Victorian Railways S class (diesel)

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Victorian Railways S class
Preserved S303 at the Seymour Railway Heritage Centre in October 2007
Type and origin
Power typeDiesel-electric
BuilderClyde Engineering, Granville
ModelEMD A7 (first order)
EMD A16C (second order)
Build date1957-1961
Total produced18
Specifications
Configuration:
​
 • UICCo′Co'
 • CommonwealthCo-Co
Gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in),
1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in)
Length18.72 m (61 ft 5 in)
Axle load19.3 t (19.0 long tons; 21.3 short tons)
Loco weight116 t (114 long tons; 128 short tons)
Fuel typeDiesel
Prime moverEMD 16-567C
RPM range300-950rpm
Engine typeV16
AspirationSupercharged (Roots blower)
Displacement9072ci total
GeneratorEMD D12/D22
Traction motorsEMD D27/D37/D47
Head end powerNil
Cylinders16
Cylinder size567ci
TransmissionDiesel-electric
Train brakesA7/B7
Performance figures
Maximum speed133 km/h (83 mph)
Power output1,350 kW (1,810 hp)
Career
OperatorsVictorian Railways
Number in class18
NumbersS300-S317
NicknamesBulldogs, Streamliners
First run1957
PreservedS300, S301, S303, S306, S307, S308, S310, S313
Current ownerVicTrack Heritage
Seymour Railway Heritage Centre
Steamrail Victoria
Southern Shorthaul Railroad
Disposition4 in service, 4 preserved, 4 stored, 6 scrapped

The S class are a class of diesel locomotives built by Clyde Engineering, Granville for the Victorian Railways between 1957 and 1961.

History[edit]

The S class was based on the Electro-Motive Diesel F7 design and were very similar to the GM12 class then being built by Clyde Engineering for the Commonwealth Railways. They were mechanically similar to the 1952 built double ended B class.

The first order for 10 locomotives were progressively delivered between August 1957 and February 1958. The first four took the names and numbers of the recently scrapped S class steam locomotives, with all being named after prominent Victorians. An additional eight locomotives were ordered for use on the new North East standard gauge line and delivered between November 1960 and December 1961.[1][2]

The class were initially used on express passenger trains such as the Intercapital Daylight, Southern Aurora, Spirit of Progress and The Overland, but were also used on fast freights. On the broad gauge, they often operated in pairs, while on the standard gauge they usually ran solo.[3] A second 'hostlers' cab was provided at the number two end, but was only used around depots, or to haul empty carriages short distances.[3]

In February 1969, two were destroyed in the Violet Town railway disaster, and were deemed uneconomical to repair and scrapped.[4] In January 1967 S317 was badly damaged in a head-on collision with X33 south of Broadford Loop and was returned to Clyde Engineering for rebuilding.[1] In June 1982, S317 was again involved in a fatal accident when it ran into the rear of the Spirit of Progress at Barnawartha, killing the crew.[3]

As more modern locomotives were introduced, those on the standard gauge moved to the broad gauge.[4][5] Examples would periodically appear on the standard gauge.

When the G Class engines entered service, the railways declared that no more S Class engines would undergo major overhauls. The last two had been S301 in 1985 and S307 in 1986; as of July 1987, engines S303, 304, 305 and 309 were withdrawn, 308 banned as a leading unit and 306 was under minor repair but still in the VR Blue livery.[6] In February 1994, four (300, 302, 311, 312)[7] were sold to West Coast Railway for use on their Melbourne to Warrnambool passenger service.[8] By April 1999, only four remained in the V/Line fleet and even these were only used during periods of high demand.[9] A few have been preserved.

