Railways and Tramways of Australia

Heavy weight champion

 

Diesel locomotive C501 was officially delivered to Victorian Railways on 17 May 1977.

 

Ten members of the C Class were built by Clyde Engineering at Rosewater in Adelaide. Upon entry into service they were the most powerful locomotives in service with Victorian Railways. They had 3000 horsepower (2237 kW) available for traction and weighed 134 tonnes. Their heavy weight restricted their range of operation.

 

Obtained for main line heavy freight service between Melbourne and Albury and between Melbourne and Serviceton, the C Class locomotives operated on standard gauge (1435 mm) and broad gauge (1600 mm) tracks within Victoria. They also hauled passenger trains at times. Initially restricted to 80 km/h, track upgrades later allowed them to travel faster.

 

Class leader C501 hauled several trains on its delivery run from Adelaide to Melbourne. It was officially handed over to Victorian Railways in a ceremony at Spencer Street station in Melbourne on 17 May 1977. C501 was named George Brown, after a former Chairman of Commissioners of Victorian Railways. It operated an acceptance trial to Albury assisted by X51 on 20 May, then returned to Melbourne on its own the following day.

 

During the 1980s the C Class spread their wings and began to operate interstate to Adelaide and Sydney. They became part of the National Rail Corporation in 1996, then Pacific National in 2002. Since then, they have been owned and operated by various freight rail companies but have also spent some time in storage.

 

Nine members of the C Class continue to operate in freight service in a range of colours.

 

C501 is owned by Seymour Railway Heritage Centre and wears the original blue and gold livery. It has been leased for various duties.

 

Approaching its half century, C501 continue to impress as a heavy weight champion.

 

Bibliography

R Renton & K Schultz, ‘The Victorian Railways C Class’, Motive Power, no. 111, May 2017, pp 29–56.

J Rose, ‘Looking back–the delivery run of C501’, Australian Railway History, no. 111, December 2007, pp 460–7.

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