The D58 class was a class of steam locomotives built 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 ...

in Australia. They were built with the

4-8-2 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels, eight powered and coupled driving wheels and two trailing wheels. This type of steam locomotive is commonly known as t ...

wheel arrangement.

Design

In 1943, approval was given for the

Workshops to build 25 freight locomotives. The design was a modified version of the 57 class. The main alterations were the use of a

rack and pinion A rack and pinion is a type of linear actuator that comprises a circular gear (the '' pinion'') engaging a linear gear (the ''rack''). Together, they convert rotational motion into linear motion. Rotating the pinion causes the rack to be driven ...

valve gear in lieu of the Gresley 2:1 conjugated valve gear for the middle cylinder and the use of smaller cylinders to enable the locomotives to run to on the Main North line to

Broadmeadow Broadmeadow is the geographic center of Newcastle city. Its main commercial hub is located at the "Nineways".loading gauge A loading gauge is a diagram or physical structure that defines the maximum height and width dimensions in railway vehicles and their loads. Their purpose is to ensure that rail vehicles can pass safely through tunnels and under bridges, and ke ...

. They also used a Woodard divided drive of twin coupling rods between the second and third driving wheels. A valance was fitted over the valve gear on the front platform. Similarly to the earlier D57 class and the later AD60 class, the 58 class were fitted with a

mechanical stoker A mechanical stoker is a mechanical system that feeds solid fuel like coal, coke or anthracite into the furnace of a steam boiler. They are common on steam locomotives after 1900 and are also used on ships and power stations. Known now as a spre ...

to feed the large firebox

Construction

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 ...

built 11 locomotives 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 ...

with two. The first entered service in March 1950. The decision to move to diesel power saw only 13 locomotives completed.

Operations

Whilst the derived rack and pinion valve gear appeared superior in theory, in practice it required more maintenance and lubrication. The smaller diameter cylinders of the 58 class (21.1/2") compared to the earlier 57 class (23.1/4") demanded a later

cut-off A cut-off, battle jacket, battle vest or kutte in heavy metal subcultures, is a type of vest or jacket which originated in the U.S. military, specifically the Army Air Corps, where pilots and other aviation personnel would collect patches or o ...

and thus used more steam. This could cause the locomotives to be uneconomical in the use of coal and water when compared with the 57 class, but the 58's longer valve travel ameliorated this objection if driven as designed to be so. Despite the design being made to enable use on the Main Northern line from

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 ...

Broadmeadow Broadmeadow is the geographic center of Newcastle city. Its main commercial hub is located at the "Nineways".Main Western line to Lithgow and in a limited capacity 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 ...

Junee Junee () is a medium-sized town in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. The town's prosperity and mixed services economy is based on a combination of agriculture, rail transport, light industry and government services, and in par ...

. After a very short service life, the entire class had been withdrawn by July 1957 and were all cut up by March 1964. Some parts were recovered and used on 57 class locomotives. There are no surviving examples, however the tender of 5808 lies near Canberra station as an old fuel tank for a Canberra-based diesel shunter (now disused). Some 58 class tenders saw further use as water tankers around New South Wales. One is at the

Dorrigo Steam Railway and Museum The Dorrigo Steam Railway & Museum in Dorrigo, New South Wales, Australia is a large, privately owned collection of railway vehicles and equipment from the railways of New South Wales, covering both Government and private railways. The collecti ...

References

{{NSWLocos 58 4-8-2 locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1950 Scrapped locomotives Standard gauge locomotives of Australia