Steam Locomotive That Thrilled People by Delivering Outstanding Results

In the World of Steam Locomotives 3801 Delighted Crowds

NSWGR 3801 Preserved New South Wales C38 class 4–6–2 locomotive, Author Maksym Kozlenko, This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license. File:NSWGR 3801 Preserved New South Wales C38 class 4–6–2 locomotive 1.jpg — Wikimedia Commons

Dear Reader,

I sincerely hope this article finds you doing well. I spent several hours researching steam locomotives and found one in Australia that I must tell you about. It has a history like almost none other of its class.

I read, and the more I did, the more excited I got about it. This train ran so well that it got rebuilt a number of times and continued working far longer than any of the other 38 Class locomotives.

This locomotive is a 4–6–2 steam locomotive operated by the New South Wales Government Railways between 1943 and 1974. It is arguably Australia’s most famous steam locomotive, being the only one to have visited all mainland states and territories.

NSWGR C.38 Class Locomotive Cab Controls, Author NSWGR Archives, This image is of Australian origin and is now in the public domain because its term of copyright has expired. According to the Australian Copyright Council (ACC), File:NSWGR C.38 Class Locomotive Cab Controls.jpg — Wikimedia Commons

Construction

Clyde Engineering built the 3801 as the first of 30, 38 class locomotives built to haul express trains. The first five were streamlined designs. The remaining 25 were built post-World War II by the New South Wales Government Railway (NSWGR) at Eveleigh and…