Locomotive 3265 is a preserved

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

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 ...

. It is a two-cylinder, simple, non-condensing, coal-fired, superheated, ‘Ten-wheel’ 4-6-0 express passenger steam locomotive. It is one of the four P class (later C32 class)

locomotive A locomotive or engine is a rail transport vehicle that provides the Power (physics), motive power for a train. If a locomotive is capable of carrying a payload, it is usually rather referred to as a multiple unit, Motor coach (rail), motor ...

s that have been preserved.

Construction

3265 was built by Beyer, Peacock & Co in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, England in 1902 entering service as P584. It was renumbered as 3265 in the 1924 renumbering scheme. 3265 is the only surviving member of its class with an original low frame.

In service

The locomotive was first introduced into service painted black in 1902 as a saturated locomotive with slide valves. It was used for express passenger trains. In mid-1933, along with other P classes, it was converted to a superheated locomotive with new cylinder and steam chest castings that incorporated piston valves. It was released from workshops in September 1933 and painted maroon and it received the nameplate ''Hunter'', named for the main river in the

Hunter Valley The Hunter Region, also commonly known as the Hunter Valley, is a region of New South Wales, Australia, extending from approximately to north of Sydney. It contains the Hunter River and its tributaries with highland areas to the north and so ...

. It only carried this nameplate until locomotive 3608 received it in 1934 and took over the '' Northern Commercial Limited'' express to Newcastle. The nameplate was preserved by Rail Transport Museum (NSWRTM). New reproduction nameplates have been cast and placed back on the locomotive. 3265 was used extensively with carriage sets CUB 80 and CUB 81 for ''Northern Commercial Express'' work at this 1933-34 period. After being replaced in 1934 from this work, it continued to work all manner of trains from express to country mixed and shunting work. It remained maroon and based at

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

from 1933 until 1936 after which it reverted to black livery. 3265 was overhauled and modified many times during its long and continuous service life. The loco was withdrawn from service in 1968 and was moved to the Enfield Locomotive Depot with the rest of the preserved locomotives owned by NSWRTM, Lachlan Valley Railway and other museums. In 1975 it was towed to Thirlmere for storage till 1988. Whilst in storage at Thirlmere, RTM volunteers wirebrushed 3265 and repainted it black.

Restoration

3265 was towed to the former Eveleigh Railway Workshops in 1988. In 1998, a thorough restoration commenced. Most of the overhaul was carried out by a team of tradesmen working as volunteers and several conservators from the Powerhouse Museum. This team also worked on restoring

3830 3830 (pronounced Thirty-eight thirty) is a 4-6-2 steam locomotive operated by the New South Wales Government Railways between 1949 and 1967. It has been preserved by the Powerhouse Museum and is based at the NSW Rail Museum, Thirlmere. It was ...

. 3265 returned to steam, having its first trial run from Eveleigh to Penrith and return on the evening of 2/3 July 2009. It then worked three other trial runs, with one to Springwood and two to

Gosford Gosford is the city and administrative centre of the Central Coast Council local government area in the heart of the Central Coast region, about north of Sydney and about south of Newcastle. The city centre is situated at the northern extre ...

Preservation

On 20 September 2009, 3265 was publicly relaunched back into service and made three Mainline steam runs to Bankstown celebrating its return to steam after an absence of over 40 years off the rails. Since then 3265 has worked 3 tours, 1 to the Robertson's Railway Station Fair, a special charter to Hurstville station and a NSWRTM trip to the

Zig Zag Railway The Zig Zag Railway is an Australian heritage railway, situated near Lithgow, New South Wales. It was opened by the not-for-profit Zig Zag Railway Co-op as an unpaid volunteer-staffed heritage railway in October 1975, using the alignment of th ...

along with

3526 Locomotive 3526 is a two-cylinder, simple, non-condensing, coal-fired superheated, 4-6-0 New South Wales C35 class locomotive express passenger steam locomotive. The only C35 class left in existence, and is operational. The class is commonly refer ...

and

3642 Locomotive 3642 is a two-cylinder, simple, non-condensing, coal-fired superheated, 4-6-0 36 class express passenger steam locomotive built for the New South Wales Government Railways in 1926 by Clyde Engineering. It is one of three 36 class loc ...

. After this trip, 3265 was transferred to the NSWRTM (now the NSW Rail Museum). In subsequent years, the locomotive has taken part in the

Hunter Valley Steamfest The Hunter Valley Steamfest is one of the major events in the New South Wales steam locomotive season and also one of the major events held in Maitland, in the Hunter Region. Held over two days in April, it is usually attended by steam locomoti ...

's 'Great Train Race' from Newcastle to Maitland. The

Taree Taree is a town on the Mid North Coast, New South Wales, Australia. Taree and nearby Cundletown were settled in 1831 by William Wynter. Since then Taree has grown to a population of 26,381, and is the centre of a significant agricultural distri ...

and

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...

Railway Centenary 2013 and Sydney Great Train Expo 2013 at Central station. In early February 2014, it was announced that 3265 would part in an Lachlan Valley Railway tour to the 2014 Qube Rhythm 'n' Rail Festival in Junee on 7–9 March and

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 ...

steam weekend on 15–16 March 2014. In 2019, 3265 was returned to service after three years of mechanical overhaul, running steam train trips along the Picton-Mittagong loop railway line between Thirlmere and Buxton for the NSW Rail Museum.

Gallery

Image:NSWGR Locomotive 3265 at Taree Railway Centenary.jpg, Locomotive 3265 with NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell Image:NSWGR Locomotive 3265a.jpg, Locomotive 3265 Hunter

Nameplate A nameplate identifies and displays a person or product's name. Nameplates are usually shaped as rectangles but are also seen in other shapes, sometimes taking on the shape of someone's written name. Nameplates primarily serve an informat ...

Image:NSWGR Locomotive 3265d.jpg, Thirlmere Festival of Steam Image:NSWGR Locomotive 3265b.jpg, Taree Railway Centenary Shunting Image:NSWGR Locomotive 3265c.jpg, Taree Railway Centenary Run Around File:3265 Steamfest.jpg, 3265 attends her first

2010

References

External links

Official record at the Powerhouse Museum

Powerhouse Museum's Steam Locomotives
{{NSWLocos 4-6-0 locomotives Beyer, Peacock locomotives Individual locomotives of Australia Railway locomotives introduced in 1902 Preserved steam locomotives of New South Wales Standard gauge locomotives of Australia