Victorian Railways A2 Class (Walschaert)

VR photograph of A2 986, as built in 1916. 90 years later, this locomotive is being restored to operating condition.
Power type	steam
Builder	VR Newport, Ballarat & Bendigo Workshops
Configuration	4-6-0
Driver size	73 in
Length	63 ft 3¾ in
Axle load	17 t 10 c
Weight on drivers	52 t 2 cwt
Total weight	121 t 7 c
Tender capacity	(after conversion to oil firing) 1,500 gal oil, 4,700 gal water
Boiler pressure	185 psi
Fire grate area	29 ft²
Heating surface: Total	2,040 ft²
Cylinders	2
Cylinder size	22×26 in
Tractive effort	27,480 lbf at 85% boiler pressure
Number in class	185

The A2 class was an express passenger locomotive that ran on Victorian Railways from 1907 to 1963. A selection of early 20th century locomotive types according to their Whyte notation and their comparative size The Whyte notation for classifying steam locomotives by wheel arrangement was devised by Frederick Methvan Whyte and came into use in the early 20th century. ... In the Whyte notation, a 4-6-0 is a railroad steam locomotive that has a two-axle leading truck followed by three driving axles. ... On a steam locomotive, a driving wheel is a powered wheel which is driven by the locomotives pistons (or turbine, in the case of a steam turbine locomotive). ... A pressure gauge reading in PSI (red scale) and kPa (black scale) The pound-force per square inch (symbol: lbf/in2) is a non-SI unit of pressure based on avoirdupois units. ... A piston and cylinder from a steam engine A cylinder in an internal combustion engine is the space within which a piston travels. ... Tractive effort is the pulling force exerted, normally by a locomotive, though the term could also be used for anything else that hauls a load. ... The pound-force is a non-SI unit of force or weight (properly abbreviated lbf or lbf). The pound-force is equal to a mass of one pound multiplied by the standard acceleration due to gravity on Earth (which is defined as exactly 9. ... The Victorian Railways operated railways in the Australian state of Victoria from 1859 to 1983. ...

History

The introduction of the A2 class marked a turning point in Victorian Railways locomotive design, as it was entirely designed by VR engineers of the newly established Locomotive Design Section.

For over forty years, the A2 was the main express passenger locomotive on the VR, hauling intrastate and interstate services. With a maximum permitted speed of 70 mph (112 km/h) the A2 was instrumental in the acceleration of timetables on many lines in the years following its introduction. Miles per hour is a unit of speed, expressing the number of international miles covered per hour. ... Kilometre per hour (American spelling: kilometer per hour) is a unit of both speed (scalar) and velocity (vector). ...

A2s were also used to haul a number of special services, such as the Royal Trains for the Prince of Wales' and the Duke of York's Australian tours in 1920^[1] and 1927 respectively, and also the funeral train of Dame Nellie Melba in 1931. Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David Windsor; later The Prince Edward, Duke of Windsor; 23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions beyond the Seas, and Emperor of India from the death of his father, George V (1910–36... George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George Windsor) (14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was the third British monarch using the name Windsor. ... Dame Nelly Melba in role of Rosina from the Barber of Seville Dame Nellie Melba (May 19, 1861 - February 23, 1931), born Helen Porter Mitchell, was an Australian opera soprano, the first Australian to achieve international recognition in the form. ...

They were also widely used as a goods locomotive, particularly in their later life.

Production

Based on the success^[2] of the prototype A2 572, a total of 125 Stephenson valve gear A2 locomotives were built between 1907 and 1915. The design was then altered to incorporate larger diameter cylinders, a higher pressure boiler and Walschaert valve gear, and a further 60 locomotives of this design were produced between 1915 and 1922. Stephenson valve gear is the oldest and simplest standard design of steam locomotive valve gear. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Design Improvements

The majority of A2 locomotives were originally built with saturated steam boilers. The class was gradually rebuilt with superheated boilers, and to differentiate between the two variants the saturated steam locomotives were renumbered as A1 class, each being reclassified as A2 class again when rebuilt with a superheated boiler. General arrangement of a superheater installation in a steam locomotive. ...

The A2 class also underwent the same improvements as other post-1900 VR steam locomotive designs during the 1920s and 1930s, including the fitting of electric lighting, cross-compound air compressors, Modified Front End to reduce back pressure in the exhaust system and increase efficiency, and smoke deflectors. BR standard class 7 Smoke deflectors are plates attached to the front of a steam locomotive designed to lift smoke away from the locomotive so that the driver has better visibility unimpaired by drifting smoke. ...

In the years following World War II, problems with the quality and availability of coal supplies caused VR to convert all 60 Walschaert A2s to oil firing.^[3] Combatants Major Allied powers: United Kingdom Soviet Union United States Republic of China and others Major Axis powers: Nazi Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Harry Truman Chiang Kai-Shek Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tojo Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead...

Late in their life, some of the A2s also received Boxpok driving wheels.

