P Class
By Alex Thorn
SSR P17 hauls a single BGKF grain hopper and withdrawn Comeng set 304M/1002T/303M-301M/1001T/302M as 9083 near Gisborne. 14/4/22
Photo By: Alex Thorn
Photo By: Alex Thorn
A large part of the 'New Deal' scheme passed by the government in the early 1980's was to upgrade local interurban passenger trains operated by VicRail (formerly the Victorian Railways). The railways at this point were operated by a fleet of outdated wooden rollingstock with equally outdated and struggling locomotives, not capable of keeping up with increased demands. The shorter routes to areas such as Seymour and Bacchus Marsh often took the brunt of this outdated form of rail transport. In 1981, announcements had been made to refurbish withdrawn Harris suburban sets into country passenger carriages. As for the motive power, proposals were made to rebuild a handful of T class locomotives into a better equipped passenger loco especially designed for these services. The contract was eventually handed to Clyde Engineering, who had originally built the T class locomotives around 25 years previous and also had the contract to rebuild the B class into A class. 11, and later 13 locomotives would eventually be rebuilt.
The oldest T class units were chosen to take part in the rebuild, however numbers T320-T325 would not be acceptable to rebuild due to the fabricated bogies which could not be salvaged. These locos would receive a new raised cab for crew comfort and a cut down nose for better visibility. The T class would retain their frames and bogies during the rebuild into P class as well as the overall hood type body which allowed for bi-directional running. A new EMD 8-645E engine was to be installed in each unit as well as a head end power unit for carriage lighting and to avoid the need for a power van on passenger trains. An improved drivers control stand, radiator and traction motors were also fitted.
Clyde's Martin and King facility in Somerton was chosen as the location where the rebuilds would take place and the first unit, T336, would soon find itself sent in a stripped down state for work to commence. By May 1984, newly rebuilt P11 was completed and emerged from the facility. After being test run and inspected, P11 entered service in June 1984, however its accompanying H car sets were not ready for service so it would see use with older wooden carriages at first until the H cars entered service the following month.
More P class units entered service in the following months on interurban runs to Seymour, Sunbury, South Geelong and Kyneton as well as the newly restarted service to Leongatha. Use on freight trains was uncommon. It was during this time that the concept of running push-pull services with a P class at each end of a 6 car H set began to develop. The Ps were only designed to haul up to 4 carriages so with two locomotives per train, the issue of keeping up could be resolved and timetables could be met. These operations began in 1986.
In 1994, the introduction of the new Sprinter DMU's affected the work the P class were undertaking. The Sprinters took over many interurban and peak services in and out of Melbourne, cascading N and A class units on to other trains typically worked by P class. P class sightings on freight services increased owing to this and they could often be seen on the Lang Lang-Spotswood sand train, Tocumwal and Dandenong freight trains. They could also be seen on grain trains around the state. Despite the Sprinters reducing the workload for the P class, they would continue to see constant use on passenger services due to passenger growth and demands.
In 1997, V/line split into two separate entities for both freight and passenger operations. P11 to P18 would be operated by V/line Passenger while P19 to P23 would be operated by V/line Freight. The head-end power generator installed in P class proved to be an important asset with V/line Freight used for train power supply to power refrigerated containers. All of the V/line Passenger units would eventually be repainted into the red, white and blue corporate scheme that had been adopted since 1995.
Freight Victoria (later Freight Australia) took over freight operations from V/line Freight in 1999, P class units P19 to P23 all receiving the new green and yellow colour scheme. Operations would continue mostly unchanged for years including after the eventual takeover of freight operations once again in 2002, this time by Pacific National. P class were popular units on Tocumwal and Deniliquin freight trains due to the need for a power supply for refrigerated container loading. By 2008, Pacific National had withdrawn P19, P21 and P23 with P22 withdrawn in 2013 due to service reductions and cuts. P20 would continue in and out of service until 2018 when it was withdrawn and sent for scrap. Surprisingly, it was saved and sent to Newport Workshops for further storage during July 2019. P19, P21, P22 and P23 were all purchased by Ettamogah Rail Hub, P22 and P23 being reactivated and operated by SRHC painted in VR blue and gold for heritage service (P22 on standard gauge) whilst the other two units remain stored at Ettamogah.
As for the V/line Passenger units, the introduction of V/locity DMU's severely affected the workload available for P class. Electrification of the Sunbury line in 2012 also meant that P class were no longer required to operate services on that line. Nonetheless, P11, P12, P15 and P17 would all receive a coat of the new 'Cheeseburger' livery. Commuter services during peak to Melton, Bacchus Marsh and Wyndham Vale would see P class services continue until 2017 when the fleet was withdrawn from service. Today, P12 and P15 remain in service with V/line, occasionally seeing use on test trains. P13 was converted to standard gauge shortly after withdrawal from passenger service in 2011 and would be used for carriage transfer trips between South Dynon and Southern Cross as well as serving as a standby loco.
Following the withdrawal from passenger service, P11, P14, P16, P17 and P18 were sold to SSR for use on infrastructure and grain services around Victoria on broad gauge. P11 is currently the workshop shunter at the North Bendigo Workshops. In October 2022, P14 became the first unit to emerge in the SSR yellow and black colour scheme, with P16 and P18 following in the following months.
