Tasmanian Locomotives

The early railways of Tasmania were constructed by a number of private companies, rather than owned by the Government. Steam transport began earnestly in June 1869, when the contractors began hauling ballast from a quarry in Invermay. On 19 August 1869, the first "ride-on-rails" excursion took place between Jingler's Valley and Launceston, giving residents their first experiences with train travel. By 1890, as a result of take-overs, the Tasmanian Government had created an official public railway service. All Tasmanian railways were relaid or newly constructed in 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) gauge.

Steam - Tasmania

Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company ABT locomotives

Four ABT locomotives were built for the Mt Lyell Mining Company by Dubs and Company, Glasgow, Scotland and entered service between 1896 and 1901. A fifth locomotive entered service in 1938. The 35 km railway carted minerals from the Queenstown mine to Strahan for shipment overseas. The terrain between Queenstown and Strahan comprises steep, rain-forest covered ridges and fast flowing rivers and the construction of a conventional railway would have been expensive and very difficult. Two rack sections of track used the ABT system, which comprised a pair of toothed rails mounted midway between the conventional 3’6" rails.

The West Coast Wilderness Railway had three of the five former Mount Lyell ABT locomotives (1, 3 and 5) ebuilt for use on the West Coast Wilderness Railway and they are once again hauling trains between Queenstown and Strahan. ABT No.2 was obtained by the Tasmanian Transport Museum, Glenorchy, as static exhibit and is currently the only engine in original 1960s condition.

TGR C Class

Between 1885 and 1892, 19 of what was a worldwide standard loco were obtained by the TGR to operate on the proliferation of light lines then under construction. Eight more locos were added to the class between 1901 and 1907. In 1937, C28 was purchased from the Public Works Department, this loco having been built as EBR number 10 in 1908.

All the C class were built by Beyer, Peacock & Company of England. Configuration: 2-6-0. Location of preserved examples: Don River Railway, Devonport, Tas (2 examples); Tasmanian Transport Museum, Glenorchy, Tas (operational); West Coast Pioneers Museum, Zeehan, Tas.

TGR G Class Garratt

There were four types of 3’6" gauge garratt locomotives operated in Tasmania. The first two types were the TGR’s 1912-built L and M class locos. Both classes were built by Beyer, Peacock and Company of Manchester, England and shared many features. The Australian Standard Garratt (ASG) locomotive was designed by the Commonwealth Land Transport Board. The ASG was to be a suitable narrow gauge locomotive aimed at easing a chronic shortage of motive power on the various state 3’6" gauge systems, which was a result of the advent of World War 2.

Sixty-five ASG locos were built in 1943–44 by railway workshops in South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia, and by Clyde Engineering in Sydney. Most of the locos operated in Queensland and Western Australia, with eight units assigned to the TGR as their G glass. While none are preserved in Tasmania, an ASG boiler survives at the New Norfolk depot of the Derwent Valley Railway,

TGR Q Class

In 1922, the TGR obtained the first of what was to eventually grow to a class of 19 heavy goods engines. The six Q class 4-8-2 locomotives and the four similar R class pacifics were ordered from Perry Engineering, of South Australia, and both types were to take the heavier mainline workings from the smaller locos that were more common at the time.

A second batch, of three locos, was obtained from Walkers Engineering of Queensland in 1929. A third order, this time of six locos was later obtained from Clyde Engineering of NSW. A final batch of four was ordered from Clyde in 1940, but due to the Second World War, only two locos were in service by 1944. The TGR completed the assembly on the final two locos in 1945, from parts supplied by Clyde.

TGR M/MA Class

The M class were built by Robert Stephenson & Hawthorn in 1952, and were based on the Indian and Burmese YB classes. The class initially worked trains of all types over the major lines mostly in the north of the state, although most of their use was on passenger and mixed trains.

Due to the ongoing reduction in passenger services, in 1957/58 four locomotives had their 4' 7" driving wheels replaced with surplus 4' 0" Australian Standard Garratt wheels and were reclassified MA. All ten of the locomotives have been preserved to some extent, with four locomotives having seen further service.

TGR R Class Streamlined

The Tasmanian Government Railways R class was a class of 4-6-2 steam locomotives operated by the Tasmanian Government Railways. In 1923, the Tasmanian Government Railways took delivery of four 4-6-2 locomotives from Perry Engineering, Gawler as replacements for the A class. They operated on the Western, Derwent Valley, Main and Fingal lines.

In the late 1930s, R3 and R4 were fitted with streamlining similar to the Victorian Railways S class Pacifics for operation of Hobart to Launceston expresses. This was removed in the late 1940s. All were withdrawn in 1956-1957 due to a reorganisation of timetable to allow better use of the X Class diesels, much newer M class steam engines and DP 'diesel patrol' railcars. After a period in storage in Launceston yard, due to their worn out condition and redundancy all was scrapped by the early 1960s, sadly none were preserved.