Victorian Railways S class (diesel)


The S class are a class of diesel locomotives built by Clyde Engineering, Granville for the Victorian Railways between 1957 and 1961.

History

The S class was based on the Electro-Motive Diesel F7 design and were very similar to the GM12 class then being built by Clyde Engineering for the Commonwealth Railways. They were mechanically similar to the 1952 built double ended B class.
The first order for 10 locomotives, were progressively delivered between August 1957 and February 1958. The first four took the names and numbers of the recently scrapped S class steam locomotives, with all being named after prominent Victorians. An additional eight locomotives were ordered for use on the new North East standard gauge line and delivered between November 1960 and December 1961.
The class were initially used on express passenger trains such as the Intercapital Daylight, Southern Aurora, Spirit of Progress and The Overland, but were also used on fast freights. On the broad gauge they often operated in pairs, while on the standard gauge they usually ran solo. A second 'hostlers' cab was provided at the number two end, but was only used around depots, or to haul empty carriages short distances.
In February 1969 two were destroyed in the Violet Town railway disaster, and were deemed uneconomical to repair and scrapped. In January 1967 S317 was badly damaged in a head-on collision with X33 south of Broadford Loop and was returned to Clyde Engineering for rebuilding. In June 1982 S317 was again involved in a fatal accident when it ran into the rear of the Spirit of Progress at Barnawartha, killing the crew.
As more modern locomotives were introduced, those on the standard gauge moved to the broad gauge. Examples would periodically appear on the standard gauge.
When the G Class engines entered service the railways declared that no more S Class engines would undergo major overhauls. The last two had been S301 in 1985 and S307 in 1986; as of July 1987 engines S303, 304, 305 and 309 were withdrawn, 308 banned as a leading unit and 306 was under minor repair but still in the VR Blue livery. In February 1994 four were sold to West Coast Railway for use on their Melbourne to Warrnambool passenger service. By April 1999 only four remained in the V/Line fleet and even these were only used during periods of high demand. A few have been preserved.
Privatisation brought an upturn in the class' fortunes with some overhauled and as at May 2014 remain in service with CFCL Australia, Pacific National and Southern Shorthaul Railroad. In 2019, S300 and S311 were purchased privately from CFCLA.

Fleet status

LocomotiveSerial noNameEntered serviceWithdrawnScrappedLiveryStatusOwnerGaugeNotes
First Order
S30057-164Matthew Flinders21 Aug 1957CFCLA Silver and BlueStoredVR, VicRail, V/Line, West Coast Railway, CFCLA, Privately owned 1,435 mm standard gaugePurchased from CFCL Australia
S30157-165Sir Thomas Mitchell4 Sep 1957Freight Australia Green and Yellow with Pacific National LogosStoredVR, VicRail, V/Line, Pacific National 1,600 mm broad gaugeAt Newport Workshops
S30257-166Edward Henty18 Sep 1957El Zorro Orange and Grey with SSR LogosOperationalVR, VicRail, V/Line, West Coast Railway, V/Line Passenger, El Zorro, Southern Shorthaul Railroad 1,600 mm broad gauge
S30357-167CJ La Trobe30 Sep 1957Jul 1988VR Blue and GoldPreserved-operationalVR, VicRail, V/Line, VicTrack Heritage Register 1,600 mm broad gaugeAllocated to Seymour Railway Heritage Centre
S30457-168George Bass15 Oct 1957May 1987Mar 1992VR Blue and GoldScrappedVR, VicRail, V/Line 1,600 mm broad gauge
S30557-169Hamilton Hume4 Nov 19572 Dec 1985Feb 1991VR Blue and GoldScrappedVR, VicRail, V/Line 1,600 mm broad gauge
S30657-170John Batman25 Nov 1957Jun 2019Pacific National Blue and YellowStored/Operational.VR, VicRail, V/Line, Pacific National.1,600 mm broad gaugeReturned To Broad Gauge In September 2018, Currently stored and being used by 707 Operations under certain terms.
S30757-171John Pascoe Fawkner10 Dec 1957Pacific National Blue and YellowStoredVR, VicRail, V/Line, Pacific National 1,435 mm standard gauge
S30858-179Sir Redmond Barry20 Jan 195825 Jul 1988V/Line Orange and GreyStatic displayVR, VicRail, V/Line, VicTrack Heritage 1,600 mm broad gaugeAllocated to the Australian Railway Historical Society Museum
S30958-182William Lonsdale24 Feb 195819 Jul 19881996V/Line Orange and GreyScrappedVR, VicRail, V/Line 1,600 mm broad gauge
Second Order
S31060-227George Higinbotham25 Nov 1960V/Line Orange and GreyStoredVR, VicRail, V/Line, Seymour Railway Heritage Centre 1,600 mm broad gauge
S31160-228Sir Ferdinand von Mueller16 Nov 1960CFCLA Silver and BlueStoredVR, VicRail, V/Line, West Coast Railway, CFCLA, Privately owned 1,435 mm standard gaugePurchased from CFCL Australia
S31260-229Peter Lalor27 Jan 1961Rail Power Black with SSR LogosOperationalVR, VicRail, V/Line, West Coast Railway, Rail Power, SSR 1,600 mm broad gauge
S31361-230Alfred Deakin24 Feb 196114 Dec 1994VR Blue and GoldPreserved-operationalVR, VicRail, V/Line, VicTrack Heritage Register 1,600 mm broad gaugeAllocated to Steamrail Victoria
S31461-231Sir John O'Shanassy20 Apr 19617 Feb 19697 Feb 1969VR Blue and GoldScrappedVR 1,435 mm standard gaugedestroyed Violet Town railway disaster
S31561-238Sir Charles Gavan Duffy16 Oct 196123 Aug 1988Apr 1992V/Line Orange and GreyScrappedVR, VicRail, V/Line 1,435 mm standard gauge
S31661-239Sir Andrew Clarke10 Nov 19617 Feb 19697 Feb 1969VR Blue and GoldScrappedVR 1,435 mm standard gaugedestroyed Violet Town railway disaster
S31761-240Jenny Molloy7 Dec 1961SSR Black and SilverOperationalVR, VicRail, V/Line, Great Northern, Southern Shorthaul Railroad 1,600 mm broad gaugePreviously named Sir John Monash, probably renamed when repainted into SSR livery

