Victorian Railways rail tractor

The Victorian Railways rail tractors are a small shunting unit used by the Victorian Railways of Australia for moving railway wagons in at country stations and private sidings. Varying in power output and size, they are agricultural tractors on top of a four-wheeled steel rail wagon frame.[2] RT1 was of a different design to the remainder of the class and is preserved at the Australian Railway Historical Society Museum at Newport.

Victorian Railway rail tractor
RT 20 in Swan Hill, featuring Freight Australia livery
Type and origin Power type Diesel Mechanical Builder Newport Workshops
Specifications Gauge 5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm), some are 4 ft 8 ^1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)[1] Length 6.33 to 6.52 m (20 ft 9 in to 21 ft 5 in) Loco weight 10.4 t (10.2 long tons; 11.5 short tons) Prime mover Fordson Engine type diesel
Performance figures Maximum speed 15 km/h (9.3 mph) Power output 40.3 to 51.8 hp (30.1 to 38.6 kW)
Career Number in class 54 Numbers RT 1 - 54 First run 1952 Disposition 4 preserved, 14 stored, 15 scrapped, 20 in service, 1 reclassed as LT4.

The shunters are not fitted with air brakes but are through-piped to enable them to be worked dead as part of a normal train.[3] An exception to that is RT46, a standard "Aresco Trak Chief", the only one of its type built for the VR, which entered service in 1966. RT54 is a one-off unit acquired from the Portland Harbour Trust, which had used the vehicle on its private siding. In March 1989, it was reported that a refurbishment program for rail tractors was being undertaken at the Ballarat Railway Workshops and, as units went through the program, they were repainted into the then-current V/Line orange livery.[4]

Units currently authorised to operate on Victorian tracks are RT 3-40, 42-43 and 45-53, the second group being more powerful, and all are permitted to travel at 15 km/h maximum.[3] Units RT 18, 28 and 43 were gauge converted and transferred to Sydney for use on the construction of the Epping to Chatswood railway.[5]

Liveries

The first RT tractors were painted red or silver, but yellow had become the norm by the 1970s.[6][7]

In the period 1982–1983, they were stencilled with a number-code, exceptions being RT42, RT46 and RT51. When they were refurbished for V/Line, most tractors had the code letters placed first, except 20RT at Redcliffs in 1988, and 48RT at Maryborough in 1987. Of the refurbished units, 5, 11, 20, 29, 45, 47, 48 and 53 had orange underframes with white steps, while 7 and 21 had black underframes and steps.[8]

Maximum loads

As of mid-1986, RT units were limited to 30 km/h and the following loads:[9]

		3-39RT	40, 42-53RT
Grade	%	Tonnes	Tonnes
Level	Level	190	210
1 in 40	250%	42	48
1 in 50	200%	51	58
1 in 75	133%	70	79
1 in 100	100%	83	95
1 in 150	67%	103	117
1 in 200	50%	117	132

Fleet details

Note: Zero prefix is not accurate, but displayed here for sorting function.

