#0359
South Australian Railways U class
🇬🇧 United Kingdom ·built by Beyer, Peacock and Company· from 1876· class of 8 Australian 2-6-0 locomotives
1 photo from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. South Australian Railways U class locomotive no 2 in 1891: Unknown author Unknown author· Public domain
what is it?
The eight members of the South Australian Railways U class were the first narrow-gauge 1067 mm (3 ft 6 in) locomotives on the South Australian Railways and the first of many steam locomotives built by Beyer, Peacock and Company for the railway. They entered service in 1876: four on the Port Wakefield to Hoyleton line and four on the Port Pirie to Crystal Brook line. Subsequently they operated on the Port Wakefield, Port Pirie and Port Augusta lines.
who runs it
base stats
Bars compare against all trains: 600 km/h (maglev), 1,700 seats; power, weight and number built on a log scale up to 20 MW, 1,000 t and 20,000 built.
fun facts
- First built 150 years ago, in 1876.
- Weighs about as much as 5 African elephants (~6 t each).
- 10.4 m long: about 2 cars parked nose to tail.
- Served for 53 years (1876–1929).
steam locomotive: Burns coal, wood or oil to boil water; the steam drives pistons that turn the wheels.
spec sheet
- built
- 1876
- in service from
- 1876
- retired
- 1929
- status
- retired
- number built
- 8
- kind
- Steam
- traction
- steam
- origin
- 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- builders
- Beyer, Peacock and Company
- operators
- South Australian Railways
- top speed
- —
- power
- —
- gauge
- 1,067 mm Cape gauge
- wheel arrangement
- 2-6-0
- length
- 10.4 m
- weight
- 30.5 t
From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q66100304, Wikipedia: South Australian Railways U class (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.