1210
Z12 class steam locomotive
Built: 1878
Builder: Beyer, Peacock & Co. Manchester
Wheel arrangement: 4-4-0
Current status: Out of service, static display
1210 is an example of the Z12 (formerly C79) class locomotives, introduced in 1877 for express passenger and mail trains. A total of 68 were built, and they served as the top-link motive power of the New South Wales Railways for 20 years. However, steam technology was advancing rapidly around the turn of the century, and the 12 class were eventually ousted, and demoted to country mixed and freight traffic.
1210 was allocated to Goulburn in 1914, and hauled the first revenue-earning train into Canberra on May 25th of that year, bringing coal for the power house in Kingston. 1210 was eventually withdrawn in the early 1930s, but due to a locomotive shortage was pressed back into service. A second withdrawal in 1943 was aborted due to wartime demand, and a third in 1958 (after a short stint on the ‘Vintage Train’ excursions) saw the locomotive rescued by the National Capital Development Commission, moving the locomotive to Canberra in 1962, in recognition of its historical significance to the city.
Between 1984 and 1988, Canberra Railway Museum successfully restored the locomotive to working order in time for the Australian Bicentenary, and 1210 became a regular sight on the Canberra branch for many years, before being withdrawn for overhaul in 2014.