Victorian Railways Dd class

Victorian Railways Dd class

VR photo of Dd 590 as built, 1902

Type and origin Power type steam Builder VR Newport Workshops (138), VR Ballarat North Workshops (8), VR Bendigo Workshops (8), Baldwin Locomotive Works (20), Beyer, Peacock & Co. (20), Walkers Ltd (20), Thompsons Ltd, Castlemaine (40), Phoenix Foundry, Ballarat (7)

Specifications Configuration: ​  • Whyte 4-6-0 Gauge 5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm) Driver dia. 61 in (1.549 m) Length 57 ft 4 3⁄4 in (17.49 m) Axle load 13 long tons 0 cwt (29,100 lb or 13.2 t) Adhesive weight 38 long tons 6 cwt (85,800 lb or 38.9 t) Loco weight 53 long tons 0 cwt (118,700 lb or 53.9 t) Tender weight 41 long tons 16 cwt (93,600 lb or 42.5 t) Total weight 94 long tons 16 cwt (212,400 lb or 96.3 t) Fuel type Coal Fuel capacity 5 long tons 0 cwt (11,200 lb or 5.1 t) Water cap 4,220 imp gal (19,200 l; 5,070 US gal) Firebox:  • Firegrate area 21.2 sq ft (1.97 m2) Boiler pressure 175 lbf/in2 (1.21 MPa) Heating surface 1,375 sq ft (127.7 m2) Cylinders Two, outside Cylinder size 18 in × 26 in (457 mm × 660 mm)

Performance figures Tractive effort 20,530 lbf (91.3 kN) at 85% boiler pressure

Career Number in class 261

Victorian Railways Dde class

Victorian Railways photograph of Dde 702, circa 1910

Type and origin Power type Steam Builder VR Newport Workshops

Specifications Configuration: ​  • Whyte 4-6-2T Gauge 5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm) Length 41 ft 10 1⁄2 in (12.76 m) Axle load 14 long tons 10 cwt (32,500 lb or 14.7 t) Adhesive weight 38 long tons 6 cwt (85,800 lb or 38.9 t) Loco weight 69 long tons 0 cwt (154,600 lb or 70.1 t) Fuel type Coal Fuel capacity 2 long tons 15 cwt (6,200 lb or 2.8 t) Water cap 1,700 imp gal (7,700 l; 2,000 US gal)

Career Number in class 58

Victorian Railways D3 class

Preserved D3 locomotive (left) adjacent to a K class locomotive, the boiler design of which formed the basis for the D3 boiler.

Type and origin Power type steam Builder VR Newport Workshops Number rebuilt 94 (all from earlier Dd class locomotives)

Specifications Configuration: ​  • Whyte 4-6-0 Gauge 5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm) Length 58 ft 3 3⁄8 in (17.76 m) Axle load 13 long tons 14 cwt (30,700 lb or 13.9 t) Total weight 99 long tons 11 cwt (223,000 lb or 101.1 t) Firebox:  • Firegrate area 25 sq ft (2.3 m2) Boiler pressure 170 lbf/in2 (1.2 MPa) Heating surface 1,592 sq ft (147.9 m2) Cylinder size 19 in × 26 in (483 mm × 660 mm)

Performance figures Tractive effort 22,600 lbf (101 kN) at 85% boiler pressure

The Dd class (later reclassified into D1, D2 and D3 subclasses) was a passenger and mixed traffic steam locomotive that ran on Victorian Railways from 1902 to 1974. Originally introduced on mainline express passenger services, they were quickly superseded by the much larger A2 class and were relegated to secondary and branch line passenger and goods service, where they gave excellent service for the next fifty years. The Dd design was adapted into a 4-6-2T tank locomotive for suburban passenger use, the Dde (later D4) class. They were the most numerous locomotive class on the VR, with a total of 261 Dd and 58 Dde locomotives built.

By 1900, Victoria's express passenger locomotive fleet was almost exclusively made up of 4-4-0 designs of the Old A, New A, and the most recent AA class. These locomotives reflected contemporary British locomotive practice (as did the VR's fleet of 0-6-0 goods locomotives), in no small part due to the Victorian Government having appointed, in 1884, a Midland Railway manager, Richard Speight, as its first Chief Railways Commissioner. The Commissioners then asked British locomotive engineer Edward Jeffreys to design five standard types of locos, in partnership with the British locomotive manufacturer (Kitson & Co. of Leeds).

At the turn of the century, in what marked a major shift in policy, the VR under recently appointed Commissioner Mr. J Mathieson set up a Locomotive Design Section for in-house development of future motive power. The Dd class locomotives were the first product of this exercise. A 4-6-0 design equipped with 5 ft 1 in driving wheels, saturated steam boiler and Belpaire firebox, the Dd reflected the considerable talent of VR's design team, which included ex-Beyer, Peacock and Company recruit Eugene Siepen, future VR Chief Mechanical Engineer Alfred Smith, and Rolling Stock Branch manager Thomas Woodroffe.