Locomotive No. 1

Infobox Locomotive
name=Locomotive No. 1
powertype=Steam
builder=Robert Stephenson and Company
railroad=Sydney Railway
deliverydate=January 1855
firstrun=May 24 1855
serialnumber=958
whytetype=0-4-2
railroadclass=1
numinclass=4
retiredate=1877
tractiveeffort=8,900 1bf (39.6 kN)
boilerpressure=120 psi (827 kPa)
cylindercount=2
cylindersize=16 in bore × 24 in stroke (406 mm x 609 mm)
driversize=5 ft 6 in diameter (1676 mm)
fireboxarea=85.3 ft² (7.82 m²)
tubearea=1,060 ft² (92.52 m²)
firearea=13.8 ft² (1.26 m²)
length=14 ft 2 in (4.3 m)
weight=26 tons 1 cwt 1 qtr (26.48 t)
tenderc

Locomotive No. 1 hauled the first passenger train in New South Wales, Australia. It was built by the Robert Stephenson and Company who built the first successful engine, Rocket. In 1846 the "Sydney Railway Company" was formed with the objective of building a railway line between Sydney and Parramatta. No. 1 was one of four locomotives that arrived by sea from the manufacturer in January 1855. This first passenger train hauled by No. 1 was a special service from Sydney Station to Long Cove viaduct (near the present site of Lewisham) on 24 May 1855, Queen Victoria's birthday.

A common misconception is that Locomotive No.1 hauled the first train at the grand opening of the first New South Wales railway, on 26 September 1855, No. 1 was in fact in need of maintenance that day and not in steam. Identical sister locomotive no. 3 worked the first passenger train from Sydney at 9:00 am and this was followed by the official train at 12:00 noon hauled by no.2, driven by William Sixsmith and fireman William Webster. *1

The design for Locomotive No. 1 was an 0-4-2 mixed traffic variation of an 0-6-0 fast goods locomotive that had been supplied to the London and North-Western Railway in 1854. Comparison of early photographs and diagrams reveals that there were few technical changes aside from the wheel arrangement.

Locomotive No. 1 was withdrawn from service on 15 March 1877 due to an accident that bent it's main frame. Sister No. 2 was the last in service in 1879. In 1884 Locomotive No. 1 was rebuilt and repainted and given to the Museum of Science and History, which was later to become the Powerhouse Museum. *2 There had been a large amount of debate over the identity of the locomotive claimed as being No.1, some suggesting that it may in fact be No.2. An extensive restoration in the 1970's revealed that parts from all locomotives No.1 to 4 were used. This is most likely explained by locomotive workshop practices of the time where if some parts will still required to return a locomotive to traffic, they would be removed from identical sister locomotives, and thus a large amount of part-swapping would have occurred even in the less than 25 years the class were in service.

In 2005, the 150 years of NSW Railway was celebrated with an Exhibition of Locomotive No. 1 at the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney.

External links

* [http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/collection/steam_locomotives.asp Powerhouse Museum Steam Locomotives]
*1 Grunbach, A "A compendium of New South Wales steam locomotives" ARHS NSW Division, 1989
*2 Oberg, L "Locomotives of Australia 1854-2007" Rosenberg, 2007