Queensland Government Rlys 4-6-0 Locomotives in Australia

Class B15 (Locobase 9422)

Data from the qrig (queensland railways interest group) site ([], last accessed 5 May 2008).

Mike Quirk, author of many of the QRIG entries, tells us that this class was designed to offer more power than the earlier B13 class and came in several batches from several builders. Nasmyth Wilson's provided the first fifteen-locomotive batch (works 354-368, road 205-219) in 1889. Evans Anderson Phelan of Brisbane followed with 21 (works 26-46), which also included a steel boiler and allowed boiler pressure to increase to 140 psi. Yorkshire Engine supplied 10 in 1895 (works 531-540) and Walkers began production of steam locomotives with a batch of B15s (works 1-50, 65-66, and 115-116) in 1899, 1900, and 1909.

Class B15con (Locobase 9423)

Data from "QR B15con Class" entry on Mike Quirk's QRIG site ([], last accessed 5 May 2008; later URL was [] accssed 30 September 2023.). The conversion of the original QR B15 Ten-wheelers (Locobase 9422) responded to problems with cracks emerging in the original 36" (914 mm) drivers.

First trialed on the 336, the new, taller wheels demonstrated they solved the problem and overr the next three decades.

Class F / B13 - deep firebox (Locobase 3320)

Data from [], last accessed 10 May 2008.

Mike Quirk's . Dubs & Company of Glasgow, Kitson & Co of Leeds, and the Phoenix Company in Queensland all contributed batches. Note the relatively large grate for the boiler.

Six later went to the Commonwealth Railways as the NG class. See [] for details on the NG's later career.

Class F / B13 - wide firebox (Locobase 9436)

Data from [], last accessed 10 May 2008.

These low-drivered Ten-wheelers made up a sizable class (at least 112 locomotives) on the Queenslands' various railways. Dubs & Company of Glasgow, Kitson & Co of Leeds, and the Phoenix Company in Queensland all contributed batches. Note the relatively large grate for the boiler.

Six later went to the Commonwealth Railways as the NG class. See [] for details on the NG's later career.

Class PB15 (Locobase 3779)

Data from Peter Cokley in Bryan Attewell ([] Steam locomotive simulator (April 2000 edition), supplemented and corrected by the owners of PB15 #448 (Walkers works #91) , [] (accessed 6 February 2007).

Cokley tells us that the PB15 grew out of the earlier B15 freight engine, but with the driver diameter increased to 48". Designed to the specifications of the line's Chief Engineer H Horniblow, this class was one of the most numerous to be supplied by an Australian locomotive builder. (Kitson supplied 20 in 1907-1908 that had 162 1 3/4" tubes.)

They were used in both passenger and freight service on very light rail ("pioneer style branch lines" Cokley terms them) such as the South Brisbane-Beenleigh line. PB15s were built over 27 years (1899-1926) and a few saw out steam in 1962.

The particular locomotive run on the Queensland Pioneer Steam Railway tourist line in the 21st Century came to that venue as follows:"It was sold to K.R. Hunter's Pioneer Valley Amusement Park after its retirement in August 1970. from where a group of Ipswich and Brisbane enthusiasts purchased, it on that venture's failure."