Model Railways

HO scale

The S Class was one of the first plastic, ready-to-run model railway locomotives made specifically to cater to the Victorian market. An initial release by Lima in 1976 recycled their 44 Class body shell with a paint scheme roughly resembling that of the Victorian Railways.
In 1977, Hornby modified their B/L Class design to create their approximation of the S Class engine, this time with the rounded bulldog nose. The model, which was marketed through 1977-1978, was released as either S311 or S315 with product code R.317. The model utilised the then-standard Silver Seal Ringfield motor, and around 12,000 units were produced, mostly in sets.
To compete with the Hornby model, Lima invested in a proper body mould for the S Class design, released in 1981 as S302 and S315. This model was re-released on multiple occasions, and eventually in V/line orange and West Coast Railway blue. With more accurate models being released in the decades since, original Lima models are regularly repurposed as parts donors or for merging into fictional engines, i.e. a non-driving "SB" class.
In October 1991, VR Models released a series of name and number plates which could be used on any of the earlier releases.
Also in the early 1990s, Precision Scale Models imported a range of VR Blue and V/Line orange brass locomotives.
Finally, in November 2009, TrainOrama released a modern-quality take on the S Class locomotive. The engine featured a five-pole skew-wound motor, pickup from all wheels, and no rubber tyres; twin flywheels; directional headlights and marker lights, and a range of other details. Engines were sold individually, with an RRP of $285.00.
The first batch included models of S300, S301, S303, S306, S308, S311, S312, S313, S315 and S317 in VR Blue, S309 and S310 in V/Line Orange, and S303 in Freight Australia Green. Some of the blue engines were in the earlier format, with fuel tank valences and nose doors; others had the valences removed and the nose doors welded shut.
In mid-2016, Bobs Hobbies, now the owner of TrainOrama, announced a re-release of the S Class engines, with new numbers. The price rose to $295.00 per unit, and the range now includes S304, S305 and S313 in blue and S308 and S312 in orange.
To date, no models have been released of S307, S314, or S316.

N Scale

In 1984, Weico released a kit that could be used to construct either a NSW 42 Class or VR S Class locomotive.
In 2018, Gopher Models introduced ready-to-run models of the NSW 42 class, the CR GM-12 class and the VR S class in a variety of liveries.