T251

The T class engines were designed by the South Australian Railways (SAR) to meet a demand for more powerful locomotives. They were initially put into use hauling the heavy ore trains from Broken Hill, but soon spread to every line, becoming synonymous with the South Australia’s outback railway system. A drop in ore traffic in 1919 meant that many of them became surplus and saw 5 being converted to broad gauge, with 6 more sold to Tasmania. During WW2 many of them also run on ‘The Ghan’ line to Alice Springs, after being temporarily transferred to the Commonwealth Government.

The T class were constantly modified and improved, receiving superheating, electric lights, air compressor upgrades and a tender rebuild to increase the coal capacity. To save on the amount of coal being used, 48 of the locomotives were converted to oil firing, with T251 being the first, however reverted back to coal firing in the 1960’s. By the 1970’s they were being quickly withdrawn due to many lines being closed, re-gauged or diesels undertaking any work remaining. T251 was the last SAR steam locomotive in general service, hauling the final train on the Wilmington line, and then became the last T class to run on a main line in January 1970. T251 was stored at Peterborough until the Geelong Steam Preservation Society (GSPS) purchased the locomotive and shipped it to the Belmont Common Railway and later to Queenscliff. T251 has operated many thousands of kilometres on The Bellarine Railway, and returned to service after a seven year overhaul on the 7th of January, 2022. T251 has been the backbone of our steam services in recent years, and perfectly suits our larger trains.

Klondyke

Klondyke is a small industrial tank engine, built initially for construction work on the Bethanga Bridge over the Hume Reservoir. The Hume Weir (now known as Lake Hume) is located east of Albury on the Murray River. It was one of the largest construction projects of the time, employing thousands of workers in NSW and Victoria from 1919 to 1936.

In 1939, Klondyke was sold to the Bingle-Davitt Machinery Co. of Melbourne who in turn sold it to the Mount Morgan Mines in Queensland. After giving useful service there, Klondyke was again sold to the Pioneer Sugar Mills in Ayr, Queensland. In 1960, two extra wheels were fitted below the cab, thus making it an ’0-4-2’. Another major modification was made in 1962 when the engine was converted from coal to oil firing, vastly reducing running costs. It hauled sugar cane until 1966 when diesel locomotives arrived.

Klondyke is one of the most travelled locomotives in Australia, arriving at the Belmont Common Railway in 1971. Klondyke was never finished in time to haul passengers at Belmont Common, though was steamed around the yard during the transition period, when the Geelong Steam Preservation Society was in the process of slowly moving to Queenscliff. After a spending a period of time at the Spotswood Steam Depot, Klondyke returned to Queenscliff and commenced pulling trains in 1998, painted dark blue. In 2001, Klondyke was hired to the West Coast Wilderness Railway in Queenstown, Tasmania to haul the inaugural train services prior to the original ABT locomotives returning to active duties later that year, thus adding to it’s list of wanderings around the nation. A nasty derailment would occur at this time, causing one of the driving axles to break and resulting in an early trip back to Queenscliff to be repaired.

Klondyke continued to operate Bellarine Railway services throughout the 2000s, before having an extended period of restricted operation between 2012 and 2024.

Read more about the 2024 overhaul and return to service here.

X3 and X20

X3 and X20 are ex-Tasmanian Government Railways 660 horsepower mainline diesel-electric locomotives. They were designed by English Electric Company, with X3 being built in house by EE in 1950, and X20 contracted out to the Vulcan Foundry.

The X classes were the first exciting diesel locomotives procured by the Geelong Steam Preservation Society, arriving in the 1980s, and eclipsing the power output of the railways Drewry V/VA class shunters. X20 arrived in a green and yellow Australian National (AN), livery, while X3 wore a black and yellow ANR livery. At one point X20 was painted in a blue and silver livery, before both locomotives were repainted into the matching TGR red and cream livery they wear today.

These locomotives have provided many valuable years of service to The Bellarine Railway, hauling many of our heritage services on days of total fire ban.

In recent years both locomotives have been converted to dual braking, by adding a No.4 brake valve to the short end control stand of both locomotives. The X classes originally had a vacuum train brake, with an air operated locomotive brake, into which the air train brake system has been installed.

At present, the general public can catch a glimpse of these mainline locomotives running when the steam locomotive is unavailable for the Swan Bay Express.

1604

1604 was delivered to The Bellarine Railway in relatively recent years, and is the most powerful Diesel Electric locomotive in the fleet. The 1600 class was designed and built by the English Electric Company at their factory in Rocklea, Queensland, to enter service in the 1960s for Queensland Rail. 1604 entered service in 1962, and ran various passenger and freight trains until its withdrawal from mainline service in 1991. From then it was stored at Rosewood Railway Museum, before being transferred south to the Bellarine.

1604 produces 928 horsepower, and is an air braked locomotive. Before the arrival of diesel hydraulic locomotive 1107 (ex-Emu Bay Railway), 1604 was the sole operator of ‘The Q Train’ for many years.

At present 1604 is sparingly used when other motive power is unavailable for our larger trains. The general public may catch a glimpse of this locomotive if the TGR X class locomotives are unavailable.