Preserved VR 'R Class' Hudsons - Compilation

A collection of footage of preserved Victorian Railways 'R class' 4-6-4's operating various tours around Victoria between 2005 and 2018. Most of the footage has appeared in previous videos on my channel, but this is your one-stop-shop for everything R class! The R class were built by the North British Locomotive Company in Glasgow, and entered service on the VR broad gauge network in 1951. They had relatively short service lives due to the arrival of mainline diesel-electric locos only one year later. Today three R's are preserved in operational condition and all based at Newport Workshops. R711 and R761 are in the care of Steamrail Victoria, while R707 belongs to 707 Operations inc. 707 and 761 are coal burners and presented in fairly original condition. R711 was used by the former West Coast Railway on revenue passenger services in the late 90's and early 00's, and during that time received many modernisations including conversion to oil burning, and the fitting of a control stand allowing multiple unit control with diesel locomotives. Today R711 is painted in the attractive, but historically inaccurate VR blue and gold livery.