South Australian Railways T class

The South Australian Railways T class was a class of 4-8-0 steam locomotives operated by the South Australian Railways. Several were sold to the Tasmanian Government Railways; some others operated on the Commonwealth Railways.

History

Between 1903 and 1917, the South Australian Railways (SAR) placed 78 T class locomotives into service. They were built by Islington Railway Workshops, Gawler (34) and Walkers Limited, Maryborough (40). They were initially deployed to work on the narrow-gauge lines between Cockburn (on the Broken Hill line), and between Terowie, Peterborough and Port Pirie. Later, they operated across the SAR narrow-gauge network, including on the isolated Port Lincoln Division.

The T class were versatile: although designed for freight and ore traffic, the class was also used on so-called "express" passenger services, including the East-West passenger service connecting with the Trans-Australian via Quorn until 1937, and on mixed (combined passenger and freight) services and shunting.

For more than 50 years the T class the backbone of the SAR's narrow-gauge motive power. As smaller SAR narrow-gauge locomotives were withdrawn in the 1920s, the T class became dominant until the early 1950s, when they were gradually superseded by the 400 class Garratt-type locomotives on the Barrier ore traffic and, in the 1960s, by 830 class diesel-electrics. The need to convert the latter locomotives from narrow to standard gauge in readiness for the opening of the new Broken Hill line resulted in many of the steam locomotives being released from storage to haul ore trains in 1968–69.

Design and modifications

During their life, T class locomotives were improved with additional equipment, resulting in dramatic visual changes from the original, well-proportioned locomotive with clean lines to a form that appeared much larger and more purposeful if not slightly eccentric. The locomotives' features were based on the successful but smaller Y class. Although designed and first built at the SAR's Islington Works, their styling reflected the strong influence of Beyer, Peacock and Company, the British designers and builders of the railway's earlier narrow-gauge classes. They had steel plate frames, Stephenson valve gear between them, piston valves, and two outside cylinders. The front section of the footplate was inclined, enabling it to clear the inclined cylinders. The locomotive itself adopted a somewhat British appearance with its clean parallel Belpaire boiler, ornate copper-topped chimney, inclined cylinders and a single large steam dome. Later on, its appearance became more utilitarian. Equipment was fitted to the top of the boiler and footplate, the chimneys were replaced with a plain "stovepipe" version, and the pilots (cowcatchers), originally made from tubes, were replaced with steel plate versions. The additional equipment included headlamp, Westinghouse air brake pump, snifter valve, blowdown muffler, air compressor exhaust muffler, re-railing jacks, larger sandboxes, and eight lead adhesion blocks (weights fitted to the footplates). The smokebox was extended in two stages to, first, accommodate a superheater header and, later, a front-end cyclone spark arrestor. All but two T class locomotives received the final extension, giving them a characteristically ungainly, "front-heavy" appearance. The greatly increased height of the extended tender sides and fuel oil tank that towered over the cab produced an appearance distinctly different from the original version.

Deployment to other railways

In 1920–21, six were sold to the Tasmanian Government Railways, retaining their T class classification. All were withdrawn between 1957 and 1961."Steam Locomotives of the Tasmanian Government Railways and its constituents" ''Australian Railway History

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