Australian Railway Models 87051 NSWGR D55 K Class 2-8-0 5503 Consolidation Steam Locomotive Oil Tender - 1:87
- Availability:
- Pre-Order
- Product Code:
- ARM-87051
- Brand:
- Australian Railway Models
4th Quarter 2024 PRE ORDERS can be done via email to info@absolut-toy.com or by telephone.
In 1916, Clyde Engineering were
contracted to produce the K Class locomotives. The first K Class, 1353
entered service in 1918, but the NSWGR wanted extensive testing, so the
next K Class wasn't produced for another 2 years. During this time, the
order had been reduved from an original 300 locomotives to 120. All 120
locomotives were in service by 1925 and fitted with large capacity Wampu
tenders. The K Class locomotives featured tapered boilers and the
uncommon "Southern Valve Gear". As part of the NSW reclassification
scheme in 1924, the K Class became the D55 Class. Industrial unrest after World War 2 threatened coal supplies, 70 of
the existing D55s were converted to run on oil fuel. Once the unrest had
past only 16 D55 locomotives were converted back to coal, the remaining
oil fired D55s were retired fir to cost of oil being more expensive
than coal. The first D55 Class Locomotive to be conterted to an Oil burner, was the 5502 in 1946. Age 14+