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A2 986 Former Park loco, restored to mainline operation by Steamrail |
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My visit to the Steamrail Victoria depot at Newport
Workshops on 10 May 2003 found A2 986 fully dismantled for overhaul.
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A2 986 is
one of 60 ‘A2 Walschaerts’ 4-6-0 express passenger engines built at Newport
Workshops from 1915 to 1922 following the success of 125 earlier ‘A1 class’
(later A2 Stephenson) locomotives. The A2 Walschaerts engines were
constructed to an improved design featuring superheated boilers, outside
Walschaerts valve gear, increased cylinder diameter and higher boiler pressure.
A2 986 was constructed at Newport Workshops in 1915 and was one of only 5
class members (Nos. 944, 948, 964, 986 and 992) fitted with the innovative
and distinctive Boxpok
wheels. The A2
class were displaced during the 1950's by the 70 newly delivered R-class
4-6-4's and the growing fleet of diesel-electric locomotives. A2 986 was the
very last A2 in service when withdrawn in December 1963. It was written off
by the Victorian Railways in January 1964 but fortunately saved for
preservation, being plinthed in a Warragul park. A2 986
remained plinthed at Warragul until 1986, when acquired for restoration by
Steamrail Victoria under a swap arrangement whereby J 550 was plinthed at
Warragul in its place. (J 550 has also
since moved from Warragul.) A2 986
moved from Warragul to the Steamrail Victoria depot at Newport Workshops for
restoration, where it was stripped down to the frames. After many years of a
slow but thorough overhaul by Steamrail volunteers spanning 31 years, A2 986
had its first team test in February 2014 and has since been released for
main-line traffic on enthusiast tours and charter trips. The locomotive
received the name ‘Spirit of Warragul’ from the Mayor of Warragul in a naming
ceremony at Warragul Station on 13 May 2017, a fitting recognition of Warragul’s
role in A2 986’s original preservation and subsequent restoration. Here are
three YouTube videos showing stages in A2 986’s return to the mainline: · A2 986 in
steam for the first time since 1963 during its steam test at Newport
Workshops, including the ‘red steam’ moment when steam first rushes through
the passages to the cylinders, flushing out rust and dust. · A second video
showing A2
986 on trial runs in Newport Yard, still in works grey primer (including
nice cab shots). ·
A third video of the restored A2 986's
Official Return to service (now wearing black livery), including some nice speed run pasts on the loco’s run
to and from its naming ceremony at Warragul station. Further
information and photographs for A2 986 can be found on the Steamrail Victoria
website. |
A rear view of A2 986 stripped to the frames at Newport
Workshops on 10 May 2003.
Since then it has been extensively overhauled and
reassembled, with a successful steam test on 26 February 2014.
A view of A2 986's Boxpok wheels, taken at Newport
Workshops on 30 November 1996.
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a |
‘A brief history of Preserved Rolling Stock
of Victoria’ by Norm Bray, Peter J Vincent and Daryl M Gregory. Published by Brief History Books, PO Box 437,
Sunbury, Vic 3429. |
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b |
ARHS (Victorian Division) 'North Williamstown
Railway Museum', Third Edition 1968, revised 1977, reprinted
1980. |
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c |
‘Locomotives of Australia - 1985 to 2010’ (Fifth Edition), by
Leon Oberg, published 2010 by Rosenberg Publishing Pty
Ltd. |
Page updated: 19 February 2023
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