Victorian Railways NA class
Encyclopedia
The Victorian Railways
NA class was a 2-6-2
tank locomotive
built for their 2' 6" (762 mm) gauge branch lines
.
Baldwin Locomotive Works
in the United States supplied the first two 2-6-2
tank locomotive
s, as well as parts for a further two locos. One each of the supplied locos and the parts kits was a simple loco, and the other a compound
. The new class was classed "A"—often referred to early on as "Narrow-gauge A class"—however confusion with the broad gauge A, AA
and A2
classes lead to the prefix "N" being applied to written records, making it the NA class. The Victorian Railways Newport workshops assembled the parts to give an additional two locos, and subsequently built a further 13 of the simple cylinder version. The last one, number 17, was built in 1915.
By the mid 1920s these small locomotives were not able to handle the increasing traffic, and two G class
Garratt
locomotives were purchased to supplement the fleet.
The locomotives weigh 36 tons (36.58 t
) and produce a tractive effort
of 12170 lbf (54.1 kN), allowing them to haul loads of 90 tons (91.44 t) up grades of 1 in 30. Numbers 6, 7, 8, 12, and 14 have been restored and operate on the Puffing Billy Railway, and No. 3 is also on the Puffing Billy Railway, awaiting eventual restoration. The remaining locomotives have all been scrapped.
Victorian Railways
The Victorian Railways operated railways in the Australian state of Victoria from 1859 to 1983. The first railways in Victoria were private companies, but when these companies failed or defaulted, the Victorian Railways was established to take over their operations...
NA class was a 2-6-2
2-6-2
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 2-6-2 represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels, six coupled driving wheels and two trailing wheels.Other equivalent classifications are:...
tank locomotive
Tank locomotive
A tank locomotive or tank engine is a steam locomotive that carries its water in one or more on-board water tanks, instead of pulling it behind it in a tender. It will most likely also have some kind of bunker to hold the fuel. There are several different types of tank locomotive dependent upon...
built for their 2' 6" (762 mm) gauge branch lines
Narrow gauge lines of the Victorian Railways
The former Victorian Railways, the state railway authority in Victoria, Australia built a number of experimental narrow gauge railway lines around the beginning of the 20th century. Although all were closed by the early 1960s, parts of two have been reopened as heritage railways.- Background :A...
.
Baldwin Locomotive Works
Baldwin Locomotive Works
The Baldwin Locomotive Works was an American builder of railroad locomotives. It was located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, originally, and later in nearby Eddystone, Pennsylvania. Although the company was very successful as a producer of steam locomotives, its transition to the production of...
in the United States supplied the first two 2-6-2
2-6-2
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 2-6-2 represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels, six coupled driving wheels and two trailing wheels.Other equivalent classifications are:...
tank locomotive
Tank locomotive
A tank locomotive or tank engine is a steam locomotive that carries its water in one or more on-board water tanks, instead of pulling it behind it in a tender. It will most likely also have some kind of bunker to hold the fuel. There are several different types of tank locomotive dependent upon...
s, as well as parts for a further two locos. One each of the supplied locos and the parts kits was a simple loco, and the other a compound
Compound locomotive
A compound engine unit is a type of steam engine where steam is expanded in two or more stages.A typical arrangement for a compound engine is that the steam is first expanded in a high-pressure cylinder, then having given up heat and losing pressure, it exhausts directly into one or more larger...
. The new class was classed "A"—often referred to early on as "Narrow-gauge A class"—however confusion with the broad gauge A, AA
Victorian Railways AA class
The AA class was an express passenger locomotive that ran on the Victorian Railways between 1900 and 1932. The largest, heaviest and most powerful 4-4-0 steam locomotive to run in Australia, it was the final development of this locomotive type in Australia....
and A2
Victorian Railways A2 class
The A2 class was an express passenger locomotive that ran on Victorian Railways from 1907 to 1963. A highly successful design entirely the work of Victorian Railways' own design office, its long service life was repeatedly extended as economic depression and war delayed the introduction of more...
classes lead to the prefix "N" being applied to written records, making it the NA class. The Victorian Railways Newport workshops assembled the parts to give an additional two locos, and subsequently built a further 13 of the simple cylinder version. The last one, number 17, was built in 1915.
By the mid 1920s these small locomotives were not able to handle the increasing traffic, and two G class
Victorian Railways G class
The G class Garratt locomotives were built for the Victorian Railways 2' 6" gauge branch lines. These locomotives were introduced in 1926 to increase train sizes and thus reduce losses on these lines...
Garratt
Garratt
A Garratt is a type of steam locomotive that is articulated in three parts. Its boiler is mounted on the centre frame, and two steam engines are mounted on separate frames, one on each end of the boiler. Articulation permits larger locomotives to negotiate curves and lighter rails that might...
locomotives were purchased to supplement the fleet.
The locomotives weigh 36 tons (36.58 t
Tonne
The tonne, known as the metric ton in the US , often put pleonastically as "metric tonne" to avoid confusion with ton, is a metric system unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. The tonne is not an International System of Units unit, but is accepted for use with the SI...
) and produce a tractive effort
Tractive effort
As used in mechanical engineering, the term tractive force is the pulling or pushing force exerted by a vehicle on another vehicle or object. The term tractive effort is synonymous with tractive force, and is often used in railway engineering to describe the pulling or pushing capability of a...
of 12170 lbf (54.1 kN), allowing them to haul loads of 90 tons (91.44 t) up grades of 1 in 30. Numbers 6, 7, 8, 12, and 14 have been restored and operate on the Puffing Billy Railway, and No. 3 is also on the Puffing Billy Railway, awaiting eventual restoration. The remaining locomotives have all been scrapped.