# Victorian Railways S class (diesel)

The S class are a class of diesel locomotives built by Clyde Engineering, Granville for the Victorian Railways between 1957 and 1961.

## History

The S class was based on the Electro-Motive Diesel F7 design and were very similar to the GM12 class then being built by Clyde Engineering for the Commonwealth Railways. They were mechanically similar to the 1952 built double ended B class.
The first order for 10 locomotives were progressively delivered between August 1957 and February 1958. The first four took the names and numbers of the recently scrapped S class steam locomotives, with all being named after prominent Victorians. An additional eight locomotives were ordered for use on the new North East standard gauge line and delivered between November 1960 and December 1961.
The class were initially used on express passenger trains such as the Intercapital Daylight, Southern Aurora, Spirit of Progress and The Overland, but were also used on fast freights. On the broad gauge, they often operated in pairs, while on the standard gauge they usually ran solo. A second 'hostlers' cab was provided at the number two end, but was only used around depots, or to haul empty carriages short distances.
In February 1969, two were destroyed in the Violet Town railway disaster, and were deemed uneconomical to repair and scrapped. In January 1967 S317 was badly damaged in a head-on collision with X33 south of Broadford Loop and was returned to Clyde Engineering for rebuilding. In June 1982, S317 was again involved in a fatal accident when it ran into the rear of the Spirit of Progress at Barnawartha, killing the crew.
As more modern locomotives were introduced, those on the standard gauge moved to the broad gauge. Examples would periodically appear on the standard gauge.
When the G Class engines entered service, the railways declared that no more S Class engines would undergo major overhauls. The last two had been S301 in 1985 and S307 in 1986; as of July 1987, engines S303, 304, 305 and 309 were withdrawn, 308 banned as a leading unit and 306 was under minor repair but still in the VR Blue livery. In February 1994, four (300, 302, 311, 312) were sold to West Coast Railway for use on their Melbourne to Warrnambool passenger service. By April 1999, only four remained in the V/Line fleet and even these were only used during periods of high demand. A few have been preserved.
Privatisation brought an upturn in the class' fortunes with some overhauled and as at May 2014, they remain in service with CFCL Australia, Pacific National and Southern Shorthaul Railroad. In 2019, S300 and S311 were purchased privately from CFCLA. S311 was purchased from its private owner by SSR in mid 2020 and was promptly returned to service, still on standard gauge operating primarily in NSW. Pacific National donated S307 to the Seymour Railway Heritage Centre on 17 March 2023. Pacific National donated S301 to Steamrail Victoria on 7th March 2024, and it is now used on heritage operations.

