89-720: The Australian Standard Garratt (ASG) was a Garratt articulated steam locomotive designed and built in Australia during World War II for use on the 1067 mm ( 3 ft 6 in ) narrow-gauge railway systems owned by the Australian states of Queensland , South Australia , Tasmania and Western Australia . After the war, ASGs operated in South Australia and at the Fyansford Cement Works railway in Victoria . With
178-497: A class MH Mallet 2-6-6-2 , and a newly arrived class GA Garratt 2-6-0+0-6-2 – the first Garratt of that gauge to enter service in South Africa. The trial was conducted on the line between Durban and Ladysmith , which had gradients as steep as 1 in 30 and curves as tight as 4.5 chains (91 metres) in radius. The Garratt proved the superior locomotive in all regards. The most powerful of all Garratts irrespective of gauge were
267-707: A 65% increase in loading was achieved. In 1911, Beyer, Peacock & Company built six 2-6-0+0-6-2 Garratts for the Western Australian Government Railways . The M class were followed by the Ms class and the Msa class . These locomotives formed the pattern for the Victorian Railways narrow gauge G class and the Australian Portland Cement Garratts. Beyer, Peacock built more than
356-501: A career with British colonial railways. Garratt first approached Kitson and Company with his design, but his idea was rejected, perhaps because that company were already committed to the Kitson-Meyer articulated design. He then approached Beyer, Peacock and Company , which were only marginally more interested. In 1907, Beyer, Peacock and Company submitted a proposal for a 2 ft ( 610 mm ) gauge 0-4-0+0-4-0 Garratt to
445-686: A farm south of Peterborough, South Australia , one at the Workshops Rail Museum in Queensland, two at the Don River Railway in Tasmania, and several dotted around that state. They were used as water tanks for steam and fire-fighting until the early 1980s. Another also survives with the Launceston & North East Railway in Launceston, Tasmania . It was used as a waste oil tank by TasRail until
534-482: A high rate of evaporation. Although at the end of the steam locomotive era, most conventional steam locomotives had reached their maximum in "critical dimensions", the Garratt still had potential for further development, with larger driving wheels, larger boilers, and greater output still achievable. The major theoretical disadvantage of a Garratt (shared with all tank engines ) was that adhesive weight decreases as water
623-575: A merger of Westrail with Australian National was being investigated. Nothing ever came of it. On 17 December 2000, the WAGR's freight division along with the Westrail name and logo were sold to Australia Western Railroad , a subsidiary of the Australian Railroad Group (ARG). The deal also saw the WAGR's freight lines leased to ARG for 99 years. The WAGR's remaining functions, including owning
712-406: A normal locomotive, allowing longer continuous runs without needing to stop and empty the ashpan to clear combustion products from the grate. A large firebox and its unrestricted air supply also allowed the Garratt to operate with poor-quality fuel without reducing steaming capacity. Garratts ran equally well in either direction, negating the need for turntables. Often they ran with the cab leading
801-462: A pivot to support the central frame; they consist of a steam engine unit – with driving wheels, trailing wheels, valve gear, and cylinders, and above it, fuel and/or water storage. Articulation permits locomotives to negotiate curves that might restrict large rigid-framed locomotives. The design also provides more driving wheels per unit of locomotive weight, permitting operation on lightly engineered track. Garratt locomotives produced as much as twice
890-489: A red stripe later added. In the late 1960s, a grey and light blue livery was introduced. The latter was resurrected by South Spur Rail Services in the early 2000s. Carriages were painted Indian red, before a larch green and cream livery was introduced in October 1951. When launched in 1964, The Midlander stock was painted in a maroon and ivory livery. When the Westrail brand was introduced in 1975, an orange and blue livery
979-567: A seasonal basis. In the late 1960s, the Eastern and Eastern Goldfields lines between Perth and Kalgoorlie was gauge converted to allow through operation of trains from the eastern states along with the Esperance & Menzies lines , with sections through the Avon River and east of Southern Cross built on new alignments. A concerted program of dieselisation saw diesel locomotives replace
