Victorian Railways F class (diesel)

The F Class were ordered by the Victorian Railways as part of Operation Phoenix, an £80 million program to rebuild a network badly run down by years of Depression-era underinvestment and wartime overutilisation. The Victorian Railways purchased ten 0-6-0DE diesel shunting locomotives in 1951 from English Electric in Broadford, UK. These locomotives received numbers in the 21x-series as F212-216 on entry to VR service. S.E.C. engines 1 and 2 were delivered from Newport Power Station to South Dynon in mid May-1971, and immediately entered the workshops for modifications to the brake systems and cab controls. They were renumbered on 24 May, with F215 entering service on 27 May and F216 on 1 June. The former was immediately transferred to Wodonga (behind S300) and the latter to Benalla, each to act as local yard pilots. Between these and the transfer of F212 to Wodonga on June 9, three Y Class locomotives were released for other duties. Design Unlike their British and Dutch counterparts, the F class locomotives were also later fitted with sideplates covering the side rods and wheel cranks. This modification was made to prevent staff from getting tangled up in the rods and cranks. In 1959 the Victorian Railways constructed two home-grown diesel shunting engines, the M Class, using the same wheelsets as the F Class engines. By August 1960 three engines, F210, F211 and additional F207, were the dedicated yard pilots at Spencer Street station, and these had all been fitted with dual automatic and screw couplers, with semicircle buffers cut off at the top to avoid locking into carriage diaphragm plates. Renumbering As built the locomotives were originally numbered in the 300-series as F310-319; at the time the S Class steam locomotives were numbered 300-303, and the E Class steam shunting locomotives started from 350. The S Class steam locomotives were scrapped shortly thereafter, and the number blocks either side recycled for the S class diesel locomotives numbered 300-309, and the T class diesel locomotives starting from 320. This caused a problem later, when the Victorian Railways placed a second order for another eight S class locomotives for use on the new North East standard gauge line which were delivered starting in November 1960. In order to vacate the 300-series numbers for the new mainline diesels, all F class locomotives were renumbered into the 200-series on in late May 1958 as F201-210. SEC3 followed as F211 in mid-June, though SEC4, 5 and 6 could not yet be renumbered because at this time they were still technically owned by the State Electricity Commission. All engines were numbered in the 201-214 block by December 1959. The Victorian Railways had purchased S.E.C engines 4, 5 and 6 in April 1959, having had them on hire since April 1953. They were renumbered on 9 August 1959. ==In Service==

Within a few months of entering service, the first ten F Class engines had reportedly clocked up over 20,000 hours of use, initially in the Melbourne yard and wharf areas. On Saturday 7 June 1958, SEC 4, 5 and 6 were sighted at North Melbourne locomotive depot along with F Class engines 201, 203, 205, 206 and 208. Liveries The engines were delivered painted all-over black with red pilots, but within a few years they were repainted red with a thin yellow stripe. Some engines received thicker yellow stripes covering about a third of the cabside window height, and F208 is presently preserved in this livery, having been repainted sometime after 1999. The class started to be repainted to Victorian Railways blue from 1964. SEC 1, later F215, had been repainted to Victorian Railways' blue and gold between 1975-1978, but there is no evidence that F216 (ex SEC 2) was repainted to the Victorian Railways scheme, as it was still in the SEC livery in 1987 and stamped for preservation. A photo of SEC 4 (later F212) on 21 March 1959 shows the engine in a dark livery with thick lighter stripe, and no cabside logos. Cabside photos of F214 in photos from 1978, and F201 in 1982, show the VR logos missing. In preservation, F212 has operated in VR blue and yellow with red additions similar to those applied to F208 in its final years of service, plus red coupling rods made visible by removal of the sideboards. ==Withdrawal==

Withdrawal of the F class locomotives began in October 1979 with the withdrawal of F214; it and F206 and F210 were scrapped in June 1981. The remaining locomotives with withdrawn between November 1979 and July 1987, when the last three locomotives, F202, F208, and F216, were taken out of service. Following withdrawal, the locomotives appear to have been placed in storage, and most were later scrapped. Only one locomotive was broken up in the same year it was withdrawn; F215 was withdrawn in April 1983 and scrapped later that year. ==Preservation==

Six of the sixteen F class locomotives were purchased from VR or donated for preservation in the early 1980s. All except F212 are owned by VicTrack and allocated to various preservation groups: • F202, formerly F311, is allocated to the Seymour Railway Heritage Centre until deemed surplus 2017. It was used by SRHC as a shunting locomotive around their depot. It was then reallocated to 707 Operations and was again deemed surplus in 2023 awaiting disposal. • F204, formerly F313, is in storage at 707 Operations' operational base at Newport Workshops, as a source of spare parts. Alike F202 is awaiting disposal due to being surplus to requirements. • F208, formerly F317, was known unofficially as the Dynon Donk. It is currently operated by 707 Operations and they have renumbered the engine back to F317. (Has been renumbered back to 208 as of 2023). It is currently preserved-operational and has been restored to a Red with Yellow stripe livery. • F211, formerly SEC3, is statically displayed at the Newport Railway Museum in V/Line tangerine and grey Livery. It was informally known as Little Trimmer, as shown by the plaques with that name, attached to each side of the cab. • F212, formerly SEC4, was withdrawn in November 1986 and purchased by the Victorian Goldfields Railway It is preserved-operational. • F216, formerly SEC2, is statically displayed at the Newport Railway Museum. Unlike F211, it has been painted to resemble its original SEC livery, and bears the number plate SEC2. ==Locomotives==

} Seymour Rail Heritage Centre until 2017 707 Operations until 2023 - VR - VR - VR - VR - VR - In service - VR - In service - First used Note: Newsrail April 1983 lists different renumbering dates for SEC 1, 2 and 3. Dates listed above are from sources written at the time. ==References==