Queensland PB15 class locomotive
PB15 No. 448 at Swanbank | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The PB15 class engine is a 4-6-0 engine of the Queensland Railways. These engines have operated on 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) gauge.
Overview
The design resulted from a need for more powerful engines for passenger trains. The PB15 Class was designed by Locomotive Engineer, Henry Horniblow and L. W. Piggott. The “P”, which was used to denote “Passenger”, was added to the classification of the new locomotives to distinguish them from the earlier B15 Class, which were primarily goods engines. The “B”, is used to identify the number of coupled wheels, being six coupled wheels for the PB15 class, followed by numerals indicating the cylinder diameter of fifteen inches (381 mm). The PB15s were in essence identical to the B15s.
Variations
The first PB15 engines were delivered by Walkers Ltd, Maryborough in April 1900. The original locomotives delivered between 1900 and 1912 were fitted with Stephensons Valve Gear. Walkers Ltd manufactured a further 30 improved PB15 Class locomotives between 1924 and 1926 and these were fitted with Walschaerts Valve Gear. This earned this variant of the PB15 the nickname Walschaerts. At the height of their service there were approximately 230 locomotives in service in Queensland. Additionally, in May 1918, No. 411 was converted at North Ipswich Railway Workshops into a tank engine, the one off member of the 6D15 class. In March 1922 however, due to poor performance it was converted back to its original tender form.[1]
In 1932, a number of PB 15-class locomotives attached to Ipswich depot were fitted with a second sandbox for rear sanding to assist with shunting work on the colliery branches. These were Nos. 351, 508, 567, 574, 587, 591, and 750, the last mentioned being a Walschaerts or 1924 type PB15. Later, the rear sanding equipment attached to No.591 was removed and PB15 No. 525 was fitted in lieu.
Preservation
Five examples of this PB15 engines have been preserved:
- No. 444 is on display at the Workshops Rail Museum, in Ipswich, Queensland.
- No. 448 is operational on the Queensland Pioneer Steam Railway, Swanbank, Queensland,[2] and has been named in preservation "R. V. Armstrong", after the society's late founding member.
- No. 454 is undergoing a major overhaul at the Bellarine Peninsula Railway, Queenscliff, Victoria.
- No. 732 is in storage at the QR Heritage Fleet's at North Ipswich, Queensland.[3] One of the 1924 Walschaerts.
- No. 738 is on display at the Rosewood Railway Museum, Rosewood, Queensland. One of the 1924 Walschaerts.
See also
References
- ↑ "PB15 Class « qrig.org – queensland railway's interest group". Queensland Rail Interest Group. Retrieved 31 October 2013.
- ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on July 24, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2012.
- ↑ http://www.theworkshops.qm.qld.gov.au/
External links
- Media related to Queensland PB15 class locomotives at Wikimedia Commons
- PB15-class Queensland's Railways Interest Group.
- Queensland Pioneer Steam Railway