South Australian Railways 520 class

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

South Australian Railways 520 Class
South Australian Railways 520 Class Locomotive No. 521 "Thomas Playford". Approximately 1944. State Library of South Australia B 58892 81.jpg
521 Thomas Playford when new in February 1944
hideType and origin
Power typeSteam
DesignerFrank Hugh Harrison
BuilderIslington Railway Workshops
Serial number81-92
Build date1943-1947
Total produced12
hideSpecifications
Configuration:
 • Whyte4-8-4 2′D2′ 3′3′
Gauge1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in)
Leading dia.2 ft 9 in (0.838 m)
Driver dia.5 ft 6 in (1.676 m)
Trailing dia.3 ft 0 in (0.914 m) 3 ft 6 in (1.067 m)
Length87 ft 4.5 in (26.63 m)
Height13 ft 8+58 in (4,183.0 mm)
Axle load15 long tons 16 cwt or 35,400 lb or 17.7 short tons or 16.1 t
Adhesive weight62 long tons 10 cwt or 140,000 lb or 70.0 short tons or 63.5 t
Loco weight111 long tons 8 cwt or 249,500 lb or 124.8 short tons or 113.2 t
Total weight200 long tons 13 cwt or 449,500 lb or 224.7 short tons or 203.9 t
Fuel typeCoal
Fuel capacity9 long tons 15 cwt or 21,800 lb or 10.9 short tons or 9.9 t
Water cap9,100 imp gal (10,900 US gal; 41,000 L)
Firebox:
 • Firegrate area
45 sq ft (4.2 m2)
Boiler pressure215 psi (1,482 kPa)
Heating surface:
 • Tubes
2,163 sq ft (200.9 m2)
 • Firebox291 sq ft (27.0 m2)
Superheater:
 • Heating area651 sq ft (60.5 m2)
Cylinders2
Cylinder size20.5 in × 28 in (521 mm × 711 mm)
Valve gearWalschaerts
Valve typePiston
hidePerformance figures
Tractive effort32,600 lbf (145 kN)
Factor of adh.4.3
hideCareer
OperatorsSouth Australian Railways
Class520
Number in class12
Numbers520-531
First run10 November 1943
Withdrawn1961-1971
Preserved520 and 523
Scrapped1961-1971
Disposition2 preserved, 10 scrapped

The South Australian Railways 520 class was a class of 4-8-4 steam locomotives operated by the South Australian Railways.

Need[]

During the war years in the early 1940s, the South Australian Railways (SAR) had a desperate need for additional tractive power on increasingly growing troop and supply trains and with the combined need for quick acceleration and high speed running on the flat and general straight mainlines to the north to Port Pirie, as well as power "under the belt" for the long 19-mile (31 km), 1-in-45 (2.2%) graded slog up the Adelaide Hills to Melbourne, a new locomotive design was required by the SAR. With this in mind, the 520 class was commissioned, combining the better features of the earlier 500 and 620 class locomotives.[1]

Design[]

The class used the 4-8-4 configuration of the modified 500B class, but was also designed for work on branch lines with light 60 lb/yd (29.8 kg/m) rail with a reduced tender load. The considerable weight of the locomotive was spread over eight axles, four driving and four in the leading and trailing trucks, yielding the necessary light axle loading for operation over the aforementioned territory. The 520s used this to the fullest, their normal mainline stamping grounds being on fast track express services on the Pirie line, namely the East-West Express, but also serving upon many of the Tailem Bend mixed and radiating branchline trains. The only lines that they were restricted from running on were those laid with very light 40 or 50 lb/yd (19.8 or 24.8 kg/m) rail.[1][2]

The class featured extravagant streamlining, in the style of the Pennsylvania Railroad's T1 in the United States. The original streamlining was more closely based on the T1, and class members 520-522 were fitted with such. Members 523-531 were built with a narrower front profile, attributed to by the "crown" of grill around the chimney front. The earlier streamlined model had a lower front, resulting in a squat chimney profile extended from an otherwise graceful, albeit useless, streamlined casing. During their service life, some of the class lost the cowling around their front buffer beam, a move which simplified maintenance.[3]

