Victorian Railways Dd class

The first D^D was number 560, constructed at the Victorian Railways' Newport Workshops and entering service in 1902. It was followed by engines 582 to 700, evens only, all constructed at Newport with the exception of 602, 604, 606, 608, 610, 632 and 634. These seven engines were notable as the last locomotives to be built by Ballarat's Phoenix Foundry, which had been the main supplier of locomotives to the VR for over thirty years. That was because the conservative Irvine government sought to reduce the costs of locomotive construction, and Newport Workshops was asked to tender for the construction of the D^D class locomotives. A fierce tender war between Newport and Phoenix eventually resulted in a Royal Commission, which found that Newport could produce a locomotive for £3,364, some £497 cheaper than the Phoenix Foundry.[3] Phoenix produced just seven D^D locomotives and received no further orders, going into voluntary liquidation a year later.[3][4]

Engines 702 to 796, again evens only, were delivered as tank engines of the ${\displaystyle \mathrm {D_{E}^{D}} }$ class up to the end of 1910. By this point the odds/evens locomotive numbering scheme had been abandoned, so the last nine of the batch were delivered as 701-717 to start filling gaps.

As part of the competitive tendering process, in early 1912 contracts were signed with each of Beyer, Peacock & Company of Manchester, England, Baldwin Locomotive Works of the US, Walkers Limited of Maryborough, Queensland and Austral Otis, to compare against the cost of building engines at Newport Workshops. Ritchie Brothers of Sydney had also tendered but failed to win any of the orders. The contracts were for 20 engines each, with rights to a 20-engine extension and the possibility of up to a total of 100 engines. Respectively, Beyer, Peacock & Company delivered engines 531-569, Baldwin delivered 571-609 and Newport 611-649 (plus tank engine 719) in 1912. The following year saw Walkers delivered 651-689 while Newport supplied tank engines 721-749. Austral Otis encountered difficulties and withdrew from the contract in November 1912, leading to that contract being re-offered.

From 1914 newly delivered engines were consecutively numbered. Between 1914 and 1919 Newport delivered three batches of 20 engines each, numbered 873-912, 943-962 and 1013-1032, at a rate of 20 per year except the final two, delivered in 1918 and 1919 respectively.

The firm Thompsons & Co successfully won the contract for the 20 engines not being constructed by Austral Otis, and these were delivered from the end of 1914 numbered 893-912. A repeat order was placed in 1916 with deliveries of 963-982, and work had started on a further 20 engines when pressures of World War I led to the firm abandoning the remainder of the D^D contract extensions. The parts already constructed were forwarded to Victorian Railways workshops, initially with five each being built at Bendigo and Ballarat (1033-1037 and 1038-1042 respectively), and the next ten were split between Newport (1043-1046), Bendigo (1047-1049) and Ballarat (1050-1052). These three workshops turned out virtually all subsequent locomotives for the Victorian railway system until the post-war era. (Some references exist to a further ten Thompsons engines, but no evidence is available to support the claim.[5])

D^D class locomotives were initially assigned to hauling the Adelaide Express over the steep gradients between Melbourne and Ballarat, but were soon seen on mainline passenger services on a number of lines.[6]

The first years of the 20th century saw on the VR (as elsewhere in the world) a considerable increase in both the amount of traffic and the size and weight of rolling stock being hauled. In 1907, the D^D class was supplanted by the much larger and more powerful A² class on principal mainline services.[7] However, with their light axle load (just 12 t 10 cwt in their original form),[8] they were quickly reassigned to the VR's branchline network, where they became a fixture for the next fifty years.[9]

From July until September 1918, 1032 was loaned to the South Australian Railways for trails against a Rx class operating from Adelaide to Murray Bridge and Victor Harbor.[10]

With their light axle load and express passenger speed, the D^D was also an ideal choice as motive power for the Victorian Railways Commissioner's train (used to carry the VR Commissioners on inspection tours to every corner of the VR network). In January 1917, Commissioners' locomotive No. 100, a 2-4-0 built in 1872, was scrapped and replaced with the brand new D^D 980 from Thompsons Foundry in Castlemaine.[11] It was later renumbered D^D 718, D^D 600 and D¹ 600, until March 1937 when it was placed into normal service as D¹ 576, operating until 1959. There is photographic evidence of D¹ 600 as Commissioners' Engine throughout the 1930s in the K.V. Scott collection. The new Commissioners engine from 1937 was D³ 683, specially fitted with an electric headlight (Mort Clark Bulletin Article) and in August 1950 it was replaced by D³ 639. 639 herself was withdrawn in July 1956 and replaced with D³ 658, however 639's numbers were transferred to 658. D³ 639 (658) was replaced by new 40 M.P.H, Clyde EMD diesel-electric Y 123 in January 1964. In August 1968 new diesel-electric Y 175 geared for 60 M.P.H. running took over until the Commissioners' Train was discontinued about 1979/80. In 1983 new Chief General Manager Mr. John Hearsch reinstated the Inspection Train with Clyde diesel-electric T 410. The Inspection train was discontinued after Hearsch left for Queensland Rail circa 1991.

