The 26 class (formerly I.17 class) was a class of steam locomotives built by

Dübs and Company Dübs & Co. was a locomotive manufacturer in Glasgow, Scotland, founded by Henry Dübs in 1863 and based at the Queens Park Works in Polmadie. In 1903 it amalgamated with two other Glasgow locomotive manufacturers to create the North British ...

for 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 differen ...

of Australia.

History

were contracted to supply 20 large mineral tank locomotives, the design of which included the fitting of a Webb radial axle at the bunker end. The locomotives were delivered in the early months of 1892. Originally intended for assisting freight trains over the

Blue Mountains line The Blue Mountains Line (BMT) is an inter urban commuter rail service operated by NSW TrainLink serving the Blue Mountains region of New South Wales, Australia. The line travels west from Sydney to the major town of Katoomba and on to Mount Vi ...

, they were found unsatisfactory due to insufficient water capacity and inflexibility around tight curves. Several were sent to

Waterfall A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in severa ...

for working coal and blue metal trains. Shunting at Darling Harbour and

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...

goods yards was the duty of the remainder of those based in Sydney. Others were stationed at the old

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

locomotive depot for working trains from the interchange with the

South Maitland Railway The South Maitland Railway was once an extensive network of privately owned colliery and passenger railway lines which served the South Maitland coalfields in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia and were the second last system in Aust ...

at East Greta to

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

. Although replaced in 1905 by larger locomotives between Waterfall and Sydney, they continued to haul coal hopper wagons to Waterfall and, additionally were used to assist northbound trains through Otford Tunnel. At holiday times, some of these locomotives were transferred to working picnic trains to The National Park. During the 1920s, most of the class was withdrawn. After several years out of use, were returned to traffic as shunters, particularly at western centres such as Lithgow, Bathurst and

Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...

. Several were sent to

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 ...

to assist at this busy break-of-gauge station and others to

Port Kembla A port is a maritime law, maritime facility comprising one or more Wharf, wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge Affreightment, cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can a ...

. From 1942 until 1956, two of the class were engaged in shunting carriages at Sydney Central Station. They were removed when overhead wiring was installed as using the water columns was a hazard owing to the location of the inlet. The first was withdrawn in September 1956 with only nine remaining by 1961. The final two representatives of the class in service were 2604 and 2606, which were to be found at Bathurst until 1970.

Preservation

Gallery

Image:2606 at Broadmeadow.jpg, 2606 at

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

December 2012

References

{{NSWLocos 2-6-2T locomotives Dübs locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1892 26 Standard gauge locomotives of Australia

History

Preservation

Gallery

See also

References