Locomotive 5917 is a two-cylinder, simple, non-condensing, superheated, coal-fired,

2-8-2 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, usually in a leading truck, eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles and two trailing wh ...

‘Mikado' steam locomotive and one of five D59 class

locomotive A locomotive is a rail transport, rail vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. Traditionally, locomotives pulled trains from the front. However, Push–pull train, push–pull operation has become common, and in the pursuit for ...

s that were preserved. Since 2019 it has operated main line steam train tours with The Picnic Train across New South Wales, including the Kiama Picnic Train between

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

and

Kiama Kiama may refer to: * Electoral district of Kiama, a seat in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly * Kiama, New South Wales, a town * Kiama (spider), a genus of spiders *Municipality of Kiama The Municipality of Kiama is a local government ar ...

In service

Locomotive 5917 was built in the United States by the

Baldwin Locomotive Works The Baldwin Locomotive Works (BLW) was an American manufacturer of railway locomotives from 1825 to 1951. Originally located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, it moved to nearby Eddystone, Pennsylvania, Eddystone in the early 20th century. The com ...

for the

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 ...

(NSWGR) entering service on 12 March 1953 as an oil-burning locomotive, this was in the NSWGR's original plan when it was submitted to the builder during a coal shortage in New South Wales. It was later converted to a coal burner. 5917 was used for freight haulage during its NSWGR service right up to its withdrawal and spent some of its last years at Bathurst banking diesel hauled trains up Raglan and Tumulla banks. 5917 still carries the specially modified buffers to this day

Demise and preservation

On 16 August 1972, the locomotive was withdrawn from service and stored at

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 ...

. 5917 was stored in the open on the east side of Enfield No 3 turntable until mid-1974 when it was moved into Enfield No 1 Shed for preliminary work following purchase by a syndicate of enthusiasts. Ownership passed to the '5917 Society' being operated and maintained by the

Lachlan Valley Railway The Lachlan Valley Railway Society is an Australian rail preservation society based in the New South Wales Central Western town of Cowra. It was established in 1974 to preserve and operate former New South Wales Government Railways locomotive ...

. It was moved out of storage at Enfield on 22 October 1974 when it hauled 3046 and 3090T to the Rhondda Colliery site of the Hunter Valley Steam Railway & Museum. During 1976 5917 steamed to

Peterborough, South Australia Peterborough is a town in the mid north of South Australia, in wheat country, just off the Barrier Highway. It was originally named Petersburg after the landowner, Peter Doecke, who sold land to create the town. It was one of Australian place na ...

for an important anniversary there. In January 1978, 5917 was used on Festival of Sydney trains to

. It was withdrawn in the late 1980s and restored at

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 ...

returning to service in September 2007. It was leased to

3801 Limited East Coast Heritage Rail is a Non-profit organization, not for profit company Limited By Guarantee, limited by guarantee formed in June 1985 as 3801 Limited to operate steam locomotive 3801 and its associated rolling stock. The company operated h ...

for some steam tours during 2008/09, then was taken out of service during April 2009 for major boiler work and running repairs on the locomotive at which were done at

Eveleigh Railway Workshops The Eveleigh Railway Workshops (also known as is a heritage-listed former railway workshop and yard for the New South Wales Government Railways, located in Redfern in Sydney's Inner West. It was designed by George Cowdery and built from 18 ...

. A boiler inspection and steam test was held at Eveleigh in November 2013, 5917 passed the test and had a successful trial in the early hours of 4 April 2014 and expected to have returned to service on 5 April 2014 for a private charter. In 2017, the locomotive was withdrawn from service due to condition of the driving wheel tyres. It returned to service in 2019 and now runs under Sydney Rail Services accreditation as the primary locomotive for The Picnic Train. 5917 at Coolalie NSW

References

External links

{{NSWLocos 2-8-2 locomotives Baldwin locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1953 Preserved steam locomotives of New South Wales Individual locomotives of Australia Standard-gauge locomotives of Australia