East Coast Heritage Rail is a

not for profit A not-for-profit or non-for-profit organization (NFPO) is a legal entity that does not distribute surplus funds to its members and is formed to fulfill specific objectives. While not-for-profit organizations and non-profit organizations (NP ...

company

limited by guarantee A company limited by guarantee (CLG) is a type of company where the liability of members in the event the company is wound up is limited to a (typically very small) amount listed in the company's articles or constitution. Most have no share capi ...

formed in June 1985 as 3801 Limited to operate steam locomotive

3801 3801 (pronounced Thirty-eight o-one) is a New South Wales C38 class locomotive, C38 class 4-6-2 steam locomotive built for and operated by the New South Wales Government Railways between 1943 and 1974. It is arguably Australia's most famous s ...

and its associated rolling stock. The company operated heritage train tours from 1986 until 2017, with operations recommencing in February 2019 under the new brand, East Coast Heritage Rail.

Establishment

The setting up of an organisation to manage and operate locomotive

was first formalised in March 1984, the

State Rail Authority The State Rail Authority, a former statutory authority of the Government of New South Wales, operated and maintained railways in the Australian state of New South Wales from July 1980 until December 2003. History The ''Transport Authorities A ...

exchanged correspondence. At first, four parties were involved. The State Rail Authority had two roles, the first as donor of the locomotive and other equipment and the second as a trustee. In effect, 3801 would continue to be the property of the State Rail Authority and it would be leased to the trust. Three other organisations were nominated as trustees; the

Powerhouse Museum The Powerhouse Museum, formerly known as the Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences (MAAS), is a collection of 4 museums in Sydney, owned by the Government of New South Wales. Powerhouse is a contemporary museum of applied arts and sciences, explori ...

, the

Australian Railway Historical Society The Australian Railway Historical Society (ARHS) has been a railway organisation concerned with history and preservation of railway heritage at a national level. It has had divisions in every state and the Australian Capital Territory, althou ...

(New South Wales Division) and the

New South Wales Rail Transport Museum The NSW Rail Museum is the main railway museum in New South Wales, Australia. A division of Transport Heritage NSW, it was previously known as the New South Wales Rail Transport Museum (NSWRTM), Rail Heritage Centre and Trainworks. Transport He ...

. At that time, the restoration of locomotive 3801 was nearing completion at the former

State Dockyard The State Dockyard was a ship building and maintenance facility operated by the Government of New South Wales in Carrington, New South Wales, Carrington, Newcastle, New South Wales, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia between 1942 and 1987. H ...

site in

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...

. Out of trade apprentices worked on this restoration for over a three-year period under the direction of th
Hunter Valley Training Company
One of the first assignments undertaken by the company was to raise funds to pay for the restoration and other expenses. Its stated aim was "to exhibit with pride and enthusiasm to the people of NSW the masterful preservation of a piece of their Locomotive History ... as a living, mobile, historical work". During the restoration, the company organised regular tours of inspection at the State Dockyard.

3801 enters service

In November 1986, 3801 returned to service and operated as the flagship of 3801 Limited for the next 20 years. In 1988, 3801 and its train became the

Bicentennial __NOTOC__ A bicentennial or bicentenary is the two-hundredth anniversary of a part, or the celebrations thereof. It may refer to: Europe * French Revolution bicentennial, commemorating the 200th anniversary of 14 July 1789 uprising, celebrated ...

Train and operated tours to all the mainland capitals as part of the nation's 200-year celebrations. In the latter part of 1988 and much of 1989, ''Flying Scotsman'' joined 3801 Limited and ran many very successful tours 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 ...

and beyond. In excess of 500,000 passengers were carried by the company during this 20-year period.Annual Report June 2007 3801 Limited

3801 departs

At the conclusion of the 20-year lease covering the operation of locomotive 3801, the

decided not to offer a renewal with 3801 departing in November 2006.

Workshop

To provide an operational base for 3801 Limited, the State Rail Authority granted a licence to occupy the Large Erecting Shop 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 ...

. 3801 Limited's use of the Large Erecting Shop was terminated in early 2017 after 30 years. In late 2018 the company relocated some of its fleet to a private siding in the Hunter Valley with ready access to the main line. They are also working on other stabling sites to support their operations and to relocate the remaining non-operational vehicles from the Large Erecting Shop.

The Cockatoo Run

As a result of the NSW Department of Transport seeking expressions of interest to take over the weekends only passenger service on the Unanderra to Moss Vale line as a tourist operation, 3801 Limited commenced the Cockatoo Run heritage tourist train on 19 August 1995. Initially the train operated from a base established in the

Port Kembla A port is a maritime law, maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge Affreightment, cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inla ...

Locomotive Depot Complex. Steam locomotive SMR18 was leased by 3801 Limited from the Hunter Valley Training Company for the service. To enable the locomotive to haul a train from Port Kembla to Moss Vale and return with one load of coal, the coal bunker was modified. Financial difficulties led to the suspension of the Cockatoo Run from November 1998 until March 1999, after which date the train ran between Port Kembla and Robertson only. Furthermore, it was diesel hauled and ran for nine months of the year. 3801 Limited vacated the Port Kembla Depot on 30 March 2001 and all rolling stock and equipment was relocated to Eveleigh. The Cockatoo Run was merged with another of the company's operations, the Long Lunch Train, from 4 March 2001 and this service operated from

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 ...

via

Wollongong Wollongong ( ; Dharawal: ''Woolyungah'') is a city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The name is believed to originate from the Dharawal language, meaning either 'five islands/clouds', 'ground near water' or 'sound ...

