Between 1953 and 1954, the railways had "J" class steam engines built in England. They were transported out by ship, usually as deck cargo.
Numbers 500 - 529 were coal burners and 530 - 559 were oil burners.
They were used as an 'all lines' locomotive in freight service, with some occasionally used on passenger and mixed trains. Their main use was on light lines traffic.
By 1969 steam operations in Victoria had finished, leaving only chartered steam specials for historical groups.
At 1995, one J class had been restored to service.
File c333m compiled by Peter J. Vincent, updated 14/10/2007