Australian Railway Historical Society (ACT Division)

Steam Locomotive 1307 The 4-4-2 steam locomotive 1307 was built in 1877 by Beyer, Peacock and Co. of Manchester, England, as an engine with a coal and water tender, to handle general haulage work. Around the turn of the century, larger freight engines were coming into service. A number of older locomotives, including 1307, were converted from tender to tank engines for use on the Sydney suburban network. In 1910, the locomotive went to Yass, the first 13 class engine to operate on the Yass Tramway which ran between Yass Junction station on the main southern line and Yass township. Over the following 53 years, 1307 worked regularly on the tramway. In their later years, class members are known to have also served on the Ballina branch line, the Picton-Mittagong loop, Coffs Harbour-Kempsey line and the Casino-Border loop, often heading up school trains. One also spent some years substituting for failed X200 diesel rail tractors at a number of locations, including Yass. In 1929, 1307 was withdrawn from service. But traffic demands saw a return to work - in fact, she was "withdrawn from service" six times before her ultimate retirement in 1972. By this time, 1307 had given 95 years of active service and had clocked up 1,383,190 miles (2,213,107 kilometres). The NSW Rail Transport Museum stored the locomotive until financial help from State Rail Heritage allowed her transfer to Yass in December 1999, where restoration work was undertaken at Yass Railway Museum, which at that time was operated by the Society.

Click on picture for larger image; use your 'Back' button to return to this page  Restored, at Yass Railway Museum  Restored, at Yass  Prior to restoration  Prior to restoration  Prior to restoration

Return to steam locomotive index