Western Australian
Locomotives
Western Australian Government Railways (WAGR) was the operator of railway services in the state of Western Australia between October 1890 and June 2003. Owned by the state government, it was renamed a number of times to reflect extra responsibility for tram and ferry operations that it assumed and later relinquished. The first WAGR line opened on 26 July 1879 between Geraldton and Northampton. it was followed by the Eastern Railway from Fremantle to Guildford via Perth on 1 March 1881. The WAGR adopted the narrow gauge of 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) to reduce construction costs.
What Locomotive Is That?
Steam - Western Australia
K Class
The steep 1 in 30 gradients over the Darling Scarp presented a major problem to the early railway system, so in 1893/94 the K class 2-8-4T tank engines were introduced for traffic on this Eastern Railway. The K class was the first class of locomotives designed new for the WAGR, and some were later ordered for use in South Africa. The K class was unfortunately too heavy for branch-line operations and was so restricted to main-line services.
E Class
The E class, introduced in 1902, was used for passenger services and was accordingly given the larger diameter driving wheels in a 4-6-0 configuration, while the F class freight locomotives had a 4-8-0 arrangement, providing extra power at the expense of speed. The D class 4-6-4T suburban tank engines were likewise introduced in 1902 and replaced the N class engines in suburban operations.
Msa Class
The WAGR Msa class was a class of 2-6-0+0-6-2 Garratt-type articulated steam locomotives. The class was built at the Midland Railway Workshops and operated by the Western Australian Government Railways (WAGR) between 1930 and 1963. It was the first Garatt type to be designed and constructed entirely in Australia. The class was preceded on the WAGR system by the M/Ms class Garratts. The class were used extensively on WAGR lines with light rails and sharp curves, as a consequence many of the smaller older branch lines on the Darling Scarp; as well as those with steep inclines such as those on the Mundaring Weir, Nannup, and Flinders Bay lines.
P Class
Suffering from the effects of both the First World War and the Great Depression, the WAGR introduced relatively few locomotive classes in the years between World War One and World War Two. The P class 4-6-2 pacific-type locomotives were introduced in 1924 and in 1938 an improved version, the Pr Class was constructed at the Midland workshops. Eight P class engines were converted to Pr class between 1941 and 1944 to alleviate war time stresses on the aged WAGR locomotive fleet, most of which dated back to the 19th century. Mainline diesel locomotives arrived on the WAGR in 1953.
W Class
The WAGR W class 4-8-2 steam locomotives were built in Manchester by Beyer Peacock & Co, and operated by the Western Australian Government Railways (WAGR) between 1951 and 1972. Although essentially a freight engine, the W class regularly hauled The Australind from Perth to Bunbury. It effectively replaced the aged O and G classes still working on lighter parts of the network. Withdrawals commenced in 1968 with the last condemned in 1972. Most of the class was scrapped in 1971, although 19 were held in reserve at Midland Railway Workshops until 1972.
The W Class locomotives were officially withdrawn in August 1972. W 933 and W 934 survived long enough to be purchased by the newly-formed Pichi Richi Railway Preservation Society in early 1974. Both were transferred to South Australia in March 1974 to the Pichi Richi Railway's depot at Quorn in the Flinders Ranges, where they returned to operation. The locomotives have been stalwarts of the Pichi Richi Railway's steam fleet since their restoration, and capably handle trains through the steep and winding Pichi Richi Pass.
Diesel - Western Australia
Y Class
The Y class was a class of diesel locomotives built by Clayton Equipment Company, Hatton for the Western Australian Government Railways between 1953 and 1955. They were used as shunters, primarily in Perth and Fremantle although some did haul freight services in the Geraldton region. They were withdrawn in the mid-1980s with seven being preserved. They were the first diesel locomotives used by the WAGR.
Often described as being one of the ugliest diesel locomotives in Australia due to their short length and ungainly height on the narrow 3ft 6inch gauge these little locomotives performed the duties given to them reasonably well. They were often seen working short distance journeys such as the shunting the Flour Mill at Cottesloe from Leighton yard or working the weekly goods to Dwellingup from Pinjarra.
X Class
The X Class were a class of diesel locomotive built by Beyer, Peacock & Company and Metropolitan-Vickers, Bowesfield Works, Stockton-on-Tees. In the early 1950s the Western Australian Government Railways placed the largest single Australian order for diesel locomotives, when it ordered 48 2-Do-2 locomotives from Beyer, Peacock and Company and Metropolitan-Vickers. All were delivered between 1954 and 1956. The locomotives carried the names of tribes, tribal leaders and warriors from around Australia.
The X class revolutionised operations on the WAGR. Their light axle load of around 12 tons meant they could travel on all lines, and the dual cab arrangement eliminated the need for turning. They were quickly allocated to express passenger trains including the Albany Express, Australind, Kalgoorlie Express and The Westland.
In their final years, those still in service were reputed to have performed well. They ran grain trains in the South West as late as 1984, and provided power for trains following the reopening of the Fremantle line up to the last retirement in 1988.
F Class
The F class, based upon the South Australian Railways 800 class, were a class of diesel locomotives built by English Electric, Rocklea for the Midland Railway of Western Australia in 1958. They were later sold to the Western Australian Government Railways. Hotham Valley Railway have preserved F40 and F44 while Rail Heritage WA have F43. F41 is also on display at Moora.
L Class
The L Class are a class of diesel locomotives built by Clyde Engineering, Granville and Eagle Farm for the Western Australian Government Railways between 1967 and 1973. With the 657-kilometre Eastern Goldfields Railway between Perth and Kalgoorlie being converted to standard gauge, the Western Australian Government Railways started to take delivery of 23 Electro Motive Diesel GT26C locomotives from Clyde Engineering in October 1967. The design was based on the EMD SD40 reduced in height to fit within the Australian loading gauge. At the time they were comfortably the largest and heaviest diesel locomotive operated by a government operator.
All were included in the sale of Australian Railroad Group's Western Australian operations to QR National in June 2006. All of the locomotives now under the control of Aurizon have been renumbered as the 3100 class. Some were transferred to New South Wales to haul trains from the Manildra Group's flour mills at Gunnedah, Manildra and Narrandera to Bomaderry from 2003 until 2008.
A Class
The WAGR A/AA/AB classes are classes of diesel locomotives built by Clyde Engineering, Granville, New South Wales, Australia, for the Western Australian Government Railways (WAGR) between 1960 and 1969. In 1967 five improved AA class were delivered, followed by six AB classes in 1969. All were built at Granville and fitted with more powerful Electro Motive Diesel 12-645E engines. In April 2017, AB1535 was donated to Rail Heritage WA for use with the Wheatbelt Heritage Rail Project at Minnivale.
Q Class (GT46C)
In May 1996, Westrail ordered 15 GT46Cs from Clyde Engineering as part of an order that also included nine narrow gauge S class locomotives. The order was later extended to 19. All were assembled at a facility established by Clyde Engineering within Westrail's Forrestfield Depot.
The GT46C is a model of diesel electric locomotive designed and built by Clyde Engineering using Electro-Motive Diesel components. Entering service from 1997 for a number of Australian rail freight operators, those built for Westrail are known as the Q class, those for FreightLink are the FQ class and a single unit for Freight Australia is the V class. All 24 locomotives are currently owned by Aurizon since its purchase of One Rail Australia in October 2021.