Commonwealth Railways KA class

The Commonwealth Railways KA class was a class of 2-8-0 tender locomotives of the Commonwealth Railways, Australia. The class operated on the 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) Trans-Australian Railway.

Commonwealth Railways KA class
A KA class locomotive, c 1951.
A KA class locomotive, c 1951.
Type and origin
Power typeSteam
BuilderPerry Engineering (6)
Walkers Limited (20)
Build date1918-1920
Total produced26
Specifications
Configuration:
​
 • Whyte2-8-0
Gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Fuel typeCoal
Water cap.4,850 imp gal (22,000 L; 5,820 US gal)
Cylinder size22 in × 26 in (559 mm × 660 mm)
Performance figures
Tractive effort29,609 lbf (131.71 kN)
Career
OperatorsCommonwealth Railways
NumbersKA35–KA54, KA56–KA61
First runSeptember 1918
DispositionAll scrapped

History

Between September 1918 and June 1920, Commonwealth Railways took delivery of 26 KA class freight locomotives built to the same design as the New South Wales Government Railways' TF class (later the D53 class). Six were built by Perry Engineering, Gawler and 20 by Walkers Limited, Maryborough.[1][2] They were an upgraded version of the K class.

The Perry built locomotives received superheaters in 1943. Three were converted to burn oil during the 1949 coal strike, but were converted back within months.[1]

Most survived until replaced by GM class diesel locomotives with the last withdrawn in September 1952.[1]

References

Notes
  1. Oberg, Leon (1984). Locomotives of Australia 1850s-1980s. Frenchs Forest: Reed Books. p. 108. ISBN 0 730100 05 7.
  2. KA class Chris's Commonwealth Railways Pages

Bibliography
  • Fluck, Ronald E; Marshall, Barry; Wilson, John (1996). Locomotives and Railcars of the Commonwealth Railways. Welland, SA: Gresley Publishing. ISBN 1876216018.

Media related to Commonwealth Railways KA class locomotives at Wikimedia Commons

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.