Timetable
TIME
DIRECTION
LOCOMOTIVES
9.00am
Buxton
3001 + 3265
9.30am
Picton
3526/4201
10.10am
Buxton
3001 + 3265
10.45AM
Picton
3526/4201
11.20AM
Buxton
3001 + 3265
12.00 PM
Picton
3526/4201
12.30PM
Buxton
3001 + 3265
1.05PM
Picton
3526/4201
2.15PM
Buxton
3001 + 3265
2.45PM
Picton
3526/4201
3.20PM
Buxton
3001 + 3265
3.50PM
Picton
3526/4201
6.00PM
Picton Night Train (Sat. Only)
3001 + 3526 / 4201
7.10PM
Picton Night Train (Sat. Only)
3001 + 3526 / 4201
locomotives
LOCOMOTIVe 3001
Locomotive 3001 began life in 1903 as S 636, the first of 145 engines in the S class (later C30 class) 4-6-4 suburban tank locomotives. They were built by Beyer, Peacock and Co. in Manchester, UK. 3001 received its new number in 1924. After electrification of Sydney’s suburban railways from 1926, the career path of 3001 took a new course.
3001 was one of 77 C30 class tanks rebuilt as 4-6-0 tender locomotives between 1928 and 1933. The newly converted engines were reclassified as C30T, and 3001 was one of the last to be rebuilt.
Redeployed into rural service, the rebuilt engines were just as successful in the bush as they had been in Sydney’s suburbs. The class were modernised during World War II by being fitted with superheaters. These reheat steam, giving it greater energy and allowing it to perform more work, and they improved the economy of each engine by around 10 per cent.
For many years, until as late as 1967, 3001 was a regular performer on the Mudgee Mail four days a week between Mudgee and Gwabegar.
The C30Ts were so good at their ‘jobs’, that some survived in service until 1972.
3001 remained a working locomotive in heritage service until 1996. It has recently undergone a three-year restoration, forming part of THNSW’s operational heritage train fleet from March 2023.
Locomotive 3001 will lead steam train rides from Thirlmere to Buxton and return, in double header with 3265.
LOCOMOTIVe 3526
Reclassified as the 35 class during the 1924 renumbering program, these locomotives were originally known as the NN class, which gave rise to the nickname ‘Nanny’. Built in 1917, 3526’s original number was 1314.
The 35 class 4-6-0 locomotives were built by the NSW Government Railways (NSWGR) at their workshops at Eveleigh. Coincidentally, there were 35 engines in the 35 class. They were intended to reduce the amount of 'double-heading' required for main line express trains following the introduction of heavy, twelve-wheeled corridor compartment cars.
Teething problems with the new design were overcome by several modifications throughout their service (including re-framing and re-balancing the driving wheels), seeing them develop into solid performers. The original cabs were replaced to provide the crew greater protection against the weather.
With the advent of the 36 and later the 38 classes, the 35s spent the greater part of their lives on northern services.
Withdrawn in 1967, locomotive 3526 in that year became the first exhibit to be painted by the NSW Rail Transport Museum, forerunner of Transport Heritage NSW. 3526 is one of the few NSW locomotives to have been painted in blue livery for a time, while hauling the Caves Express services from Sydney to Mount Victoria in the 1930s. Following a major overhaul completed in 2018, it now appears in Brunswick Green livery with red and yellow trim.
Locomotive 3526 will lead steam train rides from Thirlmere towards Picton and return.
LOCOMOTIVe 2705
2705 was one of eight built by Hunslet for use in railway construction on the North Coast of NSW and in the south of the state. Their roles soon expanded at various locations in NSW including Port Waratah coal traffic, local goods trains at Enfield and Eveleigh and local work in the Lismore region.
They were soon found to be unsuitable for lines which included sharp curves. They were thus transferred to Narrabri West locomotive depot in the North West of the state, an area which featured relatively straight branch lines. There, they worked mixed goods traffic and stock trains in the Moree, Pokataroo, Walgett, Mungindi and Boggabilla areas.
2705 is the sole survivor of its class. It served on the Vintage Train in the early 1960s for tourist and promotional events, before becoming part of the collection of the NSW RTM - predecessor of Transport Heritage NSW. It served faithfully on the Loop Line at NSW Rail Museum in Thirlmere for many years until the end of 2022.
