The Tasmanian Government Railways C class is a class of

2-6-0 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, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles and no trailing whee ...

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the loco ...

s operated by the

Tasmanian Government Railways The Tasmanian Government Railways (TGR) was the former operator of the Rail transport in Tasmania, mainline railways in Tasmania, Australia. Formed in 1872, the railway company was managed by the Government of Tasmania, and existed until absorp ...

History

Between 1885 and 1892, the

took delivery of 19 C class locomotives from Beyer, Peacock & Co,

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

. A further eight followed in the early years of the 20th century. A 28th originally built for the

Emu Bay Railway The Emu Bay Railway was a Tasmania, Australian railway company. The railway was significant during full operation, in that it linked the Tasmanian Government Railways system at Burnie with that at Zeehan that further linked to the Mount L ...

was purchased second hand in 1937. They were the first of what became almost an Australian standard, as locomotives of similar design served in large numbers as the Silverton Tramway Y class,

South Australian Railways Y class The South Australian Railways Y class was a class of narrow gauge steam locomotives operated by the South Australian Railways. History The Y class were numerically the largest class of steam locomotive operated by the South Australian Railw ...

and Western Australian Government Railways G class, and also in

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

and on the North Australia Railway."Steam Locomotives of the Tasmanian Government Railways and its Constituents" ''

Australian Railway History ''Australian Railway History'' is a monthly magazine covering railway history in Australia, published by the New South Wales Division of the Australian Railway Historical Society on behalf of its state and territory Divisions.Railway Digest ''Railway Digest'' is a monthly magazine, published in Sydney, covering contemporary railways of Australia. Overview The magazine's publisher is the Australian Railway Historical Society (ARHS), NSW Division. The first issue was published i ...

'' September 2015 page 54Standard 2-6-0 locomotives
Rail Tasmania In 1912, six (16-19, 26 & 27) were rebuilt with new cylinders, Belpair boilers and larger smokeboxes and reclassified as the CC class. In 1924, a further four (21, 23-25) were rebuilt also receiving

Walschaerts valve gear The Walschaerts valve gear is a type of valve gear used to regulate the flow of steam to the pistons in steam locomotives, invented by Belgium, Belgian railway mechanical engineering, engineer Egide Walschaerts in 1844. The gear is sometimes name ...

and reclassified as the CCS class. In 1948, a further seven locomotives of the same design were purchased from the Commonwealth Railways. These had originally been built as

locomotives and sold to the Commonwealth Railways to operate North Australia Railway services in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. Four entered service as the F class, with the other three used for parts.

Preservation

Four have been preserved: *C1 at the West Coast Pioneers Museum,

Zeehan Zeehan is a town on the west coast of Tasmania, Australia south-west of Burnie. It is part of the West Coast Council, along with the seaport Strahan, and neighbouring mining towns of Dundas, Rosebery and Queenstown. History The greate ...

*C22 at the Tasmanian Transport Museum, Glenorchy restored to service 1983, withdrawn for overhaul 1999 returned to service November 2009 *CCS23 at the Don River Railway, Devonport *CCS25 at the Don River Railway, DevonportCCS25
Australian Steam

References

{{Reflist Beyer, Peacock locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1885 Steam locomotives of Tasmania 3 ft 6 in gauge locomotives of Australia 2-6-0 locomotives