Pacific’s triumphant return brings end to restoration saga

ONE of the world’s most iconic preserved express locomotives put more than 13 years of controversy and restoration woes behind it when it made a triumphant return to revenue-earning main line duty on March 13.

The streamlined Pacific, New South Wales Government Railways’ Class C38 No. 3801, was withdrawn from railtour duty at the end of 2007 for a major overhaul that was expected to be completed in 2011.

It dragged on for a decade due to a variety of problems that included a brand new £600,000 DB Meiningen boiler being rejected by Australian officials as unfit for purpose and an engineering company missing a contracted completion date for the overhaul of an alternative boiler.

However, those woes were put behind it on March 12 when the locomotive – dubbed Australia’s Flying Scotsman due to its popularity and crowd appeal – took state and local dignitaries on a trip to Rhodes in the western suburbs of Sydney, after an official relaunch at the city’s Central station.

The passenger list on this inaugural journey illustrated the importance of the occasion to the state-owned locomotive’s custodian, Transport Heritage NSW (THNSW), for among those on board were NSW state governor Margaret Beazley, minister for regional transport and roads Paul Toole, and THNSW chairman Rob Mason and chief executive Andrew Moritz.

The following day was the public’s opportunity to savour the delights of main line steam when they boarded their carriages for a 20-mile return run on the South Coast Line to Hurstville, one of six such trips held over the March 13-14 weekend that carried a total of 1500 passengers.

All six trains sold out within a week of tickets going on sale.

Interest

Speaking before the official relaunch, which received state-wide publicity, Paul Toole described No. 3801 as “a defining part of Australia’s steam train history,” adding: “No other steam engine in Australia has captured the imagination of rail enthusiasts and the public as much as No. 3801.

“It is an historic and much loved locomotive which, when launched in 1943, instantly changed the image of New South Wales Railways with its streamlined Art Deco style.”

He said it was also famous for being the only steam locomotive to have travelled to all mainland Australian states and territories.

Other railtours planned for the Pacific – which was built by Clyde Engineering of Granville, west Sydney and saved for preservation by the state government on its withdrawal in 1962 – include Sydney to the Blue Mountains on May 8-9.

These too sold out within days, following demand that THNSW head of engagement David Bennett described as “truly unprecedented.”

The distinctive profile of NSW Government Railways’ No. 3801 is shown to good effect as it crosses Cooks River, five miles into its first public train on March 13 after a 13-year restoration. Behind the Class C38, which was travelling from Sydney to Hurstville, is a water wagon known colloquially as a ‘gin.’ MICHAEL KEMP

State occasion: Former New South Wales Government Railways’ No. 3801 steams towards Rhodes in Sydney’s suburbs with a train of state and local dignitaries after its relaunch on March 12. The streamlined Class C38 Pacific is flying the state governor’s standard close to the smokebox door in recognition of one of the passengers being the state governor, Margaret Beazley. THNSW/STEVE BURROWS

With the locomotive itself providing the backcloth, Transport Heritage New South Wales’ staff and volunteers celebrate the return of restored Pacific No. 3801 after it was relaunched on March 12. THNSW/STEVE BURROWS