South Australian Railways Y class

South Australian Railways Y / Yx class

Y97 at Jamestown in October 1967

Type and origin Power type Steam Builder Beyer, Peacock & Co Islington Railway Workshops James Martin & Co Build date 1885-1898 Total produced 129

Specifications Configuration 2-6-0 Gauge 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) Length 39 ft 3 in (11.96 m) Total weight 47 long tons 15 cwt (107,000 lb or 48.5 t) Fuel type Coal Fuel capacity 4 long tons 10 cwt (10,100 lb or 4.6 t) Water cap 1,600 imperial gallons (7,300 l; 1,900 US gal) Boiler pressure 145 lbf/in2 (1.00 MPa) Cylinders 2 outside Cylinder size 14.5 in × 20 in (368 mm × 508 mm)

Performance figures Tractive effort 13,289 lbf (59.11 kN)

Career Operators South Australian Railways Numbers Y22, Y38, Y43, Y49, Y57-Y106, Y1108-Y142, Y147-Y179, Y195 Preserved Y71, Y82, Yx86, Y97, Y109, Yx141, Yx176 Disposition 7 preserved, 122 scrapped

The South Australian Railways Y class was a class of 2-6-0 steam locomotives operated by the South Australian Railways.

The Y class was the largest class of steam locomotive operated by the South Australian Railways (SAR) with 129 built between 1885 and 1898. Beyer, Peacock & Co, Manchester built 50, James Martin & Co of Gawler 77 and the Islington Railway Workshops two. They operated across the SAR's narrow gauge network. Between 1904 and 1924, 48 were fitted with new Belpaire boilers and reclassified as the Yx class.

They were part of what became almost an Australian 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) standard, as locomotives of similar design served in large numbers as the Silverton Tramway Y class, Tasmanian Government Railways C class and Western Australian Government Railways G class, and also in Queensland and on the Emu Bay Railway and North Australia Railway

Some were sold for further service to railway construction companies while others saw further service on the timber railway lines of Western Australia. During World War II, 18 were sold to the Commonwealth Railways for use on the North Australia Railway as the Nfb class. Seven of these were sold in 1948 to the Tasmanian Government Railways, but only four entered service as F1-F4.