In 1916, Clyde Engineering were awarded a contract for the construction of 300 K class locomotives. Following experiments with Southern type valve gear on an earlier class, Chief Mechanical Engineer Edward Lucy proposed its installation on these locomotives. The use of Southern valve gear was rare on locomotives operating outside the United States of America. Its use in this instance signaled the first NSWGR main line design with outside valve gear. The wisdom of the decision supporting Southern Valve Gear replacing the (inside) Allen Valve Gear of the 460 otherwise closely related Standard Goods Engines was borne out by the results, the K's (55's) averagely having much better valve events than those of their 460 close ancestors, throughout their lives.
The first of the class, then classified as K1353, entered traffic on 29 November, 1918, but the NSWGR wanted to extensively test the first locomotive, so the next member did not appear for a further two years. Meanwhile, the contract had been reduced to just 120 locomotives. All were in service by March 1925 and were fitted with large capacity "Wampu" tenders. The last 30 were fitted with self-cleaning smokeboxes and outside bearings on the lead pony trucks.[1][2] During World War 2, the 55 Class were seriously considered for use as War Department Locomotives in Iran and Iraq.
Operations
5610 stands at Hawkesbury River with a construction train for the electrification project
In 1946, given the contemporary discontent and industrial action in the coalfields following World War II, it was decided to convert seventy of the class to oil burners. The 55 class was chosen as unlike the other two sub-divisions of the Standard Goods engines their absence of eccentrics for any inside valve gear immediately adjacent to the firebox throatplate gave adequate room for the installation of the new equipment, specifically the burner and its piping at the firebox and ashpan. The tenders were fitted with a 2,400-imperial-gallon (11,000 l; 2,900 US gal) fuel tank. The fuel oil was injected into the firebox by a jet of steam from the locomotive boiler, the flow being controlled by the fireman. The first six locomotives converted were fitted to burn distillate which was five times the cost of coal firing, although it was hoped that reduced servicing times would offset some of that extra cost.
When cheaper crude oil became available the locomotives were again modified to allow them to burn this heavier product. This required the installation of heating coils in the tank and pre-heating adjacent to the burner to ensure complete atomisation. A further 10 were converted in 1947, followed by another 54 in 1949. As the crisis passed, the oil burning locomotives were withdrawn as they were still four times more expensive to run than the coal-fired ones. Sixteen were converted back to coal firing and the remainder stored. The last oil burning 55 class was 5591 which was withdrawn in February 1959.[1]
A distinctive feature of the oil burning locomotives was a hinged lid provided over the chimney to protect the boiler tubes and flues from sudden cooling when the oil fire was cut off.
Although designed to work freight trains, two were modified with specially balanced coupled wheels to operate the Cooma Mail south of Goulburn.[2]
^ abcdGrunbach, Alex (1989). A Compendium of New South Wales Steam Locomotives. Sydney: Australian Railway Historical Society, NSW Division. pp. 172–183. ISBN0 909650 27 6.
^ abOberg, Leon (1984). Locomotives of Australia 1850's - 1980's. Frenchs Forest: Reed Books. p. 127. ISBN0 730100 05 7.