## Fleet status

| Key: | In Service | Stored | Preserved | Under Restoration | Under Repair | Scrapped |
| Locomotive | Serial no | Name | Entered service | Withdrawn | Scrapped | Livery | Status | Owner(s) | Gauge | Notes |
| First Order | | | | | | | | | | |
| S300 | 57-164 | Matthew Flinders | 21 Aug 1957 | | | CFCLA Silver and Blue | Under restoration Canberra | VR (Built), VicRail (1974), V/Line (1983), West Coast Railway (1994), CFCLA (2004), Privately owned (2019?) | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8½ in) standard gauge | Privately owned, Purchased from CFCL Australia |
| S301 | 57-165 | Sir Thomas Mitchell | 4 Sep 1957 | | | Freight Australia Green and Yellow with Pacific National Logos | Preserved | VR (Built), VicRail (1974), V/Line (1983), Freight Australia (1999), Pacific National (2004), Steamrail Victoria (2024) | 1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in) broad gauge | Donated to Steamrail Victoria in March 2024 |
| S302 | 57-166 | Edward Henty | 18 Sep 1957 | | | El Zorro Orange and Grey with SSR Logos | Stored (North Bendigo Workshops) | VR (Built), VicRail (1974), V/Line (1983), West Coast Railway (1994), V/Line Passenger (2004), El Zorro (2006), Southern Shorthaul Railroad (2014) | 1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in) broad gauge | Stored due to fire damage suffered in March 2022. |
| S303 | 57-167 | CJ La Trobe | 30 Sep 1957 | Jul 1988 | | VR Blue and Gold | Preserved-operational | VR (Built), VicRail (1974), V/Line (1983), VicTrack Heritage Register (1990) | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8½ in) standard gauge | Allocated to Seymour Railway Heritage Centre |
| S304 | 57-168 | George Bass | 15 Oct 1957 | May 1987 | Mar 1992 | VR Blue and Gold | Scrapped | VR (Built), VicRail (1974), V/Line (1983) | 1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in) broad gauge | |
| S305 | 57-169 | Hamilton Hume | 4 Nov 1957 | 2 Dec 1985 | Feb 1991 | VR Blue and Gold | Scrapped | VR (Built), VicRail (1974), V/Line (1983) | 1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in) broad gauge | |
| S306 | 57-170 | John Batman | 25 Nov 1957 | Jun 2019 | | Pacific National Blue and Yellow | Operational | VR (Built), VicRail (1974), V/Line (1983), Freight Australia (1999), Pacific National (2004), 707 Operations (2023). | 1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in) broad gauge | Returned to Broad Gauge in September 2018. Donated to 707 Operations in September 2023. |
| S307 | 57-171 | John Pascoe Fawkner | 10 Dec 1957 | | | Pacific National Blue and Yellow | Preserved | VR (Built), VicRail (1974), V/Line (1983), Freight Australia (1999), Pacific National (2004), SRHC (2023) | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8½ in) standard gauge | Donated to the Seymour Railway Heritage Centre in March 2023 |
| S308 | 58-179 | Sir Redmond Barry | 20 Jan 1958 | 25 Jul 1988 | | V/Line Orange and Grey | Static display | VR (Built), VicRail (1974), V/Line (1983), VicTrack Heritage (????) | 1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in) broad gauge | Allocated to the Newport Railway Museum Renumbered Sd308 as a demonstration unit |
| S309 | 58-182 | William Lonsdale | 24 Feb 1958 | 19 Jul 1988 | 1996 | V/Line Orange and Grey | Scrapped | VR (Built), VicRail (1974), V/Line (1983) | 1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in) broad gauge | |
| Second Order | | | | | | | | | | |
| S310 | 60-227 | George Higinbotham | 25 Nov 1960 | | | V/Line Orange and Grey | Stored | VR (Built), VicRail (1974), V/Line (1983), Freight Australia (1999), Pacific National (2004), Seymour Railway Heritage Centre (2013) | 1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in) broad gauge | |
| S311 | 60-228 | Sir Ferdinand von Mueller | 16 Nov 1960 | | | CFCLA Silver and Blue with SSR Logos | In Service | VR (Built), VicRail (1974), V/Line (1983), West Coast Railway (1994), CFCLA (2004), Privately Owned (2019?), Southern Shorthaul Railroad (2020) | 1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in) broad guage | |
| S312 | 60-229 | Peter Lalor | 27 Jan 1961 | | | Rail Power Black with SSR Logos | Operational | VR (Built), VicRail (1974), V/Line (1983), West Coast Railway (1995), Rail Power (2011), SSR (2017) | 1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in) broad gauge | |
| S313 | 61-230 | Alfred Deakin | 27 Feb 1961 | 14 Dec 1994 | | VR Blue and Gold | Preserved-operational | VR (Built), VicRail (1974), V/Line (1983), VicTrack Heritage Register (1996) | 1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in) broad gauge | Withdrawn after suffering a serious electrical fault, allocated to Steamrail Victoria in 1996, first ran in preservation in 1997 |
| S314 | 61-231 | Sir John O'Shanassy | 20 Apr 1961 | 7 Feb 1969 | 7 Feb 1969 | VR Blue and Gold | Scrapped | VR (Built) | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8½ in) standard gauge | destroyed Violet Town railway disaster |
| S315 | 61-238 | Sir Charles Gavan Duffy | 16 Oct 1961 | 23 Aug 1988 | Apr 1992 | V/Line Orange and Grey | Scrapped | VR (Built), VicRail (1974), V/Line (1983) | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8½ in) standard gauge | |
| S316 | 61-239 | Sir Andrew Clarke | 10 Nov 1961 | 7 Feb 1969 | 7 Feb 1969 | VR Blue and Gold | Scrapped | VR (Built) | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8½ in) standard gauge | destroyed Violet Town railway disaster |
| S317 | 61-240 | Jenny Molloy | 7 Dec 1961 | | | SSR Black and Silver | Operational | VR (Built), VicRail (1974), V/Line (1983), Great Northern (????), Southern Shorthaul Railroad (2004) | 1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in) broad gauge | Previously named Sir John Monash, probably renamed when repainted into SSR livery |

## Photo Gallery

* Victorian Railways S class (diesel)
* West Coast Railway liveried S302 in 2001
* Pacific National liveried S307 at Newport Workshops in March 2008
* Steamrail Victoria's S313 at Newport Workshops on 8 March 2010
* S306 nose to nose with A66 on a tour to Quambatook at Southern Cross on 6 March 2021
* S306 trails NR66 and NR27 on #3WM2 at Middle Footscray on 11 September 2018
* Steamrail Victoria's S313 at Ballarat Station on 30 October 2021
* S306 at Newport Workshops on 13 March 2022
* S307 at the Seymour Railway Heritage Centre depot on 29 April 2023
* S301 at Newport Workshops on 11 March 2024