South Australian Railways Y and Yx Class locomotives

The most numerous class of locomotives ever to work on the South Australian Railways (SAR) was the Y Class, with 129 representatives. From their introduction the Y Class worked all trains on the Great Northern Division until the Commonwealth Railways (CR) takeover of its operation in 1926. They were superseded on the Terowie to Quorn line by the T Class in 1918.

These robust little engines were built by Beyer Peacock as a logical improvement on their previous smaller engines. The design proved popular, and was nicknamed the 'colonial mogul' as the engine was supplied to many narrow gauge railways throughout the British Empire of the day. They worked on various railways in all states of Australia, except Victoria. For use on the SAR many engines were also built locally—two at the Adelaide Locomotive Works, and eighty-five by James Martin and Co. at Gawler.

From 1904 until 1928 fifty-eight of the Y Class were rebuilt as Yx Class, principally by the fitting of larger, higher pressure boilers with Belpaire fireboxes. Some of the rebuilt engines were employed between Quorn and Port Augusta and were allowed a 25% increase in loading. By devious means a number of rebuilt engines returned to Quorn in 1948 as shunting engines to relieve the mainline engines of this task. These engines were part of a group transferred to the CR for use on the North Australia Railway during World War II (1939-45). The engines were later purchased by the CR and four were used for shunting at Quorn and Port Augusta. They were designated by the CR as NFB Class 47, 49, 51 and 89—formerly SAR Yx 126, 132, 160 and 154 respectively. They saw only intermittent use in their last role and were all out of service by 1958.

Technical specifications

Y Class

Yx Class

Representatives in the Pichi Richi Railway collection

Yx 141

By the time the Pichi Richi Railway Preservation Society was founded the only examples of the Y and Yx classes left were preserved at various locations. One such place was Port Lincoln, where a rebuilt Y Class, Yx 141, was quietly rusting away in a children's playground. The Port Lincoln Council was kind enough to agree to exchange Yx 141 for a suitable replacement locomotive. Eventually NC2, a small diesel hydraulic locomotive in derelict condition, was purchased from AN and transported to Quorn. There it was renovated, painted and rendered child-proof, before being taken to Port Lincoln and swapped for Yx 141.

Y 141 was built by James Martin & Co. and entered service on 15 December 1892 on the Northern Division. In 1911 it was involved in a fatal accident caused by flooding near Brachina. After being rebuilt as a Yx it re-entered service in 1923, and four years later it was transferred to the Port Lincoln Division where it spent the rest of its working life.