WikiPortallus: Victorian Railways J class.html

The J class was a branch line steam locomotive that ran on Victorian Railways from 1954 to 1972. A development of the successful Victorian Railways K class 2-8-0, it was the last new class of steam locomotive introduced on the VR. Introduced almost concurrently with the diesel-electric locomotives that ultimately superseded them, these locomotives were only in service on the VR for a relatively short time.

History

During the early 1950s, Victorian Railways embarked on a massive upgrading of its ageing locomotive fleet as part of 'Operation Phoenix', an £80 million program to rebuild a network badly run down by years of Depression-era underinvestment and wartime overutilisation.¹

Victoria's branch line railway network, laid with 60 lb/yd rail and featuring gradients of up to 1 in 30, was still largely served by the D1, D2 and D3 variants of the once 261-strong 1902-era Dd class 4-6-0, which by the early 1950s was at the end of its life.² These were supplemented by 53 K class 2-8-0 locomotives, some of which had been built as recently as 1946. Although highly successful, the K was unsuitable for potential conversion from 5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm) broad gauge to 4 ft 8½ in (1,435 mm) standard gauge in the event of the Victorian network being standardised, and VR policy was for all new locomotives to be engineered for easy conversion.³ As such, the building of further K class was not a desirable option.

With mainline electric and diesel-electric locomotives already on order, Victorian Railways' design team opted for an updated, gauge-convertible K class as what would turn out to be their final steam locomotive design.

Design Features

The key problem with the K class design was the placement of the firebox between the locomotive's frames and rear driving wheels, making conversion to a narrower gauge impossible without radical redesign of the firebox. A previous attempt to develop a gauge convertible K class, the N class, utilised a 2-8-2 wheel arrangement and positioned the firebox above the frames and behind the driving wheels. However, the extra length of these locomotives (they were a total 67 ft long) made them unsuitable for a number of branch lines where only a 50 or 53-foot (16 m) turntable was available.

The J class adopted an alternative approach to the problem by utilising a high-set boiler (with the boiler centre 9 ft 2½ in above rail level,⁴ compared with 8 ft 4 in (2.5 m) for the K class⁵) setting the firebox above the frames and driving wheels, and retaining the K class' short wheelbase.

The J class also featured a number of other design advances over the K class. It had a larger grate, enabling grate sections to be compatible with those of the N class and permitting an increase in firebox volume sufficient to allow two arch tubes to be installed.⁶ Another innovation was the use of a regulator valve incorporating a centrifugal steam separator (to draw away any water and thus provide the driest steam), rather than the simpler (though extremely reliable) D regulator valve used in the K class.⁶ The J class also featured substantially redesigned cylinder porting to improve steam flow and efficiency.⁷ The innovative SCOA-P type driving wheel centre developed for the Victorian Railways R class was adapted for the 55 in diameter J class drivers.

The high-set boiler, together with the German-style smoke deflectors, gave the J class a distinctly European appearance.³

Production

A total of fifty J class locomotives were initially ordered from the Vulcan Foundry in Lancashire, England. However, VR reassessed its motive power requirements and opted to sell ten of its brand-new, second generation N class locomotives to the South Australian Railways, and increased the J class order to sixty locomotives.⁸

With fluctuating oil prices and an unreliable supply of coal in the early 1950s, the VR appeared to take something of a bet either way, ordering thirty of the class as coal burners and thirty as oil burners.³

By the time the contract for the J class had been awarded, the VR had already begun to receive deliveries of the B class mainline diesel-electric locomotives from GM-EMD licencee Clyde Engineering. The B class locomotives proved to be a great success, such that the VR unsuccessfully attempted to cancel the J class contract in favour of an order for EMD branch line diesel locomotives.⁶

Regular Service

The J class was introduced for both passenger and goods traffic on Victoria's branch line network, with a maximum permissible speed of 45 mph (72 km/h), later raised to 50 mph (80 km/h). Dynamometer tests showed the locomotive developed 930 hp (694 kW) at the drawbar at around 20-25 mph (32-40 km/h), which suited the relatively low speed limits of much of the Victorian branch line network.⁶

Coal-fired J class locomotives were the regular engine on the 9:00am Melbourne to Yarram passenger service, with other duties being from Lilydale to Warburton and local services from Spencer Street to Werribee. The oil-fired J was also pressed into service hauling the final leg of the Gippslander express from Sale to Bairnsdale. In their later years J class locomotives also ran the Horsham to Dimboola leg of the morning service from Melbourne, among the last regular steam-hauled passenger trains in Victoria.⁶

