Flashback Friday Number 13: K153s 50th Birthday, On Sunday September 9, 1990, former Victorian Railways K Class steam locomotive number 153 now owned by private vintage Victorian Rail operations company Steamrail Victoria celebrated 50 years since it was introduced into service on Monday the 9th of September, 1940. Appropriately, this event was celebrated in the scenic South East of Victoria that is South Gippsland due to the significance of the region for rail in the state where steam locomotives often traversed down the former mainline to the town of Korumburra. This still large settlement once contained a thriving coal industry and the station complex was a place where steam and even diesel trains were a common sight due to the facilities that were available in the past. In the past, K Class such as number 153 would have often been seen along the line hauling many freight and the odd passenger train throughout the region climbing up the notorious and ruling gradients, negotiating the sharp curves and pictured traveling within areas that provided spectacular scenery. These 3 images included in this post illustrate K153 without its smoke deflectors running to Korumburra and Leongatha and are featured in both the Newsrail Magazine November 1990 and February 1991 editions.
Posted on: Fri, 05 Sep 2014 07:47:58 +0000