#2708
Victorian Railways H class
🇦🇺 Australia ·built by Newport Workshops· from 1941· class of 1 Australian 3-cylinder 4-8-4 locomotive
8 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. H220: User:Zzrbiker· Public domain
- 2. Tender of Victorian Railways H class locomotive No. 220 at the Newport Railway Museum - May 2017: nzsteam· CC BY 2.0
- 3. Victorian Railways H class locomotive No. 220 at the Newport Railway Museum - July 2022: Michael Coghlan· CC BY-SA 2.0
- 4. Victorian Railways H class locomotive No. 220 at the Newport Railway Museum - May 2017 - 01: nzsteam· CC BY 2.0
- 5. Victorian Railways H class locomotive No. 220 at the Newport Railway Museum - May 2017 - 02: nzsteam· CC BY 2.0
- 6. Victorian Railways H class locomotive No. 220 at the Newport Railway Museum - May 2017 - 03: nzsteam· CC BY 2.0
- 7. Victorian Railways H class locomotive No. 220 at the Newport Railway Museum - May 2017 - 04: nzsteam· CC BY 2.0
- 8. Victorian Railways H class locomotive No. 220 at the Newport Railway Museum - May 2017 - 05: nzsteam· CC BY 2.0
what is it?
The Victorian Railways H class is a heavy express passenger and goods steam locomotive operated by the Victorian Railways from 1941 to 1958. Intended to eliminate the use of double heading A2 class locomotives on The Overland services on the steeply graded Western line to Adelaide, wartime restrictions led to only one locomotive being built. Nicknamed Heavy Harry, H220 was the largest locomotive ever built in Australia and the largest non-articulated steam locomotive to run on Australian railways.
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 85 years ago, in 1941.
- Weighs about as much as 25 African elephants (~6 t each).
- 28 m long: about 6 cars parked nose to tail.
- Served for 15 years (1941–1956).
steam locomotive: Burns coal, wood or oil to boil water; the steam drives pistons that turn the wheels.
spec sheet
- built
- 1941
- in service from
- 1941
- retired
- 1956
- status
- preserved
- number built
- 1
- kind
- Steam
- traction
- steam
- origin
- 🇦🇺 Australia
- builders
- Newport Workshops
- operators
- Victorian Railways
- top speed
- —
- power
- —
- gauge
- 1,600 mm Irish broad gauge
- wheel arrangement
- 4-8-4
- length
- 28 m
- weight
- 148 t
- nicknames
- "Heavy Harry"
From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q7927270, Wikipedia: Victorian Railways H class (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.