Australian Hudson |
| Written by steamtrainengines.com | |||
The railways of the adjoining states of Victoria and South Australia are both constructed to a gauge of 5 ft. 3 in., and the trans-continental main-line trains are thus able to continue between Melbourne and Adelaide without change. In the north, however, the New South Wales Railways were standard gauge and, until the opening of the new standard-gauge track from Melbourne to Albury in the late 1960's, on the N.S.W. main line to Sydney, all passengers between the two states had to change trains at Albury, Oaklands or Tocumwal.
With two 21 in. x 28 in. cylinders and 6 ft. 1 in. wheels, these ' R ' class locomotives are equipped with such modern features as bar frames and mechanical stokers. They have operated 500-ton trains at speeds up to 70 m.p.h., and they were all built for easy conversion to standard gauge should this ever come about at some future date.
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