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#17328843839191068-442: A service from Perth to Kojonup via Boddington . By 1949, there were 28 buses. and by 1959, more than fifty. Dual-purpose buses that also carried freight were introduced in 1949. Buses operated included Fodens , articulated trailer buses , AECs , Leyland Lions , Hino RC320Ps and Mercedes-Benz O303s . In the late 1960s, long-distance coaches operated from Perth to Meekatharra , Esperance , Geraldton and Albany . In
1157-436: A service was officially named. Further trains were named in the 1960s in an effort to increase the prestige of rail travel. The WAGR operated services from Perth to many destinations throughout the state. In 1935, it operated 63 sleeper services a week. It also operated local passenger, many operating as mixed trains . The last of these ceased in 1973. While the current Perth urban passenger network operated by Transperth
1246-440: A single crew, but to spread the dead weight over many axles and thus avoid excessive loads on the track and under-line bridges, and at the same time retain flexibility of wheelbase to facilitate operation on severely curved sections of line. The Mallet, having driving-wheel units beneath the boiler, retains the limitation in dimensions inherent in the orthodox type of steam locomotive, while the immense length of some of these machines
1335-553: A speed of 132 kilometres per hour (82 mph)—a record for any Garratt class (and indeed any articulated class). All three main railways in Angola used Garratts. The largest user was the 3 ft 6 in ( 1,067 mm ) gauge Caminho de Ferro de Benguela . Forty-eight were purchased from Beyer, Peacock between 1926 and 1956. They came in four batches: class 10A (301–306); class 10B (311–324) in 1930; class 10C (331–348) in 1954; and class 10D (361–370). The second-largest user
1424-472: A thousand Garratt or Beyer-Garratt locomotives. The final built to a Beyer-Peacock design, in 1967–1968 , were eight 2 ft ( 610 mm ) gauge South African Railways Class NG G16 locomotives. The following list shows known Garratt construction by all manufacturers. Garratts were used in Africa , Asia , Australia , Europe , and South America . No Garratts were used on North American railroads ,
1513-400: A total of 143. More details are in the following table. The East African Railways 4-8-2+2-8-4 59 class Garratts were the largest and most powerful steam locomotives to run on metre gauge, having a large 70-square-foot (6.5-square-metre) grate and a tractive effort of 83,350 pounds-force (370.76 kilonewtons). The 34 oil-fired locomotives remained in regular service until 1980. As of 2020 ,
1602-537: A total of 61 styles. The lack of uniformity caused difficulties in operation and maintenance, and made necessary a large and widely varying stock of spare parts of limited interchangeability. In the early 1950s, the WAGR implemented a replacement program of goods wagons built instead to rigidly standard designs, on only three types of underframes, 5.5, 11.0 and 12.8 metres (18, 36 and 42 ft) in length, respectively. The new standard designs provided for increased axle loads and higher tare -load ratios, and
1691-399: A wide variety of services throughout its history, including the more standard country and suburban passenger and freight workings as well as a limited electrified service, early country railcar services, road bus services and overnight sleeper services to distant destinations. Although some passenger trains were bestowed nicknames, it was not until The Westland was launched in 1938, that
1780-686: Is G33, which ran on the Fyansford Cement Works Railway until 1957. It was on static display at the Australian Railway Historical Society Museum in North Williamstown until 2013, when it was moved by road (together with a spare boiler) to the Bellarine Railway , Queenscliff , with the aim of full restoration. Many front water tanks of ASGs have survived: one at Yatina , South Australia , two on
1869-522: Is currently not on display. In December 1937, the Governor class diesel railcars were introduced on daylight regional services from Perth. The longer distance services remained locomotive hauled. Where lines were closed in the 1940s and 1950s, or passenger services discontinued, road bus services were introduced. Most of the services and the same routes continue to the present. The rail-road services commenced on 24 November 1941 with one vehicle operating