Later Years

In 1928, the A2 was replaced on the principal North-eastern line 'Sydney Limited' and 'Albury Express' services by the considerably more powerful 3 cylinder S class Pacifics. However, new locomotive development ground to a halt during the 1930s^[4] as the Great Depression severely affected both VR traffic volumes and operating revenues, and the A2 continued as the main express passenger power on all other VR mainlines. The Albury-Wodonga railway is a railway line in regional Victoria, Australia. ... The S class was an express passenger steam locomotive that ran on Victorian Railways from 1928 to 1954. ... The Pennsylvania Railroads class K4s, a well known 4-6-2 type. ... The Great Depression was a worldwide economic downturn which started in 1929 (although its effects were not fully felt until late 1930) and lasted through most of the 1930s. ...

In 1939, by which time most of the class was already over twenty-five years old, World War II broke out. The massive increase in traffic on the VR the war effort brought saw these ageing locomotives subjected to a punishing regime of heavy utilisation and minimal maintenance.^[5] Combatants Major Allied powers: United Kingdom Soviet Union United States Republic of China and others Major Axis powers: Nazi Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Harry Truman Chiang Kai-Shek Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tojo Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead...

With VR's locomotive workshops switched to production of armaments and all available manpower given to the war effort, plans to eliminate the double-headed A2 operations on Melbourne-Adelaide passenger services with the introduction of more powerful H class 4-8-4 locomotives and additional S class locomotives did not come to fruition. The extra S class locomotives were never built and the line to Adelaide did not receive the necessary upgrades to take the weight of the H class.^[6] The Norfolk & Western Railways Class J locomotive #611, a 1950 product of the railroads own Roanoke, Virginia shops. ...

The A2's principal express passenger role continued into the postwar years as the VR, struggling with a backlog of repairs and limited capital expenditure, deferred new passenger locomotive construction.

It was not until 1951, when the first of 70 new R class 4-6-4 express passenger locomotives were introduced, that the A2 was finally superseded. Even so, many of the class (particularly the later Walschaert variants) continued on in secondary roles such as branch-line passenger and goods services and a number lasted into the 1960s. The last, A2 986, was withdrawn from service in December 1963.^[7] A 4-6-4 locomotive, in the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, has four leading wheels (generally arranged in a leading truck), six coupled driving wheels and four trailing wheels (often but not always in a trailing truck). ...

Accidents

Some A2 locomotives were unfortunate enough to be involved in major accidents:

• At 2:58am on 7th September 1951, the westbound and eastbound Overland expresses, both hauled by double-heading A2s, collided head-on at Serviceton.^[8][9] All four locomotives were written off; three were so badly damaged they were scrapped on site.

• Australia's worst level crossing accident occurred on 8th May 1943, when A2 863 collided with a bus carrying troops at Wodonga. 25 people were killed.^[10]

The Overland is a passenger rail service running between Melbourne and Adelaide, Australia. ... The term level crossing (also called a railroad crossing, railway crossing, train crossing or grade crossing) is a crossing on one level (at-grade intersection) — without recourse to a bridge or tunnel — of a railway line by a road, path, or another railroad. ... Wodonga is a small city on the Victorian side of the border with New South Wales, 300 kilometres north-east of Melbourne, Australia. ...

Preservation

Only one of the original batch of 125 Stephenson A2 locomotives survives; A2 884 is today preserved at the ARHS North Williamstown Railway Museum, along with (Walschaert) A2 995. A2 996 is preserved in Victorian regional city of Echuca and A2 964 is preserved in the Melbourne suburb of Reservoir. The Australian Railway Historical Society (ARHS) was founded in Sydney in 1933. ... Echuca in Victoria (Australia) is a town of about 10,000 people lying on the Murray River (Moama is on the northern side in NSW). ... Melbournes Yarra River is popular area for walking, jogging, cycling and relaxing on the banks with a picnic Melbourne (pronounced either or [1]) is the second most populous city in Australia with a metropolitan area population of approximately 3. ... Reservoir is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. ...

A2 986 is currently being restored to full working order by Steamrail.

References

• Dee et al, Power Parade, VicRail Public Relations Division, Melbourne, 1981, ISBN 0-7241-3323-2
• Pearce et al, North Williamstown Railway Musuem, ARHS, Melbourne, 1980, ISBN 0-85849-018-8
• The Recorder, ARHS, Adelaide, November 1985, ISSN 0158-1856
• AHRS Railway Museum History 1900 - 1950 retrieved on 6th September 2006

Specific

External links

• National Library of Australia Photograph of prototype A2 572, December 1907.
• victorianrailways.net Stephenson A2 936 hauling a goods train, 11th June 1930.
• victorianrailways.net Walschaert A2 973 leads a Stephenson A2 on The Overland, circa 1930.
• Public Record Office Victoria The end of the line - A2 856 is cut up for scrap.
• victorianrailways.net A2 986, seen around 1962 near the end of its service life. Various modifications over the years have significantly altered its appearance from when photographed in 1916 (see top of this page).
• Steamrail A2 986 page Photos detailing the progress of current restoration work on A2 986.