|
|
G 33 Bellarine Railway |
|
Australian Standard Garratt G 33 in three segments, as
recently delivered to the Bellarine Railway, Queenscliff.
The rear bunker and engine unit had already been dismantled
for overhaul to commence. 10 October 2013.
|
Builder |
Victorian Railways, Newport Workshops |
|
Builder’s Number & Year |
Built
1943 |
|
Wheel Arrangement |
4-8-2 + 2-8-4 |
|
The
Australian Standard Garratt (ASG) was proposed and designed by the
Commonwealth Land Transport Board in 1942 in response to the urgent need for
powerful locomotives for the nation’s 3' 6”-gauge railways during World War 2.
The design team was supervised by the Western Australian Government Railways
(WAGR) Chief Mechanical Engineer Mr. F. Mills - and to the webmaster’s eye, the
ASG bears similarity to his contemporary WAGR S-class 4-8-2 locomotives including
the distinctive boiler cowling. Sixty-five ASG locomotives were authorised
for production with the components assembled at several Australian workshops: Newport Workshops (Vic) - 16 Islington Workshops (SA) - 12 Clyde Engineering (NSW) - 27 Midland Workshops (WA) - 10 The first
ASG locomotives were in steam within 12 months of design starting, reflecting
the wartime emergency conditions in which the class was conceived. They were
immediately put into service with initial success, providing significant
additional motive power for the heavy wartime traffic. However, it seems that
aspects of the design were too rushed as flaws emerged and in time the ASGs
became very unpopular with crews. Indeed, the ASG locomotives were subject to
strike action and a Royal Commission in WA. Construction ceased in December
1945 with 57 units assembled and most were destined for relatively short working
lives. ASG
locomotives found use across Australia's 3' 6”-gauge railways, with a number changing
ownership for further service after the war years: ·
25 ASG locomotives worked for the Western Australian
Government Railways. These received modifications following the 1945 Royal
Commission but were replaced by the more modern W and V-class steam
locomotives and first-generation diesels, with the last withdrawn in 1957. ·
6 ASG locomotives were acquired from the WAGR by the
South Australian Railways as a stopgap on heavy Cockburn (Broken Hill) - Port
Pirie ore trains, pending the arrival of the 400-class 4-8-2 + 2-8-4
Beyer-Garratts. These ASGs were condemned in early 1956. ·
23 ASG locomotives worked for a time in Queensland but
were quickly withdrawn at the end of World War 2 and spent most of their time
on storage sidings while awaiting a buyer. The excellent history of the
Queensland Garratt and other articulated locomotives ‘Crimson Giants’
includes a poignant series of photographs showing the Queensland ASG
locomotives stored, boarded up and unwanted, at Mayne and Rocklea in the 1946
- 1950 period. Some were later sold to Tasmanian Government Railways, others
to the Emu Bay Railway but the balance were scrapped in the 1950s. One was
scrapped having never turned a wheel. ·
14 ASG locomotives worked for the Tasmanian Government
Railways. One of the
more successful users of the ASG was the privately owned Emu Bay Railway in
Tasmania, which purchased a number and made several improvements.
Interestingly these ASGs replaced three earlier Beyer Peacock 4-8-2 + 2-8-4
locomotives which had been supplied in 1929. The lucky
survivor of the ASG fleet is G 33, which was being assembled at the Victorian
Railways Newport Workshops in 1945 for either WA or Tasmania when the war
ended and the ASG project stopped. Australian Portland Cement Limited were in
the market for a new loco for their Fyansford cement works and were
sufficiently interested to buy G 33 and have Newport make modifications,
particularly to the brakes (converted from vacuum to air), buffer beams and
drawgear to suit their requirements before taking delivery in late 1945. G 33
became the last ASG in existence following the scrapping of the Emu Bay
Railway’s ASG locomotives in 1966. It last steamed in 1968 during a fan trip
to the Fyansford cement works. Fortunately,
G 33 was among six steam locomotives donated for preservation by Australian
Portland Cement, following closure of their limestone haulage railway in
1966. G 33 is now named 'Albert Gunsser' after a regular driver at Australian
Portland Cement. G 33 moved
to the ARHS Railway Museum at North Williamstown in 1968, being delivered by
road in 3 lorry loads. It was displayed at North Williamstown for many years,
wearing either unlined grey livery (as applied at the Fyansford works) or
plain unlined black livery. After more
than 42 years displayed at North Williamstown, G 33 moved to the Bellarine
Railway in 2011 as the first step towards a return to steam; apparently it is
in generally good condition, and repair is understood to be relatively easy.
My visit to the Bellarine Railway on 10 October 2013 found restoration work
on the rear engine unit underway. The ‘Get G 33 Moving’ appeal was launched and
restoration progress updates can be found on the ‘G-33
Fundraising and Progress’ social media page, with great progress evident.
