Portal:Trains/Selected article/Week 20, 2008

The A2 class was an express passenger steam locomotive that ran on Victorian Railways (VR) in Australia from 1907 to 1963. A highly successful design entirely the work of Victorian Railways' own design office, its long service life was repeatedly extended as economic depression and war delayed the introduction of more modern and powerful replacement locomotives. The introduction of the A2 class marked a turning point in Victorian Railways locomotive design, as it was entirely designed by VR engineers of the newly established Locomotive Design Section and the entire class built in-house at Victorian Railways workshops. For over forty years, the A2 was the main express passenger locomotive on the VR, hauling intrastate and interstate services. With a maximum permitted speed of 70 mph the A2 was instrumental in the acceleration of timetables on many lines in the years following its introduction. They famously ran the Geelong Flier service (the first "named" train in Victoria) slashing journey times between Melbourne and Geelong from 90 minutes to 63 and finally 55 minutes, a time not significantly improved upon until the introduction of 100 mph Regional Fast Rail services in 2006. In 1951 the A2 was finally superseded. In 1953, no fewer than 53 A2s went to scrap, followed by 36 more in 1954. However, many of the class continued on in secondary roles such as branch line passenger and goods services and a number lasted into the 1960s. Their last regular mainline duty was hauling services between Flinders Street Station and Leongatha, on the South Gippsland line. The last in service, A2 986, was withdrawn on 2 December 1963, exactly 56 years after the original A2 572 entered service.