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1923 Stored for the Dorrigo Steam Railway & Museum |
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My thanks to Mark Newton for contributing this view of 1923
stored at Dorrigo in 1999.
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Builder |
Beyer Peacock
& Co, Manchester |
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Builder’s Number & Year |
1890 of 1879 |
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Wheel Arrangement |
0-6-0 |
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No. in class |
77 |
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Originally
supplied from 1877 as main-line freight locomotives, the A(93) / (Z)19 class
locos were progressively superseded by more powerful 2-6-0 and later 2-8-0
freight designs, however they found a niche as light-line motive power on
steeply graded mountain branches such as the Batlow / Kunama, Oberon and
Dorrigo lines, as well as shunting roles.
Another niche was in large locomotive depots, where a light but
powerful loco was required to propel coal hoppers up the incline to the top
of the coaling stage. (One of the
webmaster's earliest memories is of 1904 or 1923 performing this duty at Port
Waratah in 1972, towards the end of NSWGR steam.) 1923
was first issued to traffic as A 116 of the A(93)
class, becoming 1923 of the (Z)19 class at the NSWGR’s 1924 renumbering
scheme. It was saved for preservation by
the Hunter Valley Steam Railway & Museum (precursor to the Dorrigo Steam
Railway and Museum) in 1974 when purchased from the scrap roads at Enfield
Depot for $5,800. 1923 is unique among
the four surviving class members in having a “cutaway” cab side, rather than a
Thow “porthole” cab. It is paired with
an original-looking Beyer Peacock & Co 6-wheel tender. Together with other HVSR&M locomotives, 1923 was initially stored at Rhondda Colliery near Newcastle. The HVSR&M later changed its focus to reopening the Dorrigo branch line on the NSW north coast, so 1923 and other exhibits were rail hauled to Glenreagh in late 1983 and then to Dorrigo in 1986. 1923 is now stored with several other DSR&M steam locomotives on the former “potato siding” within the Dorrigo Station yard, where it regularly receives a coat of black oil to provide some protection against the torrential rain in this area. Unfortunately the Dorrigo Steam Railway & Museum is not open to the general public and hence access to the exhibits is restricted. For more
general information about the A(93) / (Z)19-class
locomotives, refer to the page for sister 1905. Wikipedia also provides further information
and technical details for the A(93) / (Z)19-class. |
References
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a |
"A
Compendium of New South Wales Steam Locomotives" compiled by Alex Grunbach, published by the Australian
Railway Historical Society, New South Wales Division, 1989. |
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b |
Kramer, J. 'The Dorrigo Steam
Railway & Museum - an Illustrated Guide', published by the Dorrigo Steam Railway & Museum, 1987. |
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c |
Webmaster's
observation or comment |
Page updated: 18 May 2015
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