3830 (pronounced Thirty-eight thirty) 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 between 1949 and 1967. It has been preserved by the Powerhouse Museum and is based at the NSW Rail Museum, Thirlmere. It was operational from 1997 until 2009 and was scheduled to return to service in 2016 before the need for more extensive boiler repairs was discovered.

Construction

3830 was built in 1949 by the New South Wales Government Railways', Eveleigh Railway Workshops as the last of thirty

38 class The C38 class (occasionally known as the 38 class and nicknamed "Pacifics" by some railwaymen) was a class of steam locomotive built for the New South Wales Government Railways in Australia. Constructed between January 1943 and November 1949, ...

locomotives built to haul express trains. 3830 was the last steam locomotive built in New South Wales. The first five were built by Clyde Engineering to a streamlined design, whilst the later 25 locomotives in the class were built by Eveleigh and Cardiff Locomotive Workshops 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 ...

. 3830 was the last engine completed and entered service on 27 September 1949. It was allocated to Eveleigh Locomotive Depot until January 1960, before moving to Lithgow. It returned to Eveleigh in September 1960, operating from

Broadmeadow Broadmeadow is the geographic center of Newcastle city. Its main commercial hub is located at the "Nineways".Railway Digest ''Railway Digest'' is a monthly magazine, published in Sydney, covering contemporary railways of Australia. Overview The magazine's publisher is the Australian Railway Historical Society (ARHS), NSW Division. The first issue was published in M ...

'' November 1997 pages 16-19, 41 In April 1962, it along with 3813 hauled the inaugural standard gauge ''

Spirit of Progress The ''Spirit of Progress'' was the premier express passenger train on the Victorian Railways in Australia, running from Melbourne to the New South Wales border at Albury, and later through to Sydney. Route From its introduction in November 1 ...

'' from

Albury Albury () is a major regional city in New South Wales, Australia. It is located on the Hume Highway and the northern side of the Murray River. Albury is the seat of local government for the council area which also bears the city's name – the ...

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

. In September 1966, it was reallocated to Enfield Locomotive Depot. On 22 October 1967 it made a farewell run from

to Wyong on a

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 ...

special. It made its final journey on 31 October 1967 on a freight train from

Moss Vale Moss Vale is a town in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia, in the Wingecarribee Shire. It is located on the Illawarra Highway, which connects to Wollongong and the Illawarra coast via Macquarie Pass. Moss Vale has several he ...

to Enfield. Over 18 years it traveled 1,700,000 kilometres (over 1,056,000 miles).

Preservation

3830 was purchased by the Powerhouse Museum from 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 ...

for a nominal fee of $10. It was stored with the New South Wales Rail Transport Museum collection at Enfield Locomotive Depot, being hauled to Thirlmere by 3214 in June 1975 when the museum relocated. It later moved to Eveleigh Railway Workshops. In April 1992, some 25 years after its withdrawal from service, restoration of 3830 began when it was taken to

Eveleigh Carriage Workshops The Eveleigh Carriage Workshops were built by the New South Wales Government Railways in 1888 as a depot for its passenger carriage fleet. The workshops are located west of what is now Redfern station on the northern side of the Main Suburban r ...

for

asbestos Asbestos () is a naturally occurring fibrous silicate mineral. There are six types, all of which are composed of long and thin fibrous crystals, each fibre being composed of many microscopic "fibrils" that can be released into the atmosphere b ...

removal. The restoration was jointly undertaken by the Powerhouse Museum and

3801 Limited East Coast Heritage Rail is a not for profit company limited by guarantee formed in June 1985 as 3801 Limited to operate steam locomotive 3801 and its associated rolling stock. The company operated heritage train tours from 1986 until 2017, with ...

. The State Rail Authority and New South Wales Rail Transport Museum provided technical advice and assistance, particularly in relation to the removal of asbestos. Restoration work on the boiler and a new tender was undertaken by the Hunter Valley Training Company, Maitland. (a Federal Government's Jobskill programme, which provided training for out-of-trade apprentices). Over a -year period, a team of about 12 volunteers, under museum supervision, spent about 21,000 hours working on the locomotive at Eveleigh.Powerhouse Museum collection - Steam Locomotive No. 3830
/ref> After operating two trial runs to Bankstown on 18 September 1997, it ran a trial to

Wollongong Wollongong ( ), colloquially referred to as The Gong, is a city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The name is believed to originate from the Dharawal language, meaning either 'five islands/clouds', 'ground near wate ...

three days later. It made its passenger debut on 3801 Limited's Cockatoo Run from Port Kembla to

. Thirty years to the day after its farewell run to Wyong, on 22 October 1997, 3830 was recommissioned with a ceremony at the Powerhouse Museum and an official trip to Bankstown. The locomotive made its first passenger carrying journey for the public from Maitland to Sydney three days later. It then regularly hauled special trains throughout New South Wales being based at 3801 Limited's Eveleigh depot. On 30 November 2008, 3830 was relocated to the

, Thirlmere. It was withdrawn in July 2009 after receiving crown stay damage. In November 2013 a report into the condition of the boiler suggested the locomotive would not steam again without at least a new inner firebox and most likely a new boiler. In September 2015, the Powerhouse Museum and Transport Heritage NSW announced that 3830 would be returned to service in the second half of 2016 with the current boiler repaired.The way forward for two much-loved steam locomotives
Transport Heritage NSW 11 September 2015 However, when the "in the frames" repair methods were deemed to be impractical and insufficient to deal with the number of firebox problems that have been discovered the repair work was halted, effectively placing its return to service on hold indefinitely. 3830 will now need a full boiler lift and extensive boiler repair work before it can be returned to service. 3830 is currently fitted with the boiler originally built for 3801 in 1943 that was given to 3830 in the mid 1950s. This boiler is notable as the first of the 38 class boilers to be built, hence it has thicker sides than the other remaining boilers
3830 at Thirlmere

References

{{NSWLocos 4-6-2 locomotives Individual locomotives of Australia Railway locomotives introduced in 1949 Preserved steam locomotives of New South Wales