Queensland Railways 1600 class
| Queensland Railways 1600 class | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 1603 & 1634 climb the Razorback Range on the 'Last Train to Mount Morgan' tour in August 1987 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 1600 class was a class of diesel locomotives built by English Electric, Rocklea for Queensland Railways between 1962 and 1964.
History[edit]
The 1600 class were built as branch line locomotives. Two contracts were let of which the first was for twelve with a follow on contract for another six. The first batch were delivered between December 1962 and June 1963, with the others arriving between October 1963 and January 1964. A lengthy delay occurred before delivery owing to the first four being over the design weight. This resulted in numbers 1604 and 1605 being the first to enter service. All others were delivered after the weight problem had been overcome.
They were initially based at Alpha in Central West Queensland[1][2][3] and at Roma in South west Queensland. They were also used for shunting at yards around the state. Soon afterwards, all the 1600s were based at Alpha. The 1620 Class followed on from the success of the 1600s, and were used in the central and northern areas of Qld.
The class was withdrawn in 1991.
Five have been preserved:[2]
- 1603 by the Bundaberg Railway Historical Society
- 1604 by the Bellarine Railway, Queenscliff, Victoria[4]
- 1613 by the Longreach Powerhouse Museum
- 1614 by the Australian Railway Historical Society at the Archer Park Rail Museum, Rockhampton[5]
- 1616 by the Queensland Pioneer Steam Railway, Ipswich[6]
Status table of preserved locomotives[edit]
| Number | In service | Withdrawn | Owner | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1603 | 02/1963 | 1991 | Bundaberg Railway Historical
Society |
Bundaberg Railway Museum | Static display. Relocated from CQ University (Bundaberg Campus) in July 2023. |
| 1604 | 12/1962 | 1991 | Bellarine Railway | Queenscliff, Victoria | Operational. Previously preserved by ARHS-Qld Division at Rosewood Railway Museum. |
| 1613 | 11/1963 | 1991 | Longreach Powerhouse Museum | Longreach | On static display. |
| 1614 | 11/1963 | 1991 | ARHS-Qld Division | Archer Park Museum, Rockhampton | Operational. On loan from ARHS-Qld Division. |
| 1616 | 12/1963 | 1991 | Queensland Pioneer Steam Railway | Box Flat (Swanbank) | Operational. Used to supplement their flagship PB15. |
Gallery[edit]
-
Preserved 1616 at the Queensland Pioneer Steam Railway, Ipswich in 2015 -
1603 & 1634 south of Mount Morgan in August 1987 -
1604 crossing the westbound Midlander in September 1989 -
1600 & 1645 cross in September 1989 -
1614 at Archer Park Rail Museum, 2016 -
1614 at Archer Park Rail Museum, 2016
References[edit]
- ^ Oberg, Leon (1984). Locomotives of Australia 1850s-1980s. Frenchs Forest: Reed Books. p. 240. ISBN 0-730100-05-7.
- ^ a b 1600, 1620 Class Queensland's Great Trains
- ^ English Electric 1600 Class Queensland's Railway Interest Group
- ^ Diesel locomotives Bellarine Railway
- ^ Archer Park Rail Museum Archived 19 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine Rockhampton Regional Council
- ^ 1600 Class Diesel Electric Archived 24 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine Queensland Pioneer Steam Railway