Victorian Railways G class

Infobox Locomotive
name = Victorian Railways G Class

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caption = Garratt Locomotive G42 at Puffing Billy Railway, 12 August 2007
powertype = steam
data for = Victorian Railways G class
builder = Beyer, Peacock & Co. Ltd.
serialnumber = 6267–6268
builddate = 1925
whytetype = 2-6-0+0-6-2
numinclass = 2
length = 44 ft 6 in
driversize = convert|36|in|m|3|abbr=on
weight = convert|69|LT|t|1
fueltype = Coal
fuelc
convert|3.5|LT|t|1
waterc
convert|1680|impgal|l|abbr=on|lk=on
weightondrivers = convert|55.35|LT|t|1
cylindercount = 4
cylindersize = 13¼×18 in (337×457 mm)
tractiveeffort = convert|27630|lbf|kN|abbr=on|lk=on
axleload = convert|9.45|LT|t|1
totalsurface = convert|1050|sqft|abbr=on
boilerpressure = convert|185|psi|MPa|2|abbr=on|lk=on
firearea = convert|22.6|sqft|abbr=on

The G class Garratt locomotives were built for the Victorian Railways 2' 6" gauge branch lines. These locomotives were introduced in 1926 to increase train sizes and thus reduce losses on these lines. Their tractive effort was comparable to the most powerful branch line locomotives on the Victorian Railways broad gauge, the K class.

Origins

The design was based on the earlier M and Ms class Garratts constructed for the West Australian 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' 6" to 2' 6". The design proved durable as two further examples were built for the Australian Portland Cement 3' 6" gauge railway at Fyansford in the 1930s.Fact|date=June 2008

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. 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.

Disposal and preservation

After closure both locos were removed to the Newport Workshops, and G41 was quickly scrapped. The same year the Puffing Billy Preservation Society began operating trains on a portion of the Gembrook line. A museum was established at Menzies Creek, and G42 was obtained for this museum in 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 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.

G42 currently operates on a regular basis on the Puffing Billy railway.

References

* Durrant, A.E. 1981 "Garratt Locomotives of the World" Hamlyn, London.
* Hocking, P, R. Peach & J. Thompson 1981 "G42 Puffing Billy's Big Brother" Puffing Billy Preservation Society, Belgrave.
* [http://www.puffingbilly.com.au/ Puffing Billy website (accessed 12th July 2007)]