# Australian Standard Garratt

The Australian Standard Garratt (ASG) was a Garratt articulated steam locomotive designed and built in Australia during World War II for use on the 1067 mm (3 ft 6 in) narrow-gauge railway systems owned by the Australian states of Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania and Western Australia. After the war, ASGs operated in South Australia and at the Fyansford Cement Works railway in Victoria.

## History

With the outbreak of World War II, in 1939 the federal government formed the Commonwealth Land Transport Board (CLTB) to take responsibility for the country's land transport networks. In the national interest it was empowered to over-ride decisions of the state railways. In 1942, the CLTB appointed the Commissioner of Railways in Western Australia, Joseph Ellis, to investigate the capacity of Australia's narrow gauge network and recommend what locomotives should be purchased. Ellis recommended that three variations of Garratt locomotive be purchased; heavy, medium and light.
The CLTB elected to build only the light type to allow it to operate on any narrow gauge line in Australia. After an attempt to obtain drawings and licences from Beyer, Peacock and Company failed, in July 1942 the CLTB recommended to the War Cabinet that 30 locomotives be built locally. In August 1942, the War Cabinet approved the order, which was increased to 65 locomotives in November 1942. The Western Australian Government Railways' Chief Mechanical Engineer Frederick Mills was seconded to lead a team of engineers in Melbourne to design the new locomotive. The Queensland Railways were vocal opponents, stating its preference for a modified version of its C17 class.
The result was the Australian Standard Garratt locomotive. The first was built in a record-breaking four months, entering service in September 1943. Only 57 ASGs were completed; assembly of the remaining eight was cancelled at the end of the war. The locomotives were built by the WAGR's Midland Railway Workshops (10), the Victorian Railways' Newport Workshops (12), the South Australian Railways' Islington Railway Workshops (13), and Clyde Engineering, Sydney (22).

## In service

Because of differences between the states, especially in regard to loading gauges, the sharpness of curves, and axle load, especially in Queensland, the design had to be a compromise, which went against the idea of having a standardised design.
To enable the long-wheelbase engine units to negotiate sharp curves, the leading driving wheels were designed to be flangeless, but this proved to be a major flaw as it led to a tendency for the locomotives to derail on curves and points. Another key problem, which made the ASGs unpopular with locomotive crews, was the fact that the firebox door opened flat on the floor of the driving cab, maximising heat radiation into the crew compartment. This resulted in them having fairly short lives with most withdrawn by the mid-1950s. Some were resold for use on the Emu Bay and Fyansford Cement Works Railways where they would have more successful careers.

### Queensland Railways

The Queensland Railways purchased 23. One was never used and another saw only two months service. In September 1945, the drivers' union placed a ban on them. Attempts to modify them proved unsuccessful, and they were written off in 1948. Three were sold to the Emu Bay Railway and six to the Tasmanian Government Railways, with the remainder scrapped in 1954/55.

### Tasmanian Government Railways

The Tasmanian Government Railways purchased 14 new and another six second-hand from the Queensland Railways. Two were sold to the Emu Bay Railway with the remainder scrapped in the late 1950s.

### Western Australian Government Railways

The Western Australian Government Railways purchased 25. They were unpopular with crews, and their use through the state's only tunnel at Swan View caused serious problems, resulting in deaths, industrial disputes, and a Royal Commission.
Six of the WAGR locomotives were sold to the South Australian Railways in 1952. The last were withdrawn from the WAGR in January 1957.

### Emu Bay Railway

The Emu Bay Railway purchased three second-hand from the Queensland Railways and two from the Tasmanian Government Railways. It would operate them successfully until the mid-1960s. One was destroyed in an accident in February 1962 with a replacement obtained from the TGR.

### South Australian Railways

In 1952, the South Australian Railways purchased six second-hand from the WAGR to haul lead ore between Cockburn and Port Pirie as an interim solution pending the delivery of the 400 class Garratts, with all condemned by February 1956.