Although the J class produced the same nominal tractive effort as the K or N class, they had a slightly higher adhesive weight (and as such a better factor of adhesion) and were permitted to haul heavier loads on gradients.⁹ They could be found in goods service on branch lines across the state, but were also found on mainlines running roadside goods services.⁶

However, within a year of the J's introduction, the T class (EMD G8) diesel electric locomotive was also introduced. Although VR did not publicly indicate the T was intended to replace the J class,¹⁰ it proved to be such a successful design that further orders of this locomotive class were made during the late 1950s and 1960s, gradually displacing the J class from many of its normal duties.

Design Improvements

Together with the K and N classes, the J class had its boiler pressure raised in the early 1960s from 175 psi (1,207 kPa) to 180 psi (1,241 kPa)⁶, which raised their nominal tractive effort to 29,500 lbf (131 kN).

Locomotive J 546 was selected for installation of a Laidlaw Drew oil firing system in place of the convention weir-type burner following recommendations from the 1957 Australian and New Zealand Railway Conference. However, the locomotive was found to steam poorly under load using the system and was converted back to weir burner operation, with no further locomotives converted.⁶

Demise

By the late 1960s the J class was largely relegated to shunting at various country yards, with many losing their cowcatchers and gaining shunter's steps on the tender sides. The introduction of the Y class (EMD G6B) diesel electrics saw the J class superseded in this role, and in November 1967, J 523 became the first J class to be scrapped.¹¹ Scrappings continued until June 1978, with J 538 the last to go.¹¹ J 550 holds the distinction of being the very last steam of locomotive in normal revenue service on Victorian Railways, being rostered on the 6:00am Bendigo pilot on 25 May 1972.⁸

Preservation

The J class lasted as a complete class later than any other VR steam locomotive. By the time that scrapping commenced, interest in railway preservation was sufficient for eleven examples to be preserved.¹²

Operational

Static

J 556 (wearing the historically significant plates of scrapped J 559, the last steam locomotive to enter service on the VR) is preserved at the ARHS North Williamstown Railway Museum.

References

^ "ARHS Railway Museum: History 1950 - 2000". Retrieved on 2006-12-31.
^ "Victorian Goldfields Railway Steam Locomotives". Retrieved on 2006-11-11.
^ ^a ^b ^c Pearce; et al (1980). North Williamstown Railway Museum, Third Edition, Melbourne: ARHS, p.14. ISBN 0-85849-018-8.
^ "DIAGRAM J CLASS STEAM LOCOMOTIVE (VPRS 12903/P1 Box 470/01)". Public Record Office Victoria. Retrieved on 2006-12-31.
^ "DRAWING OF K CLASS STEAM LOCOMOTIVE (VPRS 12903/P1 Box 85/03)". Public Record Office Victoria. Retrieved on 2006-12-31.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h David Barnett (November 2008). "J Class in Profile". Victorian Goldfields Railway Members Newsletter (Victorian Goldfields Railway): pp. 3-6.
^ "The New J Class". The Victorian Railways Newsletter: pp.4–5. May 1954, http://www.victorianrailways.net/motive%20power/jsteam.html. Retrieved on 31 December 2006.
^ ^a ^b "J class steam locomotives". victorianrailways.net. Retrieved on 2006-12-31.
^ Carlisle, R M & Abbott, R L (1985). Hudson Power. ARHS, p.36. ISBN 0-85849-028-5.
^ "And now the T's". The Victorian Railways Newsletter: p.3. October 1955, http://www.victorianrailways.net/motive%20power/articles/tart.jpg. Retrieved on 1 January 2007.
^ ^a ^b Dee; et al (1981). Power Parade. Melbourne: VicRail Public Relations Division, p.35. ISBN 0-7241-3323-2.
^ "VICSIG - Locomotives - J Class Steam". Retrieved on 2006-12-31.
^ "WORK DAYS, PROGRESS & NEWS". web.archive.org. Retrieved on 2007-01-01.
^ MINISTER FOR TRANSPORT (2001-02-08). "GIVING MORE STEAM TO VICTORIA’S RAILWAYS" (pdf) (in English). Press release. Retrieved on 2007-04-29.
^ "SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING OF THE COLAC-OTWAY SHIRE COUNCIL" (pdf) (2004-08-31). Retrieved on 2007-04-29.

Victorian Railways J class.html

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