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They were the first [[4-6-2|Pacific]]-type locomotives on the VR, as well as its first 3-cylinder locomotive type. Renowned for their power and speed, in the ten years that followed their introduction the running time of the premier Sydney express service they operated was progressively reduced by one and a half hours.<ref name=dogbox>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article22811405 |title=From Dogboxes to Unsplashed Soup. |newspaper=[[The Argus (Melbourne)|The Argus]] |location=Melbourne |date=18 February 1950 |accessdate=22 December 2012 |page=2 Supplement: The Argus Week-end Magazine |publisher=National Library of Australia}}</ref> These service improvements culminated in 1937 with the replacement of the ''Sydney Limited'' with the [[Art Deco]] [[streamliner]] ''[[Spirit of Progress]]'', and the S class locomotives were fitted with streamlined casings to match the new train set. They were also equipped with long-range [[Tender (rail)|tenders]] to enable the entire {{convert|190+1/2|mi|adj=on}} journey to be run non-stop at a speed that remained for the next 20 years Australia's fastest train service.<ref>{{cite news |title=DAYLIGHT EXPRESS FASTEST TRAIN – Spirit of Progress Will Lose Honor Today |newspaper=[[The Age]] |location=Melbourne |date=30 September 1957 |page=3 |publisher=David Syme & Co}}</ref>
Although only four S class locomotives were built, they were highly utilised. They ran up annual mileages double that of other classes of locomotives on the VR and by 1954 had run a combined total of approximately {{convert|5700000|mi}}.<ref name=ensign>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article65496956 |title=Famous Loco Goes To Scrap Heap. |newspaper=[[Benalla Ensign]] |location=Vic. |date=7 January 1954 |accessdate=18 December 2012 |page=3 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}</ref> However their size and heavy [[axle load]] made them unsuitable for regular service on any other lines than the [[North East railway line|North Eastern line]], and so within six months of the introduction of the new [[Victorian Railways B class (diesel)|B class]] diesel locomotives on the ''Spirit of Progress'' roster in April 1954 the S class had all been withdrawn and scrapped. Their scrapping was a catalyst for the rail preservation movement in Victoria to lobby for the preservation of remaining examples of other VR steam locomotives, resulting in the establishment in 1962 of the [[Australian Railway Historical Society Museum]] in [[Williamstown North]].<ref name=arhs>{{cite web|url=http://www.railwaymuseum.org.au/aboutus.html |title=AHRS Railway Museum – About Us|archiveurl=
==History==
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