|
|
Rx 191 Displayed at Victor Harbour |
|
Rx 191 plinthed at
Victor Harbour on 24 May 1987; at this date Rx 191 had already been at Victor
Harbour for 24 years.
The antique tender can be seen in this old scanned photo
view.
|
Builder |
South
Australian Railways, Islington
Workshops |
|
Builder’s Number |
No.41 of 1916 |
|
Wheel Arrangement |
4-6-0 |
|
No. in class |
84 |
|
The South Australian Railway’s Rx-class were highly successful mixed-traffic locomotives, developed from the earlier R-class 4-6-0 design of 1886 via adoption of a larger Belpaire boiler. A number of the Rx-class also received superheaters. The Rx-class ultimately grew to 84 examples comprising the 30 original R-class locos rebuilt to Rx specification, together with a further 54 built new, becoming the South Australian Railway's most numerous class of broad-gauge steam locomotive. They were assigned to both passenger and freight turns until the arrival of larger locomotives in the 1920's, after which they settled in to branch line, suburban and shunting roles. In this capacity they lasted to the end of regular SAR steam operations. Rx 191 was condemned by the South Australian Railways on 30 October 1963 and placed in a playground near Victor Harbour station shortly afterwards on 30 December 1963. It is paired with a low-side 6-wheel tender of relatively early design, and which may have been one of the original Dubs & Co tenders supplied with the first 6 R-class engines or perhaps the Q-class 4-4-0 locomotives. It also carries a stovepipe chimney. The photo
displayed above dates from 24 May 1987 during the webmaster’s memorable
SteamRanger excursion from Adelaide to Victor Harbour behind loco 520. (Rx191
is placed in a playground and next to a large toilet block, which makes
photography rather difficult!) The
salty maritime air at Victor Harbour has taken its toll on Rx191 over the
decades, but the local council has provided some maintenance and efforts to
combat deterioration. By 2002 a large
weather roof had been constructed over the locomotive, but the tender tank
had been cut down to the frames. I
believe the original boiler clothing has been replaced by galvanised steel
sheeting at some stage; the replacement sheets appearing to be well made and
fit appropriately. The
webmaster’s visit to Victor Harbour of 21 January 2017 found Rx191 showing
her age, but now protected by a large weather roof. A concrete slab has been poured across the
tender frames and into the cab to provide a level area for children to play,
with access to the cab provided next to various other play equipment. The tender sides have been replaced by a
low steel fence which approximates the tender walls. |
Rx 191 plinthed at Victor Harbour on 5 June 1994, wearing ‘James’ red livery.This view was kindly contributed by Chris Johnson.
The
webmaster’s visit to Victor Harbour of 21 January 2017 found Rx191 showing her
age, but now protected by a large weather roof.
References
|
a |
‘Fluck R. E., Sampson R., & Bird K. J. 'Steam
locomotives and Railcars of the South Australian Railways', published by The Mile End Railway Museum (SA) Inc,
1986. |
|
b |
‘Locomotives
of Australia - 1985 to 2010’ (Fifth Edition), by Leon Oberg, published
2010 by Rosenberg Publishing Pty Ltd. |
|
c |
‘Webmaster's observation or comment. |
Page updated: 21
March 2017
|
Government Railways: |
|
|||||||||
|
Private & Industrial Railways: |
|