| Introduced | 1911 – 1925 |
| 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 1915 and became number 18 on East Greta Coal Company and subsequently the South Maitland Railway.
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 10 class locomotives as soon as possible for the revived traffic.
In March 1973 on 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.
From then until September 1987, East Greta Junction Workshops became solely devoted to providing four 10 class at all times to Hexham, with the others in storage.
Moves to preserve these 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.
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. Moves were made to preserve the locomotives as a whole, unique in New South Wales.
In the late 1980s, the Hunter Valley Training Company was granted ownership of the remaining nine locomotives. Numbers 10 and 18 were overhauled by the Friends of the South Maitland Railways, and made their public debut at the Hunter Valley Steamfest 1990, with number10 in steam and number 18 on static display. The locomotives made regular appearances at this event in the ensuing years, including Steamfest 1991, which saw numbers 10, 17 and 18 in steam together at East Greta Junction.
In 1995, number 18 was placed on permanent loan to 3801 Limited, to operate The Cockatoo Run from Wollongong to Moss Vale. After The Cockatoo Run ceased in 1998 it was stored at Eveleigh Railway Workshops.
In May 2003 the locomotive was transported by road – three truckloads – from Eveleigh to the Bradken Rail works at Braemar, near Mittagong. There it was rebuilt to original form, and on completion was returned to the former SMR depot at East Greta. It was intended to be operated on the SMR line to Pelton.
In 2007 the locomotive was transferred to the Hunter Valley Railway Works at Rothbury but is believed to have been returned to the former South Maitland Railway workshops site at East Greta in October 2010.
The locomotive is now at the Hunter Valley Training Company at East Greta.
All fourteen of the class 10 locomotives have been preserved. The other thirteen are listed below.
- 10 – Beyer Peacock works number 5520
- 17 – Beyer Peacock works number 5790
- 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
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