Locomotive 3265 to undergo overhaul

Transport Heritage NSW and the Powerhouse are pleased to announce that steam locomotive 3265 will undergo a major overhaul. 

Part of the Powerhouse collection, 3265 is maintained and operated under agreement with Transport Heritage NSW. Following its scheduled appearances at the 2025 Hunter Valley Steamfest and Thirlmere Festival of Steam, the 123-year-old locomotive will be withdrawn from service for major works. 

The overhaul will be carried out by Transport Heritage NSW’s own fleet maintenance team, based at the NSW Rail Museum in Thirlmere. This highly skilled team is responsible for the restoration and upkeep of the state’s operational rail heritage fleet.

Work will include a 10-year boiler inspection, retubing of the boiler, remediation of corrosion found in the tender tank and a full repaint consistent with the current livery. This will ensure 3265’s continued operation for many years to come. 

Transport Heritage NSW looks forward to continuing its collaboration with the Powerhouse to preserve and operate this significant piece of NSW railway history well into the future

ABOUT LOCOMOTIVE 3265

Locomotive 3265 entered service as 4-6-0 express passenger engine P 584 in 1902. It was renumbered 3265 in 1924 and was equipped with superheating in 1933. The 32 class became known as the "English express locomotives” due to their origin, although some were built in the USA by Baldwin and others in Australia. 3265 was among those built by Beyer, Peacock and Co. in Manchester, UK.

The 32 class hauled a range of passenger services on almost every line in NSW. With 191 members the class were among the NSW Railways’ most successful steam locomotive designs.

3265’s original livery was black, but in 1933 it was painted maroon and received the nameplate ‘Hunter’, to haul the Northern Commercial Limited express to Newcastle. The 32 class were soon replaced by larger locomotives on this run.

From around 1960 they were gradually replaced by diesel locomotives, mostly 48 class, but so functional were the class that the last regular steam-hauled passenger train in New South Wales was hauled by a 32-class engine from Newcastle to Singleton in 1971. These locomotives thus outlived their successors – the 35, 36 and 38 classes.

3265 ran for 66 years across NSW and was retired in 1968 after clocking 2,965,840km of service. It still has its original frame, and the cab is stamped with its builder's number.

Restored by the Powerhouse Museum in 2009, 3265 later received further mechanical repairs with Transport Heritage NSW and returned to service in 2019.