K 183

Steamrail Victoria

 

This photograph is kindly provided by Gordon Ross and shows K 183 at Nyora.

The locomotive is wearing an attractive blue livery.

K 183 was built by the Victorian Railways' Newport Workshops in 1943 to the successful K-class 2-8-0 locomotive design for branch-line work. A total of 53 K-class locomotives were constructed for branch-line duties, with a significant number retained in storage or for workshop shunting duties towards to end of steam traction on the Victorian Railways. 21 K-class locomotives have survived into preservation.

K 183 had been plinthed in a park at Yarragon. In 1982 the locomotive unit was swapped for worn-out sister K 162 and restored for main-line excursions by Steamrail Victoria. It was normally shedded at Newport Workshops.

K 183 was damaged in a tragic accident on Sunday 13 October 2002, killing three of the footplate crew and severely injuring a fourth. The accident occurred outside Benalla, when a B-Double semi-trailer failed to clear a level crossing. The victims were leading members of the Victorian railway preservation scene. K 183 has since been stored damaged at Newport Workshops.

Update: After a 19-year hiatus, K 183 has now been repaired and returned to service, with mainline test runs occurring in late 2021.

References

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.

b

ARHS (Victorian Division) 'North Williamstown Railway Museum',

Third Edition 1968, revised 1977, reprinted 1980.

c

‘Locomotives of Australia - 1985 to 2010’

(Fifth Edition), by Leon Oberg,

published 2010 by Rosenberg Publishing Pty Ltd.

d

Wikipedia page for VR K-class locomotives:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victorian_Railways_K_class

Retrieved 21 February 2023

e

Steamrail Victoria Facebook page,

Retrieved 1 February 2022

Page updated: 21 February 2023

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