Super Power on the VR: 'Special Series Part 1' Victorian Railways 4-6-2 "S" Class Pacific Express Passenger Locomotive (TH-100)

Product No.: TH-100

Title: Super Power on the VR: 'Special Series Part 1' Victorian Railways 4-6-2 "S" Class Pacific Express Passenger Locomotive

Author(s): Badaway, Emile & Sargent, John & Berry, John & Pantlin, Graeme & Dunn, Philip
Illustrator(s): N/A
Publisher: Train Hobby Publications Australia
ISBN: 1876249943

Condition: New

Binding: Softcover
Dust Jacket: No Jacket
Edition: 1st Edition
Publication Year: 2006

Features: 48 Pages with Black/White Photos.

The S class was an express passenger steam locomotive that ran on Victorian Railways from 1928 to 1954. Built when the VR was at its zenith and assigned to haul premier interstate express passenger services, the S class remained the VR's most prestigious locomotive class until the advent of diesel electric locomotives in the early 1950s. The S was VR's first three cylinder locomotive, and A E Smith's design was influenced by Nigel Gresley's GNR A1 class 4-6-2 with its Gresley-Holcroft derived motion.

The S class also showed American design influence in its use of a delta trailing truck and bar frames rather than plate frames. Another notable design innovation was the incorporation of all three cylinders and the smokebox saddle into a single casting. The S class spent its entire normal service life on the main North-eastern line, its axle load too high for regular service on any other VR lines. Although Annual Reports show the VR planned to upgrade the main Western line and build further S class locomotives to haul Overland services between Ararat and Serviceton, exigencies imposed by the Great Depression and World War II meant the planned upgrade of this service never eventuated.

Although a numerically small class limited to a single line, the S class was highly utilised. S 302 travelled 1,446,468 miles (2,327,367 km) over its 25 year, 2 month service life, averaging 4,773 miles (7,679 km) per month.