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#17328843839191958-756: Is entirely electrified, between May 1924 and March 1969 the State Electricity Commission operated the only electrified line in Western Australia as part of the WAGR network. The line was 800 metres (2,600 ft) in length and operated within the confines of the East Perth Power Station . The electric locomotive used on the railway is preserved at the Western Australian Rail Transport Museum in Bassendean , though
2047-403: Is itself a handicap. Except with oil firing, ... one cannot put the cab in front. H.W. Garratt ... patented ... the idea of having a single large boiler slung on a cradle carried on two entirely separate engine units. ... The boiler could be developed to ideal proportions, unfettered by any wheels beneath it. It could be kept short, and of large diameter, which is the best possible form for securing
2136-573: Is used up from the front tank and coal and water from the rear tank and bunker. The phenomenon does exist, but was minimised by the adhesion of the multiplicity of driving wheels, sufficient usually to avoid wheel slippage. The Garratt was not alone in the field of articulated locomotives; most notably, articulated locomotives in the United States based on the Mallet design achieved power outputs far exceeding those of Garratts. Away from North America were
2225-536: The 20th and 20A classes . Many went to Zambia Railways in 1967 when Rhodesia Railways surrendered the lines in Zambia to its government. Zimbabwe's economic and political situation has extended the life of its Garratts. Five Garratts, including some from the Zimbabwe National Railway Museum , were returned to service in 2004–05 to haul commuter trains. As of 2011 they were performing shunting duties around
2314-519: The Fairlie and Meyer articulated types. Further, similar designs to the Garratt were the Union Garratt, Modified Fairlie, and Golwé . Of these, the closest was the Union Garratt, a type originally prompted by the perceived necessity for a rigid connection between a bunker or tender and a firebox fed by a mechanical stoker. They were, in effect, a hybrid Fairlie and Garratt with the rear bunker attached to
2403-553: The Nairobi Railway Museum held two of them. 4-6-4+4-6-4 and 4-8-2+2-8-4 Garratts operated in Mozambique, some built as late as 1956. Rhodesia imported 246 3 ft 6 in ( 1,067 mm ) gauge Garratts of four different wheel arrangements: 2-6-2+2-6-2 s of the 13th, 14th and 14A classes; 4-6-4+4-6-4 s of the 15th class , 2-8-2+2-8-2 s of the 16th, 16A, and 18th classes; and 4-8-2+2-8-4 s of
2492-587: The Pichi Richi Railway . With the deregulation of the Australian rail market in the 1990s, former WAGR rolling stock has operated in other states, with L class locomotives having operated in the eastern states for ATN Access , Aurizon and Pacific National . In September 1970, WAGR News Letter was launched as a staff newsletter . The last edition was published in December 1973, with Movement superseding it. From 1975 until 1981, Westrail News Letter
2581-560: The Public Works Department ). The WAGR network was joined to that of the rest of mainland Australia, albeit to 4 ft 8 + 1 ⁄ 2 in ( 1,435 mm ) standard gauge , a different gauge, in October 1917 with the opening of the Commonwealth Railways ' Trans-Australian Railway to Kalgoorlie . Legislative restrictions were implemented to limit competition from road transport, most notably from
2670-478: The South African Railways ' eight 3 ft 6 in ( 1,067 mm ) gauge GL class locomotives of 1929–30, which delivered 89,130 lbf (396.47 kN) of tractive effort . They were all out of service by the late 1960s. There was also a proposal for a quadruplex super Garratt locomotive with a 2-6-6-2+2-6-6-2 wheel arrangement for South African Railways , but this was never built. On
2759-734: The Swan View Tunnel . A few isolated lines were operated, such as the Marble Bar line in the Pilbara and the Hopetoun to Ravensthorpe railway line on the South Coast. With many lines in need of heavy maintenance, rolling stock in need of replacement and heavy losses being incurred, during the 1950s many branches closed with 1,320 kilometres (820 mi) of the network so treated in 1956–57, although 275 kilometres (171 mi) were subsequently reopened on
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2848-593: The Uganda Protectorate from 1929 to 1948, acquired 77 Garratts between the same years. The Tanganyika Railway also acquired 3 in 1928. In 1948, the railways merged to form the East African Railways and Harbours Corporation , commonly known in the railways context as East African Railways, shown by the letters "EAR" on rolling stock. In addition to the 80 acquired Garratts, East African Railways operated 63 that it purchased new between 1954 and 1956, making
