Railways and Tramways of Australia

Heavy weight champion

 

H Class 4-8-4 engine no. 220 entered service in Victoria on 7 February 1941.

 

No. 220 emerged from Newport Workshops and was a welcome addition to the Victorian Railways locomotive fleet, which was struggling to cope with demands. It soon gained the nickname Heavy Harry among the general public. Railwaymen generally referred to it as the ‘H’.

 

The introduction of this large and powerful engine was intended to eliminate double-heading then required on The Overland passenger train. Its heavy weight meant that bridge strengthening was required on the line to Ararat; however, wartime restrictions prevented this from occurring. As a result, H220 operated on the North-East Line between Melbourne and Albury.

 

Most of H220’s work was on goods trains, but it also hauled passenger trains and troop transfer trains. On occasions it was in charge of the Spirt of Progress express passenger train. It was regarded by locomotive crew as an excellent steamer and was easily capable of hauling the large loads it was assigned.

 

H220 Heavy Harry featured three cylinders, a double chimney, mechanical stoker and power-operated reversing gear. Weighing 260.05 tons (264.22 tonnes), it was the heaviest locomotive in Australia when introduced, and was Australia’s heaviest non-articulated locomotive ever. Its overall length was 92 feet 5¾ inches (28.2 metres).

 

Plans to build another two H Class locomotives did not eventuate, so H220 was the only one of its type. Dieselisation of Victorian Railways eventually led to its withdrawal. It was in service for 17 years until 1958 and ran 821,860 miles (1,322,655 km).

 

H220 Heavy Harry is now an exhibit at Newport Railway Museum. Visitors can admire its huge size and imagine its massive weight. Heavy.

 

Bibliography

S Brown, ‘The big H: in a class of its own’, Newsrail, vol. 36, no. 4, April 2008, pp 106–8.

G Dee, ‘H220 – or simply ‘the H’: an engineman’s/enthusiast’s appraisal’, Australian Railway Enthusiast, vol. 28, no. 4, December 1990, pp 6–10.

Newport Railway Museum <www.newportrailwaymuseum.org.au>.

L Oberg, Locomotives of Australia: 1854 to 2007, 5th edn, Rosenberg, Sydney, 2010.

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

S Whalley, ‘In love with steam’, Newsrail, vol. 27, no. 4, July 1993, pp 198–201.