### Fyansford Cement Works Railway

The Fyansford Cement Works Railway purchased G33 from Commonwealth Disposals in August 1945. It was withdrawn in 1957, but maintained in operational condition until the railway closed in 1966 when it was donated to the Geelong division of the Australian Railway Historical Society.

## Class list

Class List :
| Num | Assembled at | Service with | Entered service | Withdrawn | Scrapped | Notes |
| G1 | Newport Workshops | Queensland Railways | September 1943 | September 1945 | 1955 | |
| G2 | Newport Workshops | Queensland Railways | November 1943 | September 1945 | 1955 | |
| G3 | Newport Workshops | Queensland Railways | December 1943 | September 1945 | 1955 | |
| G4 | Newport Workshops | Queensland Railways | December 1943 | September 1945 | 1955 | |
| G5 | Newport Workshops | Queensland Railways | February 1944 | September 1945 | 1955 | |
| G6 | Newport Workshops | Tasmanian Government Railways | | | | |
| G7 | Newport Workshops | Tasmanian Government Railways | | | | |
| G8 | Newport Workshops | Tasmanian Government Railways | | | | |
| G9 | Newport Workshops | Tasmanian Government Railways | | | | Delivered to Queensland Railways but did not enter service, sold to Tasmanian Government Railways in December 1948 |
| G10 | Newport Workshops | Western Australian Government Railways | | | | |
| G11 | Islington Railway Workshops | Queensland Railways Tasmanian Government Railways | December 1943 | | | Sold to Tasmanian Government Railways in June 1946 |
| G12 | Islington Railway Workshops | Queensland Railways Tasmanian Government Railways Emu Bay Railway | December 1943 | | | Sold to Tasmanian Government Railways in February 1950, sold to Emu Bay Railway 1962 as 20a as replacement for G25 |
| G13 | Islington Railway Workshops | Queensland Railways | February 1944 | September 1945 | 1955 | |
| G14 | Islington Railway Workshops | Queensland Railways | June 1944 | September 1945 | 1955 | |
| G15 | Islington Railway Workshops | Queensland Railways | May 1944 | September 1945 | 1955 | |
| G16 | Islington Railway Workshops | Queensland Railways Emu Bay Railway | August 1944 | September 1945 | 1955 | Sold to Emu Bay Railway, delivered July 1950, entered service July 1952 as 16 |
| G17 | Islington Railway Workshops | Queensland Railways Emu Bay Railway | August 1944 | September 1945 | 1955 | Sold to Emu Bay Railway, delivered March 1954, entered service October 1956 as 18 |
| G18 | Islington Railway Workshops | Queensland Railways Tasmanian Government Railways | July 1945 | September 1945 | 1955 | Sold to Tasmanian Government Railways in February 1950 |
| G19 | Islington Railway Workshops | Queensland Railways Tasmanian Government Railways | April 1945 | September 1945 | 1955 | Sold to Tasmanian Government Railways in December 1948 |
| G20 | Islington Railway Workshops | Western Australian Government Railways | | | | |
| G21 | Clyde Engineering | Queensland Railways | January 1944 | | | |
| G22 | Clyde Engineering | Queensland Railways | February 1944 | | | |
| G23 | Clyde Engineering | Queensland Railways Emu Bay Railway | June 1944 | | | Sold to Emu Bay Railway, delivered September 1950, entered service September 1953 as 17 |
| G24 | Clyde Engineering | Queensland Railways | May 1944 | | | |
| G25 | Clyde Engineering | Queensland Railways Tasmanian Government Railways Emu Bay Railway | May 1944 | February 1962 | | Sold to Tasmanian Government Railways in June 1946 as 20, resold to Emu Bay Railway destroyed in accident February 1962 |
| G26 | Midland Railway Workshops | Western Australian Government Railways South Australian Railways | 22 November 1943 | | | Sold to South Australian Railways 1952 as 305 |
| G27 | Midland Railway Workshops | Western Australian Government Railways | | | | |
| G28 | Midland Railway Workshops | Western Australian Government Railways | | | | |
| G29 | Midland Railway Workshops | Western Australian Government Railways South Australian Railways | 10 March 1944 | | | Sold to South Australian Railways 1952 as 302 |
