Victorian Railways H class
The Victorian Railways H class was an express passenger 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.
Builder's photograph of H220, 1941
Detail view of the Henschel & Son valve gear mechanism
H220 leads the Albury Express out of Melbourne, past the signalbox at Essendon, circa 1949
H220, in static preservation at the Newport Railway Museum
The Victorian Railways (VR), trading from 1974 as VicRail, was the state-owned operator of most rail transport in the Australian state of Victoria from 1859 to 1983. The first railways in Victoria were private companies, but when these companies failed or defaulted, the Victorian Railways was established to take over their operations. Most of the lines operated by the Victorian Railways were of 5 ft 3 in. However, the railways also operated up to five 2 ft 6 in narrow gauge lines between 1898 and 1962, and a 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in standard gauge line between Albury and Melbourne from 1961.
Preserved S303 in Victorian Railways blue and gold livery in Seymour, Victoria
The Spirit of Progress headed by S301 Sir Thomas Mitchell near Kilmore East in 1938
Head office at 67 Spencer Street
Norman Charles Harris