The South Australian Railways 600 class was a class of

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 ...

s operated by the South Australian Railways.

History

The 600 class were part of larger order for 30 steam locomotives placed with Armstrong Whitworth, England in 1924 as part of the rehabilitation of the state's rail system being overseen by railways commissioner William Webb. The 600 class design was based on the

USRA Light Pacific The USRA Light Pacific was a USRA standard class of steam locomotive designed under the control of the United States Railroad Administration, the nationalized railroad system in the United States during World War I. This was the standard light pas ...

, although modifications were made by SAR's Chief Mechanical Engineer Fred Shea to allow them to fit South Australia's tighter

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 arrived in Adelaide in 1926. 609 was named ''

Duke of Gloucester Duke of Gloucester () is a British royal title (after Gloucester), often conferred on one of the sons of the reigning monarch. The first four creations were in the Peerage of England and the last in the Peerage of the United Kingdom; the curren ...

'' after hauling the Duke's Royal Train in 1934 and so became Australia's first 'royal' engine. The entire class received upgraded boilers and front ends from the late 1930s onwards and was reclassified as the 600C class. They were also fitted out with large smoke deflectors over their lifetime. Ten locomotives of the South Australian Railways 620 class were built at Islington Railway Workshops in 1936–1938 to a similar design. All examples of the 600 class were withdrawn between 1955 and 1961. None were preserved. SAR 600-class locomotive B-3992

Class list

References

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External links

* {{South Australian Railways locos, state=expanded Armstrong Whitworth locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1925 600 4-6-2 locomotives Broad gauge locomotives in Australia Scrapped locomotives Passenger locomotives