New South Wales 36xx class 4-6-0
75 locomotives of the 36 class were built in New South Wales beginning in 1925, superceding the 35 class on major express workings south to Albury, and separately north to Grafton and Armidale.
In 1940 this photo of a westbound train just out of the Newcastle platforms was taken by my grandfather Geoffrey Thurlow. This and the subsequent photos of the 36 class from 1940 were positioned by the photographer in exactly the same spot with the front buffer beam adjacent to the ground signal. I have no idea of the camera or film used. The environs of this part of Newcastle remained basically unchanged until the 1990s.
The engine in charge of the train is #3609.
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Again a westbound train in 1940 with #3638 in charge. At the time these photos were taken, the 36 class was the fastest on the NSW Government Railways system.
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