Queensland A10 Neilson class locomotive

The Queensland Railways A10 Neilson class locomotive was a class of 0-4-2 steam locomotives operated by the Queensland Railways.

Queensland Railways A10 Neilson class
N° 3 on display for the Railway Pageant
at Ipswich in 1936
Type and origin
Power typeSteam
BuilderNeilson and Company
Serial number1167-1170, 1208-1215, 1244
Specifications
Configuration:
 • Whyte0-4-2
Gauge1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Driver dia.3 ft 0 in (914 mm)
Loco weight13.6 long tons (15.2 short tons; 13.8 t)
Tender weight9.35 long tons (10.5 short tons; 9.50 t)
Fuel typeCoal
Fuel capacity2.5 long tons (2.80 short tons; 2.54 t)
Water cap.560 imp gal (2,500 L; 670 US gal)
Boiler pressure120 lbf/in2 (827 kPa)
Cylinders2 outside
Cylinder size10 in × 18 in (254 mm × 457 mm)
Performance figures
Tractive effort4,800 lbf (21.4 kN)
Career
OperatorsQueensland Railways
Numbers2-14
Preserved3, 6
Disposition2 preserved, 11 scrapped

History edit

 
N° 6 on its first trip after restoration 1991
 
N° 6 on its first post-restoration trip, 1991
 
N°6 at the Workshops Rail Museum in 2011

Overview edit

The A10 Neilson class comprised 13 locomotives. Eight were built in 1865 and 1866 by Neilson and Company, Glasgow for the Southern & Western Railway operating out of Ipswich and another four for the Central Railway operating out of Rockhampton. One engine was also constructed for Peto, Brassey and Betts, a railway contractor building the line to Toowoomba. This was later purchased by the Queensland Railway in 1876. All engines were fitted with injectors instead of feed pumps when built. All of the Central Railway examples were later transferred to the Southern & Western Railway.[1][2]

4D10 tank engine conversions edit

Four engines were converted to 4D10 class 2-4-4T tank engines between 1887 and 1890.[2]

20th century edit

Five engines survived the turn of the century although four of them were written off in 1902. N°3 continued in use shunting Bowen Jetty until 1914. It was then stored at North Ipswich Railway Workshops and restored to working order for the Railway Pageant in 1936. Afterwards it was preserved near Countess Street in Roma Street railway yard before being moved to Queen's Park at Ipswich in 1959. In the 1980s it moved to the North Ipswich Railway Workshops.[2]

N°6 was sold to Gibson & Howes in 1896 for use on their Wattawa line. It was reboilered in 1955 and continued to serve the company until 1965 when it was steamed from Bundaberg to Brisbane for the Queensland Railways Centenary Celebrations, operating a reenactment of the first Queensland Railways service from Ipswich to Grandchester. It was retained in operational condition until 1969 when placed on display at the Redbank Locomotive Museum. In 1988, the Australian Railway Historical Society commenced a restoration of the locomotive with it being returned to traffic in May 1991 and today is part the Queensland Rail Heritage Fleet at the Workshops Rail Museum.[1][3][4]

Class list edit

Works
number
Southern & Western Railway
number
Central Railway
number
Queensland Railway
number
Year built Notes
1167 5 5 1865
1168 4 4 1865
1169 7 7 1865 converted to 4D10
1170 6 6 1865 preserved at the Workshops Rail Museum
1208 9 1866 converted to 4D10
1209 10 10 1866 converted to 4D10
1210 11 1866 converted to 4D10
1211 12 12 1866
1212 2 2 2 1866
1213 13 1 13 1866
1214 3 3 3 1866 preserved at the Workshops Rail Museum
1215 14 4 14 1866
1244 8 8 1866

Preservation edit

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b Armstrong, John (1985). Locomotives in the Tropics Volume 1. Brisbane: Australian Railway Historical Society. pp. 16, 95. ISBN 0 909937 13 3.
  2. ^ a b c Oberg, Leon (2010). Locomotives of Australia 1850s-2010. Dural: Rosenberg Publishing. pp. 26/27. ISBN 9781921719011.
  3. ^ Clark, Peter (2012). An Australian Locomotive Guide. Rosenberg Publishing. p. 32. ISBN 9781921719554.
  4. ^ a b Information Sheet: Class A10 No. 6 Workshops Rail Museum
  5. ^ A10 No 3 Australian Steam
  6. ^ A10 No 6 Australian Steam

External links edit

  Media related to Queensland A10 class locomotives at Wikimedia Commons