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South Maitland Railways 10 Class
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South Maitland Railways 10 Class
The South Maitland Railways 10 class locomotives is a class of 14 2-8-2T steam locomotives built for the East Greta Coal Company (later South Maitland Railway) by Beyer, Peacock & Company in Manchester, England, between 1911 and 1925. Members of this class of locomotive were the last steam locomotives in commercial use in Australia.
The East Greta Coal Company had constructed its railway empire based on a motley group of secondhand 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' P(6) 4-6-0 and T(524) 2-8-0 designs brought about the 10 class.
The locomotives were generally known as the '10' class, as the class leader was numbered as that company's 2nd No. 10. 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 2nd No. 10 (later 10), 17–20, 22-28 and 30–31.
The locomotives were delivered in knocked down form, and erected onsite at the East Greta Junction Workshops (colloquially known as the 'Red Shed'). They were primarily used to haul coal trains.
This remained consistent until the 1950s, when a sharp downturn in demand for coal led to certain members of the class being set aside as boiler work was required. With an upturn in the late 1960s, and the purchase by Coal & Allied (C&A) in 1967 of Hebburn Limited which gave C&A 100% ownership of South Maitland Railway. 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 as soon as possible for the revived traffic.
On 21 March 1973, 23 arrived at Hexham to assist in the movement of coal from the mine at Stockrington on the former J&A Brown railway. This would begin 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, with 31 bringing in the last load, and 22, with van in tow, bringing in the last steam-hauled revenue train to traverse the South Maitland Railway, with great ceremony. 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 19, which was on display at Port Waratah Coal Loader.
Following the handover of operations of the SMR to the State Rail Authority, the 10 class remained in service on the truncated J&A Brown railway between Stockrington and Hexham. As steam on all State Government systems in Australia had ended in the 1970s, this was the last commercial steam train operation in Australia, attracting much media attention. In September 1987, Coal & Allied announced that the line would soon close, with all coal haulage going to road. The last remained crews at Hexham protested and blockaded the entrance to the loader, using 30 and a rake of wagons. After a long standoff, during which the men were sacked and stripped of their entitlements, 30 hauled the last loaded coal train from Stockrington loader to Hexham Washery, and later 25, on 22 September 1987, hauled the last revenue steam-hauled train in Australia, a string of empties to be stored at Hexham.
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South Maitland Railways 10 Class
The South Maitland Railways 10 class locomotives is a class of 14 2-8-2T steam locomotives built for the East Greta Coal Company (later South Maitland Railway) by Beyer, Peacock & Company in Manchester, England, between 1911 and 1925. Members of this class of locomotive were the last steam locomotives in commercial use in Australia.
The East Greta Coal Company had constructed its railway empire based on a motley group of secondhand 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' P(6) 4-6-0 and T(524) 2-8-0 designs brought about the 10 class.
The locomotives were generally known as the '10' class, as the class leader was numbered as that company's 2nd No. 10. 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 2nd No. 10 (later 10), 17–20, 22-28 and 30–31.
The locomotives were delivered in knocked down form, and erected onsite at the East Greta Junction Workshops (colloquially known as the 'Red Shed'). They were primarily used to haul coal trains.
This remained consistent until the 1950s, when a sharp downturn in demand for coal led to certain members of the class being set aside as boiler work was required. With an upturn in the late 1960s, and the purchase by Coal & Allied (C&A) in 1967 of Hebburn Limited which gave C&A 100% ownership of South Maitland Railway. 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 as soon as possible for the revived traffic.
On 21 March 1973, 23 arrived at Hexham to assist in the movement of coal from the mine at Stockrington on the former J&A Brown railway. This would begin 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, with 31 bringing in the last load, and 22, with van in tow, bringing in the last steam-hauled revenue train to traverse the South Maitland Railway, with great ceremony. 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 19, which was on display at Port Waratah Coal Loader.
Following the handover of operations of the SMR to the State Rail Authority, the 10 class remained in service on the truncated J&A Brown railway between Stockrington and Hexham. As steam on all State Government systems in Australia had ended in the 1970s, this was the last commercial steam train operation in Australia, attracting much media attention. In September 1987, Coal & Allied announced that the line would soon close, with all coal haulage going to road. The last remained crews at Hexham protested and blockaded the entrance to the loader, using 30 and a rake of wagons. After a long standoff, during which the men were sacked and stripped of their entitlements, 30 hauled the last loaded coal train from Stockrington loader to Hexham Washery, and later 25, on 22 September 1987, hauled the last revenue steam-hauled train in Australia, a string of empties to be stored at Hexham.
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