South Australian Railways Y class
The South Australian Railways Y class was a class of narrow gauge steam locomotives operated by the South Australian Railways.
History
The Y class were numerically the largest class of steam locomotive operated by the South Australian Railways. With a Mogul wheel arrangement widely used in Australia at the time, 129 were built between 1885 and 1898. Beyer, Peacock & Co, Manchester built 50, James Martin & Co of Gawler 77, and the SAR's Islington Railway Workshops 2. They operated across the SAR's narrow gauge network. Between 1904 and 1924, 48 were fitted with new Belpaire boilers and reclassified as the Yx class.They were part of what became almost an Australian standard, as locomotives of similar design served in large numbers as the Silverton Tramway Y class, Tasmanian Government Railways C class and Western Australian Government Railways G class, and also in Queensland and on the Emu Bay Railway and North Australia Railway.
Some were sold for further service to railway construction companies while others saw further service on the timber railway lines of Western Australia. During World War II, 18 were sold to the Commonwealth Railways for use on the North Australia Railway as the Nfb class. Seven of these were sold in 1948 to the Tasmanian Government Railways, but only four entered service.
Preserved locomotives
, there were 10 preserved Y and Yx class locomotives, as follows:| Number | System | Owner or custodian | Location |
| Y1 | Silverton Tramway Company | Sulphide Street Railway and Historical Museum | Broken Hill, NSW |
| Y12 | Silverton Tramway Company | National Railway Museum | Port Adelaide, SA |
| Y71 | SAR then West Australian Jarrah Forest Co. | South-West Rail & Heritage Centre | Boyanup, WA |
| Y82 | SAR | District Council of Peterborough | Peterborough, SA |
| Yx86 | SAR then Victorian Construction Co. then Bunnings Bros | The Railway Museum | Bassendean, WA |
| Y97 | SAR | National Railway Museum | Port Adelaide, SA |
| Y109 | SAR then a Western Australian timber company | Manjimup Heritage Park | Manjimup, WA |
| Yx135 / NFB88 | SAR then Commonwealth Railways | Old Katherine Railway Station | Katherine, NT |
| Yx141 | SAR | Pichi Richi Railway | Quorn, SA |
| Yx176 | SAR then Bunning Bros | Yarloop Workshops | Yarloop, WA |