The New South Wales Z20 class was a class of

2-6-4T Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, a locomotive has two leading wheels, six coupled driving wheels and four trailing wheels. This arrangement is commonly called Adriatic. Overview With only a few known except ...

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 ...

s 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 ...

of Australia.

History

There was a total of 33 members of this class of

2-6-4 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, a locomotive has two leading wheels, six coupled driving wheels and four trailing wheels. This arrangement is commonly called Adriatic. Overview With only a few known except ...

T mixed traffic side tank locomotives. There were three differing types. Twelve were classified E(10) class under the pre-1924 recording. These locomotives were built by

Beyer, Peacock & Company Beyer, Peacock and Company was an English railway locomotive manufacturer with a factory in Openshaw, Manchester. Founded by Charles Beyer, Richard Peacock and Henry Robertson, it traded from 1854 until 1966. The company exported locomotives, ...

and delivered in 1891 for use on Newcastle coal traffic. They proved very successful in suburban goods and coal traffic, picnic trains to

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, but were unsuited to main line passenger traffic. When displaced by more powerful locomotives, many were used as shunters. Their final services were on short light branch lines, such as Kurrajong, Carlingford,

Camden Camden may refer to: People * Camden (surname), a surname of English origin * Camden Joy (born 1964), American writer * Camden Toy (born 1957), American actor Places Australia * Camden, New South Wales * Camden, Rosehill, a heritage res ...

, Rogans Hill and

Morpeth Morpeth may refer to: *Morpeth, New South Wales, Australia ** Electoral district of Morpeth, a former electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in New South Wales * Morpeth, Ontario, Canada * Morpeth, Northumberland, England, UK ** Morpeth (UK ...

. A number were also to be found shunting the industrial sidings at

Port Kembla A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ha ...

. In 1902, there was a shortage of tank locomotives. Six members of the A(93) class 0-6-0 tender engines were converted to a new A/E class tank locomotives by

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 ...

. A further eight conversions were made in 1909/10. In 1911, seven new locomotives were constructed at Eveleigh. As part of the 1924 reclassification scheme,, these 21 locomotives were grouped with the twelve E(10) class to form the (Z)20-class.

Later Years

As more tender locomotives became available for suburban goods traffic, the surplus locomotives of the combined class were scrapped or sold. Some of the locomotives which were sold to industrial interests include: *2002 to the

Public Works Department This list indicates government departments in various countries dedicated to public works or infrastructure. See also * Public works * Ministry or Board of Public Works, the imperial Chinese ministry overseeing public projects from the Tang ...

as PWD80 *2003, 2004 and 2012 to

Australian Iron & Steel Australian Iron & Steel was an Australian iron and steel manufacturer. History Public company (1928-1935) Australian Iron & Steel (AI&S) was established in 1928 to take over the business of Hoskins Iron & Steel. That company had already comme ...

as ''

Wonga Wonga may refer to: Species * Wonga pigeon, a pigeon that inhabits areas in eastern Australia * ''P. pandorana'' (wonga vine), a species of the genus ''Pandorea'' Places in Australia Queensland * Wonga, Queensland, a town in Queensland * Wong ...

Wallaroo Wallaroo is a common name for several species of moderately large macropods, intermediate in size between the kangaroos and the wallabies. The word "wallaroo" is from the Dharug ''walaru'', and not a portmanteau of the words "kangaroo" and "wal ...

'' & ''

Wombat Wombats are short-legged, muscular quadrupedal marsupials that are native to Australia. They are about in length with small, stubby tails and weigh between . All three of the extant species are members of the family Vombatidae. They are adap ...

'' *2008 to the Electrolytic Refining & Smelting Company, Port Kembla *2013 to Widemere Quarry, Fairfield resold to

J & A Brown J & A Brown was an privately owned Australian coal family firm founded by James Brown (1816–1894) and Alexander Brown (1827–1877). Firm's Beginning at Four Mile Creek In 1843 James Brown leased eighty acres at Four Mile Creek, near Ea ...

Abermain Seaham Collieries,

Hexham Hexham ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Northumberland, England, on the south bank of the River Tyne, formed by the confluence of the North Tyne and the South Tyne at Warden, Northumberland, Warden nearby, and ...

*2017 and 2020 to Hebburn Collieries, Weston *2014 to

Bunnerong Power Station Bunnerong Power Station was a coal-fired power station in the south-eastern Sydney suburb of Matraville, New South Wales, Australia that was decommissioned by 1975 and subsequently demolished. When the last generating units were commissioned, ...

*2018 to Southern Portland Cement *2031 to Bulli Colliery

Preservation

The last member of the class in service with the

was 2029 which had been retained for working the Holsworthy railway line. 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 ...

and cosmetically restored.Locomotive, Steam 2029

Office of Environment & Heritage The New South Wales Office of Environment and Heritage (OEH), a former division of the Government of New South Wales between April 2011 and July 2019, was responsible for the care and protection of the environment and heritage, which includes ...

References

{{NSWLocos Beyer, Peacock locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1891 20 Standard gauge locomotives of Australia 2-6-4T locomotives