The 520 class locomotives were noted for their impressive displays of power and speed. They featured specially balanced driving wheels that while only 66 inches (1,676 mm) in diameter, were designed for 70-mile-per-hour (113 km/h) operation, and were also the first locomotives in Australia to feature Timken roller bearings on all axles.[3] Classleader 520 attained a speed of 78 miles per hour (126 km/h) between Red Hill and Port Pirie when it entered service on 10 November 1943.[2] Surviving test records show the locomotive was capable of developing an indicated horsepower output of 2,600 horsepower (1,940 kW) at 70 mph while hauling a 510-tonne (500-long-ton) load.[4]

A total of 12 locomotives were built at Islington Railway Workshops between 1943 and 1947. They were progressively replaced in service from the early 1960s by diesel locomotives, and in particular the 830 class, as repairs, namely to boilers, were required. The 520s were the first class in South Australia, and possibly Australia, to facilitate the use of completely welded boiler assemblies, an idea adopted by their designer Frank Hugh Harrison after a trip to the United States of America.

The long boiler tubes of the 520 class required the blower to be on while in yards, sidings and stations, and while drifting, to prevent blowback or entry of smoke into the almost entirely closed cab. On these occasions, the locomotives emitted a quiet "whispering" sound, for which they were known.

Preservation[]

Two have been preserved:

  • 520 at SteamRanger, was operational until 1998, when necessary repairs to the boiler, namely the removal of oil burning equipment, and a rusted tender frame, sidelined the engine. As of 2019 it was being restored to operational condition.[5][6]
  • 523 at the National Railway Museum in Port Adelaide, had been used extensively as a tour engine, failing on its final farewell Australian Railway Historical Society trip at Balhannah in the late 1960s.[3]

Class list[]

Class No. Name Entered Service Career Mileage Status
520 Sir Malcolm Barclay-Harvey 10 November 1943 Condemned Aug 1969, reinstated May 1970.
Ran trips May 1972 to Dec 1998
Unserviceable, under restoration to operational condition
521 Thomas Playford 17 February 1944 611,913 Scrapped on 7 March 1970
522 Malcolm McIntosh 19 April 1944 595,538 Scrapped on 7 September 1970
523 Essington Lewis 1 August 1944 511,955 Static display
524 Sir Mellis Napier 24 November 1944 554,566 Scrapped on 21 August 1969
525 Sir Willoughby Norrie 22 February 1945 463,335 Scrapped on 11 August 1961
526 Duchess of Gloucester 28 June 1945 508,170 Scrapped around 1971
527 C.B. Anderson 20 December 1946 411,516 Scrapped on 24 April 1963
528                n/a 9 June 1947 404,114 Scrapped on 21 June 1963
529                  " 22 August 1947 412,605 Scrapped on 18 January 1964
530                  " 1 November 1947 386,323 Scrapped on 24 September 1963
531                  " 19 December 1947 380,145 Scrapped on 13 August 1963

Fiction[]

In the 2016 Thomas & Friends movie The Great Race, a character named Shane was based on the SAR 520 Class.[7] Shane returned in Series 22 where he was voiced by Shane Jacobson.

References[]

  • McNicol, Steve (1996). S.A.R. Locomotives. Railmac Publications, SA.
  • Chris Drymalik. "Comrails 520 class". Retrieved 16 April 2008.

Specific[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b Oberg, Leon (1984). Locomotives of Australia 1850s-1980s. Frenchs Forest: Reed Books. pp. 176/7. ISBN 0 7301 0005 7.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b "SteamRanger Enthusiast Pages - Steam Locos". www.steamranger.org.au. Retrieved 23 January 2010.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b c [1] National Railway Museum
  4. ^ Oberg, Leon (2007). Locomotives of Australia 1854-2007. Rosenberg Publishing. p. 229. ISBN 1-877058-54-8.
  5. ^ 520 Restoration Appeal SteamRanger
  6. ^ Loco 520 Restoration Appeal
  7. ^ Enoch, Hayley (12 April 2016). "Thomas' newest friend is an Aussie 4-8-4". Trains. Kalmbach Publishing. Archived from the original on 26 April 2016. Retrieved 15 April 2018.

External links[]

Media related to South Australian Railways 520 class locomotives at Wikimedia Commons

Retrieved from ""