R766 last run as Coal Burner - Double Heading with R711: Australian Trains

On 19 December 1999, R class steam locomotive R766 was transferred from Steamrail to West Coast Railway's Ballarat East depot for conversion into an oil burning "Super R" to operate the WCR passenger service to Warranmbool on a Saturday alongside R711.

The transfer was run as a railfan trip, double heading with R711 and featuring photostops on the 1 in 48 Inglison Bank between Melbourne and Ballarat.

As a final farewell to R766 as a coal burner, both R classes did a parallel run up the Warrenheip bank. R766 hauled the V timber body carriages up the Geelong line while R711 hauled the steel cars to Bungaree on the Melbourne line.

The return trip to Melbourne was hauled by WCR T class diesels T369 and T385. R711 stayed in Ballarat for maintenence over the summer fire ban season. Following conversion, R766 emerged in March 2001 only to suffer an extensive motion gear failure only a month later. It never again operated with WCR and has since been converted to standard gauge and is located at Branxton in the Hunter Valley region of NSW. It has not yet re-entered service.

© 1999 James Brook