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R 711 Named "Spirit of Bendigo" |
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R 711 in West Coast
Railway blue livery and wearing 'The Westcoaster' headboard.
This photo was kindly provided by Gordon Ross.
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Builder |
North
British Locomotive Co, Glasgow |
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Builder’s
Number & Year |
27001 of
1951 |
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Designer |
Victorian
Railways |
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Wheel
Arrangement |
4-6-4 “Hudson” |
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Entered
Service |
28 August
1951 |
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Withdrawn
from Service |
2 August
1965 |
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R 711 was
commissioned in 1951 as one of 70 members of the Victorian Railway's R-class
4-6-4 "Hudson" main line passenger locomotives. These
locomotives were designed by Victorian Railways and were urgently required by
the post World War 2 period, however construction
was delayed by competing priorities. Building
was eventually outsourced to the North British Locomotive Company, Glasgow
but, as with so many post-war steam locomotives orders, delivery ultimately
came years after the demand had required.
The R-class superseded the A2-class 4-6-0 locomotives on fast
passenger turns however the simultaneous arrival of first-generation diesels
reduced their usefulness and the R-class locomotives were destined for
relatively short lives and low mileages. R 711 was
withdrawn in 1965 and plinthed outside the Bendigo station, coming into ownership
of the City of Greater Bendigo. In
1995 it was leased to West Coast Railway and extensively rebuilt for regular service
on “The Westcoaster” passenger service between Melbourne and Warrnambool. This rebuilding featured various
modifications including Lempor exhaust, power reversing gear and conversion
to oil firing. (Martyn Bane has
documented the technical changes implemented by West Coast Railway to R 711 on
his interesting & well documented page.) R 711 now
carries the name 'Spirit of Bendigo' in recognition of its eponymous
connections. Following
the demise of West Coast Railway, R 711 became available and has been leased to
Steamrail Victoria since 2005. Several
of the previous modifications (notably the Lempor exhaust and power reverser)
have been removed by Steamrail Victoria however it retains oil firing. As of January 2012, R 711 has been
certified for mainline use and has received a striking new livery of blue
with gold stripe, reminiscent of the VR 'Spirit of Progress' era and the
long-lost S-class pacific steam locomotives associated with that train. Wikipedia
provides further information about the Victorian
Railways R-class locomotives. YouTube
includes a number of fine videos of R 711 in steam; here is an example by Daniel
Hancock showing a high-speed test run to
Seymour on Saturday 3 September 2011. |
This view of R 711 is from the collection of John Hurst and is dated 21 April 2000, showing R 711 at Benalla while being watered.
The double funnel (added when the loco was converted to oil-burning in 1999) is clearly seen.
The Power Reverser mechanism can also be seen mounted on the running board.
References
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a |
"A
brief history of Preserved Rolling Stock of Victoria" by Norm Bray,
Peter J Vincent and Daryl M Gregory. Published
by Brief History Books, PO Box 437, Sunbury, Vic 3429. |
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b |
ARHS
(Victorian Division) 'North Williamstown Railway Museum', Third Edition 1968,
revised 1977, reprinted 1980. |
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c |
"Locomotives
of Australia - 1985 to 2010" (Fifth Edition), by Leon Oberg, published
2010 by Rosenberg Publishing Pty Ltd. |
Page updated: 9 March 2015
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