Railways and Tramways of Australia

Tractors in the yard

 

Victoria’s first rail tractor entered service on 11 June 1932.

 

The first rail tractor was built at Newport Workshops in Melbourne. It featured a Fordson agricultural engine, a wooden cab and a four-wheel metal frame. Initial work was assisting with construction of the Yarrawonga–Oaklands railway line. Later it was used in further construction work, but its main duties were shunting. It remained the only rail tractor in use in Victorian for 25 years.

 

The state’s original rail tractor became known as RT1 when more were built. RT2 to RT52 entered service from 1957 to 1969. They were followed by RT53 in 1975 and RT54 in 1994. RT46 and RT54 were built by Aresco Track Chief and were larger and more powerful than the other units. RT54 originally operated with the Portland Harbour Trust before it came into V/Line ownership in 1994.

 

Most rail tractors were built on the underframes of scrapped four-wheel goods wagons. There were several variations in their engine type and other features. Their power output ranged from 40 horsepower (30 kW) to 52 horsepower (39 kW), except for RT46 and RT54. After RT1, subsequent units had steel cabs.

 

With a low power output, the rail tractors were designed for shunting work at station yards. Except for RT54, they were not fitted with air brakes. Because they were classified as rail tractors rather than locomotives, they could be operated by station staff instead of qualified locomotive crews. However, this also meant that they could not operate on main lines.

 

Declining need for shunting engines led to most being withdrawn from service. Many have been scrapped but some remain operational in Victoria and New South Wales. RT1 is preserved at Newport Railway Museum.

 

These yard tractors on rails have given decades of faithful service.

 

Bibliography

N Bray, PJ Vincent, & DM Gregory, Hidden treasures & epilogue, Brief History Books, Melbourne, 2014.

D Campbell, ‘Why oh why a Y? a brief history of Victorian Railways shunting locos’, Motive Power, no. 117, May/June 2018, pp 33–49.

WA Pearce (Ed.), Railway Museum, North Williamstown, 3rd edn, Australian Railway Historical Society (Victorian Division), Melbourne, 1970.

M Russell & R Smith, ‘Rail tractors’, Rail News Victoria, no. 109, September 1998, pp 1–6.

J Scott, Power to the rails: a history of Victoria’s diesel and electric locomotives, self-published, 2011.