Victorian Railways ${\displaystyle \mathrm {D_{E}^{D}} }$ class
Victorian Railways photograph of ${\displaystyle \mathrm {D_{E}^{D}} }$ 702, circa 1910
Type and origin Power type Steam Builder VR Newport Workshops (all 58)
Specifications Configuration: ​  • Whyte 4-6-2T Gauge 5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm) Length 41 ft 10+1⁄2 in (12.76 m) Axle load 14 long tons 10 cwt (32,500 lb or 14.7 t) Adhesive weight 38 long tons 6 cwt (85,800 lb or 38.9 t) Loco weight 69 long tons 0 cwt (154,600 lb or 70.1 t) Fuel type Coal Fuel capacity 2 long tons 15 cwt (6,200 lb or 2.8 t) Water cap. 1,700 imp gal (7,700 L; 2,000 US gal)
Career Number in class 58

The expansion of Melbourne's population into new suburbs early in the 20th century, and the delay of the suburban electrification project,[12] saw the need for faster and more powerful steam locomotives for the suburban rail network. In 1908, the basic design of the D^D was adapted to create 4-6-2T tank locomotives, classed ${\displaystyle \mathrm {D_{E}^{D}} }$. They were put to work on longer and hillier suburban routes such as the Dandenong, Frankston, Upper Ferntree Gully, Williamstown, Werribee, Lilydale, Darling and Kew railway lines. A total of 58 were built between 1908 and 1913.[13]

With electrification of the suburban network already on the drawing board (the first electrified lines opening in 1919), the ${\displaystyle \mathrm {D_{E}^{D}} }$ was designed for easy conversion to D^D tender engines in the event of electrification making them redundant. However, only two were modified in that way.[13] Ten were scrapped in 1924, followed by another four in 1925, and ${\displaystyle \mathrm {D_{E}^{D}} }$ 704 was sold to the State Electricity Commission of Victoria.[14] The remaining ${\displaystyle \mathrm {D_{E}^{D}} }$ locomotives remained in service on non-electrified outer suburban routes or found new roles as suburban goods locomotives or shunters. Some were allotted to Ballarat to work the short branch line to Newlyn.

During the construction of the D^D class, a number of changes were made. The first locomotives built featured low running plates with splashers over the driving wheels and a narrow cab. However, after 26 such examples were built the design was altered[13] with high running plates mounted above the driving wheels and a more comfortable full-width pressed metal cab of Canadian design, a feature incorporated at the request of Victorian Railways Chief Commissioner and former Canadian Pacific Transportation Manager Thomas Tait.[6] These became hallmarks of all subsequent VR steam locomotive designs.

Although the Dd was considered to be a successful design, it had a key shortcoming in that its boiler performance was not sufficient for the traffic demands being placed on it. In 1914, an experimental superheater was fitted to D^D 882 and was found to be very successful.[13] Both D^D and A² designs (both locomotive classes still under construction at the time) were modified with superheated boilers (with all of the existing A² class locomotives eventually fitted with superheated boilers). Superheaters were also fitted to three of the ${\displaystyle \mathrm {D_{E}^{D}} }$ locomotives.[13] Further D^D locomotives were also built with 19 in. diameter cylinders in place of the original 18 in. cylinders.[13]

In 1923–4, D^D 1022 was experimentally fitted with Pulverised Brown Coal (PBC) burning equipment.[15]

In 1922 a complex renumbering and reclassing of VR locomotives saw the D^D class split into two subclasses, the D¹ class (comprising all the original saturated steam locomotives with 18 in. cylinders) and the D² class (comprising superheated locomotives with either 18 or 19 in. cylinders).

With the introduction of a further D³ class in 1929, the ${\displaystyle \mathrm {D_{E}^{D}} }$ tank locomotives were reclassified as D⁴ class in 1929.

Victorian Railways D3 class
Preserved D3 locomotive (left) adjacent to a K class locomotive, the boiler design of which formed the basis for the D3 boiler.
Type and origin Power type steam Builder VR Newport Workshops Number rebuilt 94 (all from earlier DD class locomotives)
Specifications Configuration: ​  • Whyte 4-6-0 Gauge 5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm) Length 58 ft 3+3⁄8 in (17.76 m) Axle load 13 long tons 14 cwt (30,700 lb or 13.9 t) Total weight 99 long tons 11 cwt (223,000 lb or 101.1 t) Firebox:  • Firegrate area 25 sq ft (2.3 m2) Boiler pressure 170 lbf/in2 (1.2 MPa) Heating surface 1,592 sq ft (147.9 m2) Cylinder size 19 in × 26 in (483 mm × 660 mm)
Performance figures Tractive effort 22,600 lbf (101 kN) at 85% boiler pressure

Despite the success of superheating the D^D boiler, it was still somewhat limited in steam-raising capabilities. In 1922, a new design of 2-8-0 branch line goods locomotive, the K class, was introduced, with noticeably superior boiler performance to that of the D^D. In 1929, a D^D class locomotive was rebuilt with a larger boiler derived from the K class design. Based on the success of the rebuild, a further 93 D¹or D² class locomotives were converted between 1929 and 1947, and classified D³.

The D³s were economical and efficient, but also renowned for their superior performance. They could be worked hard and were a favourite with crews.[16] Although restricted to a maximum permitted speed of 60 mph (95 km/h), the D³s were known to be capable of up to 75 mph (120 km/h).[6]

With its low axle load and its ability to travel at a relatively high speed, the D³ helped to speed up passenger services on many lightly laid branch lines.

These tables are based on:

• Cave, N., Buckland, J. & Beardsell, D. (2002) Steam Locomotives of the Victorian Railways - Volume 1 The First Fifty Years, Australian Railway Historical Society (Victorian Division), ISBN 1876677384
• Medlin, P. N. (2004) Victorian Railways Locomotives by Number (self-published, based on Victorian Railways' locomotive repair cards)
• ARHS Bulletin No 167, September 1951, page 115