ID	Entered service[10]	Withdrawn	Scrapped	September 1981[11]	March 1982[12]	January 1989[4]	Last Known Location[13][14]	Notes
RT01	11/6/1932			N/A	N/A	Museum	ARHS North Williamstown Museum (2019)	Red Livery - Wooden Bodied
RT02	24/01/1957			N/A	N/A	Huon	Creek Sidings North Melbourne (2007)	17 April 1989, all glass missing and the engine removed from frame.[15] Freight Australia (F/A) yellow livery, possibly scrapped
RT03	15/2/1957			Rochester	Rochester	Rochester	Bendigo (2006)	Scrapped?
RT04	29/8/1957			Warracknabeal	Wodonga	Seymour Loco	-	Scrapped
RT05	6/9/1957			Spotswood	Spotswood	Wangaratta	North Bendigo (2012)	F/A yellow livery
RT06	18/9/1957			Rochester	Rochester	Ballarat, Bairnsdale[16]	North Bendigo (2012)	F/A yellow livery
RT07	1/10/1957			Euroa	Oaklands	Donald	Bendigo (2006)	Scrapped?
RT08	16/10/1957			Ouyen	Recliffs	Ballarat Workshops	-	Scrapped
RT09	12/9/1958		1990	Kyabram	Kyabram	Seymour Loco	-	Scrapped
RT10	18/9/1958			Woodend	Woodend	Colac, Geelong North Yard[16]	Bendigo (2006)	Scrapped?
RT11	29/9/1958			Horsham	Ararat	Bridgewater	Allied Mills Ballarat (2014)	F/A yellow livery
RT12	10/10/1958			Oakleigh	Oakleigh	Seymour Loco	-	Scrapped
RT13	28/10/1958			Numurkah	Numurkah	Ballarat Workshops	-	Scrapped
RT14	09/06/1959			Tottenham	Colac	Bendigo Loco	North Bendigo (2015)	Orange Livery
RT15	22/06/1959			Bendigo	Horsham	Euroa	Trentham (2008)
RT16				Bendigo	Bridgewater	Warrnambool	Bendigo (2006)	Scrapped?
RT17				Sea Lake	Sea Lake	Castlemaine	Healesville (2010)	Yellow livery
RT18				Hamilton	Hamilton	Dimboola	Lithgow - NSW (2018)	Converted to standard gauge for Epping–Chatswood line construction. UGL Rail yellow livery
RT19				Footscray	Footscray	Kerang	Tocumwal (2018)	F/A yellow livery
RT20				Redcliffs	Irymple	Irymple	Swan Hill (2018)	F/A yellow livery
RT21				Ouyen	Ballarat	Horsham	Bendigo (2006)	Scrapped?
RT22				Kerang	Kerang	Ballarat Workshops	-	Scrapped
RT23				Melbourne Yard	Seymour	Ballarat Workshops	-	Scrapped
RT24				Traralgon	Traralgon	Leongatha	Tailem Bend - SA (2008)	Murray Bridge? (2015)
RT25				Nhill	Nhill	Red Cliffs	Eclipse Flour Mill, Albion (2015)
RT26				Ballarat	Ouyen	Geelong Loco	-	Scrapped
RT27				Ararat	Seymour, Yarrawonga[17]	Traralgon	North Bendigo (2014)	F/A yellow livery
RT28				Seymour	Seymour	Kyabram	Port Waratah (2018)	Converted to standard gauge for Epping–Chatswood line construction. UGL yellow livery
RT29	18/01/1962			Traralgon	Traralgon	Ballarat Loco	Donald (2019)	Standard gauge, operational - PN yellow livery
RT30				Colac	Tocumwal	North Melbourne wagon workshops	-	First allocation to North Melbourne Wagon Workshops, after May 1988.[4] Scrapped
RT31	24/10/1962			Moe	Moe	Morwell Briquette Siding	Graincorp Deniliquin (2011)	F/A yellow livery
RT32	19/11/1962			Swan Hill	Swan Hill	Bendigo Loco	SCT Laverton (2019)	Plinthed - SCT livery
RT33				Korong Vale	Korong Vale	Ballarat Workshops	-	Scrapped
RT34				Camperdown	Warracknabeal	Warracknabeal	-	Scrapped
RT35	24/4/1964			Orbost	Orbost	Traralgon	North Bendigo (2012)	Orange livery
RT36	2/7/1964			Traralgon	Cowwarr	Bairnsdale	-	Scrapped
RT37	22/7/1964			Charlton	Charlton	Boort	North Bendigo (2019)	Yellow livery
RT38	15/8/1964			Leongatha	Leongatha	Sunshine	North Bendigo (2012)	F/A yellow livery
RT39				Nowa Nowa	Nowa Nowa	Morwell	Dynon (2018)	Scrapped
RT40				Westall	Westall	Seymour Loco	-	Scrapped
RT41				N/A	N/A	Off Register	Moorooduc (2010)
RT42				Seymour	Seymour	Bendigo Loco	North Bendigo (2012)	F/A yellow livery
RT43				Echuca	Echuca	Swan Hill, Bendigo Loco[16]	Port Kembla - NSW (2018)	Converted to standard gauge for Epping-Chatswood line construction. F/A yellow livery
RT44			1987	Traralgon	Morwell	"Wrecked"	-	Scrapped
RT45				Morwell	Traralgon	Benalla	North Bendigo (2012)	F/A yellow livery
RT46				Spotswood	Spotswood	Spotswood	Graincorp Deniliquin (2012)	Aresco Trak Chief model, formerly PHT2 (Portland Harbour Trust). Two-tone blue livery
RT47	25/7/1969			Deniliquin	Deniliquin	Ballarat Workshops	North Bendigo (2012)	Orange livery
RT48	7/8/1969			Morwell	Portland	Maryborough	Port Kembla - NSW (2018)	Standard Gauge
RT49	20/8/1969			Portland	Morwell	Maffra	North Bendigo (2012)	F/A yellow livery
RT50	3/9/1969			Stawell	Stawell	Deniliquin	Bendigo Roundhouse (2011)	Renumbered LT50 - Southern Shorthaul Railroad (SSR) yellow livery
RT51	19/9/1969			Tocumwal	Camperdown	Traralgon	Bendigo (2006)	Scrapped?
RT52				Castlemaine	Castlemaine	Echuca	Port Kembla - NSW (2018)	Standard gauge
RT53				Redan	Ballarat	Ballarat Loco	-	Scrapped
RT54	6/10/1976			N/A	N/A	(Unlisted)	North Bendigo (2013)	Renumbered LT4 - ex Portland Harbour Trust. Fitted with air brake. SSR yellow livery

See also

• New South Wales X100 class
• New South Wales X200 class

References

1. "VICSIG". vicsig.net. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
2. Railmac Publications (1992). Australian Fleetbooks: V/Line locomotives. Kitchner Press. ISBN 0-949817-76-7.
3. "Network Operating Requirements" (PDF). V/Line ~ Network Access ~ Information Pack. www.vline.com.au. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 July 2008. Retrieved 13 March 2008.
4. Newsrail March 1989 p92
5. "VICSIG - Locomotives - RT Class Rail Tractor". www.vicsig.net. Retrieved 13 March 2008.
6. http://steameramodels.com/documents/RT%20Rail%20Tractor.pdf
7. Australian Model Railway Magazine, December 2004
8. Newsrail May 1991 p157
9. Newsrail July 1986 p.218
10. "vicrailways - RT Class". vicrailways.
11. Newsrail September 1981 pg284
12. Newsrail March 1982 pg48
13. "VICSIG - Locomotives - RT Class". VICSIG. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
14. "Railpage Forums - RT Rail Tractors". Railpage.
15. Newsrail June 1989 p191
16. Newsrail June 1989 p188
17. Newsrail July 1982 p160