Victorian Railways C class

Victorian Railways C Class
VR photograph of C 1, as built in 1918.
Type and origin Power type steam Designer W. M. Shannon Builder Newport Workshops Build date 1918–1926 Total produced 26
Specifications Configuration: ​  • Whyte 2-8-0  • UIC 1'Dh2 Gauge 5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm) Leading dia. 3 ft 1 7⁄16 in (0.951 m) Driver dia. 5 ft 1 11⁄16 in (1.567 m) Length 65 ft 3 in (19.89 m) Height 13 ft 9 in (4.191 m) Axle load 18 long tons 10 cwt (41,400 lb or 18.8 t) Adhesive weight 71 long tons 18 cwt (161,100 lb or 73.1 t) roadworthy Tender weight 47 long tons 0 cwt (105,300 lb or 47.8 t) Total weight 128 long tons 10 cwt (287,800 lb or 130.6 t) Tender cap. (after conversion to oil firing) 1,500 imp gal (6,800 l; 1,800 US gal) oil, 4,700 imp gal (21,000 l; 5,600 US gal) water Firebox:  • Firegrate area 32 sq ft (3.0 m2) Boiler pressure 200 psi (1,379 kPa) Heating surface 2,417 sq ft (224.5 m2)  • Tubes and flues 1,915 sq ft (177.9 m2)  • Firebox 175 sq ft (16.3 m2) Superheater: ​  • Heating area 327 sq ft (30.4 m2) Cylinders Two, outside Cylinder size 22 in × 28 in (559 mm × 711 mm) Valve gear Walschaerts
Performance figures Tractive effort 38,400 lbf (170.81 kN) at 85% boiler pressure Factor of adh. 4.26
Career Numbers C1 to C26 First run 1918 Last run 1962 Disposition One preserved, remainder scrapped

The C class was a mainline goods locomotive of the 2-8-0 'Consolidation' type that ran on the Victorian Railways between 1918 and 1962. Although its original design had some key shortcomings, a number of improvements were made over the class' long career on the VR, many of which were subsequently applied to other locomotive classes on the system.

Designed by Chief Mechanical Engineer W. M. Shannon, the C class was the first goods locomotive designed and built entirely in-house by the Victorian Railways Newport Workshops, following on from the successful Dd and A2 class passenger locomotives. When class leader C 1 was introduced in 1918, it was the heaviest and most powerful steam locomotive in Australia. It had been necessary for Victorian Railways to strengthen bridges at Dudley Street, North Melbourne and along the lines to Woodend and Seymour on which the new locomotive was expected to run.

The prototype locomotive C 1 was the only one of the class painted in the Victorian Railways 'Canadian Red' scheme. Locomotive C 2 was the first new Victorian Railways locomotive to be finished in the new VR livery of plain, unrelieved black, an cost-efficiency initiative introduced by the new VR Chairman Harold Clapp. It was the first of a further 25 C class members also built at Newport Workshops between 1921 and 1926.

The high tractive effort of the C class locomotives enabled Victorian Railways to operate heavier goods trains with a single locomotive and thus enabled significant savings in operating costs through a reduction in train-miles for the tonnage hauled. Along with the smaller K class branch line 2-8-0, they were credited with playing a major part in the 15% reduction in overall goods and livestock train miles on Victoria Railways between 1920 and 1924, against a reduction of overall tonnage hauled of only 3% for the same years.

Upon introduction, locomotive C 1 was put to work operating through goods trains on the Melbourne to Seymour line. Apart from its ability to operate heavy train unassisted, it was also found to be 5% more efficient in coal consumption per ton-mile than superheater-equipped A2 and Dd class locomotives, and 25% more efficient that A2 or Dd class locomotives with saturated steam boilers.