#3087
South Australian Railways 400 class
🇦🇺 Australia ·built by Société Franco-Belge· from 1952· class of 10 Australian 4-8-2+2-8-4 locomotives
5 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. SAR 400 class locomotive no 409: Peripitus· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 2. South Australian Railways 400 class Beyer-Garratt articulated steam locomotives at Jamestown, 1968: John Masson· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 3. South Australian Railways 400 class Beyer-Garratt locomotive no 400 as built, Raismes, 1953: South Australian Railways· Public domain
- 4. South Australian Railways 400 class Beyer-Garratt locomotive no 405 -- builder's photo, 1953: South Australian Railways· Public domain
- 5. South Australian Railways 400 class Beyer-Garratt locomotive no 405 in builder's photo colour scheme, with crew, Raismes, 1953: South Australian Railways· Public domain
what is it?
The South Australian Railways 400 class comprised ten 4-8-2+2-8-4 articulated steam locomotives built in France in 1952 and 1953 under licence to Beyer, Peacock & Co. Ltd, Manchester, UK. The locomotives mainly hauled ore on the 1067 mm (3 ft 6 in) narrow-gauge line from the New South Wales/South Australia border to smelters at Port Pirie until 1963, when they were replaced by diesel locomotives. They also operated on the line to the break-of-gauge station at Terowie.
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 74 years ago, in 1952.
- 26.5 m long: about 6 cars parked nose to tail.
steam locomotive: Burns coal, wood or oil to boil water; the steam drives pistons that turn the wheels.
spec sheet
- built
- 1952–1953
- in service from
- 1953
- number built
- 10
- kind
- Steam
- traction
- steam
- origin
- 🇦🇺 Australia
- builders
- Société Franco-Belge, Beyer, Peacock and Company
- operators
- South Australian Railways
- top speed
- —
- power
- —
- gauge
- 1,067 mm Cape gauge
- wheel arrangement
- 4-8-2+2-8-4 (Garratt)
- length
- 26.5 m
From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q7566136, Wikipedia: South Australian Railways 400 class (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.