During the mid 1880s the Victorian Railways was in need for a more powerful Suburban Locomotive and in 1887 Kitson and Co of Leeds Engineering England built a 2-4-2 Tank and exhibited at Melbourne 1888 which was bought by the Victorian Railways afterwards and numbered 426.
In 1889 Phoenix Foundry Ballarat and David Munro & Co built a total of 70 engines and all entered service from 1889 to 1894, during 1893 the Phoenix Foundry thought of modifying the design into a 0-6-2 Tank for Suburban Goods and Shunting purpose, a total of 5 engines was built and classed 'EE'. In 1896 David Munro & Co converted two E Class 2-4-2's into EE 0-6-2's which looked sligtly different to the original Phoenix design as they where built without shunter's steps and larger sand boxes, another two where converted in 1906/07.
This model represents numbers 478, 482, 490 and 496 built by David Munro & Co painted to the Newer Canadian Red introduced from 1903, these locomotives didn't get reboilered till 1923 onwards with the 160 and 170 PSI Boilers while the last didn't get reboilered till 1934 and most of them where fitted with 18in diameter cylinders, From 1923 some where renumbered to the new block numbering system and reclassed to E, 478 became 361, 482 became 363, 490 became 367 and 496 became 371. E 371 is currently preserved at Maldon on a Plinth for Static Display.
These locomotives where in service till mid 1970s, only two servived preservation, numbers 369 and 371, they are in very bad shape and will never be restored to running condition.
Тип: traincar