Privatisation brought an upturn in the class' fortunes with some overhauled and as at May 2014, they remain in service with CFCL Australia, Pacific National and Southern Shorthaul Railroad.[10][11] In 2019, S300 and S311 were purchased privately from CFCLA.[12] S311 was purchased from its private owner by SSR in mid 2020 and was promptly returned to service, still on standard gauge operating primarily in NSW. Pacific National donated S307 to the Seymour Railway Heritage Centre on 17 March 2023. Pacific National has recently donated S301 to Steamrail Victoria on 7th March 2024.[13]

Fleet status[edit]

Key: In Service Withdrawn Preserved Converted Scrapped
Locomotive Serial no Name Entered service Withdrawn Scrapped Livery Status Owner(s) Gauge Notes
First Order
S300 57-164 Matthew Flinders 21 Aug 1957 CFCLA Silver and Blue Under restoration Canberra VR (Built), VicRail (1974), V/Line (1983), West Coast Railway (1994), CFCLA (2004), Privately owned (2019?)[14] 1,435 mm (4 ft 8½ in) standard gauge Purchased from CFCL Australia; at Canberra Railway Museum
S301 57-165 Sir Thomas Mitchell 4 Sep 1957 Freight Australia Green and Yellow with Pacific National Logos Preserved VR (Built), VicRail (1974), V/Line (1983), Freight Australia (1999), Pacific National (2004), Steamrail Victoria (2024) 1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in) broad gauge Donated to Steamrail Victoria in March 2024
S302 57-166 Edward Henty 18 Sep 1957 El Zorro Orange and Grey with SSR Logos Stored (North Bendigo Workshops) VR (Built), VicRail (1974), V/Line (1983), West Coast Railway (1994), V/Line Passenger (2004), El Zorro (2006), Southern Shorthaul Railroad (2014) 1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in) broad gauge Stored due to fire damage suffered in March 2022. Engine for B65
S303 57-167 CJ La Trobe 30 Sep 1957 Jul 1988 VR Blue and Gold Preserved-operational VR (Built), VicRail (1974), V/Line (1983), VicTrack Heritage Register (1990) 1,435 mm (4 ft 8½ in) standard gauge Allocated to Seymour Railway Heritage Centre
S304 57-168 George Bass 15 Oct 1957 May 1987 Mar 1992 VR Blue and Gold Scrapped VR (Built), VicRail (1974), V/Line (1983) 1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in) broad gauge
S305 57-169 Hamilton Hume 4 Nov 1957 2 Dec 1985 Feb 1991 VR Blue and Gold Scrapped VR (Built), VicRail (1974), V/Line (1983) 1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in) broad gauge
S306 57-170 John Batman 25 Nov 1957 Jun 2019 Pacific National Blue and Yellow Operational VR (Built), VicRail (1974), V/Line (1983), Freight Australia (1999), Pacific National (2004), 707 Operations (2023). 1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in) broad gauge Returned to Broad Gauge in September 2018. Purchased by 707 Operations in September 2023.[15]
S307 57-171 John Pascoe Fawkner 10 Dec 1957 Pacific National Blue and Yellow Preserved VR (Built), VicRail (1974), V/Line (1983), Freight Australia (1999), Pacific National (2004), SRHC (2023) 1,435 mm (4 ft 8½ in) standard gauge Donated to the Seymour Railway Heritage Centre in March 2023
S308 58-179 Sir Redmond Barry 20 Jan 1958 25 Jul 1988 V/Line Orange and Grey Static display VR (Built), VicRail (1974), V/Line (1983), VicTrack Heritage (????) 1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in) broad gauge Allocated to the Newport Railway Museum Renumbered Sd308 as a demonstration unit
S309 58-182 William Lonsdale 24 Feb 1958 19 Jul 1988 1996 V/Line Orange and Grey Scrapped VR (Built), VicRail (1974), V/Line (1983) 1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in) broad gauge
Second Order
S310 60-227 George Higinbotham 25 Nov 1960 V/Line Orange and Grey Stored VR (Built), VicRail (1974), V/Line (1983), Freight Australia (1999), Pacific National (2004), Seymour Railway Heritage Centre (2013) 1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in) broad gauge
S311 60-228 Sir Ferdinand von Mueller 16 Nov 1960 CFCLA Silver and Blue with SSR Logos In Service VR (Built), VicRail (1974), V/Line (1983), West Coast Railway (1994), CFCLA (2004), Privately Owned (2019?),

Southern Shorthaul Railroad (2020)[16]

