Victorian Railways G class

The G class Garratt locomotives were built for the Victorian Railways 2 ft 6 in gauge branch lines. These locomotives were introduced in 1926 to increase train sizes, eliminate the practice of double heading NA locomotives and reduce losses on these lines. Their tractive effort was comparable to the most powerful branch line locomotives on the Victorian Railways 5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm), the K class.

Victorian Railways G Class
Garratt Locomotive G42 at Puffing Billy Railway, 12 August 2007
Type and origin
Power typesteam
BuilderBeyer, Peacock & Co. Ltd.
Serial number6267–6268
Build date1925
Specifications
Configuration:
​
 • Whyte2-6-0+0-6-2
Gauge2 ft 6 in (762 mm)
Driver dia.36 in (0.914 m)
Length44 ft 6 in (13.56 m)
Axle load9.45 long tons (9.60 t; 10.58 short tons)
Adhesive weight55.35 long tons (56.24 t; 61.99 short tons)
Loco weight69 long tons (70 t; 77 short tons)
Fuel typeCoal
Fuel capacity3.5 long tons (3.6 t; 3.9 short tons)
Water cap1,680 imp gal (7,600 l; 2,020 US gal)
Firebox:
 • Firegrate area		22.6 sq ft (2.10 m2)
Boiler pressure185 psi (1.28 MPa)
Heating surface1,050 sq ft (98 m2)
Cylinders4
Cylinder size13 1⁄4 in × 18 in (337 mm × 457 mm)
Performance figures
Tractive effort27,630 lbf (122.90 kN)
Career
Number in class2

Origins

The design was based on the earlier M and Ms class Garratts constructed for the Western Australian Government Railways. This design was amongst the earliest of the Garratts, and first entered service in 1911. The major modification was the use of outside frames to allow for the reduction of gauge from 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) to 2 ft 6 in (762 mm). The design proved durable as two further examples were built for the Australian Portland Cement 3 ft 6 in gauge railway at Fyansford in the 1930s.

WAGR M388, at East Perth loco depot 1926
G41 stored at Colac in 1962
G42 and 8A at Belgrave station in 2018
WAGR Ms425 at Midland Junction 1920

Working life

The locomotives were allocated numbers G41 and G42. G41 was put to work on the Colac to Beech Forest and Crowes line, while G42 was placed on the Moe to Walhalla railway. The locomotives stayed on these lines, returning to Newport Workshops for heavy repairs when necessary. After the closure of the Walhalla line in 1955, G42 was moved west to Colac, where it worked the line in conjunction with G41. At the closure of this line in 1962, only G42 was considered to be in operational condition, G41 was mostly cannibalised for parts to be used in G42.

G42 at Walhalla station in 1926
G41 Shunting NQR wagons at Colac 1959

Disposal and preservation

After closure both locos were removed to the Newport Workshops, and G41 was quickly scrapped in October 1964, the number plates, whistle and headlights were recovered and are housed at the Menzies Creek Museum. [1]G42 was bought from the Victorian Railways in July 1964 by the Puffing Billy Preservation Society, it was transferred by rail to Belgrave on Australia Day 1968 and finally arrived at the Menzies Creek Steam Museum on the 10th of February 1968. The museum also acquired one of the Australian Portland Cement Garratts along with an unused spare boiler. In 1978 a decision was made to restore G42, a task that was finally completed in April 2004. The spare boiler from APC was used instead of G42's original boiler as this had had its copper inner fire-box and boiler tubes removed by the V.R. before sale to the Puffing Billy Preservation Society in 1963. After restoration, G42 became the regular engine on Puffing Billy's "The Luncheon Train" which operates 7 days a week as far as Lakeside, as well as operating special trains on a semi-regular basis until 2009.

G42 was withdrawn from service in February 2009 pending a "D" exam as part of the Puffing Billy Railway's regular maintenance program.

On Sunday 16 August 2009, G42 returned to service for one day only to celebrate "100 years of the Garratt locomotive design" with a special to Cockatoo and return[2] before returning to storage pending the mentioned "D" exam.

On 12 December 2010, G42 moved under its own steam after extensive repairs including turning more than 1" from the wheel tyres. It was put to a test with a difficult shunt of 20 cars into different roads. The locomotive is now used on the "Green time table" service which otherwise calls for the double heading of NA class locos on one of the trips, enabling its greater hauling capacity to substitute for the two NAs.

As of August 9, 2015, G42 is still currently operating on a regular basis. It will only operate on weekends, special occasions (Public holidays, etc.) or if there is a shortage of NAs on running days not covered by the days stated above.

This running schedule was devised in an attempt to prolong G42s service life mainly due to the tire wear caused by the locomotive design and tight curves of the railway.

7A was sent to Walhalla in 2010 for centenary celebrations. It used fake 9A number plates as well as G41's Whistle (Right) which was attached to the steam dome to be used in conjunction with 7A's regular Whistle (left) for the weekend







G42 Crossing Monbulk Trestle Bridge 2019

See also

References
  1. steam on the 2 foot 6
  2. PBPS "Narrow Gauge" magazine

Further reading
  • Durrant, A.E. (1981). Garratt Locomotives of the World. London: Hamlyn.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Hocking, P.; Peach, R.; Thompson, J. (1981). G42 Puffing Billy's Big Brother. Belgrave: Puffing Billy Preservation Society.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
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