The B class was a landmark machine for Australian railways. It was the first mainline diesel locomotive built for the Victorian Railways, and it changed the face of rail travel across the state almost overnight. Twenty-six were constructed by Clyde Engineering at Granville in New South Wales between 1952 and 1953, with the first unit handed over on 14 July 1952.
An Australian answer to a postwar problem
After the Second World War, the Victorian Railways was worn out. Decades of Depression-era under investment and heavy wartime use had left the network tired and overstretched. The railway looked overseas for a modern solution and settled on diesel power from General Motors’ Electro-Motive Division in the United States.
There was a catch. The standard American F-unit was too heavy for Victoria’s lightly laid broad gauge track, and Commonwealth currency restrictions ruled out buying locomotives outright from overseas. The answer was clever and very Australian. Clyde Engineering took out a licence to build the locomotives locally, while EMD developed a lighter six axle Co-Co design to suit local conditions.
The bulldogs that beat steam
Based on the famous EMD F-unit with its distinctive bulldog nose, the B class was unusual in having a full streamlined driver’s cab at each end, so it never needed turning. Each unit produced 1,500 horsepower and could reach 133 kilometres per hour. The 26 locomotives, numbered B60 to B85, quickly took over the most important trains on Victoria’s broad gauge network, hauling famous services like the Spirit of Progress, the Overland and the Vinelander.
The effect was dramatic. Timetables were accelerated and Victoria’s ageing steam fleet began heading to the scrap road in large numbers. The twin cab design was so clever that the Swedish builder NOHAB adapted it for locomotives across Europe, a rare case of an Australian idea being exported back to the world.
A long and proud career
The B class proved remarkably tough. Eleven units were rebuilt into the upgraded A class during 1984 and 1985, while many of the others soldiered on into the 1990s, with the last withdrawn around 1994. Even now, surviving B class locomotives continue to work and to be preserved by operators including Southern Shorthaul Railroad, VicTrack Heritage and Steamrail Victoria.
About this model
This Precision Scale Models O scale release captures the B class in Victorian Railways Blue and Gold, offered in both original and modified forms across road numbers B60, B66, B75 and B80. It is a superb tribute to the locomotive that began the dieselisation of Victoria, and a centrepiece for any O scale collection of Australian prototype diesels.