Australian Steam! W22 on The Pichi Richi Explorer!

Australian Steam! W22 on The Pichi Richi Explorer: In July 2022, Silverton Tramways W Class 4-8-2 number 22 Justin Hancock works both the Down and Up Pichi Richi Explorer between Quorn, Woolshed Flat and return on a cold winter's day.

W22 was named after one of the general managers of the Silverton Tramway Company. The STC was a private rail operator of trains between Broken Hill and Cockburn on the SA/NSW Border carrying silver, lead and zinc ore to the vast smelter facility at Port Pirie in the Mid North of South Australia.

The narrow gauge network ran from 1888 til 1970, ceasing operation when gauge standardisation of the mainline between Broken Hill and Port Pirie was completed.

Some of the coaches in the Pichi Richi Railway collection ran on the Broken Hill Express, which was hauled by these locomotives from 1951 to 1961.

Gathering parts from the original Silverton W22, which was found to be beyond economic repair, fellow identical West Aussie W Class number 916 emerged from Quorn Loco Workshops. After an extensive restoration completed in April 2003, it was outshopped as W 22. W22 (W916 in guise) has continued to be a valued member of the operating steam fleet based in Quorn, SA.

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Timestamps:
0:00 W22 Departs Quorn
0:40 W22 Coasts Down From Summit
1:46 W22 at Pichi Richi Park
2:41 W22 at Waukarie Creek Bridge
3:52 W22 Between Woolshed Flat & Rainbow Cutting
5:11 Final Climb to Summit
6:25 W22 at Dairy Crossing