The oldest T class units were chosen to take part in the rebuild, however numbers T320-T325 would not be acceptable to rebuild due to the fabricated bogies which could not be salvaged. These locos would receive a new raised cab for crew comfort and a cut down nose for better visibility. The T class would retain their frames and bogies during the rebuild into P class as well as the overall hood type body which allowed for bi-directional running. A new EMD 8-645E engine was to be installed in each unit as well as a head end power unit for carriage lighting and to avoid the need for a power van on passenger trains. An improved drivers control stand, radiator and traction motors were also fitted.
Clyde's Martin and King facility in Somerton was chosen as the location where the rebuilds would take place and the first unit, T336, would soon find itself sent in a stripped down state for work to commence. By May 1984, newly rebuilt P11 was completed and emerged from the facility. After being test run and inspected, P11 entered service in June 1984, however its accompanying H car sets were not ready for service so it would see use with older wooden carriages at first until the H cars entered service the following month.
More P class units entered service in the following months on interurban runs to Seymour, Sunbury, South Geelong and Kyneton as well as the newly restarted service to Leongatha. Use on freight trains was uncommon. It was during this time that the concept of running push-pull services with a P class at each end of a 6 car H set began to develop. The Ps were only designed to haul up to 4 carriages so with two locomotives per train, the issue of keeping up could be resolved and timetables could be met. These operations began in 1986.
In 1994, the introduction of the new Sprinter DMU's affected the work the P class were undertaking. The Sprinters took over many interurban and peak services in and out of Melbourne, cascading N and A class units on to other trains typically worked by P class. P class sightings on freight services increased owing to this and they could often be seen on the Lang Lang-Spotswood sand train, Tocumwal and Dandenong freight trains. They could also be seen on grain trains around the state. Despite the Sprinters reducing the workload for the P class, they would continue to see constant use on passenger services due to passenger growth and demands.
In 1997, V/line split into two separate entities for both freight and passenger operations. P11 to P18 would be operated by V/line Passenger while P19 to P23 would be operated by V/line Freight. The head-end power generator installed in P class proved to be an important asset with V/line Freight used for train power supply to power refrigerated containers. All of the V/line Passenger units would eventually be repainted into the red, white and blue corporate scheme that had been adopted since 1995.
Freight Victoria (later Freight Australia) took over freight operations from V/line Freight in 1999, P class units P19 to P23 all receiving the new green and yellow colour scheme. Operations would continue mostly unchanged for years including after the eventual takeover of freight operations once again in 2002, this time by Pacific National. P class were popular units on Tocumwal and Deniliquin freight trains due to the need for a power supply for refrigerated container loading. By 2008, Pacific National had withdrawn P19, P21 and P23 with P22 withdrawn in 2013 due to service reductions and cuts. P20 would continue in and out of service until 2018 when it was withdrawn and sent for scrap. Surprisingly, it was saved and sent to Newport Workshops for further storage during July 2019. P19, P21, P22 and P23 were all purchased by Ettamogah Rail Hub, P22 and P23 being reactivated and operated by SRHC painted in VR blue and gold for heritage service (P22 on standard gauge) whilst the other two units remain stored at Ettamogah.
As for the V/line Passenger units, the introduction of V/locity DMU's severely affected the workload available for P class. Electrification of the Sunbury line in 2012 also meant that P class were no longer required to operate services on that line. Nonetheless, P11, P12, P15 and P17 would all receive a coat of the new 'Cheeseburger' livery. Commuter services during peak to Melton, Bacchus Marsh and Wyndham Vale would see P class services continue until 2017 when the fleet was withdrawn from service. Today, P12 and P15 remain in service with V/line, occasionally seeing use on test trains. P13 was converted to standard gauge shortly after withdrawal from passenger service in 2011 and would be used for carriage transfer trips between South Dynon and Southern Cross as well as serving as a standby loco.
Following the withdrawal from passenger service, P11, P14, P16, P17 and P18 were sold to SSR for use on infrastructure and grain services around Victoria on broad gauge. P11 is currently the workshop shunter at the North Bendigo Workshops. In October 2022, P14 became the first unit to emerge in the SSR yellow and black colour scheme, with P16 and P18 following in the following months.
Data Table
Loco |
In Service |
Owner |
Livery |
Status |
P11 |
06/84 |
SSR |
VLP MK3 |
In Service |
P12 |
06/84 |
V/line |
VLP MK3 |
In Service |
P13 |
07/84 |
V/line |
VLP MK2 |
In Service |
P14 |
08/84 |
SSR |
SSR |
In Service |
P15 |
10/84 |
V/line |
VLP MK3 |
In Service |
P16 |
12/84 |
SSR |
SSR |
In Service |
P17 |
12/84 |
SSR |
VLP MK3/SSR |
In Service |
P18 |
03/85 |
SSR |
SSR |
In Service |
P19 |
03/85 |
Ettamogah Rail Hub |
FA/PN |
Stored |
P20 |
06/85 |
Pacific National |
FA/PN |
Stored |
P21 |
07/85 |
Ettamogah Rail Hub |
FA/PN |
Stored |
P22 |
10/85 |
Ettamogah Rail Hub |
VR |
In Service |
P23 |
10/85 |
Ettamogah Rail Hub |
VR |
In Service |
Credits:
Power to the Rails - John Scott
Wikipedia
Updated: 7/5/23
Power to the Rails - John Scott
Wikipedia
Updated: 7/5/23