Phoenix Foundry
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Locomotive manufacturing, Industrial equipment |
| Founded | 1854 |
| Founder | William Shaw, Robert Holden, Richard Carter, George Threlfall |
| Defunct | 1905 |
| Headquarters | Ballarat , Australia |
| Products | Steam locomotives, Mining machinery, Industrial equipment |
Number of employees | 350+ (1884) |
The Phoenix Foundry, situated in Ballarat, Victoria, was a prominent manufacturer specializing in steam locomotives and industrial equipment. Throughout more than three decades, it delivered 352 locomotives to the Victorian Railways, covering 38 distinct models.
History
Established in 1854 with the purpose of producing mining machinery, the Phoenix Foundry Co. Ltd. was formally incorporated in 1870. Its original partners included iron-founder William Shaw, moulder Robert Holden, and engine-smiths Richard Carter and George Threlfall. By 1861, the workforce numbered 96 employees who manufactured a variety of products while operating under an efficient eight-hour work schedule.
In 1871, Phoenix completed Governor Weld, marking Western Australia's inaugural steam locomotive, and later that year secured contracts from the Victorian Government railways. The first locomotive was delivered in February 1873; by 1884, the employee count had grown beyond 350. After Shaw’s trips to Britain in 1871 and again in 1885, the workshops underwent modernization, becoming the most advanced facilities of their kind in the southern hemisphere. The production milestones included the hundredth locomotive by 1883 and the two hundredth by 1887. The majority of these locomotives were modeled after imported designs.
Labor unrest arose in 1889 when Shaw attempted to implement a non-union workplace policy. Competition intensified later with VR Newport Workshops over manufacturing Dd class light-line locomotives. A Royal Commission in 1904 revealed that Newport could produce locomotives at a cost £497 lower than Phoenix’s, which was earning a profit margin of 23% per unit. As a result, Phoenix did not receive further orders from Victorian Railways beyond seven Dd class engines delivered in 1904. The company ceased operations the following year after opting for voluntary liquidation.
Locomotives
The Phoenix Foundry constructed numerous locomotives for Victorian Railways, including:
- O class 0-6-0 freight engines: numbers 131 to 143 (odd numbers). Built between 1878 and 1879. Last units scrapped by 1922.
- B class 2-4-0 passenger engines numbered 186 and 188. Manufactured during 1880-81. Withdrawn by 1914.
- F class 2-4-0 passenger locomotives numbered from 126 to144 and166 to184 (even numbers). Produced between1876 and1879. Final scrapping occurred in1925.
- Q class 0-6-0 freight locomotives numbered83 to101 (odd numbers). These were Phoenix’s initial locomotive builds from1873. Last sold off in1908.
- U class 0-6-0 freight units numbered107 to123 (odd numbers). Built in1874; last scrapped1908.
- T class 0-6-0 freight engines numbered249 to283 (odd numbers). Constructed in1884.
- '1st' K class 2-4-0 passenger locomotives numbered114 to124 (even numbers). Built in1874; retired by1905.
- '1st' H class 4-4-0 passenger engines numbered146 to160 (even numbers). Manufactured in1877; last withdrawn1916.
- M class 4-4-0 tank passenger engines numbered210 to240 and312 to320 (even numbers). Produced between1884 and1886; final scrapping took place1922.
- 'Old' R class 0-6-0 freight locomotives numbered157 to195 (odd numbers). Built from1881 through1886; last scrapped1944.
- '1st' C class 4-4-0 well tank passenger engines numbered42,262 to276,306 to310 (even numbers). Constructed during1882–83; last withdrawn1916.
- '1st' S class 4-6-0 freight locomotives numbered197 to215 (odd numbers). Built in1883; rebuilt as W class by1908.
- D class 4-4-0 passenger engines numbered82,92,122,242,244,248,250,260,322 to344 (even numbers). Manufactured between1887 and1888; last scrapped1928.
- '1st' X class 0-6-0 freight units numbered353 to381 (odd numbers). Produced during1886–87; withdrawn1920.
- E class suburban tank passenger locomotives with a2-4-2 wheel arrangement: numbers346 to394 (even numbers), built1889–90; retired1920.
- Another series of E class suburban tank engines: numbers12,34,36,428 to460 (even numbers), constructed1892–94.
- 'New' A class 4-4-0 passenger units numbered396 to424 (even numbers). Built between1889 and1891; last scrapped1925.
- Y class 0-6-0 freight engines numbered383 to441 (odd numbers). Manufactured in1889.
- Z class tank passenger motor engines with a2-4-0 configuration: units522 and524. Built1893; scrapped by1911.
- E class third series of tank goods locomotives with a0-6-2 wheel setup: numbers462 to470 (even numbers). Initially classified as EE class when built in1893; reclassified late1920s.
- V class second series of goods locomotives with a2-8-0 arrangement: units501 to529 (odd numbers). Constructed1901–02; withdrawn1930.
- AA class passenger locomotives with a4-4-0 wheel configuration: twenty units numbered530 to558 and562 to570 (even numbers). Produced1900–03; final retirement1940.
- DD class four-cylinder locomotives with a4-6-0 wheel arrangement: seven units numbered602 to610 (even), plus632 and634. Built1904; withdrawn by1941 and subsequently scrapped.
Engineering Heritage Recognition
The foundry was honored with an Engineering Heritage Marker by Engineers Australia as part of its Engineering Heritage Recognition Program.
See also
- James Martin (South Australian politician) managed a foundry with a similar name in South Australia, which competed against the State government railway workshop.
Further reading
- The Locomotive Builders of Ballarat, Buckland, J.L. & co-author, Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin, December 1961