South Australian Railways 520 class

Infobox Locomotive
name = South Australian Railways 520 class
powertype = steam


caption = A preserved example of the 520 class, the SteamRanger 520 "Sir Malcolm Barclay Harvey" in the Steamranger workshops, Mt Barker SA.
data for = 520
designer = P. H. Harrison
builder = South Australian Railways Islington Works
builddate = 1943–1947
serialnumber = 81–92
totalproduction = 12
whytetype = 4-8-4
uicclass = 2'D2'h
gauge = RailGauge|63|lk=on
length = convert|87|ft|4|in|m|2|abbr=on
driversize = convert|5|ft|6|in|m|3|abbr=on
weight = convert|200.65|LT|t|abbr=on|lk=on
tenderc
Coal: convert|9.75|LT|t|abbr=on;
Water: convert|9100|impgal|l|abbr=on|lk=on
weightondrivers =
cylindercount = Two
cylindersize = 20½ × 28 in (520 × 710 mm)
tractiveeffort = convert|36600|lbf|kN|abbr=on|lk=on at 85% BP
axleload = convert|15.8|LT|t|abbr=on
heatingsurface =
boilerpressure = convert|215|psi|MPa|abbr=on|lk=on
tubearea = convert|2163|sqft|m2|abbr=on
superheaterarea = convert|651|sqft|m2|abbr=on
fireboxarea = convert|291|sqft|m2|abbr=on
firearea = convert|45|sqft|m2|abbr=on
railroad = South Australian Railways
roadnumber = 520–531
railroadclass = 520
preservedunits = 520, 523
nicknames = "Whispering Giants"
scrapdate = 1961–1971
disposition = Two preserved, ten scrapped.The South Australian Railways 520 class is a class of 4-8-4 steam locomotives built in the early 1940s for fast passenger and mixed freight work.

Development of the 520 class

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 convert|19|mi|km|sing=on, 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. The class used the 4-8-4 "Northern" configuration of the modified 500B class, but was also designed for work on branch lines with light 60-lb (29.7 kg/m) rail with a reduced tender load. The considerable weight of the locomotive was spread over eight axles, four driving and four pony 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 crack 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 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.

A total of 12 locomotives were built at the SAR Islington Works between 1943 and 1947. They were progressively replaced in service from the early 1960s by diesel locomotives, and in particular the SAR 830 class, as repairs, namely to boilers, were required. It is interesting to note that the 520's 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 Harrison after a trip to the United States of America. Locomotive numbers 520 and 523 survive, the former at Steamranger and the latter at the Port Dock Museum, now called the National Railway Museum. 520 was operational until the mid 1990's, when necessary repairs to the boiler, namely the removal of oil burning equipment, and a rusted tender frame, sidelined the engine. The 523 had been used extensively as a tour engine, finally failing on her final farewell ARHS fantrip at Blackwood in the late 1960s.

The class earned themselves the name the "whispering giants". They were known as such, not for their soft exhaust - the 520s, while not as much as their larger 500B cousins, still shook the earth on their ascent into Mount Lofty Yard, due to their long boilers the class had the characteristic feature of requiring blower assistance while in yards to prevent blowback or drifting smoke into the cab, which was nearly entirely closed. Hence, when drifting or in stations or stationary, the class were known to quietly whisper.

References

*
*

External links

* [http://www.steamranger.org.au/enthusiast/steam.htm SteamRanger's Steam Locomotives]