The Victorian Railways Y class is a class of

0-6-0 is the Whyte notation designation for steam locomotives with a wheel arrangement of no leading wheels, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles, and no trailing wheels. Historically, this was the most common wheel arrangement used o ...

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, Fuel oil, oil or, rarely, Wood fuel, wood) to heat ...

s. The Y class was an example of the new policy of standard design principles being adopted by the railways of the time. The original pattern locomotive (an 0-6-0 tender engine) was built by Kitson & Co. at

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

in 1885, and was exhibited, along with E426, in 1888 at the

Melbourne Centennial Exhibition The Melbourne Centennial Exhibition was organised to celebrate a century of European settlement in Australia. The Exhibition Building, constructed in 1880 for the Melbourne International Exhibition, was extended and reused. The Centennial Exhibi ...

, held in the Melbourne Exhibition Building. The other 30 locomotives of this type were built by the

Phoenix Foundry The Phoenix Foundry was a company that built steam locomotives and other industrial machinery in the city of Ballarat, Victoria, Australia. Over 30 years they built 352 locomotives for the Victorian Railways, of 38 different designs. History ...

at Ballarat in 1888–1889. They were given road numbers 383 to 441 (odd numbers only), and the pattern engine 445, 443 having been allotted to an "Old" R class. They were big locomotives for their time—in fact the largest and most powerful 0-6-0s to run in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. The class excelled in their performance and acceptance by crews. They were often seen on suburban passenger trains prior to

electrification Electrification is the process of powering by electricity and, in many contexts, the introduction of such power by changing over from an earlier power source. In the context of history of technology and economic development, electrification refe ...

, finishing their lives as yard shunters. Withdrawal of the Y class began in 1926, and only 20 were still in service when renumbered in 1940. The last in regular service was No. 108 which was withdrawn in 1963 after being a pilot engine at North Melbourne for many years. Y109 (originally Y413) was taken off the register 23 December 1954 and frame and wheels sold to the Brunswick Plaster Mills Pty. Ltd, which rebuilt it into a diesel-mechanical locomotive, to work the Millewa South Railway from Nowingi to Raak Plain in north-western Victoria. It carried the number Y413 for some of the time it operated in that form.

Preservation

Y108 is on static display at the

Newport Railway Museum The Newport Railway Museum is located on Champion Road, Newport, Victoria, near the North Williamstown railway station, North Williamstown station. History The museum opened on 10 November 1962, after the Australian Railway Historical Society (A ...

. Y109/Y413 was acquired by

Steamrail Victoria Steamrail Victoria is a not-for-profit volunteer group established in 1965 to restore and operate historic locomotives and rolling stock used on the Rail transport in Victoria, railways in Victoria, Australia. The main depot of the group is at ...

in the 1980s and moved to

Ballarat East Ballarat East is a suburb of Ballarat in Victoria, Australia. From 1857 until 1921 the suburb had its own council (see below). The suburb covers a large area east of the city centre. It is the oldest urban area in Ballarat and was the site of ma ...

Locomotive Depot, where parts were used in the restoration of Y112. The remains were acquired by the Australian Railway Historical Society and donated to the Millewa Pioneer Park at

Meringur Meringur is a locality to the west of Mildura in northwestern Victoria, Australia. At the 2016 census, Meringur and the surrounding area had a population of 67 down from 128 in 2011. It is located in the Millewa region at the end of the Red Cli ...

in 2008. Y112 was withdrawn from service in 1961 and was preserved on a plinth outside the

Ballarat railway station Ballarat railway station is a regional railway station located on the Ararat and Mildura railway lines. It serves the city of Ballarat, Victoria, Australia, and opened on 11 April 1862 as Ballarat West. It gained its current name in 1865. Th ...

. It was purchased by the Ballarat Historical Society and is now owned by Ballarat's Sovereign Hill Museum. The locomotive was leased to

and restored to operational condition with the help of West Coast Railway. It was returned to service in 1996 and operates occasional rail tours.

References

External links

Victorian Preserved Steam Locomotives
detailed information about all surviving ex-VR steam locos
VICSIG Y Class
Information on the Y class
Y class drawing

Y class photo

Side view

Y 397
{{DEFAULTSORT:Victorian Railways Y Class 1885 0-6-0 locomotives C n2 locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1885 Preserved steam locomotives of Australia Broad gauge locomotives in Australia Y class 1885 Kitson locomotives Phoenix locomotives Freight locomotives