South Australian Railways 500 class (steam)
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502 at Eden Hills in August 1953 | |||||||||||||||||||
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The South Australian Railways 500 class was a class of 4-8-2 steam locomotives operated by the South Australian Railways. They were rebuilt as 4-8-4s.
History
The 500 class were part of larger order for 30 steam locomotives placed with Armstrong Whitworth, England, in 1924, as part of the rehabilitation of the state's rail system being overseen by Railways Commissioner William Webb. They replaced the Rx and S class locomotives, many dating back to 1894, that were still performing mainline duties, meaning that double and even triple heading was common. All ten 500-class locomotives arrived in Adelaide in 1926, and entered service on the Adelaide to Wolseley line as far as Tailem Bend. All were named after notable South Australians.[1]
Rebuilding
In May 1928, 506 was experimentally fitted with a booster, included in a newly-created four wheel trailing truck. This American-inspired modification proved highly successful, increasing the locomotive's tractive effort from 51,000 pounds-force (230 kN) to 59,000 pounds-force (260 kN). This modification was subsequently fitted to the nine remaining locomotives, resulting in the class becoming the 4-8-4 class 500B.
Throughout the mid-1930s all but two of the locomotives in the class were semi-streamlined and had valances fitted. The first two 500-class locomotives were withdrawn from service in 1955 and the last was withdrawn in 1962.[1]
504 is preserved as a static exhibit at the National Railway Museum, Port Adelaide.[2]
Class list
| Number | Date in Service | Date Condemned | Name |
|---|---|---|---|
| 500 | 4 June 1926 | May 1963 | James McGuire |
| 501 | 2 July 1926 | September 1958 | Sir Henry Barwell |
| 502 | 22 May 1926 | July 1961 | John Gunn |
| 503 | 23 July 1926 | July 1962 | RL Butler |
| 504 | 18 October 1926 | July 1962 | Tom Barr-Smith |
| 505 | 28 October 1926 | July 1962 | Sir Tom Bridges |
| 506 | 25 October 1926 | July 1962 | Sir George Murray |
| 507 | 12 October 1926 | March 1958 | Margaret Murray |
| 508 | 14 September 1926 | July 1962 | Sir Lancelot Stirling |
| 509 | 24 August 1926 | July 1961 | WA Webb |
References
- 1 2 Oberg, Leon (1984). Locomotives of Australia 1850s-1980s. Frenchs Forest: Reed Books. p. 147. ISBN 0 7301 0005 7.
- ↑ "Tom Barr Smith". National Railway Museum. Retrieved 2016-10-31.
Further reading
- Douglas Colquhoun; Ronald Stewien; Adrian Thomas (1969). 500 The 4-8-2 and 4-8-4 Locomotives of The South Australian Railways. Australian Railway Historical Society, SA.
- David Burke (2000). Giants of Steam. Australian Railway Historical Society, NSW.
- Leon Oberg (2007). Locomotives of Australia. Rosenberg Publishing, NSW.
- Ron Stewien (2011). A History of the South Australian Railways, Volume 5: Controversy and Mr Webb. Eveleigh Press, NSW.
- Ron Stewien (2010). A History of the South Australian Railways, Volume 6: Mountains, Mikados and Pacifics. Eveleigh Press, NSW.
- Drymalik, Chris. "Broad Gauge 500-class 4-8-2 (later 500B-class 4-8-4) locomotives". comrails.com. Retrieved 2013-03-19.