Steam Locomotive Numbering

All locomotives and rollingstock were consolidated into one rollingstock register in 1889-90. This resulted in most items, except those operating on the original Southern and Western Railway (from Ipswich ), being renumbered. After 1889, numbers were applied chronologically in blocks as orders for construction were issued. The outcome was, when contracts for construction of different classes were being placed simultaneously, that groups of numbers for one class appeared between blocks of numbers allocated to another.

During the period from 1910 to 1935 there was also a practice to re issue numbers from locomotives that had been written off the register. Not all numbers were reused. The highest number to be ‘recycled’ was 340. AC16 engines retained their US Army numbers with the suffix ‘˜A’ added to distinguish them from existing locomotives that had otherwise identical numbers. Australian Standard Garratts retained the numbers allocated to them by the Commonwealth Land Transport Board.

N°1052 – N°1069 were not used as they were reserved for CC17 Class that was never constructed. However, N°1052 was briefly allotted to the PB15 engine obtained from the Aramac Shire Council in February 1958. The engine was later renumbered to N°12 in June of that same year.

All members of the 4D9, 8D11, A10(A) and A10(Ipswich) Classes were extinct by 1900.

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