Melbourne and Hobson's Bay Railway Company 2-4-0WT (1854)

The first commenced running on 25 December and the second on 5 January 1855, thereafter each working the traffic on alternate days.

[4] The ship 'Hannah Conner' reached Melbourne on 23 January 1955 with the next two engines (B/n 956–957) and by April 1855 all four were in service, being used in rotation.

[4] A fifth locomotive (B/n 1080), ordered in anticipation of the opening of the company's branch to St Kilda, arrived on the 'Magna Bona' on 12 June 1857.

[4] These five locomotives were named Melbourne (954), Sandridge (955), Victoria (956), Yarra (957), and St Kilda (1080).

[4] When the M&HBR was amalgamated with the Melbourne Railway Company on 30 June 1865, the six remaining operating locomotives and Sandridge passed to the newly named Melbourne and Hobson's Bay United Railway Company.

The Melbourne and Suburban Railway Company purchased Victoria from the Melbourne and Hobson's Bay Railway Company in December 1858 (for £2408.13.11) to run from Princes Bridge to Hawthorn, but did not enter service until after the line opened 5 February 1859.

[4] With the extension of the M&SR's line to Hawthorn in 1861, a further 2 locomotives were ordered, they arrived on the ship 'Water Nymph' on 20 May 1861.

The other one, builders number 1378, could not be paid for and was sold (along with the spare parts) to Cornish & Bruce, contractors for the Bendigo line.

[4] The SK&BR was eventually purchased by the Melbourne and Hobson's Bay United Railway Company on 1 September 1865, and these two locomotives rejoined the rest of the class.

[4] When the MRC was amalgamated with the Melbourne and Hobson's Bay Railway Company on 30 June 1865, the four locomotives of the MRC passed to the newly named Melbourne and Hobson's Bay United Railway Company.

When the Melbourne and Hobson's Bay Railway was amalgamated with the Melbourne Railway Company on 30 June 1865, the newly named Melbourne and Hobson's Bay United Railway Company acquired eleven locomotives; Sandridge, St Kilda, Rapid, Meteor, Victoria, Kew, Windsor, Prahran, and the three unnamed locos (B/n 1268–1269, 1458).

These were joined on 1 September 1865 by the two locomotives still owned by the St Kilda and Brighton Railway, Melbourne and Yarra.

A new locomotive, which appears to have been ordered by one of the previous companies prior to the amalgamation, was put into service 1866, with the name Toorak (B/n 1620).

[8] About 1870, the M&HBUR numbered all their locomotives, except Sandridge which remained out of running service, and retained their original names.

A final locomotive, B/n 1991, arrived on the ship 'Cardigan Castle' on 18 December 1870,[9] and entered service in February 1871, taking the next available number, No.

14 (Toorak) was bought back in late 1877 by the Government for service on this isolated section until 1879 when it was connected to the rest of the system.

[12] Between 1882 and 1886, the Government sold eight to various contractors before being added to the main Victorian Railways register (see below).

246 remained unmodified for the rest of its life being used as a spare engine before finally being withdrawn with the four motors in the early 1900s.

This involved the addition of a door at the rear of the cab and handrails towards the front to allow guards to return to the engine while the train was moving, extra side tanks to increase the water capacity, as well as cowcatchers.