2937-551: The 1930s until the 1950s, when the Transport Co-ordination Board kept strict control over commercial road traffic through powers vested by the State Transport Co-ordination Act 1933 . As road transportation expanded and losses escalated, many lines closed from 1949. The network peaked in 1937 at 6,600 kilometres (4,100 mi). Unusually for such a large network, only one tunnel was required,
3026-462: The Assam Railway. The Trans-Iranian Railway had four 4-8-2+2-8-4 Garratts (class 86) built in 1936. Mauritius had three standard gauge 2-8-0+0-8-2 Garratts that were built in 1927. The Nepal Government Railway (NGR) had 2-6-2+2-6-2 Garratt locomotives manufactured by Beyer, Peacock and Company in 1932 and 1947. The Royal State Railway of Siam acquired 8 Garratts built by
3115-511: The Department of Works & Railways was established. The first government railway line in Western Australia 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. Over
3204-885: The GE class, was built for Burma Railways in 1949, but was diverted to the Assam Railway in India. Two 0-6-0+0-6-0 2 ft 6in gauge Beyer-Garratts were supplied to the Buthidaung-Maungdaw Tramway which became the Arakan Light Railway. BP works Nos. 5702 & 5703 of 1913 refer. Ceylon had 10 Garratts: an H1 class 2 ft 6 in ( 762 mm ) 2-4-0+0-4-2 in 1924, a C1 class 5 ft 6 in ( 1,676 mm ) 2-6-2+2-6-2 in 1927 and eight more C1 class 5 ft 6 in gauge 2-6-2+2-6-2 s in 1945. India had 83 Garratts. One 5 ft 6 in ( 1,676 mm ) gauge 2-6-2+2-6-2
3293-589: The GT class on the Bengal Assam Railway . Three types of Garratt were supplied for war service on the BAR: ten MWGL class 2-8-0+0-8-2 locomotives; twelve MWGH 2-8-2+2-8-2 locomotives; and 18 MWGX class 4-8-2+2-8-4 War Department standard light Garratts. Of these, only nine MWGX stayed in India, with the remainder transferred to Burma. After the war, the four Burma Railways GE class 4-8-2+2-8-4 s were diverted to
3382-604: The German company Henschel during 1929–1937 for heavy freight duties in the Pak Chong highland areas. One has been preserved; it is displayed at Kanchanaburi railway station . Turkish State Railways had just one standard gauge 2-8-0+0-8-2 Garratt that was built in 1927. The Australian Standard Garratt (ASG) was designed in Australia as an emergency measure during World War II , when demand on 1067 mm ( 3 ft 6 in ) narrow-gauge railways could not be met by
3471-528: The Mallet design on account of the geometry of the design. When swinging around curves, the boiler and cab unit moved inward, reducing the centrifugal force, whereas the Mallet's forward articulated unit moved out as the locomotive rounded curves. As O.S. Nock wrote, the Garratt type holds several advantages over the Mallet type: This [the Mallet] was so designed to provide a very large engine unit, to be managed by
3560-713: The Midland Railway Workshops. From the late 1930s, the WAGR operated diesel railcars such as the Governor and Wildflower classes. In 1936, the WAGR owned 420 locomotives, 4 railcars, 461 carriages, 24 brake vans and 11,052 goods wagons. A survey of goods wagons carried out in 1949 disclosed that the WAGR had 54 classes of 4-wheeled vehicles and 13 different types of bogie wagons. The 4-wheeled vehicles had been built on 12 different types of underframes in no fewer than 71 variations, ranging in length from 3.4 to 6.4 metres (11 to 21 ft). The bogie wagons were mounted on six different types of bogie trucks and represented
3649-562: The New South Wales Government Railways, which was not proceeded with. The following year a design for a 2 ft gauge Mallet locomotive was submitted in reply to an enquiry from the Government of Tasmania . The company then proposed a Garratt design based on, but a little heavier than, the design for New South Wales, with capacity to negotiate curves of 99 ft (30.18 m) radius and 1 in 25 gradients. The proposal
Australian Standard Garratt - Misplaced Pages Continue
3738-619: The Société Franco-Belge de Matériel de Chemins de Fer at Raismes in Northern France, operated until the Algerian independence war caused their withdrawal in 1951. This class, designated 231-132BT, was streamlined and featured Cossart motion gear, mechanical stokers and 1.8 m (5 ft 11 in) driving wheels, the largest of any Garratt class. On a test in France, one of these achieved
3827-482: The South African Railways GMA/M 4-8-2+2-8-4 Garratts of 1954, which developed a tractive effort of 60,700 lbf (270 kN). Following modifications in 1958 to thirty AD60s, their tractive effort was increased to 63,016 lbf (280.31 kN). These locomotives remained in service until the early 1970s with a replacement "6042" using the boiler cradle of 6043 (The original was scrapped in 1968)
