3526

3526

3526 at the Hunter Valley Steamfest in April 2009

Type and origin Power type Steam Builder Eveleigh Railway Workshops Serial number 118 Build date March 1917

Specifications Configuration: ​  • Whyte 4-6-0  • UIC 2′C h Gauge 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) Driver dia. 5 ft 9 in (1.753 m) Fuel type Coal Fuel capacity 9  1⁄2-tons Water cap 4,000 gallons

Career Class C35

Locomotive 3526 is a two-cylinder, simple, non-condensing, coal-fired superheated, 4-6-0 New South Wales C35 class locomotive express passenger steam locomotive. The only C35 class left in existence, and is operational. The class is commonly referred to as Nannies or Naughty Nannies due to their pre-1924 class designation of NN.

3526 was completed by the New South Wales Government Railways' Eveleigh Railway Workshops in March 1917.

On entering service as one of the 35 members of the NN Class, it was allocated road number 1314, being renumbered in 1924. In the early 1930s, it was one of three C35s painted Oxford blue to operate the Caves Express. Throughout its service life, it received the various modifications made to the class, and was rebuilt with new frames and cab in July 1940 when the class suffered from frame cracking. After its rebuild, 3526 received a lined green paint scheme. In 1964, 3526 received a Commonwealth Engineering built tender from a scrapped standard goods locomotive to increase its coal and water capacity.

3526 was withdrawn from service in 1967 and retained for preservation, being placed in the custody of the New South Wales Rail Transport Museum where it remained operational until 1974. It received an original type C35 class tender, Tab No. 1309, which came from locomotive 3519. It was repainted Oxford blue to represent 'it during its period hauling the Caves Express, initially with heavy white lining, and from 1971 with gold lining. With the NSWRTM relocating, on 25 June 1975, it hauled 7100 and 2606 from Enfield to Thirlmere and was then withdrawn.

In 1983 the boiler clothing was removed for assessment of the boiler, and in 1990 restoration to operation began in earnest. During 1990, a spare 35-class boiler number 3504C was also retrieved from static use at the old Eveleigh Railway Workshops and is now stored at Thirlmere. Completion of the restoration was achieved in early 2004 after a government grant for new boiler tubes. The previous deep blue livery was replaced by unlined black to reflect the locomotive's appearance in later years of its service life. As noted above, 3526 did not carry Caves Express colours in regular service in its current, rebuilt form with new frames and cab: in this form it carried first lined green and then unlined black.