page_title: Victorian Railways rail tractor
hierarchical_section_title: Victorian Railways rail tractor
caption_attribution_description: RT 20 in Swan Hill
context_page_description: The Victorian Railways rail tractors are a small shunting unit used by the Victorian Railways of Australia for moving railway wagons in at country stations and private sidings. Varying in power output and size, they are agricultural tractors on top of a four-wheeled steel rail wagon frame. RT1 was of a different design to the remainder of the class and is preserved at the Australian Railway Historical Society Museum at Newport.
  The shunters are not fitted with air brakes but are through-piped to enable them to be worked dead as part of a normal train. An exception to that is RT46, a standard "Aresco Trak Chief", the only one of its type built for the VR, which entered service in 1966. RT54 is a one-off unit acquired from the Portland Harbour Trust, which had used the vehicle on its private siding. In March 1989, it was reported that a refurbishment program for rail tractors was being undertaken at the Ballarat Railway Workshops and, as units went through the program, they were repainted into the then-current V/Line orange livery.
context_section_description: The Victorian Railways rail tractors are a small shunting unit used by the Victorian Railways of Australia for moving railway wagons in at country stations and private sidings. Varying in power output and size, they are agricultural tractors on top of a four-wheeled steel rail wagon frame. RT1 was of a different design to the remainder of the class and is preserved at the Australian Railway Historical Society Museum at Newport.
  The shunters are not fitted with air brakes but are through-piped to enable them to be worked dead as part of a normal train. An exception to that is RT46, a standard "Aresco Trak Chief", the only one of its type built for the VR, which entered service in 1966. RT54 is a one-off unit acquired from the Portland Harbour Trust, which had used the vehicle on its private siding. In March 1989, it was reported that a refurbishment program for rail tractors was being undertaken at the Ballarat Railway Workshops and, as units went through the program, they were repainted into the then-current V/Line orange livery.
  Units currently authorised to operate on Victorian tracks are RT 3-40, 42-43 and 45-53, the second group being more powerful, and all are permitted to travel at 15 km/h maximum. Units RT 18, 28 and 43 were gauge converted and transferred to Sydney for use on the construction of the Epping to Chatswood railway.
caption: RT 20 in Swan Hill, featuring Freight Australia livery
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