3916-817: The WAGR in January 1957. The Emu Bay Railway purchased three second-hand from the Queensland Railways and two from the Tasmanian Government Railways. It would operate them successfully until the mid-1960s. One was destroyed in an accident in February 1962 with a replacement obtained from the TGR. In 1952, the South Australian Railways purchased six second-hand from the WAGR to haul lead ore between Cockburn and Port Pirie as an interim solution pending
4005-498: The Western Australian Government Railways for 14 years, during which periods many of the defects were rectified or components replaced. New South Wales Government Railways introduced the 4-8-4+4-8-4 AD60 Garratt in 1952, built by Beyer, Peacock. The AD60 weighed 265 tonnes, with a 16-tonne axle loading. As delivered, it developed a tractive effort of 60,000 lbf (270 kN)), not as powerful as
4094-503: The associated industries. These tours went as far north as Geraldton and east to Kalgoorlie , but most commonly south to the forest areas around Pemberton and that town's timber mills. Tours also covered apple festivals in Bridgetown and Manjimup . The first tour was organised for industry and business leaders from Victoria , but by 1933 they were open to the public and sufficiently popular to have waiting lists. A defining aspect of
4183-720: The available stock of locomotives. The ASG was used on the railways of Queensland , Western Australia and Tasmania and, after the war, on the South Australian Railways , the Emu Bay Railway in Tasmania and the Fyansford Cement Works railway in Victoria. The first was built in a record-breaking four months, entering service in September 1943. Considerable differences between the states, especially in loading gauges , sharpness of curves and limits to axle load, compromised
4272-417: The boiler (sometimes called [fuel] bunker leading), especially on routes with tunnels. Most Garratts were designed for freight or mixed traffic, but several Garratt classes were designed for passenger service. A French-built Algerian Railways Garratt holds the world speed record for an articulated locomotive at 132 kilometres per hour (82 mph). Garratts operating at higher speeds had one advantage over
4361-514: The boiler unit and the power units. However, Beyer, Peacock's engineers solved them after studying a description of the spherical steam joints used on a Fairlie locomotive. The third Garratt (another 0-4-0+0-4-0 , like the first two) was built in 1910 for the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway and given the class letter "D". The power output was intended to be double that of the line's existing 0-4-0 ST locomotives, but only
4450-406: The changes. In September 1975, the WAGR adopted the trading name Westrail and an associated logo. However, the official name of the WAGR was not changed. The new name was the main element of a complete program to improve the WAGR's public image. Every visible feature of the organisation was to be associated with the new Westrail identity. The transition from WAGR to Westrail quickly began, with
4539-554: The city of Bulawayo. On the Sierra Leone Government Railway , this 2 ft 6 in ( 762 mm ) gauge system had 2-6-2+2-6-2 Garratts starting in the 1920s and in the middle 1950s purchased 14 4-8-2+2-8-4 Garratts. In 1921, the South African Railways held a comparative trial between three 3 ft 6 in ( 1,067 mm ) locomotives: a class 14B 4-8-2 tender engine;
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#17328843839194628-479: The closure of the Hobart railway yard in 2014, possibly being the last steam engine component used by TasRail. Garratt locomotive A Garratt locomotive is a type of articulated steam locomotive invented by British engineer Herbert William Garratt that is articulated into three parts. Its boiler , firebox , and cab are mounted on a centre frame or "bridge". The two other parts, one at each end, have
4717-579: The delivery of the 400 class Garratts , with all condemned by February 1956. The Fyansford Cement Works Railway purchased G33 from Commonwealth Disposals in August 1945. It was withdrawn in 1957, but maintained in operational condition until the railway closed in 1966 when it was donated to the Geelong division of the Australian Railway Historical Society . The only surviving complete ASG
