The South Australian Railway No. T186 is a T class 4-8-0 steam locomotive built on December 9, 1909 by James Martin and Co. for the South Australian Railway, and it is one of a class of 78 Australian built locomotives introduced from 1903 to handle the increasing ore traffic from the mines at Broken Hill to the smelters at Port Pirie.
T186 was worked for the last time by the SAR on 16–17 May 1970 on an Australian Railway Historical Society tour train, when it was double-headed with T199 to Quorn and into the Pass as far as Summit. T186 was condemned next day and later purchased by Sims Metals for scrap. However, there was a reprieve! Dean Harvey of the ARHS Tours Committee had obtained an option on a potential purchase, and when the Pichi Richi Railway was formed it was seen that there could be a new home for old T186.
Eighteen months after entering the Islington Workshops T186 emerged and was transferred to Peterborough for final fitting and painting by members, under the supervision of Bob Yates. In the meantime, a completely new all-welded tender body had been manufactured at the Whyalla workshops of Transfield and this was concurrently secured to the original tender frame at Peterborough. Following successful steam trials during the previous week, T186 took some of the elated and enthusiastic members on a delivery trip to Quorn on September 18, 1976, when it entered service on the Pichi Richi Railway Preservation Society to carry passengers. Before settling down at Quorn T186 returned to Peterborough the next month to take a leading part in the centenary celebrations of that railway town.
Today the locomotive is still at the Pichi Richi Railway Preservation Society undergoing overhaul to operational condition once again after a period of storage at their Quorn depot.
Trivia[]
- In 1999, The locomotive was featured on "Railway Adventures Across Australia".
- Locomotive T186 is one of the Pichi Richi Railway Preservation Society's prized possessions.
- The locomotive has been in storage since 2000 when it was retired.
- As of 2024 the locomotive is finally undergoing overhaul for return to operation.