NSWGR 38 Class

The C38 (with the 'C' referring to the fact that the locomotive has 3 driving axles) or 38 class was a class of steam locomotive built and operated by the New South Wales Government Railways in Australia. Built starting in 1943, the 30 locomotives in the class hauled express trains and replaced the C36 class on these routes. They were the first locomotives in New South Wales to use the popular Pacific 4-6-2 wheel arrangement.

History
The C38 class were first planned in 1938. Many delays were experienced during construction - mainly due to World War II. 3801 was the first engine to be built and entered service in January 1943. The last locomotive to be built, 3830 entered service in November 1949. The first five locomotives were built at the Clyde Engineering workshops and were streamlined in shape, with a cone shape at the front. The remaining 25 locomotives were built at both the New South Wales Government Railway Workshops at Eveleigh, New South Wales (13 locomotives) and NSWGR Workshops at Cardiff in Newcastle (12 locomotives). These locomotives were not streamlined and had a flat front.

During the 38's government work, all 38s except for the locomotive numbered 3813 were painted in a black livery.

By 1951 diesel locomotives started working on the railway system of NSW. These gradually took the express trains away from the 38 class, who would be moved to all-stations passenger and even goods trains. They could still be found working The Newcastle Flyer, which was an express train between Sydney Central and Newcastle up until December 1970. The Newcastle Flyer was 3820s last government run and was withdrawn from government operation and handed into the care on the New South Wales Rail Transportation Museum.