^"Locomotive, Steam 5595 | NSW Environment, Energy and Science". www.environment.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
February 04, 2023
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The D55 class was a class of 2 8 0 steam locomotives built by Clyde Engineering for the New South Wales Government Railways in Australia New South Wales D55 classNSWR W Thow Australian Standard Consolidation Class D55 2 8 0 No 5595 at the New South Wales Railway Museum ThirlmereType and originPower typeSteamBuilderClyde Engineering GranvilleBuild date1918 1925Total produced120SpecificationsConfiguration Whyte2 8 0 UIC1 DhGauge4 ft 8 1 2 in 1 435 mm standard gaugeDriver dia 4 ft 3 in 1 295 mm Adhesive weight150 000 lb 68 039 kg 68 t Loco weight165 000 lb 74 843 kg 75 t Fuel typeCoal or oilFirebox Firegrate area29 sq ft 2 7 m2 Boiler pressure160 psi 1 10 MPa Heating surface1 755 sq ft 163 0 m2 Superheater Heating area365 sq ft 33 9 m2 CylindersTwoCylinder size22 in 26 in 559 mm 660 mm Valve gearSouthernPerformance figuresTractive effort33 557 lbf 149 3 kN Factor of adh 4 54CareerOperatorsNew South Wales Government RailwaysClassK1353 D55 from 1924Numbers1353 1454 5501 5620 from 1924Disposition1 preserved 119 scrapped Contents 1 Construction 2 Operations 3 Preservation 4 ReferencesConstruction Edit Class D55 Locomotive former K 1353 Class In 1916 Clyde Engineering were awarded a contract for the construction of 300 K class locomotives Following experiments with Southern type valve gear on an earlier class Chief Mechanical Engineer Edward Lucy proposed its installation on these locomotives The use of Southern valve gear was rare on locomotives operating outside the United States of America Its use in this instance signaled the first NSWGR main line design with outside valve gear The wisdom of the decision supporting Southern Valve Gear replacing the inside Allen Valve Gear of the 460 otherwise closely related Standard Goods Engines was borne out by the results the K s 55 s averagely having much better valve events than those of their 460 close ancestors throughout their lives The first of the class then classified as K1353 entered traffic on 29 November 1918 but the NSWGR wanted to extensively test the first locomotive so the next member did not appear for a further two years Meanwhile the contract had been reduced to just 120 locomotives All were in service by March 1925 and were fitted with large capacity Wampu tenders The last 30 were fitted with self cleaning smokeboxes and outside bearings on the lead pony trucks 1 2 During World War 2 the 55 Class were seriously considered for use as War Department Locomotives in Iran and Iraq Operations Edit 5610 stands at Hawkesbury River with a construction train for the electrification project The members of this class spent most of their days attached to depots at Enfield Goulburn Harden Junee and Cowra operating on the Illawarra and Main South lines They were seldom used on the Main Western or Main Northern lines 1 In 1946 given the contemporary discontent and industrial action in the coalfields following World War II it was decided to convert seventy of the class to oil burners The 55 class was chosen as unlike the other two sub divisions of the Standard Goods engines their absence of eccentrics for any inside valve gear immediately adjacent to the firebox throatplate gave adequate room for the installation of the new equipment specifically the burner and its piping at the firebox and ashpan The tenders were fitted with a 2 400 imperial gallon 11 000 l 2 900 US gal fuel tank The fuel oil was injected into the firebox by a jet of steam from the locomotive boiler the flow being controlled by the fireman The first six locomotives converted were fitted to burn distillate which was five times the cost of coal firing although it was hoped that reduced servicing times would offset some of that extra cost When cheaper crude oil became available the locomotives were again modified to allow them to burn this heavier product This required the installation of heating coils in the tank and pre heating adjacent to the burner to ensure complete atomisation A further 10 were converted in 1947 followed by another 54 in 1949 As the crisis passed the oil burning locomotives were withdrawn as they were still four times more expensive to run than the coal fired ones Sixteen were converted back to coal firing and the remainder stored The last oil burning 55 class was 5591 which was withdrawn in February 1959 1 A distinctive feature of the oil burning locomotives was a hinged lid provided over the chimney to protect the boiler tubes and flues from sudden cooling when the oil fire was cut off Although designed to work freight trains two were modified with specially balanced coupled wheels to operate the Cooma Mail south of Goulburn 2 The last was withdrawn from Enfield Locomotive Depot in June 1967 Of the Standard Goods engines the 55 class were thus the first to be retired 1 Preservation EditPreserved D55 class locomotives Number Builder Year Owner Location Status References5595 Clyde Engineering 1924 Transport Heritage NSW Thirlmere Static Display 3 References Edit a b c d Grunbach Alex 1989 A Compendium of New South Wales Steam Locomotives Sydney Australian Railway Historical Society NSW Division pp 172 183 ISBN 0 909650 27 6 a b Oberg Leon 1984 Locomotives of Australia 1850 s 1980 s Frenchs Forest Reed Books p 127 ISBN 0 730100 05 7 Locomotive Steam 5595 NSW Environment Energy and Science www environment nsw gov au Retrieved 9 May 2020 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title New South Wales D55 class locomotive amp oldid 1036578475, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
