South Australian Railways 500 class (steam)

South Australian Railways 500 class

502 at Eden Hills in August 1953

Type and origin Power type Steam Designer Fred Shea Builder Armstrong Whitworth Serial number 633-642 Build date 1926 Total produced 10

Specifications Configuration 4-8-2 (as built) 4-8-4 (after rebuilding) Gauge 1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in) Driver diameter 5 ft 3 in (1.600 m) Fuel type Coal Fuel capacity 12 long tons 0 cwt (26,900 lb or 12.2 t) Boiler pressure 200 psi (1,379 kPa) Cylinders 2 Cylinder size 26 in × 28 in (660 mm × 711 mm)

Career Operators South Australian Railways Numbers 500-509 Withdrawn 1955-1962 Preserved 504 Scrapped 1961-1965 Disposition 1 preserved, 9 scrapped

The South Australian Railways 500 class was a class of 4-8-2 steam locomotives operated by the South Australian Railways. They were rebuilt as 4-8-4s.

History

The 500 class were part of larger order for 30 steam locomotives placed with Armstrong Whitworth, England in 1924 as part of the rehabilitation of the state's rail system being overseen by railways commissioner William Webb. They replaced the Rx and S class locomotives, many dating back to 1894 that were still performing mainline duties, where double and even triple heading was common. All ten arrived in Adelaide in 1926 and entered service on the Adelaide to Wolseley line as far as Tailem Bend. All were named after notable South Australians.

Rebuilding

In May 1928, 506 was experimentally fitted with a booster, fitted to a newly created four wheel trailing truck. This American inspired modification proved highly successful, increasing the locomotives tractive effort from 51,000 lbf to 59,000 lbf. This modification was subsequently fitted to the nine remaining locomotives, resulting in the class becoming the 4-8-4 class 500B.

Throughout the mid-1930s a number of the locomotives in the class were semi-streamlined and had valances fitted. The first two were withdrawn in 1955, with the last withdrawn in 1962.

504 has been preserved as a static exhibit National Railway Museum, Port Adelaide.

Class list

Number	Date in Service	Date Condemned	Name
500	4 June 1926	May 1963	James McGuire
501	2 July 1926	September 1958	Sir Henry Barwell
502	22 May 1926	July 1961	John Gunn
503	23 July 1926	July 1962	RL Butler
504	18 October 1926	Static Display	Tom Barr-Smith
505	28 October 1926	July 1962	Sir Tom Bridges
506	25 October 1926	July 1962	Sir George Murray
507	12 October 1926	September 1958	Margaret Murray
508	14 September 1926	July 1962	Sir Lancelot Stirling
509	24 August 1926	July 1961	WA Webb