| Weight | 61t 15cwt |
| Driving Wheels | 4ft 3ins |
| Boiler Pressure | 180psi |
| Cylinders | Outside – 20in x 26in |
| Tractive Effort | 31,210lbf |
Fourteen class 10 locomotives were built by Beyer Peacock in the period 1911 to 1925. They were supplied to the East Greta Coal Company which later became the South Maitland Railway. Members of the class were the last class of steam locomotives in commercial use in Australia.
The East Greta Coal Company had constructed its railway empire based on a motley group of second hand and borrowed steam locomotives, which by 1910, was fast becoming insufficient to move the great loads coming from the Greta Seam which ran right through the South Maitland coalfield. Standardised motive power was sought, and a melding of the New South Wales Government Railways’ 4-6-0 and 2-8-0 designs brought about the 10 class.
The locomotives were generally known as the class 10 as this was the numbered carried by the first member of the class.
The fourteen locomotives were numbered where they could be accommodated within the East Greta Coal Company numbering system. This proved haphazard, the numbers allocated being 10, 17-20, 22-28 and 30-31.
The locomotives were delivered in kit form, and erected onsite at the East Greta Junction Workshops. This locomotive was built by Beyer Peacock in 1912 and entered service as number 10.
The class 10 locomotives were primarily used to haul coal trains until a downturn in the 1950s when a sharp reduction in demand for coal resulted in a number of members of the class being set aside as boiler work was required. The situation improved in the late 1960s when there was an upturn in the market. In 1967 Coal & Allied (C&A) purchased Hebburn Limited which gave C&A 100% ownership of the South Maitland Railways. As C&A also owned the former J&A Brown Richmond Vale Railway a study was undertaken on the costs involved in having new boilers built by outside suppliers for both the 10 class and the J&A Brown ROD locomotives. It was determined to be of greater benefit to allow the remaining RODs to work out their economic lives, and to start a system of repairing the class 10 locomotives as soon as possible for the revived traffic.
In March 1973 one of the class 10 locomotives was sent to Hexham to assist in the movement of coal from the mine at Stockrington on the former J&A Brown Railway. This was the start of a 14-year association of the 10 class with this system, with each class member spending at least a few weeks in service there. All maintenance at this time was undertaken at East Greta Junction, with the locomotives being transferred dead on empty and loaded coal trains.
Steam on the South Maitland Railway system ended in June 1983.
Moves to preserve the class 10 locomotives began in the late 1970s, with the New South Wales Rail Transport Museum and the Richmond Vale Railway Museum making approaches to Coal & Allied to preserve at least one of the locomotives upon withdrawal, however these requests were refused.
The first of the class to be preserved was number 19, which had been withdrawn awaiting overhaul and had its leading bogie used to repair number 31 following damage in a 1982 accident at Fishery Creek.
Following the cessation of steam services on the South Maitland Railway in 1983, those not required for Hexham workings were stored in the former engine shed at East Greta Junction.
In the late 1980s, the Hunter Valley Training Company was granted ownership of the remaining nine locomotives which still remained at East Greta Junction – this included number 10.
It was then overhauled by the Friends of the South Maitland Railways.
In 1990 the locomotive was steamed at the Hunter Valley Steamfest and made regular appearances in the following years.
It was withdrawn from service in the late 1990s and was dismantled by apprentices in 2002. After the project to overhaul the locomotive stalled it was transferred to the Hunter Valley Railway Works at Rothbury There it was reassembled using the boiler and tank from class mate number 27 and made its return to steam in September 2005.
The locomotive made three more public appearances in the following two years.
In November, 2010 the locomotive along with class mate number 18 was taken in steam back to East Greta Junction for preservation.
In August 2011 it ran with number 18 when they topped and tailed a special passenger train along their old stomping ground to Neath and back to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Hunter Valley Training Company, 125 years since the discovery of the Greta coal seam and the 100th Anniversary of the delivery of 10 to the East Greta Coal Company.
After being stored under cover at the old East Greta Workshops for a period the locomotive was moved into the open air following the leasing of the workshop space to Bradken Rail.
The locomotive was steamed again in 2014 before being placed back in store before undergoing a boiler inspection in 2018 prior to being overhauled.
The locomotive is owned and maintained by the Hunter Valley Training Company at East Great
All fourteen of the class 10 locomotives have been preserved. The other thirteen are listed below.
- 17 – Beyer Peacock works number 5790
- 18 – Beyer Peacock works number 5909
- 19 – Beyer Peacock works number 5910
- 20 – Beyer Peacock works number 5998
- 22 – Beyer Peacock works number 6055
- 23 – Beyer Peacock works number 6056
- 24 – Beyer Peacock works number 6125
- 25 – Beyer Peacock works number 6126
- 26 – Beyer Peacock works number 6127
- 27 – Beyer Peacock works number 6137
- 28 – Beyer Peacock works number 6138
- 30 – Beyer Peacock works number 6294
- 31 – Beyer Peacock works number 6295
Preserved British Steam Locomotives 