Victorian Railways K class
The K class was a branch line steam locomotive that ran on Victorian Railways in Australia from 1922 to 1979. Although its design was entirely conventional and its specifications unremarkable, the K class was in practice a remarkably versatile and dependable locomotive. It went on to outlast every other class of steam locomotive in regular service on the VR, and no fewer than 21 examples of the 53 originally built have survived into preservation. History. The K class was the first design from the VR Locomotive Design Section under the stewardship of Alfred E Smith as  Chief Mechanical Engineer. The Locomotive Design Section had introduced successful mainline and branchline passenger locomotives with the A2 class and Dd class 4-6-0s, and had recently improved mainline goods services with the C class 2-8-0. They now turned their attention to a requirement for a more powerful branchline goods locomotive, and in 1922 produced a lighter 2-8-0 "Consolidation" locomotive with a axle load and wheelbase, able to run on even the lightest lines on the VR system. Regular service. The K class is credited with working virtually every line in the VR system and  hauling almost every kind of train. A total of ten were built from 1922 to 1923, numbered 100–109. They were put to work on goods services on steeply graded branch lines where their superior tractive effort (45% higher than that of the Dd class) and high factor of adhesion were put to good use. The design was modified in 1925 into the N class 2-8-2, in response to a new Victorian Railways policy that all new locomotives be capable of conversion from to in the event of the Victorian Railways network being standardised. The K, with its firebox  mounted between the frames, was unsuitable for standard gauge conversion. The K class proved to be such a successful locomotive that, despite not being gauge convertible, a further 29 units were ordered just before World War II, being delivered between 1940 and 1941. The first of the new engines was 140, quickly renumbered 150 then followed by 151 to 178; the original ten engines were also renumbered 140–149. In 1942 a further order was placed for an additional 21 engines, which would have brought the fleet total to 61 engines. However, only five of this batch - 179 to 183 - entered  service during 1943, and construction was halted until after the end of hostilities when work resumed on engines K184 to K192. The remaining engines were never built. The decision to build more Ks reflected their greater versatility: they had the same tractive effort as the N class but unlike the longer wheelbase N class the K could be turned on the smallest () turntables. Although originally designed as a goods locomotive, their maximum permissible speed was raised for branchline passenger service, further increasing their versatility. The success of the K class was such that even in 1953, with dieselisation already underway  on Victorian Railways, the basic design of the K class was updated into the J class 2-8-0, the final class of steam locomotives to be introduced to the Victorian Railways. Design improvements. During the mid-1930s, the original batch of ten K class locomotives were equipped with VR's 'Modified Front End' for improved drafting and reduced cylinder back pressure. They also saw other improvements, such as the fitting of cross-compound air compressors, smoke deflectors and a new welded tender tank which incorporated a self-trimming coal bunker. The last seven of the second order of K class  locomotives built in 1940-46 were fitted with Boxpok wheels. Demise. The introduction of the T class (EMD G8) diesel electric locomotive from 1955 onwards on VR's branchline network spelled the beginning of the end for the K class, with Ks gradually being retired as successive orders of Ts were delivered throughout the 1950s and into the 1960s. Even so, their reliable and low-cost operability ensured they remained in service around various yards and depots as shunters and workshop pilots until the Y class (EMD G6B) locomotive eventually superseded them in this role. On 20 January 1965 locomotive  K 188 was used in a public ending of steam on the Victorian Railways, when it was used in the demolition of the North Melbourne Locomotive Depot, pulling down the front wall with a steel rope before a crowd of onlookers. North Ballarat Workshops pilot K 162 had the honour of being the last steam locomotive in service on Victorian Railways, withdrawn in March 1979, and was subsequently allocated to Steamrail Victoria. Preservation. With the rail preservation movement well under way by the late 1960s, many ex-VR locomotives were sold to local councils for display in municipal parks or  near railway stations. The K had a further advantage over other classes in this respect: because VR offered the locomotives for the price of their scrap value (plus the cost of freight to their eventual destination), the relatively lightweight K represented a comparatively cheap locomotive purchase. The large number of preserved K class locomotives is in stark contrast to the fate of VR's remaining fleet of 73 larger, heavier N class locomotives, all of which (other than the one example retained for display at the Newport Railway Museum) were scrapped. By the time VR announced the cessation of steam  locomotive scrapping in 1978, no fewer than 21 of an original 53 K class locomotives remained in existence, making them in preservation the most numerous class of VR steam locomotives. However, none of the original batch of ten locomotives survives. Note the following list follows traditional practice, with locomotives identified by the at-construction frame number, regardless of numbers worn at any other time or parts swapped. Static display. K 165 is preserved at the Newport Railway Museum, painted in traditional all-over black. In addition, K class locomotives are also preserved on public display at various locations: Model railways . HO Scale. The VR K Class locomotive was previously available in HO Scale as a brass and Whitemetal kit, by Broad Gauge Models. There were also a limited production run of brass "Ready-to-Run" models produced by Precision Scale Models in the mid-1990s. A limited production run of brass "Ready-to-Run" models was produced by Trainbuilder in 2013/14. A plastic version is currently in development by Eureka Models and is due in 2017. Planned numbers are K150, 155, 160, 166, 172, 187 and 192 in black, 163 in one of the Mornington green schemes, 183 in Steamrail's  blue livery, 184 in Steamrail's black with red livery and 190 in Steamrail's red livery. Trainbuilder has released a series of locomotives, including K150, 160, 164, 175, 186, 188 and 192 in black, and 183 in Steamrail's blue scheme and 190 in Steamrail's green scheme. N Scale. An N scale kit version is available from badgerbits using a MicroAce 9600 as a basis.