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Dd 592 The Railway Museum, Bassendean |
Dd 592 at The Railway Museum, Bassendean on 9 May 2002.
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This locomotive was built by the WAGR Midland Workshops in 1946 as one of 10 "Dd-class" 4-6-4T locomotives for Perth Suburban passenger duties. The Dd class represented the final development of the original design for 20 D-class 4-6-4T locomotives built by the North British Locomotive Company, Glasgow and supplied to the WAGR in 1912. Most of the original D-class locomotives were later superheated to become the Ds-class. In addition, eight E-class Pacific tender locomotives were rebuilt by the WAGR Midland Workshops in 1945 to become the Dm-class 4-6-4T locomotives. Today the only survivors of this family are Dd 592 and Dd 596 of the final Dd variant. Dd 592 was officially withdrawn by the WAGR on 14 August 1972 but had apparently already entered the Australian Railway Historical Society (WA division) museum at Bassendean on 1 July 1972 for static display. The ARHS also purchased sister Dd 596 with the intention of its use as a tour engine, however inspections in 1983 showed Dd 596's boiler to be uneconomic to repair and hence Dd 592 was selected for restoration in its place. Accordingly Dd 592 moved to the WAGR's Midland Workshops in 1984 for restoration, culminating in its returned to service in 1985. Dd 592 was retired again in 1995 after a decade of service on tour trains around Perth; presumably it required a further expensive overhaul. Dd 592's days as a tour engine appear to be over for the foreseeable future and it remains on static display at The Railway Museum, Bassendean where it wears unlined black livery. It is interesting to note the popularity of the 4-6-4T and 4-6-2T configurations for suburban passenger workings around the various Australian cities; examples from other states include the NSWGR S-class, QGR D17 & DD17 classes, the Victorian D4-class and SAR F-class. These wheel configurations were apparently well-suited to bi-directional running at speed, while water tanks mounted above the driving wheels also provided high adhesion and hence acceleration. |
References
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a |
A. Gunzburg 'A history of WAGR steam locomotives', published by ARHS (Western Australian Division) 1984. |
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b |
Gray. W. K., 'Guide to Rail Transport Museum, Bassendean, Western Australia', Australian Railway Historical Society W. A. Division, First Edition November 1999. |
Page updated: 4 February 2015