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 L1150 (L class locomotive) atNewport Railway Museum, September 2022 | |||||||||||||||||||||
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TheVictorian Railways L class is a class of electric locomotives built byEnglish Electric and operated by theVictorian Railways and laterV/Line from 1953 until 1987 primarily on theGippsland line. They were the only class of main line electric locomotive operated in Victoria.
Australia was a relatively early adopter of electric traction andElectric Multiple Unit trains, with aGeneral Electric advertisement inRailway Age magazine of 1924 claiming that Melbourne had the largest suburban electrification scheme in the world at 346 miles (557 km).[1] However, electrification inVictoria had until the 1950s been restricted to theMelbourne suburban network. Apart from the EMU fleet the only electric locomotives operated by theVictorian Railways (VR) were a fleet of 12 small 620 hp (460 kW) types (two steeple cabs 1100 and 1101 plus ten box cabs 1102 to 1111). In the 1960s the latter became classifiedE class. They were all built in the 1920s at VR'sNewport Workshops for suburban goods service,[2] using the sameGeneral Electric traction motors and electrical equipment employed on Melbourne's EMU fleet.
During the early 1950s, VR embarked on an£80 million program dubbedOperation Phoenix to rebuild a network badly run down by years ofDepression-era underinvestment andwartime overutilisation.[3] This included a substantial upgrade (regrading, rerouting and electrification) of theGippsland line to Traralgon servicing Victoria's substantialbrown coal fields in theLatrobe Valley to allow for greatly increased traffic inbriquettes for industrial use. A suitably powerful electric locomotive was sought for both express passenger and heavy freight use on the upgraded, electrified line.
In-house locomotive production by VR had virtually ceased with the last of theN class locomotives in 1951, and an order was placed withEnglish Electric in England for 25 locomotives. All were built at theDick, Kerr & Co workshops inStafford.[4] The first two arrived in Australia in January 1953, entering service the following month on suburban Melbourne freight services pending the completion of the Gippsland line electrification.[5][6] TheRenfe Class 277 is a similar design.
Classleader L1150 entered service on 21 April 1953 on a Sunday excursion train toWarburton as far asLilydale.[7] The final locomotive L1174 entered service on 3 August 1954. Because the electrification scheme was not completed until 1956, 12 were stored atNewport Workshops.[8][9]
The L class design reflected a compromise between a requirement to haul freight loads of up to 1,400 tons up a 1 in 110 gradient, and a requirement for a lowaxle load in consideration of VR's typically lightly laid line infrastructure. Although English Electric recommended a heavier locomotive, VR engineers argued against anything above a 97ton maximum.[10]
In order to achieve the required weight reductions, a series of novel weight-saving measures were taken. The original round-ended nose design (which was to have resembled theEMD F7 nose used on theB class Diesel)[11] was shortened and squared off to allow the frame to be reduced in size and weight, reducing the depth of the cabs and requiring the driver to enter the cab via the engine room.Masonite was used in place of sheet metal to line the cab interior, andacrylic sheet was used in place of glass on some of the cab windows.[10]
The L class locomotive was also fitted with what was believed to be the most powerfuldynamic brake in the world at the time, with L1150 able to maintain a steady 32 mph (51 km/h) leading a 1,100 ton test train on a 1 in 50 down-grade without use of theair brake.[12] They were built with gauge convertible bogies to allow them to operate onstandard gauge.[13]
L class locomotives were capable of multiple unit operation, but only with other L class locomotives.
In terms of power, the L class outclassed most of the VR fleet when introduced in 1953, surpassed only by steam locomotiveH220. L1150 was able to better the performance of the famedS class in hauling a 600 ton load up the 1 in 50 gradient ofGlenroy Bank.[14] The L was also able to haul an 1,100 ton load betweenDandenong andOakleigh stations in around half the time taken by VR's most powerful freight locomotive, theX class, allowing heavy freight trains from Gippsland to avoid delaying suburban passenger services sharing the same route.[14]
From introduction the class were maintained at theJolimont Workshops in centralMelbourne, along with the suburban multiple unit fleet and theE class suburban freight locomotives, as steam locomotives were housed at theNorth Melbourne Locomotive Depot. They were not moved to the newSouth Dynon Locomotive Depot until 1964.[15]
The L class proved to be a fine locomotive for express passenger service where their high power output was put to good use haulingThe Gippslander and other services at the line speed limit of 70 mph (112 km/h). However in heavy freight service they were somewhat less successful, as their relatively light weight and lowfactor of adhesion caused them to slip on heavy loads.[16] Despite this, they were regularly used to haul heavy briquette trains of over 1,000 tons from the Latrobe Valley to Melbourne.[17] They could also be seen on some suburban freight services.
L class locomotives were equipped with two pantographs. The VR issued instructions for both pantographs to be raised in winter months, with the first pantograph serving to knock ice off the overhead catenary and ensure good contact for the second pantograph.[16]
The L class locomotives became known as "The Whispering Death" during their early years due to accidents attributed to their quietness of operation in comparison to the various Diesel locomotives operated by the VR at the time. A number of track workers were killed or seriously injured by L class locomotives whose rapid approach they were unable to hear until it was too late.[10]
In early 1984, L1164 failed at Hernes Oak and was struck by the relief locomotive and withdrawn.[16] In 1985, L1163 was involved in a derailment nearDrouin after hitting a broken rail at 70 mph. The locomotive dug into the ballast and rotated through 180 degrees before rolling down an embankment. Remarkably, the crew climbed from the wreckage without serious injury and the derailed passenger carriages remained upright on the embankment, avoiding loss of life and serious injury among the passengers.[18]
Because only one major line (the Gippsland line) had been electrified, the economic advantages of electric traction were not fully realised due to the need to change locomotives for trains that extended beyond the range of the electrified network, which added to the overall cost per mile. Furthermore, the additional expense associated with maintaining the 1,500 V DC overhead catenary system sawV/Line move to withdraw the L class from service and dewire the Gippsland line beyondPakenham.[19] The L class fleet were withdrawn from service by June 1987.[16][20]
Four L class locomotives have survived into preservation, all based at Newport Workshops:[21][22]
