Delivery As part of
William Webb's rehabilitation of the
South Australian Railways, ten
2-8-2 steam locomotives were delivered by
Armstrong Whitworth,
Newcastle upon Tyne in 1926. They were designed to be able to operate across broad gauge branch lines laid with 60lbs rail. The first locomotive, 700 arrived at
Port Adelaide via ship in March 1926. 700 operated for the first time in April 1926 on a trial run north of
Adelaide. It was involved in a minor collision when it rear-ended a freight train in May 1926 between
Upper Sturt and
Mount Lofty. In June 1926, it entered regular service between Adelaide and
Murray Bridge, and the 9 remaining 700s were delivered that same month. The 700s were more common on freight trains but they also hauled passenger trains. In 1927, 706 had its original trailing bogie replaced with a cast 'Delta' bogie, and it incorporated a booster. In 1928, the 700s were followed by ten nearly identical
710 class locomotives built at
Islington Railway Workshops, which were built with boosters as previously installed on 706.
Track Restrictions In 1931, 700 and 710 class locomotives with boosters, including 706 were banned from 60lb laid lines because of the weight of the boosters. 706 and a few 710s had their boosters removed so they could operate on 60lb lines, as the
720 class locomotives were banned from operating on 60lb lines and so there were not enough larger locomotives to operate on them. The 700s and 710s faced increasing restrictions on speed, coal and water on 60lb lines during the 1930s. They were eventually barred from operating on the
Pinnaroo and
Barmera lines, but were allowed again in later years. They were also allowed to operate on the
Outer Harbor,
Port Dock, and
Semaphore lines following platform widening to provide sufficient space for
Redhen railcars. However, the gap was not sufficient to allow the 700s to run at track speed past the platforms and so they were subject to severe speed restrictions. It returned to service with a significantly altered front appearance. The changes included a centre-mounted headlight, a numberplate below the headlight and a replacement pressed-steel pilot instead of the original lattice pilot delivered with Webb locomotives. For a short period of time it had a fabricated smokestack similar to the style seen on the
740 class locomotives but later received the standard tapered smokestack. Coal shortages after
World War II saw a number converted to burn oil, and some were converted to burn a mixture of coal and oil. Most were later converted back to coal burners, with the exception of 708. Coal pushers were also installed on some locomotives. All had their buffers removed in the 1940s following the changeover to automatic couplers in South Australia. The 2 locomotives double-headed back to
Adelaide, hours behind schedule due to 718 derailing on the Victor Harbor turntable, and were withdrawn from service after arriving in the early hours of 3 June. The
National Railway Museum, Port Adelaide has preserved 702. It was originally moved to the Mile End Railway Museum in June 1965, before moving to the current museum site at Port Adelaide in 1988. ==Class list==