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C19 No.700 Stored at ‘The Workshops’ museum, Ipswich |
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C19 No.700 is located in
a storage shed at the rear of ‘The Workshops’ museum at Ipswich Railway
Workshops, as seen in this photo of 8 October 2004.
The wide boiler and
purposeful proportions of this chunky and powerful passenger locomotive are
evident.
I believe the star on the smokebox relates to top-link
passenger turns such as the Sydney Mail from Brisbane to the break-of-gauge border
station at Wallangarra.
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Builder |
Ipswich Railway Workshops |
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Builder’s Number & Year |
98 of 1923 |
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Wheel Arrangement |
4-8-0 |
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No. in class |
26 (plus three CC19 locos
converted from the earlier C18 class) |
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The
C19 class story actually starts with the earlier C18 class of 1914, which
comprised three large-boilered 4-8-0 locomotives designed for heavy passenger
duties such as the Sydney Mail, which had to traverse the demanding Main
Range to Toowoomba and then though the Granite Belt to meet the NSWGR standard
gauge railway at Wallangarra. The three C18 locomotives were constructed at
Ipswich Railway Workshops and were commissioned with differences to trial the
benefits of superheating. The first (No.692) was provided with a saturated
boiler, the second (No.693) received a German ‘Schmidt’ superheater while the
third (No.694) received a UK-built ‘Robinson’ superheater. The superheater
trials were successful, leading to the selection of the ‘Robinson’ type but the
production locomotive design was varied with a lower boiler pressure, while larger
19” cylinders were specified in compensation. The production engines accordingly
became the C19 class following the QR practice of denoting ‘C’ for 4-coupled
locomotives and ‘19’ representing the cylinder diameter. (The selection of
the Robinson superheater would be an interesting topic alone; it is arguably simpler
and more robust than the German ‘Schmidt’ design as it did not require
baffles to isolate the superheater flues when the regulator is closed – but the
webmaster suspects that post-war preference for UK-supplied manufactures may
also have been a factor.) The
production run of twenty C19 class locomotives was constructed at Ipswich
Railway Workshops between 1922 and 1928, together with a further six from
Walkers Limited, Maryborough in 1935 to provide motive power for the expanding
North Coast main line. The original three C18 class were later rebuilt to align
with C19 class specifications, becoming the CC19 class. In addition to
passenger turns, the C19 class found employment on fruit trains from the Granite
Belt to Brisbane, together with other main line heavy freight duties. As was
often the case, powerful and sure-footed locomotives were called on for the
most prestigious passenger duties, with the C19 class hauling several Royal
trains. Preserved
C19 No.700 entered service with Queensland Railways in August 1923. While most
of the C19 class were withdrawn between 1955 and 1957 as a result of the
first wave of dieselisation, a handful remained until 1962. C19 No.700 was
the last class member in service when retired in February 1964 after a
working life of 41 years. (A common theme in the transition to diesel
traction was the early withdrawal of route-limited passenger and heavy
freight steam locomotives, while more versatile steam locos like the C17
class survived to end of QR steam in 1970.) No.700
was plinthed as a static exhibit within the former Redbank Railway (locomotive)
Museum from 1970 to 1992. Upon closure of that museum, No 700 joined the
other former Redbank exhibits in storage at Redbank Workshops while ‘The
Workshops’ museum was developed at its birthplace, the Ipswich Railway
Workshops. No. 700 is now located in a storage shed at the rear of ‘The Workshops’
museum, one of five former Redbank locomotive exhibits awaiting the removal of
dangerous old boiler lagging before they can be publicly displayed. Alas those
five locomotives have now been stored out of public sight for a period
approaching 30 years; hopefully funding will soon be found for the professional
removal of the old lagging, followed by careful static restoration, to allow
these locomotives to be returned to public display. C19 No.700 could make an
interesting exhibit to relate themes of domestic locomotive design for mountain
climbing (prior to the introduction of 4-6-2 ‘Pacific’ types), technical
innovation and fuel efficiency via superheating, Royal trains, or the
break-of-gauge at Wallangarra (prior to the opening of the standard-gauge
line to Brisbane via Kyogle). The
definitive reference for further information about the C18 & C19 Class
locomotives is ‘Locomotives in the Tropics, Volume 2, Queensland
Railways 1910 – 1958’ by John Armstrong. The Wikipedia page for the C19 class also provides good
information and technical statistics. |
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This wonderful old advertisement extolls the virtues of the Robinson
locomotive superheater.
(The locomotive pictured is the class leader of the London,
Brighton & South Coast Railway L-class of 1914.)
Image sourced from Grace's
Guide to British Industrial History – The Superheater Corporation Ltd.
Here is a second advertisement for the Robinson locomotive superheater.
Image sourced from Grace's
Guide to British Industrial History – The Superheater Corporation Ltd.
References
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a |
Armstrong,
J. 'Locomotives in the Tropics - Volume 2 (Queensland Railways 1910 – 1958 and
beyond)’, published by the ARHS
Queensland Division, 1994. |
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b |
Oberg,
L. ‘Locomotives of Australia - 1985 to 2010’ (Fifth Edition), published
2010 by Rosenberg Publishing Pty Ltd |
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c |
Wikipedia
pages for C19 class and C18 class, retrieved 25 May 2020. |
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d |
Graces guide to British Industrial History
website, Superheater
Corporation page, retrieved 26 May 2020 |
Page updated: 11 June 2020
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