcastle Flyer was an Australian passenger express train that operated from November 1929 until April 1988 connecting New South Wales' two largest cities, Sydney and Newcastle. Early history On 1 May 1889 the first trains began running bet ...

'' *29 December 1970: last 38 class in revenue service when withdrawn

Preservation

Upon withdrawal, 3820 was placed in the custody of the

New South Wales Rail Transport Museum The NSW Rail Museum is the main railway museum in New South Wales, Australia. A division of Transport Heritage NSW, it was previously known as the New South Wales Rail Transport Museum (NSWRTM), Rail Heritage Centre and Trainworks. Transport He ...

and based at

Enfield Locomotive Depot The Enfield Locomotive Depot was operated by the New South Wales Government Railways in Strathfield South, Sydney. It was part of the Enfield Marshalling Yards, which covers a considerable area in the west of the modern suburb of Strathfield Sou ...

operating excursion trains including a journey to

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

with

3801 3801 (pronounced Thirty-eight o-one) is a 4-6-2 steam locomotive operated by the New South Wales Government Railways between 1943 and 1974. It is arguably Australia's most famous steam locomotive, being the only one to have visited all mainla ...

, and the ''Last Run'' which it triple headed with 3203 and

3526 Locomotive 3526 is a two-cylinder, simple, non-condensing, coal-fired superheated, 4-6-0 New South Wales C35 class locomotive express passenger steam locomotive. The only C35 class left in existence, and is operational. The class is commonly refer ...

Tarana ''Tarana'' is a type of composition in Hindustani classical vocal music in which certain words (e.g. "odani", "todani", "tadeem" and "yalali") based on Persian and Arabic phonemes are rendered at a medium (''madhya laya'') or fast (''drut laya'') ...

on 21 April 1973 before the

Public Transport Commission The Public Transport Commission (PTC) was an agency of the Government of New South Wales responsible for the provision of rail, bus and ferry services in New South Wales, Australia from October 1972 until June 1980. Upon dissolution, responsib ...

banned main line steam operation. 3820 was steamed on 1 January 1975, to act as a standby for 3801, which was used to haul fundraising trains for

Cyclone Tracy Cyclone Tracy was a tropical cyclone that devastated the city of Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia, from 24 to 26 December 1974. The small, developing easterly storm had been observed passing clear of the city initially, but then turned t ...

survivors. In June 1975, it hauled 4001 and 2419 to

when the New South Wales Rail Transport Museum relocated."Museum on the Move" '' Roundhouse'' June 1976 page 16 It was then withdrawn. In 1980 it was hauled to

Central station Central stations or central railway stations emerged in the second half of the nineteenth century as railway stations that had initially been built on the edge of city centres were enveloped by urban expansion and became an integral part of the ...

for display at an event commemorating 125 years of rail operations in New South Wales. 3820 is painted black with red lining whereas 3801 and 3830 wear a green livery. 3820 is considered to be of historic significance as the only remaining 38 class locomotive that remains in the same condition it was in at time of withdrawal and as such retains a significant amount of evidence for research purposes.

References

{{NSWLocos 4-6-2 locomotives Individual locomotives of Australia Railway locomotives introduced in 1947 Preserved steam locomotives of New South Wales Standard gauge locomotives of Australia