Victorian Railways B Class (Diesel)



Victorian Railways B Class

B74 as preserved by the Seymour Railway Heritage Centre leading the 70th anniversary Spirit of Progress
Power type	Diesel Electric
Builder	Clyde Engineering Granville, New South Wales
Model	ML2
Build date	1951 - 1953
Total production	26
Gauge	Broad (1600 mm, 5 ft 3 inch)
Length	18.70 m
Locomotive weight	114.00 tonne
Engine type	EMD 16-567BC
Generator	EMD D12
Traction motors	EMD D27
Top speed	133 km/h (82.64 mi/h)
Power output	1,120 kW (1,500 hp)
Tractive effort	Starting: 267 kN Continuous: 178 kN at 18 km/h
Career	1952 -
Class	B
Number in class	26 11 units rebuilt as A class
Number	B60 - B85 Units B60, B62, B66 ,B70, B71, B73, B77, B78, B79, B81, B85 converted to A class
Locale	Victoria
Delivered	1951
First run	14 July 1952
Retired	Progressively from 1982
Preserved	5 In Service: B61, B65, B76 Preserved: B74, B83 Under Restoration: B72, B75 Stored: B63, B64, B80
Scrapped	Progressively from 1982
Current owner	Chicago Freight Car Leasing Australia Southern Railroad Steamrail Victoria SRHC ARHS (Private Owners)

The B class was the first mainline diesel-electric locomotives in Victoria, Australia. They are a double ended bulldog nosed locomotive, in contrary to North American practice. Ordered and operated by the Victorian Railways, they started dieselisation of the system and saw use on both passenger and freight services with many remaining in service today, both in preserved and revenue service. Some were rebuilt as the V/Line A class, while others have been scrapped.

Inception

After World War II the Victorian Railways was run down from years of Depression-era underinvestment and wartime overutilisation.¹ Chief Mechanical Engineer Ahlston travelled to world studying railway rehabilitation Britain leant towards steam locomotives, while France was moving towards main line electrification. The United States was more divided, with General Motor's Electro-Motive Division at La Grange, Illinois was turning out modern E and F-units diesels.² However the EMD units axle load was too heavy for the Victorian tracks, and the Commonwealth Government would not allow the use of foreign currency to purchase United States diesels. As a result the £80 million 'Operation Phoenix' featured steam locomotives and electrification of the Gippsland line, either locally built or imported from the United Kingdom.³

To achieve a lighter axle load a six axles / six motor Co-Co wheel arrangement was required, with the head of EMD, and by 1949 Dick Dilworth was convinced that lighter axle load locomotives would be popular in Australian and other foreign countries. Frank Shea of Clyde Engineering of Sydney had also negotiated with EMD to build the new locomotive locally, in order to overcome the foreign exchange restrictions.⁴ The order was placed in 1951 and the first locomotive was delivered on July 14, 1952.⁵

Into service

The 26 members of the class saw wide usage all over the state, working the majority of the important passenger trains, as well as fast freights. Many timetables were accelerated, and steam locomotives began to be scrapped in large numbers.⁴ The visit of Queen Elisabeth in 1954 saw her ride behind B60 on a special train.

While costing £80 per horsepower compared to £60 for steam, the new locomotives ran 130,000 miles per year, compared to 35,000 and 60,000 miles per year for main line steam locomotives. The Chief Engineers Office found that one B class did the work of three steam locomotives.⁶ Their success led to further dieselisation, with the delivery of the T class branch line units from 1955, and the single ended S class mainline units from 1957.⁶

Demise, reactivation and preservation

By 1981 the 'New Deal' reworking of country passenger services was carried out by VicRail. It was decided to rebuild the B class with new traction equipment, in what became known as the A class. The rebuild contract was let in January 1983 to Clyde Engineering in Rosewater, South Australia, with the first unit entering service in May 1984. The project was abandoned in mid 1985 after rising costs due to structural fatigue, with the eleventh and final rebuild was delivered in August 1985.⁷

At the same time newer high horsepower locomotives had been delivered, including the N class passenger units and the more numerous G class freight locomotives. Some of the fleet were repainted into V/Line tangerine and grey livery, while others were scrapped in the VR blue and gold livery. They were then retired by V/Line, with a number purchased by West Coast Railway in the early 1990s for use on their Melbourne-Warrnambool passenger service.⁸

In May 2004 the Victorian Department of Infrastructure issued an alert on cracks in the frames and bolsters of B and S class diesel electric locomotives, requiring their withdrawal from service.⁹ With the demise of WCR the locomotives were purchased by Chicago Freight Car Leasing Australia and refurbished. The majority of these locomotives have returned to service on standard gauge in New South Wales, painted into the silver CFCLA livery, or the yellow of Southern Shorthaul Railroad. B65 was painted into a special livery promoting model railway manufacturer Auscision Models.⁹ B74 is in the custody of the Seymour Railway Heritage Centre and is the only preserved locomotive in operation.

Gallery

Class leader B60 beside one of the S class steam locomotives it replaced

B69 leading the Spirit of Progress in 1953

B76 now owned by Chicago Freight Car Leasing Australia.

Locomotives

References

• victorianrailways.net: B class information

Further reading

• Peter Bermingham (1982). The ML2 story : the history of the Victorian Railways' famous B Class diesel-electric locomotive. Railway Traction Research Group. ISBN 0959839291.