| G30 | Midland Railway Workshops | Western Australian Government Railways South Australian Railways | 5 April 1944 | | | Sold to South Australian Railways 1952 as 304 |
| G31 | Newport Workshops | Western Australian Government Railways South Australian Railways | 2 March 1945 | | | Sold to South Australian Railways 1952 as 303 |
| G32 | Newport Workshops | Western Australian Government Railways South Australian Railways | 1 June 1945 | | | Sold to South Australian Railways 1952 as 300 |
| G33 | Islington Railway Workshops | Fyansford Cement Works Railway | 1946 | 1957 | | Donated to Australian Railway Historical Society Museum in 1966, transferred to Bellarine Railway in 2013 |
| G34 | Not assembled | | | | | |
| G35 | Not assembled | | | | | |
| G36 | Not assembled | | | | | |
| G37 | Clyde Engineering | Tasmanian Government Railways | | | | |
| G38 | Clyde Engineering | Tasmanian Government Railways | | | | |
| G39 | Not assembled | | | | | |
| G40 | Not assembled | | | | | |
| G41 | Not assembled | | | | | |
| G42 | Not assembled | | | | | |
| G43 | Not assembled | | | | | |
| G44 | Islington Railway Workshops | Western Australian Government Railways | | | | |
| G45 | Islington Railway Workshops | Western Australian Government Railways | | | | |
| G46 | Midland Railway Workshops | Western Australian Government Railways | | | | |
| G47 | Midland Railway Workshops | Western Australian Government Railways | | | | |
| G48 | Midland Railway Workshops | Western Australian Government Railways | | | | |
| G49 | Midland Railway Workshops | Western Australian Government Railways South Australian Railways | 20 October 1944 | | | Sold to South Australian Railways 1952 as 301 |
| G50 | Midland Railway Workshops | Western Australian Government Railways | | | | |
| G51 | Clyde Engineering | Queensland Railways | July 1944 | | 1955 | |
| G52 | Clyde Engineering | Queensland Railways | August 1944 | | 1955 | |
| G53 | Clyde Engineering | Queensland Railways | September 1944 | | 1955 | |
| G54 | Clyde Engineering | Western Australian Government Railways | | | | |
| G55 | Clyde Engineering | Western Australian Government Railways | | | | |
| G56 | Clyde Engineering | Western Australian Government Railways | | | | |
| G57 | Clyde Engineering | Western Australian Government Railways | | | | |
| G58 | Clyde Engineering | Western Australian Government Railways | | | | |
| G59 | Clyde Engineering | Western Australian Government Railways | | | | |
| G60 | Clyde Engineering | Tasmanian Government Railways | | | | |
| G61 | Clyde Engineering | Tasmanian Government Railways | | | | |
| G62 | Clyde Engineering | Tasmanian Government Railways | | | | |
| G63 | Clyde Engineering | Western Australian Government Railways | | | | |
| G64 | Clyde Engineering | Western Australian Government Railways | | | | |
| G65 | Clyde Engineering | Western Australian Government Railways | | | | |

## Preservation

The only surviving complete ASG is G33, which ran on the Fyansford Cement Works Railway until 1957. It was on static display at the Australian Railway Historical Society Museum in North Williamstown until 2013, when it was moved by road (together with a spare boiler) to the Bellarine Railway, Queenscliff, with the aim of full restoration.
Many front water tanks of ASGs have survived: one at Yatina, South Australia, two on a farm south of Peterborough, South Australia, one at the Workshops Rail Museum in Queensland, two at the Don River Railway in Tasmania, and several dotted around that state. They were used as water tanks for steam and fire-fighting until the early 1980s. Another also survives with the Launceston & North East Railway in Launceston, Tasmania. It was used as a waste oil tank by TasRail until the closure of the Hobart railway yard in 2014, possibly being the last steam engine component used by TasRail.
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