4806-418: The design had to be a compromise, which went against the idea of having a standardised design. To enable the long-wheelbase engine units to negotiate sharp curves, the leading driving wheels were designed to be flangeless , but this proved to be a major flaw as it led to a tendency for the locomotives to derail on curves and points . Another key problem, which made the ASGs unpopular with locomotive crews,
4895-403: The design, as did the inclusion of features that led to unreliability. A royal commission convened in 1946 to investigate the locomotives, whose deficiencies had caused enginemen to go on strike, concluded: "It is obvious when one analyses the evidence that the new Australian Standard Garratt has put up a poor performance. At times these locomotives have done good work but they cannot compare with
4984-406: The distances between both the main steam pipe and the high-pressure cylinders and between the high-pressure and low-pressure cylinders. The latter feature made the locomotive unnecessarily complicated and placed the high-pressure cylinders directly underneath the cab, making it uncomfortably hot for the crew on the rare days when Tasmania's West Coast Range was warm. Only one more Garratt locomotive
5073-404: The drivers' union placed a ban on them. Attempts to modify them proved unsuccessful, and they were written off in 1948. Three were sold to the Emu Bay Railway and six to the Tasmanian Government Railways , with the remainder scrapped in 1954/55. The Tasmanian Government Railways purchased 14 new and another six second-hand from the Queensland Railways. Two were sold to the Emu Bay Railway with
5162-406: The early 1970s the WAGR Bus service included seasonal six-day Wildflower Study Tours from Perth and along roads to and from Geraldton through the northern wheatbelt. These had first been operated in 1948 by the Midland Railway of Western Australia . Also in the early 1970s, the King Karri Scenicruiser buses ran from Bunbury through Manjimup , Pemberton , Northcliffe and Walpole to Albany at
5251-408: The frame instead of being carried on the rear bogie. The class GH and class U Union Garratts of the South African Railways were examples. Herbert William Garratt, a British locomotive engineer, invented the articulated locomotive concept that bore his name, for which he was granted a patent (no. 12079). At the time, he was the New South Wales Railways ' inspecting engineer in London following
5340-403: The last steam locomotives in March 1972. In the late 20th century, the end of restrictions on competing road transport resulted in the WAGR and its successors moving from being a small customer-oriented system to a predominantly main line bulk carrier operation. This resulted in many smaller communities losing their facilities. However, in the wheatbelt, bulk handling of grain continued despite
5429-428: The last withdrawn in February 1973. Oberg wrote he witnessed an AD60 clear a dead 1220-tonne double-headed diesel freight (total weight 1450 tonnes) from a 1 in 55 grade without wheel slip. Four AD60's survive today: 6029 (which operates occasionally out of Thirlmere), 6039 (under private ownership at Dorrigo Museum), 6040 (on static display at THNSW, Thirlmere), & 6042 (also owned by the Dorrigo museum but sitting in
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#17328843839195518-459: The light type to allow it to operate on any narrow gauge line in Australia. After an attempt to obtain drawings and licences from Beyer, Peacock and Company failed, in July 1942 the CLTB recommended to the War Cabinet that 30 locomotives be built locally. In August 1942, the War Cabinet approved the order, which was increased to 65 locomotives in November 1942. The Western Australian Government Railways ' Chief Mechanical Engineer Frederick Mills
5607-402: The middle of a field in Forbes, NSW). Queensland Railways operated 30 Beyer Garratt locomotives. These were mainly based in the Rockhampton area. Western Australian Government Railways Western Australian Government Railways (WAGR) was the state owned operator of railways in the state of Western Australia between October 1890 and June 2003. Owned by the state government , it
5696-508: The most likely explanation being that American rail companies considered the Garratt's coal and water capacities insufficient for their requirements. The Garratt was most widely used in Africa : large numbers were in South Africa, Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and Algeria, and smaller numbers in Angola, Congo, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Libya, Madagascar, Mozambique, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Uganda and Zaïre. In Algeria, 29 4-6-2+2-6-4 Garratts, constructed between 1936 and 1941 by
