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3620 Bellarine Railway |
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3620 working upgrade to Kuranda on
a Cairns Kuranda Steam Railway service, 20 August 2004.
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Builder |
Glasgow |
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Builder’s Number & Year |
26332 of 1949 |
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Wheel Arrangement |
2-8-4 |
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No. in class |
100 |
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No.3620 is
an ex-South African Railways Class 24 locomotive, a class of 100 modern steam
locomotives built by North British and delivered between 1948 and 1949 to
replace ageing locos on lightly-laid branch lines. Following retirement,
No.3620 was purchased from the South African Railways by a New Zealander,
together with several other South African steam locos. These locos were
imported to New Zealand and housed at the old steam loco depot at Parnell,
Auckland from approximately 1996. No.3620
was transported to Australia in January 2001 for operation on the Cairns
Kuranda Steam Train service, which provided a steam-hauled tourist train to
the well-known market town of Kuranda, competing with the regular Queensland
Rail diesel-hauled service. The photos on this page date from a very
enjoyable trip the webmaster experienced on the Cairns Kuranda Steam Train on
20 August 2004; No.3620 performed faultlessly that day on the steep grades
and tight corners of the mountain-climbing line to Kuranda, conditions
identical to the South African routes it was designed for. From a
steam locomotive design perspective, No.3620 is notable as the only
locomotive preserved in Australia with the Berkshire (2-8-4) wheel
arrangement. It is also the only Australian example of a Vanderbilt tender;
this design features a cylindrical water tank and was relatively common in
the USA. In 2003,
No.3620 was converted from coal firing to instead burn waste oil. Apart from
environmental benefits, conversion to waste oil firing may also have
reflected the high cost of supplying locomotive coal to Cairns! During its
time on Cairns-Kuranda Steam Train service, No.3620 also carried the number
0401 because the original South African Railways number 3620 is in the range
allocated by Queensland Rail (QR) to electric locomotives, while a block of
QR numbers starting at 0401 is reserved for privately owned steam locos. Alas the
Cairns Kuranda Steam Train service finished after a few years and No.3620 /
0401 and its train were placed in storage at the Cairns Kuranda Steam Train
depot in Cairns. While nominally operational, I understand No.3620 has not
steamed since 2005. UPDATE: On 9 March
2020, No.3620 moved to a new base at Point Lonsdale, Victoria. I understand
it remains in the ownership of the New Zealand individual and is intended to
be used on the QTrain,
a restaurant train service which operates on the Bellarine Railway
using modern ex-QR ‘Sunlander’ rollingstock. More
recent photographs show that No.3620 has since entered service at the
Bellarine Railway. 3647 As an
aside, an article in the North British Locomotive Preservation Group
newsletter of August 2010 reported they had sold sister South African
Railways Class 24 loco No.3647 to an Australian representing the ‘National
Locomotive Company of Australia’ with the implication it was planned for export
to Australia. As at 2020, I understand No.3647
remains stored at Germiston Locomotive Depot, South Africa; I would
appreciate any further information about No.3647 and plans for this loco. |
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3620 (with the second number ‘0401’ on the front buffer) at Barron Falls station, en-route to Kuranda, on 20 August 2004.
Barron Falls station offers an impressive view over the eponymous waterfall nearby.
Joel Turner contributed this more recent view of 3620 in its running shed at Cairns on 13 May 2013.
The number 0401 has been removed from the
buffer beam as QR electric loco 3620 had by then been converted to 3520!
Comparison with the photo above shows the
bell has been removed and the headlight move above the smokebox.
The blast-pipe petticoat appears to be sitting on the front
running board.
3620 (aka 0401) sparkles in the morning sunshine while
awaiting departure from Freshwater station. 20 August 2004.
Cabside featuring the North British ‘diamond’ builder’s
plate; a gem indeed.
View of the cab revealing the raked front plate (similar to
the WAGR W-class); I believe this was intended to reduce heat in the cab.
References
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a |
Dulez,
J.A., ‘Railways of Southern Africa 150 years’, Published
by VIDRAIL Productions, 2012 |
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b |
Information
provided by C. Malone via email, 11
December 2001 |
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c |
North
British Locomotive Preservation Group (NBLPG) – |
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d |
North
British Locomotive Preservation Group (NBLPG) Website, retrieved
14 August 2010. |
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e |
Wikipedia
page for South African Class 24 2-8-4, Retrieved
6 June 2020. |
Page updated: 11 June 2023
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Government Railways: |
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