This locomotive was built by Beyer Peacock in 1877 for the New South Wales Government Railway in Australia. It was the fifth locomotive of an initial order for six heavy freight locomotives of the A93 class and carried the number 97.
Beyer Peacock delivered 50 of the locomotives between 1877 and 1881 and a further 9 between 1880 and 1891. Henry Vale and Company supplied 18 in this latter period.
The A93 class was subsequently re-titled the Z19 class and the locomotive renumbered 1905. The 77 locomotives had short wheelbases and no leading boggie which resulted in them having a tendency to derail and they were ultimately restricted to a speed of 40kmh. Driven slowly they were capable of negotiating extreme curves and running on badly maintained or unballasted track.
The locomotives were capable of hauling loads of 128 tons over the Blue Mountain Line which ran from Sydney to Katoomba and then on to Mount Victoria, Lithgow and Bathurst. Gradients on this line were as steep as 1 in 33
As the locomotives of the class were replaced by more powerful engines they were redeployed on steeply graded lines which had to be operated by light locomotives and on shunting duties. Such lines included Batlow / Kunama, Oberon and Dorrigo lines where the gradient was as steep as 1 in 25 in places and the radius on curves as little as 100 metres.
This locomotive has a special place in history as it was the first to cross the Sydney Harbour Bridge when it hauled construction works trains.
Following the locomotives withdrawal from service it was placed in the New South Wales Rail Transport Museum. It was transferred from the premises at Enfield to Thirlmere in June 1975. By this time the locomotive had suffered from being stored outside and this situation did not change until a display hall was built at Thirlmere.
Restoration of the locomotive began at Thirlmere in 1983 and took 22 years to complete.
The locomotive is now on static display at the Transport Heritage New South Wales which was established in 2013 at Sydney.
Three other members of the class built by Beyer Peacock are preserved.
- 1904 – Beyer Peacock works number 1646
- 1919 – Beyer Peacock works number 1761
- 1923 – Beyer Peacock works number 1879
ed Outside Britain – By Country
Preserved British Steam Locomotives 