D^D D¹ D² class 4-6-0

ABOVE: D^D 590 in photographic grey livery 1904. Built at Newport Workshops and placed on register 29/01/1904. Re-built as superheater D^d 18/12/1926 and re-numbered 798. Re-classified D² 21/08/1929. Re-built as D³ 661 04/05/1934. Fitted with MFE and auto-couplers 01/04/1942. Fitted with electric headlight 15/01/1954. Off register and scrapped Newport 17/10/1958.

D^D 560 was manufactured at Newport Workshops and was placed on the register on 17/10/1902. It ran for a year before serial production began with D^D 582 placed on the register 19/10/1903 and continued until 1920 when the last of 261 DDs (D^D 1052 built at Ballarat North Workshops placed on the register 09/12/1920) was completed. Two further DDs were added to the tally resulting from conversion of DDE tank engines in 1922 and 1923.

The D^D Class was designed as all-lines mixed traffic locomotive that were Victorian Railways’ go anywhere/do anything class. They replaced the multiplicity of small locomotive classes that were time expired by the turn of the 19th/20th century. As they were conceived by the Victorian Railways Rolling Stock Branch around the time of Federation they were designed and manufactured to allow for conversion to standard gauge. The boiler design incorporated grates that were narrow enough to enable placement between standard gauge frames without alteration.

There were numbers of variations amongst the DD Class, narrow AA type cabs on the earliest examples, low footplates with splashers, wide cabs with high footplates and, significantly, provision of superheaters (DD 882 in 1914) resulting in the DD Superheater sub-class.

After rationalisation of the numbering of locomotive classes conducted during the 1920s, Chief Mechanical Engineer Norman Harris issued instructions on 15/03/1929 that the DD be reclassified D1, the Superheater DD be reclassified D2, DD Superheater converted with new, larger, boilers with wide (broad gauge) grates and utilising K Class flanging dies classed D3 and the DDE reclassified D4. (Text and captions by Phil Dunn)

 

ABOVE & BELOW: D^D 560 at Lilydale (above). D^D 560, the pattern D^D Class locomotive, was manufactured at Newport Workshops and placed on the register 17/10/1902 and cost £4,476. It was painted in the then current green livery with polished brass dome shade and boiler bands. The locomotive was equipped with a unique tender based on the V Class bogie design incorporating, like the V Class, a tool box over the buffer beam and builder’s plates on the side of the tender tank. On 03/09/1926 the locomotive was outshopped from Newport as a superheater D^D 796 on 03/9/1926 and re-classified D² 01/04/1930. Fitted with a second C Class air pump circa 1922, these were replaced by a D Class pump 04/1929. The locomotive was rebuilt as D³ 657 with MFE and outshopped from Newport 30/03/1935 Fitted with auto-couplers 23/09/1942 and electric headlight 19/12/1952. Off register 21/10/1960 and broken up at Bendigo North having accrued 1,266,956 miles.  (photo below taken 1922-1929)

 

ABOVE: This loco is either a D¹ or D². Some D^Ds were fitted from 1922 with a second BC air pump and instructions were issued in 1927 that no D^D/DD^E locomotives were to be outshopped with only one BC air pump. D^D/DD^E locomotives were to be fitted with two BC pumps, one C pump or one D pump. The two BC pump arrangement was superseded by provision of D Class pumps from the early 1930s and the two pump arrangement had largely disappeared by WW2.

ABOVE: D^D painted in Canadian red and chocolate livery. Note original location of air pump. The frame mounted air pumps were prone to vibration leading to fatigue failure of piping so the pumps were re-located to the smokebox side from 1910.

ABOVE: D^D 656 black livery 1920s. Built at Newport Workshops and placed on register 23/11/1906. Approved for scrapping 22/05/1929, scrapped 14/06/1929.

ABOVE: D^D painted in Canadian red and chocolate livery.

ABOVE: D^D 608 Canadian red and chocolate livery sometime between 1910 and 1918. Built by Phoenix Foundry, builder’s number 353, and placed on register 26/7/1904. Off register and scrapped 19/10/1929.

ABOVE:D^Dpainted in photographic grey livery. Note that shadow cast by the footplate reveals gap in the footplate next to the firebox which was the original location of the air pump.

ABOVE: D^D 652 Canadian red and chocolate livery pre 1918 Spencer Street Station. Built at Newport Workshops and placed on register 15/02/1906. Re-classified D1 13/05/1930 and re-numbered 590 27/04/1933. Off register and scrapped Newport 05/08/1941. Note coffin truck on adjacent platform. 

ABOVE   D¹ Class, number unclear, mid 1930s to 1940s. 

ABOVE: D^D 635 was built at Newport Workshops and was placed on the register 12/06/1912. Re-classified D¹ 8/1929. Off register 25/06/1934 and scrapped Newport. Shopped Ballarat Nth for a Thorough 29/01 to 27/04/1920, for a Thorough 22/11/1922 to 14/06/1923, for a Thorough 19/05/1925 to 27/08/1925, for a General 07/04/1927 to 23/05/1927. Photo at Ballarat workshops most likely during its exams in either 1925 or 1927. (Madden collection SLV)

ABOVE: D² 737 black livery sometime between 1929 and 1935. Built at Newport Workshops and placed on register 09/11/1917 as DD 1029. Rebuilt as Superheater DD 05/03/1925 and re-classified D2 07/09/1929. Re-built as D3 654 11/05/1935. Fitted with auto-couplers 29/03/1940 and electric headlight 30/10/1953. Off register and scrapped Bendigo North 11/04/1963.

ABOVE: D^D 909 was built by Thompson & Co. and was placed on the register 24/9/1915. Superheated (Robinson) 24/6/1921. Renumbered 782 12/1924 and reclassified D² 1929. Renumbered 600 30/10/1951, autocoupled 29/1/1954, off register 19/8/1960 after accruing 761,654 miles.

BELOW: Photographed at Campbelltown. Tender tank Diagram 13 W787 last coupled to D² 600 which had a tender change at Newport 2/2/1954. The locomotive was off register 19/8/1960 and was broken up at Ballarat North. Fitted with handrails for shunters' steps and still in reasonable condition.

 

ABOVE: D¹ 578. Built as D^D 553 by Beyer, Peacock builder’s number 5546 and placed on register 20/04/1912. Re-numbered 578 30/04/1925. Auto-coupled 23/12/1953. Off register and scrapped 09/11/1960 Newport. 760,051 miles accrued. Fitted with engine and tender shunters footboards date unknown. Engine footboards ex D⁴. Tender ex A² with N(SG) 62 tender tank that has required the front of the sides to be trimmed to fit under the cab overhang.

ABOVE: D^D671, photo date Feb 1926

ABOVE: D^D 1031 was built at Newport Workshops and was placed on the register 20/12/1917. Superheated (Schmidt) and re-numbered 739 09/04/1924. Re-classified D² circa 1929. Re-built as D³ 637 and outshopped 22/09/1939 fitted with auto-couplers and MFE. Fitted with electric headlight 29/11/1951. Off register 21/01/1959 and broken up Ballarat North. Photo taken at North Melbourne Locomotive Depot, locomotive fitted with Wakefield mechanical lubricator.

ABOVE: D² 728 was shunting near Little River on May 30 1938 when a down passenger train hauled by A² 933 ran through a red signal and spectacularly crashed into it. (photo courtesy Ralph Orton)