New South Wales Gov. Rly Beyer-Garratt Locomotives in Australia

Class AD60 (Locobase 542)

Data from builder's card forwarded to Locobase 21 July 2023 by Alexander Blessing, used with thanks; and 2 Jan 1961 publicity handout from the NSWGR reproduced at [] See also []; and O S Nock, Railways in the Transition from Steam-1940-1965 (NY: Macmillan, 1974-originally London: Blandford Press), pl 40 and p.108. (Thanks to Alexander Blessing for his 11 July 2023 email supplying the builder's card and noting some differences in the specs.). Works numbers were 7473-7497 in 1952, 7528-7539 in 1953-1954, 7540-7549 in 1956.

First Beyer-Garratts to have a cast-steel engine bed; each of the two weighed 13 tons and all 84 castings came from General Steel Castings Corporation of the United States. Firebox had arch tubes or thermic syphons. Self-cleaning smokebox, rocker grate, mechanical stoker, SKF double-row, self-aligning roller bearings. Known as "Big-Boy" Garratts because of the double Northern wheel arrangement.

When first put in service the design had 19 1/4" (489 mm)-diameter cylinders -- tractive effort was 59,560 lb. 30 were later fitted with dual control and had 19 7/8" x 26" cylinders as shown in the specs. Piston valves measuring 10" (254 mm) in diameter admitted steam to each of 4 cylinders.

According to the [] (consulted July 2002), website of the then-owner of 6029, an AD60 burned 37 kg (82 lb) of coal each minute when pressed and evaporated 430 liters (114 US gal) of water. The site also notes that these locomotives filled the loading gauge to its last inch. They were not allowed in single-line tunnels because a breakdown would trap the crew, which wouldn't be able to squeeze through the 20-cm (8") gap between locomotive and tunnel wall.

Originally operated on the Sydney main lines until these were electrified, later on the Cowan bank.

Beyer, Peacock delivered two more batches in 1952 -- 7528-7544 and 7545-7549. According to Nock, this class were among the last steam locomotives to operate in New South Wales. On 2 March 1973, #6042 made the last run of any steam locomotive in revenue service in New South Wales.