Beyer Peacock     Works No 5998    Class 10   20      2-8-2T        South Maitland Railways, Australia       Gauge 4ft 8½in

Introduced1911 – 1925
Weight61t 15cwt
Driving Wheels4ft 3ins
Boiler Pressure180psi
CylindersOutside – 20in x 26in
Tractive Effort31,210lbf

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 at Gorton, Manchester in 1920 and entered service with the East Greta Coal Company and subsequently the South Maitland Railway as number 20. 

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 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.

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, except number 19, which was on display at Port Waratah Coal Loader.

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.

This locomotive (number 20) was sold along with six other members of the class sold to Chris Richards in 1990, and transferred to Hunter Valley Railway Works, Rothbury.

The locomotive is and stored at the Rothbury Riot Railway at Branxton

All fourteen of the class 10 locomotives have been preserved.

The other thirteen are listed below.

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