Inception
After World War II the Victorian Railways was run down from years of Depression-era underinvestment and wartime overutilisation. Chief Mechanical Engineer Ahlston traveled the world studying railway rehabilitation. Britain leaned towards steam locomotives, while France was moving towards main line electrification. The United States was more divided, with General Motors' Electro-Motive Division at La Grange, Illinois was turning out modern E and F-units diesels. However the EMD units axle load was too heavy for the Victorian tracks, and the Commonwealth Government would not allow the use of foreign currency to purchase United States diesels. As a result the £80 million Operation Phoenix featured steam locomotives and electrification of the Gippsland line, either locally built or imported from the United Kingdom.
To achieve a lighter axle load a six axles / six motor Co-Co wheel arrangement was required, with the head of EMD, and by 1949 Dick Dilworth was convinced that lighter axle load locomotives would be popular in Australian and other foreign countries. Frank Shea of Clyde Engineering had also negotiated with EMD to build the new locomotive locally, in order to overcome the foreign exchange restrictions. The order was placed in 1951 and the first locomotive was delivered on 14 July 1952.
Read more about this topic: Victorian Railways B Class (diesel)
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