Victorian Railways T class (diesel)

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Victorian Railways T Class
Victorian Railways T Class
Restored in their original livery, T357 (High cab) leads T320 (Flat top) on a railfan tour
Power type General Motors EMD
Builder Clyde Engineering.
Granville, New South Wales.
Configuration Bo - Bo
Top speed 100 km/h
Number in class 95
Number T320 - T413

The Victorian Railways T class diesel electric locomotive are a small branch line and shunting unit built by Clyde Engineering (now EDI Rail). They were the most numerous class of diesel locomotives in the state.[1]

[edit] Subtypes

The class can be divided into three main styles by appearance, and into further groups by the design drawings and equipment fitted.

  • Flat tops: T 320 - T 346 & 413 (first order). Based upon an EMD export locomotive design, this order had a low cab and roof. T413 was built for use on the private 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) Fyansford Cement Works Railway near Geelong, but was later sold to the VR.
  • High cabs: T 347 - T 356 and T 357 - T 366 (second and third orders). They differed from the flat tops by having a high cab but were mechanically similar. The 3rd order had an altered radiator design.
  • Low nose: T 367 - T 398 and T 399 to T 412 (fourth and fifth orders). The fourth order introduced a new low nose that provided greater driver visibility, and a more modern generator. The fifth order introduced the newer EMD 645E engine, replacing the older EMD 567 used before.

The H class diesel electric locomotive were part of the fifth T class order,[2] but had additional equipment fitted resulting in their recoding.

[edit] Today

Low nose T381 in Southern Shorthaul Railroad livery
Low nose T381 in Southern Shorthaul Railroad livery

The major operator of T class locomotives today is Pacific National, with mainly low nose locos. The majority of the flat tops have been rebuilt into the P class, with the remainder preserved.

A large number of the high cabs and low nose class were withdrawn from service in the late 1980s and early 1990s, with some scrapped, and the remainder sold to current and former private operators including Chicago Freight Car Leasing Australia, El Zorro, Great Northern Rail Services, Southern Shorthaul Railroad, Specialised Container Transport, and West Coast Railway. A number of T classes are also used on tourist railways throughout the state.

[edit] References

Preserved T 413, originally delivered as a 1067 mm narrow-gauge locomotive but later converted to 1600 mm broad gauge operation.
Preserved T 413, originally delivered as a 1067 mm narrow-gauge locomotive but later converted to 1600 mm broad gauge operation.
  1. ^ Railmac Publications (1992). Australian Fleetbooks: V/Line locomotives. Kitchner Press. ISBN 0 949817 76 7. 
  2. ^ victorianrailways.net - H class diesel electric locomotives


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