5785-471: The new name rapidly and almost universally replacing the old one in the vocabulary of staff and the public. Strong impetus to acceptance of the new corporate identity was given by the completion of a new Westrail office headquarters and passenger facility at East Perth Terminal (then known as Perth Terminal). The new building, named the Westrail Centre, was opened by the Premier of Western Australia , Sir Charles Court , on 12 November 1976. Westrail
5874-492: The new wagons were also fitted with NCDA-type central drawbars and doubly articulating couplers. In connection with the gauge conversion of the Eastern and Eastern Goldfields Railways in the late 1960s, the WAGR constructed a stock of standard gauge goods vehicles, including a class of wheat hopper wagons that, with a maximum payload of almost 77 tonnes (170,000 lb), were the largest freight vehicles operated by any Government railway in Australia. Chief Mechanical Engineer
5963-424: The next few decades, an extensive network of railway lines throughout Western Australia was built, primarily to service the wheatbelt . Prior to the expanded use of road transport, the network was of vital importance in the state, particularly for the moving of agricultural, forestry and mining products. In 1890, the Department was abolished and replaced by the WAGR and the Department of Works and Buildings (later
6052-440: The old Beyer Garratts, which have such an enduring record of service." Many were withdrawn in September 1945, weeks after the war ended. Those sold to the South Australian Railways in 1952 (as a stopgap) served for only 18 months, but others lasted longer: on the Queensland Government Railways for two years, at Fyansford and Emu Bay for 11 years, on the Tasmanian Government Railways (including some ex-QR engines) for 13 years, and on
6141-613: The outbreak of World War II , in 1939 the Federal Government formed the Commonwealth Land Transport Board (CLTB) to take responsibility for the country's land transport networks. In the national interest it was empowered to over-ride decisions of the state railways. In 1942, the CLTB appointed the Commissioner of Railways in Western Australia, Joseph Ellis, to investigate the capacity of Australia's narrow gauge network and recommend what locomotives should be purchased. Ellis recommended that three variations of Garratt locomotive be purchased; heavy, medium and light. The CLTB elected to build only
6230-636: The rail network and operating regional passenger services, were transferred to the Western Australian Government Railways Commission. On 1 January 2003, the WAGR Commission's functions were absorbed by the Public Transport Authority . The former Westrail Centre is now known as the Public Transport Centre . The WAGR was renamed a number of times to reflect extra responsibility for tram and ferry operations that it assumed and later relinquished. Initially, Westrail applied an orange with blue stripe livery to its locomotives and passenger vehicles. Freight rolling stock and road trucks were painted yellow, and blue
6319-408: The railways between 1893 and 1959, however to appreciate the number of commissions that had relevance to railway operations, the coal and wheat industries were linked with the railway operations as well. The following are a selected group of commissions: The WAGR purchased the Great Southern Railway in December 1896 and the Midland Railway of Western Australia in August 1964. The WAGR operated
6408-401: The remainder scrapped in the late 1950s. The Western Australian Government Railways purchased 25. They were unpopular with crews, and their use through the state's only tunnel at Swan View caused serious problems, resulting in deaths, industrial disputes, and a Royal Commission . Six of the WAGR locomotives were sold to the South Australian Railways in 1952. The last were withdrawn from
6497-505: The restrictions on non-government trucking were still in force, with suburban truck services from Perth to Midland , Fremantle , Kewdale and Gosnells . The country services were extensive having Perth and country rail stations as terminal locations. From 1928 until the 1970s (excluding a hiatus from 1929 to c. 1933 , due to the Great Depression ), WAGR ran "reso tours" as a way of publicising WA's natural resources , and
6586-482: The same time the Albany Progress overnight train was still operating, making it possible to do a round trip by rail from Perth to Albany and bus from Albany to Perth via Bunbury. In the mid-1970s some services reflected where rail services had either closed or had ceased providing facilities for passengers, the following selection is not the total service at the time. There were also road-freight services, while