1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in) broad guage
S312 60-229 Peter Lalor 27 Jan 1961 Rail Power Black with SSR Logos Operational VR (Built), VicRail (1974), V/Line (1983), West Coast Railway (1995), Rail Power (2011), SSR (2017) 1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in) broad gauge
S313 61-230 Alfred Deakin 27 Feb 1961 14 Dec 1994 VR Blue and Gold Preserved-operational VR (Built), VicRail (1974), V/Line (1983), VicTrack Heritage Register (1996) 1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in) broad gauge Withdrawn after suffering a serious electrical fault, allocated to Steamrail Victoria in 1996, first ran in preservation in 1997[17]
S314 61-231 Sir John O'Shanassy 20 Apr 1961 7 Feb 1969 7 Feb 1969 VR Blue and Gold Scrapped VR (Built) 1,435 mm (4 ft 8½ in) standard gauge destroyed Violet Town railway disaster
S315 61-238 Sir Charles Gavan Duffy 16 Oct 1961 23 Aug 1988 Apr 1992 V/Line Orange and Grey Scrapped VR (Built), VicRail (1974), V/Line (1983) 1,435 mm (4 ft 8½ in) standard gauge
S316 61-239 Sir Andrew Clarke 10 Nov 1961 7 Feb 1969 7 Feb 1969 VR Blue and Gold Scrapped VR (Built) 1,435 mm (4 ft 8½ in) standard gauge destroyed Violet Town railway disaster
S317 61-240 Jenny Molloy[18] 7 Dec 1961 SSR Black and Silver Operational VR (Built), VicRail (1974), V/Line (1983), Great Northern (????), Southern Shorthaul Railroad (2004) 1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in) broad gauge Previously named Sir John Monash, probably renamed when repainted into SSR livery

Photo Gallery[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Ian Weickhardt (March–April 1979). "VR 'S' class diesel electric locomotive". Australian Model Railway Magazine: 34–36.
  2. ^ Oberg, Leon (1984). Locomotives of Australia 1850s - 1980s. Frenchs Forest: Reed Books. pp. 196–197. ISBN 0-730100-05-7.
  3. ^ a b c S class diesel electric locomotives Archived 4 December 2007 at the Wayback Machine Mark Bau's VR website
  4. ^ a b Railmac Publications (1992). Australian Fleetbooks: V/Line locomotives. Kitchner Press. ISBN 0-949817-76-7.
  5. ^ Oberg, Leon (1980). Diesel Locomotives of Australia. Sydney: AH & AW Reed. p. 286. ISBN 0-589-50211-5.
  6. ^ Newsrail September 1988 p. 282
  7. ^ "West Coast Railway Fleet Specs". wcr.com.au. 16 November 1999. Archived from the original on 9 October 1999. Retrieved 6 January 2007.
  8. ^ Peter Attenborough (February 2004). "West Coast Railway". Australian Model Railway Magazine: 32–34.
  9. ^ "The Last of the Bulldogs" Railway Digest April 1999 page 40
  10. ^ S Class Archived 31 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine Railpage
  11. ^ S Class Archived 29 August 2016 at the Wayback Machine Vicsig
  12. ^ https://www.facebook.com/groups/2195575627125412/permalink/2669636536385983/ Archived 2 June 2023 at the Wayback Machine [user-generated source]
  13. ^ "S301 GIFTED TO STEAMRAIL BY PACIFIC NATIONAL". facebook.com/steamrail. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
  14. ^ "VICSIG". vicsig.net. Archived from the original on 19 July 2017. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
  15. ^ "VICSIG - Locomotives - S306". vicsig.net. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  16. ^ "VICSIG". vicsig.net. Archived from the original on 19 July 2017. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
  17. ^ "S313". www.steamrail.com.au. Archived from the original on 9 September 2021. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
  18. ^ "Lifting a jinx? « Rants from Vas". Archived from the original on 13 August 2019. Retrieved 14 August 2019.

Further reading[edit]

  • Peter Bermingham (1995). The A7 era : the technical, pictorial and evolutionary history of the Victorian Railway's S Class diesel-electric locomotive. Horsepower Histories. ISBN 0-646-25614-9.

External links[edit]

Media related to Victorian Railways S class diesel locomotives at Wikimedia Commons

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