(The Bellarine Railway also has a WAGR S-class 4-8-2 loco S 547 in store; the two would make an interesting comparison
side by side!) Several
other ASG remains are scattered throughout the country: ·
In Tasmania, an ASG
boiler survives following a period of static industrial use. In addition,
the TGR adopted ASG water tanks for stationary use as loco supplies and 4
such tanks are stored at the Don River Railway's workshops. ASG driving
wheels were also redeployed to four members of the M-class to create the MA
class (see MA 1). ·
In Queensland some forward and rear water tanks
apparently found use in council road works projects! A front ASG water tank can be seen at the
Rosewood Railway Museum, while a second example is stored at The Workshops
Museum, Ipswich. ·
In Western Australia, several ASG boilers survive after
being adapted for static steam raising; two remain at the former WAGR Midland
Workshops and a third is located at the Yarloop (sawmill) Workshops. A bunker
is also reported to survive at Northam. ·
In Victoria, Australian Portland Cement also purchased
the bogies and certain other components of unassembled locos
G 34 and G 35, which were used to create various railway vehicles, some of
which survive at the Bellarine Railway. A spare ASG boiler is also held in
store at Laker's Siding. Adrian
Gunzberg provides a good account of the ASG’s in his authorative book ‘A
history of WAGR steam locomotives’. In addition, ‘Crimson Giants’ provides
the ASG story from the Queensland perspective, together with the more
successful Beyer-Peacock 4-8-2 + 2-8-4 locomotives which superseded them (as
represented in preservation by 1009). |
A second view of G 33 as newly delivered to the Bellarine
Railway at Queenscliff. 10 October 2013.
A scanned photo print showing G 33 displayed in black
livery at the ARHS North Williamstown museum in May 1986.
G 33 'Albert A Gunsser' on display at the North
Williamstown railway museum on 4th December 1994.
It appears to have recently been
repainted into the unlined grey livery worn at the Fyansford cement work.
This view was kindly contributed by Tony Bartlett.
The front engine unit showing the distinctive ASG welded
water tank. 10 October 2013.
This view of the ASG boiler unit shows one of the key
advantages of the Garratt principle - the ability to accommodate a wide, deep
firebox.
The boiler skyline casing was considered
modern at the time but an unlikely extravagance for a locomotive designed under
wartime austerity.
The contemporary WAGR S-class 4-8-2 locomotives shared this
design feature.
The central boiler unit as delivered to Queenscliff.
The nameplate 'Albert A Gunsser’ honours a popular driver
at the Fyansford cement works.
G 33's coal bunker, lifted clear of the
rear engine unit.
G 33's cab.
Detail of the cylinder on G 33's rear engine unit.
A detail view of the front engine unit, showing the
bifurcated spokes on the ASG driving wheels.
The driving wheels are the same dimension as the WAGR
S-class; perhaps the design & pattern was re-used.
G 33's cabside plates show the Commonwealth Land Transport
Board parentage of the Australian Standard Garratt locomotives.
The four-wheel bogie from G 33's rear engine unit,
dismantled for overhaul.
This spare ASG boiler is held by the Bellarine Railway in
storage at their Lakers Siding depot.
I
The spare boiler’s front tubeplate reveals the superheater
flue tubes & firetubes, showing ASG engines had a 4-row superheater.
The ASG shows some similarity to the contemporary WAGR
S-class design, also developed by WAGR engineer F. Mills.
Phil Melling contributed this view of S 549
on railtour duty at Dowerin on 10 December 2006.
The distinctive boiler cowling can be
seen; originally this extended the full length of the boiler.
Cylinder, bogie and bifurcated driving wheel details are visually
like the ASG design.
An ASG traverses a temporary pigsty
bridge in Western Australia, presumably following a washaway after heavy rain.
Date unknown
Image used with permission of
the Rail Heritage WA archive:
http://railheritagewa.org.au/archive_scans/displayimage.php?pid=2970
(Image reference P06362, original
photographer – unknown.)
An ASG awaiting scrapping on the
WAGR Midland Workshops graveyard tracks. Date unknown.
Image used with permission of the Rail Heritage WA archive:
http://railheritagewa.org.au/archive_scans/displayimage.php?pid=11807
(Image reference T03198, original
photographer – R. Moss.)
References
|
a |
A. Gunzburg
'A history of WAGR steam locomotives', published by
ARHS (Western Australian Division) 1984. |
|
b |
West A. M.,
'Crimson Giants - The Articulated Steam Locomotives of Queensland Rail' published by
the Australian Railway Historical Society, Queensland Division, 1995. |
|
c |
Fluck R.
E., Sampson R., & Bird K. J. 'Steam
locomotives and Railcars of the South Australian Railways', published by
The Mile End Railway Museum (SA) Inc, 1986. |
Page updated: 27 May 2026
|
Government Railways: |
|
|||||||||
|
Private & Industrial Railways: |
|