Victorian Railways R class

Victorian Railways R class
Victorian Railways publicity photograph of R 701, 1951
Type and origin Power type Steam Builder North British Locomotive Company, Glasgow
Specifications Configuration: ​  • Whyte 4-6-4 Gauge 5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm) 766 converted from 5' 3" (Broad Gauge) to 4' 8.5" (Standard Gauge) Driver dia. 73 in (1,854 mm) Length 77 ft 3+1⁄4 in (23.55 m) Axle load 19 long tons 10 cwt (43,700 lb or 19.8 t) Adhesive weight 50 long tons 10 cwt (113,100 lb or 51.3 t) Loco weight 107 long tons 12 cwt (241,000 lb or 109.3 t) Tender weight 79 long tons 16 cwt (178,800 lb or 81.1 t) Total weight 187 long tons 8 cwt (419,800 lb or 190.4 t) Tender cap. 6 long tons 0 cwt (13,400 lb or 6.1 t) coal 9,000 imp gal (40,915 L; 10,809 US gal) water Firebox: ​  • Grate area 42 sq ft (3.9 m2) Boiler pressure 210 psi (1.45 MPa) Heating surface 2,705 sq ft (251.3 m2) Cylinders 2 Cylinder size 21.5 in × 28 in (546 mm × 711 mm)
Performance figures Power output 1,840 hp (1,372 kW) at 37.5 mph (60.4 km/h) Tractive effort 32,080 lbf (142.7 kN) at 85% boiler pressure
Career Number in class 70 Preserved 7

The R class was an express passenger steam locomotive that ran on Australia's Victorian Railways (VR) from 1951 to 1974. A long overdue replacement for the 1907-era A2 class 4-6-0, their development and construction was repeatedly delayed due to financial constraints caused by the Great Depression and later the manpower and materials shortages of World War II and the immediate postwar period.

Orders eventually totalling 70 locomotives were placed with the North British Locomotive Company of Glasgow. Once initial teething problems were overcome, R class locomotives proved to be a success and their power and speed enabled faster timetabled services. However, they were almost immediately superseded by mainline diesel-electric and electric locomotives on the Victorian Railways from 1952 onwards. With successive orders of diesel-electric locomotives through the 1950s and 1960s gradually displacing them, all but seven of the class were withdrawn and cut up for scrap.

Four of the remaining locomotives were later restored to operating condition between 1984 and 1998. These have seen use ranging from hauling special heritage train services through to substituting for modern diesel-electric locomotives on regular intercity rail services run by V/Line and West Coast Railway. Another surviving example, number R 704, was originally displayed at the Festival of Britain in 1951 and is now on permanent display at the Newport Railway Museum in Newport, Victoria.