Queensland B15 class locomotive

Class of Australian 4-6-0 locomotives

Queensland Railways B15 class

Type and origin
Power type	Steam
Builder	Nasmyth, Wilson & Co (15) Evans, Anderson, Phelan & Co (21) Yorkshire Engine Company (10) Walkers Limited (52)
Build date	1889-1899
Total produced	98

Specifications
Configuration:
• Whyte	4-6-0
Gauge	1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Driver dia.	3 ft 0 in (914 mm) (as built) 3 ft 9 in (1,143 mm) (replacements)
Length	45 ft 7 in (13.89 m)
Fuel type	Coal
Cylinders	2
Cylinder size	15 in (381 mm)
Valve gear	Stephenson

Career
Operators	Queensland Railways
Numbers	3, 23, 42, 54, 95, 205-219, 235-244, 270-280, 289-338, 341-346, 539
Preserved	290, 299
Disposition	2 preserved, 96 scrapped

The Queensland Railways B15 class locomotive is an old class of 4-6-0 engines operated by the Queensland Railways.

History

In 1889 the first B15 class locomotives built by Nasmyth, Wilson & Co entered service. Further orders from Evans, Anderson, Phelan & Co, Yorkshire Engine Company and Walkers Limited saw the class total of 92 engines by 1899. Per Queensland Railway's classification system they were designated the B15 class engine, B representing they had three driving axles, and 15-inch (381 mm) diameter cylinders. A further six engines were acquired In 1919 when the Queensland Railways took over the Chillagoe Railway & Mining Co.^[1]^[2]^[3]

Problems with broken rails saw three sets of 45-inch (1,143 mm) driving wheels acquired from the South Australian Railways and fitted to 336 at North Ipswich Railway Workshops in November 1900. Judged a success, most others were fitted over the next 30 years. They spent most of their life operating out of Cairns.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]

Preservation

Two examples are preserved.

290 at the Workshops Rail Museum
299 at Maryborough station^[4]

References

^ ^a ^b Armstrong, John (1985). Locomotives in the Tropics Volume 1. Brisbane: Australian Railway Historical Society. pp. 58–63, 101, 102. ISBN 0 909937 13 3.
^ ^a ^b Turner, Jim (1997). Australian Steam Locomotives 1896-1958. Kenthurst: Kangaroo Press. p. 22. ISBN 086417778X.
^ ^a ^b Oberg, Leon (2010). Locomotives of Australia 1850s-2010. Dural: Rosenberg Publishing. pp. 86/87. ISBN 9781921719011.
^ ^a ^b Clark, Peter (2012). An Australian Locomotive Guide. Rosenberg Publishing. p. 50. ISBN 9781921719554.