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3813 Dorrigo Steam Railway & Museum |
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This fine photo is provided courtesy of John Hurst and is
dated 17 September 1972.
John's caption reads "...3813 (and
3820) standing just south of the Wingecarribee viaduct, waiting to start a
photo run-past".
NSWGR history
3813 was built by the New
South Wales Government Railways (NSWGR) at Cardiff Workshops in 1946 as one of
25 semi-streamlined members of the 38-class (locos 3806-3830) which followed
the original 5 streamlined 38-class locomotives 3801-3805. Of this second batch
of 25 locomotives, the 13 even-numbered examples were built by the NSWGR
Eveleigh Workshops and the 12 odd numbered locomotives by the NSWGR Cardiff
(Newcastle) Workshops.
A highlight of 3813's
service career occurred in 1955 when it was selected for the NSWGR Centenary
Exhibition at Central Station, together with other exhibits including 1243,
1948, 3264 and 5805. NSWGR No.1 was also moved from the Museum of Applied Arts
& Sciences for display in the Central Station forecourt. 3813 was displayed
with its driving wheels lifted slightly above the rails and rotating under the
power of an electric motor.
3813 was unique among
the 38-class by retaining its green livery throughout its career, whereas all
others received lined black livery during the 1950's. Sisters 3801 & 3830
were returned to green livery during the 1960's.
Early Preservation
History
Following withdrawal
3813 was retained at Enfield, ostensibly by intervention by the New South Wales
Rail Transport Museum (NSWRTM) to prevent it joining other 38's on the one-way
trip to Sims Metal, Mascot. During this period the locomotive ran several tour
trains.
On 22 August 1970, 3801
and 3813 departed Sydney on the ‘Western Endeavour’ train in celebration of the
newly completed trans-continental standard-gauge railway. 3813 assisted 3801 as
far as Port Augusta, while 3801 continued solo to Perth with the Western
Endeavour.
3813's last tour train
was a trip to Brisbane in January 1973.
The Disastrous 1973
Overhaul
3813
entered Eveleigh Workshops for overhaul in 1973, stripped down and was
undergoing repair. A change in Railways Administration saw a reduction in
support for the heritage locomotives and the new executive of the then Public
Transport Commission apparently ordered the overhaul be stopped and 3813 sent
for scrapping. 3813's dismantled parts were loaded onto 4-wheel S-trucks and
possibly delivered to Sims Metal, but the NSWRTM negotiated a reprieve and the
components were sent to the relative safely of the NSWRTM's Enfield museum
site.
3813's driving wheels & smokebox stored in S-trucks at the NSWRTM - 6 March 2005
Dispersal
of Components
The
NSWRTM was evicted from the historic Enfield roundhouse site in 1974 was and
re-established at Thirlmere by 1975. 3813's components became scattered during
this relocation, with 7 S-trucks containing the wheels, smokebox, cab and
various smaller parts arriving on the Thirlmere long-term storage sidings by
1983. At some stage a driving wheelset was prepared for display in the museum
grounds.
Larger
parts including the tender tank, main locomotive frame and boiler were stored
at Clyde sidings. Apparently, there was consideration of sectioning the boiler
for display, but fortunately this did not occur and 3813's boiler later came
into the possession of the Powerhouse Museum and was transferred to their
Castle Hill restoration and storage site. At his stage it seemed 3813 had achieved
the distinction of visiting all of NSW... at the same time!
Presumably
some of 3813's components have been used in the restoration of 3801 and 3830 in
the intervening years, although I am not aware of any specific examples. The
boiler was assessed for overhaul when at Castle Hill, with access holes cut
into the firebox wrapper to determine the repair work required.
3813 wheelset on display at NSWRTM Thirlmere - 6 March 2005.
Acquisition
by DSR&M
In 1984 the NSWRTM
declined an offer to take the tender tank and loco frame that were lying
derelict at Clyde, and they were subsequently donated to
the Dorrigo Steam Railway & Museum. They were loaded onto flat wagons and
ultimately transported to Dorrigo by rail, spending some time in the sidings at
Hornsby during 1989.
The
Powerhouse Museum later decided they didn't need a worn 38-class boiler, and
this item was also acquired by DSR&M and transferred to Dorrigo.
Finally, the
miscellaneous 3813 components stored in the 7 S-trucks at NSWRTM were also
acquired by the DSR&M. These components were moved to Dorrigo by road
during March & April 2005.
The
future?
Now that the major
components of 3813 have been collected at Dorrigo under one ownership at one
location, hopefully reassembly as a static exhibit could begin. Is it too much
to hope this could be a landmark project for the DSR&M?
While it is possible
that many smaller & non-ferrous components were lost in 3813's eviction
from Eveleigh Workshops in 1973, presumably there is now a stream of
life-expired smaller components being generated by the ongoing operation &
maintenance of 3801 and 3830 which could benefit any project to reassemble
3813. There is also a certain brand-new and unused welded boiler for 3801
sitting unused at Broadmeadow!
My thanks to
Joel Turner for providing the following series of photos showing 3813's
components stored at Dorrigo on 11 February 2013.
Video:
Rowan
Kinnane / Rail Media Productions has published the following YouTube video showing
3813’s various components stored at Dorrigo in February 2025:
‘Main parts for
locomotive 3813’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gy_MWULPKU
3813's boiler stored at Dorrigo. 11 February 2013
3813's smokebox and other components at Dorrigo.
3813's cab. To the right the chimney can be seen stored upside-down.
3813's cast steel frames. The air compressor bracket is prominent above the leading pony wheel.
3813's driving wheels; the middle wheelset had been displayed at the NSWRTM Thirlmere (as seen in the earlier photo above).
The lead set has "3830" painted on the inside rim.
The steam pipes are lying in the foreground.
A view over the Dorrigo storage area. A 36-class boiler is sitting next to 3813's tender tank.
Rear view of 3813's tender. It is sitting on the chassis of a smaller NSWGR tender (possibly a 55-class Wampu tender).
3813's rear truck and ashpan at Dorrigo. 11 February 2013.
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 |
Webmaster’s
observation or comment |
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Page updated: 27 June 2025
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