Photo courtesy © Furry Software

Diesel Electric Locomotive No 4102

1. Exhibit History

4102 was the second locomotive in an order for Ten (10) 1000 h.p. Shunting Locomotives placed by the New South Wales Government Railways with Australian General Electric Pty. Ltd. in 1950 at a cost of $123 441.32 (A£62,220/13/3) each.

A.G.E. Pty. Ltd in turn, through its agents in Britain, sublet the contract to the British Thompson Houston Co. Ltd for the supply of the locomotives.

4102 was the first of the class to arrive in Sydney, being received on 13th October 1953, and subsequently placed into service on the 30th October 1953.

The 41 Class proved to be a very troublesome class of locomotive that were not suited for Australian conditions in that their low cooling capacity resulted from many engine failures.

A similar design of locomotive worked on British Railways for some years with a similar rate of failure (B.R. Classes 15 & 16). The Paxman Engine lacked sufficient cooling water capacity within the engine to successfully keep the engine cool under all conditions.

The auxiliary systems were totally unsuited for a rigorous locomotive environment. The excitation system did not allow the two engines to properly share load, which resulted in load hunting. The welded bogies were continually failing with fatigue cracking.

The radiator design had insufficient capacity to allow the cooling system to function correctly. The cooling system layout prevented the locomotives from being able to run in multiple, as the leading locomotive would pass its hot air directly into the radiator of the trailing locomotive.

One modification which was carried out to the whole class, was to extend the radiators forward, blank off the side hot air exit panels, and duct the hot air out of a new opening in the roof behind the headlight. This was carried out during 1955-1956.

An attempt was made to further correct the overheating problems by relocating the engine mufflers from directly over the engine, to an enclosure above the normal roofline. This was carried out in 1958 to 4102 and 4104, and whilst considered to be moderately successful, no further members of the class were modified.

4110 was the last diesel locomotive to carry the green colour scheme, being painted Tuscan Red in August 1970.

By the end of 1967, the Railways Administration had run out of patience with the class. As major failures occurred, the locomotive was set aside.

4102 was the last member of the class in service. It was finally withdrawn on June 1975 after seizing a piston in the "A" engine. It had the honour (?) of being the longest serving member of the class, and recording the greatest distance travelled in the class (492 650 km).

4102 was officially removed from the roster on 31st December 1976.

2. Collection History

After negotiations between the Museum Maintenance Manager of the time, (Mr. Keith Robinson) and the PTC of NSW, Locomotive 4102 was donated to the New South Wales Rail Transport Museum on 31st December 1976 under the provisions of the "Deed-of-Gift" preservation scheme by the then Public Transport Commission of New South Wales.

The damaged "A" engine was temporarily repaired by members of the Illawarra Group, and the locomotive was re-commissioned for use as a yard shunter. It was painted in a representation of the green colour scheme. The colour proved to be incorrect for that class of locomotive.

The "A" engine of 4102 failed again during 1982 on a return trip from Picton with a loop line train. This failure completely destroyed the engine block, and reduced the capacity of the locomotive to one engine operation only. It was used intermittently as yard shunter until 1987, when the batteries finally wore out.

During 1982, a 42 Class hostlers control stand was installed inside the drivers cabin to test the development of safely controlling a standard diesel locomotive from a remote control stand. This was satisfactorily completed, and passed by both the senior Air Brake inspector and Traffic Running Inspector of the time.

During 1994-1996, 4102 was stored at the Meeks Road XPT Maintenance Centre in Sydney. During this period, the faulty engine was removed, and the spare engine from Thirlmere was installed in the locomotive. Both engines were then rebuilt with new and re-manufactured components to a fully overhauled condition. The engines have yet to be started and commissioned.

3. Statement of Significance

Diesel Locomotive 4102 is significant in that it represents an attempt by the railway's administration to source locomotives from Great Britain. This would fit with the trade and foreign currency policies of the period.

4102 is associated with the tentative steps towards modernisation by the NSWGR after World War 2. It demonstrates an early diesel electric design, as well as being an example of contemporary British Design which was a failure both in Australia and Great Britain.

The design is associated with shunting and trip working in the greater Sydney Metropolitan area.

The design demonstrates a utilitarian design evolving from strict parameters relating to the specific application. The design did however have a social impact on the crews who manned the locomotives in the way it improved their working conditions compared with those experienced on a steam locomotive

4102 is historically significant in that it is still intact and has the potential to be made operational. The modifications carried out during the locomotives working life are traceable through publications, and are also evident when researching the fabric of the locomotive.