The South Australian Railways had an alphabetical classification system for their engines. Whilst it did not entirely follow in sequence, it was a fair guide as to the implementation of a new group of locomotives. As the majority were allocated for the Broad Gauge, the last seven letters of the alphabet were given to the…
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There was a time when every young boy dreamt of being an engineer. The thought of handling a fire breathing machine would create drama and excitement. Sadly, those days have been replaced with a virtual world of high-tech games and movies. Fun in themselves, but kids of today don’t understand what life was like before,…
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I was looking through some of my notes and I came to realize how much the X class was overlooked in the history books. It was mentioned that they were used in the construction of the line between Cockburn (on the SA side of the border) to Broken Hill (on the NSW side of the…
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Putting the locomotive aside for a moment, one has to stop and put ourselves back at a time when life was very different from today. The State had only been declared for just over fifty years. Few facilities, tools and people were available to make anything happen. Everything was basic. If it wasn’t brought in…
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Did you know that out of the 45 classes of steam locomotive that ran in South Australia only eight examples of them remain. This means that thirty-seven no longer exist. On the narrow gauge there were three who are missing. The K, U and the X class. K52 was an anomaly, a one-off, the U…
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As a child I used to watch the actor Alan Hale Jr. as he played the role of Casey Jones on TV. I loved seeing his engine in action and how it related to the people and situations it was involved in. I always wanted to be part of the engine crew, to experience those…
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