Robertson Robertson may refer to: People * Robertson (surname) (includes a list of people with this name) * Robertson (given name) * Clan Robertson, a Scottish clan * Robertson, stage name of Belgian magician Étienne-Gaspard Robert (1763–1837) Plac ...

, and

Moss Vale Moss Vale is a town in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia. Moss Vale is the administrative centre of Wingecarribee Shire local government area. It is located south-west of Sydney and north-east of Canberra. The Illawarra Hi ...

on selected Thursdays and Sundays with heritage diesel locomotives until early 2017. It has on occasions operated with steam locomotives from 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 ...

and

. The service now runs on selected Sundays, with 42101 as its flagship locomotive.

Current & Former Locomotive Fleet

421 Class

The 421 class are a class of diesel locomotives built by

Clyde Engineering Clyde Engineering was an Australian manufacturer of locomotives, rolling stock, and other industrial products. It was founded in September 1898 by a syndicate of Sydney businessmen buying the Granville factory of timber merchants Huds ...

, Granville for the Department of Railways New South Wales in 1965/66. All 10 were withdrawn from service in December 1986 and January 1987 and put in store at

Junee Railway Workshop The Junee Railway Workshop is an accredited rail operator that maintains and repairs locomotives and rolling stock from its base at Junee Locomotive Depot. History Junee Railway Workshop was formed in January 1995 as Austrac Ready Power. It pu ...

, even though some had only recently been overhauled. In December 2009, 42101 was transferred from the

Goulburn Rail Heritage Centre The Goulburn Rail Heritage Centre is located at the heritage-listed former railway workshops in Goulburn, New South Wales, Australia, on the Main Southern railway line. Now a museum, it is also known as the Goulburn Rail Workshop and Goulburn Ro ...

for restoration by 3801 Limited. After being fitted with refurbished traction motors at

Chullora Railway Workshops Chullora Railway Workshops were a major workshops for the repair and heavy maintenance of locomotives and rolling stock for the New South Wales Government Railways. It was built on site at Chullora over 485 acres adjoining the main Sydney marshal ...

in October 2011, it returned to Eveleigh to be restored back to operational condition in March 2012.42101 is presently out of service.

44 Class

Built between 1957 and 1968 by

AE Goodwin AE Goodwin was an Australian heavy engineering firm, which produced railway locomotives and rolling stock, as well as roadmaking machinery at its factory in Auburn. History Founded in December 1935 by Arthur Elliott Goodwin, the company was ...

for express passenger and freight train haulage. 4401 is a member of

Transport Heritage NSW Transport Heritage NSW is a body established by the Government of New South Wales to manage the state’s rail heritage collection and provide support to the broader transport (bus, tram, rail) heritage sector in NSW. It operates the NSW Rail M ...

's heritage collection and was in 3801 Limited's custody from 1995 to 2017.

45 Class

Built in 1962 by AE Goodwin for main line passenger and freight train haulage, this class of locomotive is renowned for its heavy haulage ability. 4501 was hired to 3801 Limited by Goodwin Alco Pty Ltd.Rollingstock
Goodwin Alco

48 Class

Built in 1961 by AE Goodwin for branch line passenger and freight train haulage, this class of locomotive is capable of running on all NSW rail lines. 4833 was a regular performer on the Cockatoo Run, hired to 3801 Limited by Goodwin Alco Pty Ltd.

49 Class

Built between 1962 and 1964 by

for branch line passenger and freight train haulage, this class of locomotive is capable of running on all NSW rail lines. 4918 was a regular performer on the Cockatoo Run, but was also used for mainline tours. 4918 was owned by 3801 Limited until sold to Dorrigo Steam Railway and Museum Ltd. in 2017. It also owned 4908 until sold 2007.Extracts from the 3801 Limited Annual Report
3801 Limited Newsletter October 2008

73 Class

The 73 class are a diesel-hydraulic shunting locomotive built by

Walkers Limited Walkers Limited was an Australian engineering and shipbuilding company based in Maryborough, Queensland. It built large vessels and railway locomotives. The Walkers factory still produces locomotives and rolling stock as part of Downer Rail. ...

, Maryborough for the New South Wales Government Railways between 1970 and 1973. 7344 is a member of the

's heritage collection and was in 3801 Limited's custody at the

until 2017. It was a regular performer on the Cockatoo Run for many years with 7333. 7344 was retroceded to Transport Heritage NSW and in 2019 was offered for placement with other groups through expressions of interest and was subsequently placed into the hands of the Rail Motor Society at

Paterson, New South Wales Paterson is a small township in the lower Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia. Located within Dungog Shire and City of Maitland, it is situated on the Paterson River. It is in the middle of what was once dairy, timber and citrus country ...

X Class

The last and 3rd series of the VR X class locomotives were built by

at the Rosewater factory in Adelaide. X54 was the last of the Series 3 X classes and went through a number of different owners including V/Line, Freight Australia, QR National and Aurizon where it was then placed into storage in Rothbury, NSW. East Coast Heritage Rail then bought the locomotive off Aurizon and ran its first heritage tour in late 2022. It initially wore the QR National livery, with logos painted over and the No. 1 end painted in an approximation of the VicRail teacup scheme. In 2024, it was painted in full VicRail teacup.

References

{{NSWLocos Heritage railway companies of Australia Railway companies of New South Wales 1985 establishments in Australia