B Class | Railways and Tramways of Australia

B Class

Anchor 1

Southern Shorthaul Railroad locomotive B61 in streamliners livery, Lithgow, New South Wales, 29 December 2016.

Road numbers:

B61, B64–5, B75–6, B80

Operator:

Southern Shorthaul Railroad

Gauge:

1435 mm; 1600 mm

Year of entry into service:

1952

Number built:

Model:

ML-2

Manufacturer:

Clyde Engineering

Manufacturing location:

Granville, NSW

Engine:

EMD 567B

Traction power:

1119 kW

Wheel arrangement:

Co-Co

Weight:

113.2 t

Length:

18.1 m

Bearing a cab with streamlined nose at each end, the B Class were the first mainline diesels to enter service with Victorian Railways. They were the first class of diesel locomotives in Australia to have a Co-Co wheel arrangement, which soon became standard on mainline diesel locomotives. Eleven of the class were rebuilt as the A Class during the 1980s. B76 and B80 are on hire to Qube. B61 was painted in ‘Streamliners’ livery in 2016.