Commonwealth Railways L class
| Company type | Steam locomotive class |
|---|---|
| Industry | Railway transport |
| Founded | 1951 |
| Founder | Clyde Engineering |
| Headquarters | Granville, New South Wales , Australia |
| Products | 2-8-2 steam locomotives |
The Commonwealth Railways L class consisted of ten 2-8-2 steam locomotives designed for freight service, constructed between 1951 and 1952 by Clyde Engineering located in Granville, New South Wales, specifically for Commonwealth Railways in Australia.
History
During the late 1940s, the Australian federal government placed an order with Clyde Engineering for fifty 2-8-2 steam locomotives intended to support the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration’s initiatives in China. However, after the Communist Party assumed control in China while these units were still being built, Australia's commitment to supply them was terminated.
Subsequently, the agreement was revised to produce only twenty locomotives: ten were assigned to Commonwealth Railways despite their concurrent diesel acquisitions, and the remaining ten were delivered to South Australian Railways as the South Australian Railways 740 class. A number of the L class engines were scrapped immediately at Port Augusta without ever being operated. The entire fleet was retired by May 1959 and dismantled by the mid-1960s, with their boilers being exported abroad.
A portion of the tenders found a second life as water carriers for Commonwealth Railways’ weed spraying trains, continuing in service until the early 1980s.