The eight members of the South Australian Railways U class were the first narrow-gauge locomotives on the
South Australian Railways
South Australian Railways (SAR) was the statutory corporation through which the Government of South Australia built and operated railways in South Australia from 1854 until March 1978, when its non-urban railways were incorporated into Austr ...
and the first of many steam locomotives built by
Beyer, Peacock and Company for the railway. They entered service in 1876: four on the
Port Wakefield to Hoyleton line and four on the
Port Pirie to Crystal Brook line. Subsequently they operated on the
Port Wakefield Port Wakefield may refer to.
Australia
*Port Wakefield, South Australia, a town and locality
* Port Wakefield railway line, part of the now-closed Balaklava-Moonta railway line in South Australia
* Port Wakefield Circuit, a former motor racing cir ...
,
Port Pirie and
Port Augusta
Port Augusta is a small city in South Australia. Formerly a port, seaport, it is now a road traffic and Junction (rail), railway junction city mainly located on the east coast of the Spencer Gulf immediately south of the gulf's head and about ...
lines.
In addition to their SAR operations, several were used by contractors at various times on extending the narrow gauge lines into the hinterland. Their role on main lines did not last long, because of shortcomings in the valve gear and
pony truck designs; locomotives of the long-lived
W class entered service two years later,
[ after which the U class locomotives were deployed on shunting and further railway construction. In 1915, with the Thevenard gypsum line open and resources no doubt stretched, three were sent to the isolated Port Lincoln Division for three years until the first of the Y class arrived.][
]
References
{{South Australian Railways locos, state=expanded
U
3 ft 6 in gauge locomotives of Australia
Beyer, Peacock locomotives
2-6-0 locomotives
Railway locomotives introduced in 1876