It returned to service earlier this year, wearing a new bright red livery.
Locomotive 2705 will be on display for cab visits at the NSW Rail Museum forecourt.
LOCOMOTIVe 3265
Locomotive 3265 entered service as 4-6-0 express passenger engine P 584 in 1902. It was renumbered 3265 in 1924 and was equipped with superheating in 1933. The 32 class became known as the "English express locomotives” due to their origin, although some were built in the USA by Baldwin and others in Australia. 3265 was among those built by Beyer, Peacock and Co. in Manchester, UK.
The 32 class hauled a range of passenger services on almost every line in NSW. With 191 members the class were among the NSW Railways’ most successful steam locomotive designs.
3265’s original livery was black, but in 1933 it was painted maroon and received the nameplate ‘Hunter’, to haul the Northern Commercial Limited express to Newcastle. The 32 class were soon replaced by larger locomotives on this run.
From around 1960 they were gradually replaced by diesel locomotives, mostly 48 class, but so functional were the class that the last regular steam-hauled passenger train in New South Wales was hauled by a 32 class engine from Newcastle to Singleton in 1971. These locomotives thus outlived their successors – the 35, 36 and 38 classes.
3265 ran for 66 years across NSW and was retired in 1968 after clocking 2,965,840km of service. It still has its original frame, and the cab is stamped with its builder's number.
Locomotive 3265 will lead steam train rides from Thirlmere to Buxton and return, in double header with 3001.
LOCOMOTIVe R766
R766 was commissioned in 1952 as one of 70 members of the Victorian Railways R class 4-6-4 ‘Hudson’ main line passenger locomotives. These locomotives were designed by Victorian Railways and were urgently required in the post-World War 2 period, but construction was delayed by competing priorities.
Eventually construction was outsourced to the North British Locomotive Company, Glasgow, but, as with so many post-war steam locomotives orders, delivery ultimately came years after the locomotives were required. On entering service, the R class superseded the ageing A2 class 4-6-0 locomotives on fast passenger trains. However, the simultaneous arrival of first-generation diesels reduced their usage, and the R class was destined for relatively short lives and low mileages.
R766 is one of seven surviving R class locomotives. When withdrawn in 1968, many of its sisters had already been scrapped. After being placed on static display in Bendigo for several years, it was purchased by private interests and restored to operational condition for use on charter and enthusiast trains. In the 1990s the locomotive was maintained alongside Steamrail Victoria’s locomotive fleet at Newport Workshops and wore an attractive (but non-original) Canadian Red livery. After conversion to oil firing in the early 2000s, R766 was used successfully on weekend passenger train services between Melbourne and Warrnambool in south-western Victoria.
In May 2005, R766 was leased to the Hunter Valley Railway Trust for movement to Branxton NSW after being substantially converted to standard gauge by Steamrail in Melbourne. This significant work features a few modifications such as the replacement of the leading bogie spoked wheel centres with those of the disc variety. It was officially relaunched on standard gauge on 18 March 2022.
Locomotive R766 will haul the Thirlmere Festival of Steam Picnic Train on Sunday 18 May only.
1064 Coal Grab CranE
1064 is a four-wheel self-propelled vertical-boiler coal grab, designed for coaling steam locomotives in smaller country locomotive depots which lacked more formal locomotive servicing facilities.
It was constructed by the Austral Otis Engineering Company at their Alfred Harman Works, Port Melbourne in 1918 as one of a batch of four coal grabs and entered service as LO 39 with the NSWGR in August 1918. It was renumbered 1064 in the X10 class in the NSWGR's 1924 renumbering.
1064 finished its career with the NSWGR in June 1971 when it was withdrawn from Eveleigh Depot. It was transferred to the NSW Rail Transport Museum (now Transport Heritage NSW) in working order; however, it was later dismantled for rail transport to the (then) new museum at Thirlmere in 1975.
The reassembly and repair of this machine after years of open storage is a great example of the high-quality restoration capabilities of the volunteers and staff at Transport Heritage NSW.
Catch it on display throughout the day at the NSW Rail Museum, showing off the muscle that once kept the steam era rolling.
