3237 is a preserved former

New South Wales Government Railways New South Wales Government Railways (NSWGR) was an agency of the Government of New South Wales that administered rail transport in the colony, and then the state, of New South Wales, Australia, between 1855 and 1932. History The NSWGR built ...

C32 class steam locomotive. Built in 1893 by

Beyer, Peacock & Company Beyer, Peacock and Company was an English general engineering company and railway locomotive manufacturer with a factory in Openshaw, Manchester. Charles Beyer, Richard Peacock and Henry Robertson founded the company in 1854. The company close ...

, England, it is preserved by the Lachlan Valley Railway.

In service

3237 was built by

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

in 1892 and entered service on 26 February 1893. Originally numbered P508, it became 3237 in the 1924 renumbering scheme. It worked mainline runs around

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

, while its original use was as a passenger express locomotive, it was also used for light freight. For the last part of its working career 3237 was based at

Dubbo Dubbo (; ) is a city in the Orana (New South Wales), Orana Region of New South Wales, Australia. It is the largest population centre in the Orana region, with a population of 43,516 at June 2021. The city is located at the intersection of the ...

locomotive depot, 3237's last duties were to work reclamation trains and as a yard shunter in Dubbo. It was withdrawn on 3 November 1971, when it was sent light engine from Dubbo to

Enfield Locomotive Depot The Enfield Locomotive Depot was operated by the New South Wales Government Railways in Strathfield South, New South Wales, Strathfield South, Sydney. It was part of the Enfield Marshalling Yards, which covers a considerable area in the west of t ...

for storage. In its 78 years of revenue service, from 26 February 1892 to 1 November 1971, 3237 ran a total of 2,225,224 miles.

Preservation

3237 was stored at Enfield Locomotive Depot for three years before being moved twice. The first move was to

Parkes Parkes may refer to: * Sir Henry Parkes (1815–1896), Australian politician, one of the earliest and most prominent advocates for Australian federation Named for Henry Parkes * Parkes, New South Wales, a regional town * Parkes Observatory, a radi ...

, on 22 October 1974, in a three loco light engine movement, comprising 6042 (in steam) + 3237 (dead) + 3026T (in steam), as exhibits for the Lachlan Vintage Village at

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

. It was later sold to the Lachlan Valley Railway (LVR) and moved to

Cowra Cowra () is a town in the Central West, New South Wales, Central West region of New South Wales, Australia. It is the largest population centre and the council seat for the Cowra Shire, with a population of 8,254. Cowra is located approximate ...

. 3237 was dismantled during the 1980s for a lengthy overhaul which included a new front tube-plate. The overhaul was completed with 3237's returned to service in 2006.3237 Returns to service ''Railway Digest'' June 2006 page 59 During a north coast tour in 2012 the locomotive sustained a mechanical issue and had to be taken out of service. It was repaired in Taree. Ten months later 3237 re-entered service for the LVR on the weekend of 11 & 12 May 2013 on shuttles for Taree Rail Centenary. Minor running repairs commenced January 2014 with 3237 returning to service in mid 2014. Through the end of 2014, 3237 partnered up with 5917 with successful running weekends at

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

, Valley Heights and a trip to

Cootamundra Cootamundra, nicknamed Coota, is a town in the South West Slopes region of New South Wales, Australia and within the Riverina. It is within the Cootamundra-Gundagai Regional Council. At the 2016 Census, Cootamundra had a population of 6,782. I ...

. After a tour in 2016 it received some repairs at Cootamundra where it was then transferred to Goulburn Roundhouse for a major overhaul by LVR volunteers funded partly by a Transport Heritage NSW grant program. This overhaul also included a Waugh grate conversion. In September 2019 the locomotive returned to service on the annual LVR Richmond Steam Shuttles

References

External links

{{NSWLocos Beyer, Peacock locomotives Individual locomotives of Australia Preserved steam locomotives of New South Wales Railway locomotives introduced in 1892 Standard-gauge locomotives of Australia 4-6-0 locomotives