Between 1885 and 1892, 19 of what was a worldwide standard loco were obtained by the TGR to operate on the proliferation of light lines then under construction. Eight more locos were added to the class between 1901 and 1907. In 1937, C28 was purchased from the Public Works Department, this loco having been built as EBR number 10 in 1908. All the C class were built by Beyer, Peacock & Company of England.
Six C class locos (16 to 19, 25 & 26) were modified from 1912 to the CC class , with larger cylinders, boiler and a Belpaire firebox. A further four locos (21, 23 to 25) were modified from 1924 with similar modifications, with the addition of Walschaert's valve gear. These rebuilt locos kept their old numbers, but got new class designations.
In 1949, seven NFB class were purchased from the Commonwealth Railways, with four entering service in Tasmania. These former South Australian Yx class locos were essentially Australian built copies of the CC class. F1 was sold to the Emu Bay Railway, as their number 19, in 1956. This loco joined three similar locos (numbered 4, 5, & 9) built new for the EBR between 1897 and 1906 by the same builder, James Martin & Company of Gawler, South Australia.
Most locos were out of service by the mid 1960's, with many quickly scrapped. The TGR restored CCS 23 to service in 1964 for tour trains and this loco played a starring role in the centenary celebrations of 1971. Two of the unmodified C type survived into preservation, with C1 remaining at Zeehan after closure of the line in 1961, and the fledgling Tasmanian Transport Museum purchased C22 which was towed to Hobart in 1966. CCS23 was initially leased by the Don River Railway on an adhoc basis to operate weekend train on their line, before it and long time stored CCS25 were donated to the society by ANR.
A largely
unmodified C11 at the head of a down goods train, waiting to depart Zeehan during
1949.
ARHS Tasmania Collection
CC27 hauls a special passenger train past Botanical Gardens station, returning to
Hobart for the last time, before being towed north for scrapping. March 1965
ARHS Tasmania Collection