6675-578: The tours was that they included all food and accommodation; passengers slept on the train rather than in a separate hotel, and the trains were referred to as "hotels on wheels". Tours typically ran over a weekend, leaving on Friday evening and returning on Monday morning. There were longer tours; in 1961 an 18-day tour included Geraldton, Kalgoorlie, Bunbury , Katanning and Pemberton. Until 1951, most steam locomotives were painted black. From that date, locomotives used on passenger services were painted green. The early diesel locomotives were painted green, with
6764-422: The tractive effort of the largest conventional locomotives of railways that introduced them, reducing the need for multiple locomotives and crews. The principal benefit of the Garratt design is that the boiler and firebox unit are slung between the two engine units. A further advantage is that the firebox and ashpan are not restricted in dimensions by running gear; the ashpan can have much larger capacity than on
6853-1019: The two foot gauge lines in South Africa, several successive classes of Garratts were made, of which the NG G16 became the most powerful steam locomotive ever built for the gauge. Some of these were imported to Wales for the Welsh Highland Railway . Sudan operated at least one 4-6-4+4-6-4 Garratt. Burma had 43 metre gauge Garratts. Five B class 2-8-0+0-8-2 Garratts went to the Burma Railway Company between 1924 and 1927, with seven more built by Krupp of Germany in 1929. They were followed by 31 locomotives transferred from India for War Department service: ten 2-8-0+0-8-2 locomotives, class GB (ex-Indian class MWGL); twelve 2-8-2+2-8-2 locomotives of class GC (ex-Indian class MWGH); and nine 4-8-2+2-8-4 locomotives of class GD (ex-Indian class MWGX). A class of four 4-8-2+2-8-4 locomotives,
6942-502: Was accepted, and two locomotives were built in 1909, which became the K class . The Tasmanian Railways stipulated two features that were not in Herbert Garratt's original concept. The first was a compound configuration in which two high-pressure cylinders were on the rear engine unit and a pipe led to two larger, low-pressure cylinders on the front engine unit. The second was to have the cylinders facing inwards, which would reduce
7031-494: Was built for the Indian State in 1925. The 5 ft 6 in gauge Bengal Nagpur Railway had 32 Garratts: a pair of HSG class 2-8-0+0-8-2 locomotives built in 1925; 16 N class and 10 NM class 4-8-0+0-8-4 locomotives built in 1930–31 and four P class 4-8-2+2-8-4 locomotives built in 1939. The metre gauge Assam-Bengal Railway had six T class 2-6-2+2-6-2 locomotives built in 1927. They later became
7120-425: Was cancelled at the end of the war. The locomotives were built by the WAGR's Midland Railway Workshops (10), the Victorian Railways ' Newport Workshops (12), the South Australian Railways ' Islington Railway Workshops (13), and Clyde Engineering , Sydney (22). Because of differences between the states, especially in regard to loading gauges , the sharpness of curves, and axle load, especially in Queensland,
7209-824: Was introduced for locomotives. In the late 1990s, this was superseded by a yellow and blue livery. The WAGR operated a large number of unique steam, diesel and electric locomotive classes. Most of the steam locomotives were built in the United Kingdom, with the WAGR's Midland Railway Workshops building some from 1915. The early diesels were mainly built by Beyer, Peacock and Company in England, Clyde Engineering in Sydney , and English Electric in Brisbane . Later diesels were assembled in Perth. The WAGR built much of its carriage and wagon stock at
7298-517: Was produced with compound propulsion (by Beyer, Peacock & Co. in 1927 for Burma Railways ). The company built no more Garratts with inward-facing cylinders, but two Garratts operated by the Southern Fuegian tourist railway at Ushuaia in Argentina, largely based on the K class, have that feature. Early design and construction difficulties involved the steam-tight flexible connections between
7387-549: Was renamed a number of times to reflect extra responsibility for tram and ferry operations that it assumed and later relinquished. Westrail was the trading name of the WAGR from September 1975 until December 2000, when the WAGR's freight division and the Westrail brand were privatised. Its remaining passenger operations were transferred to the Public Transport Authority in July 2003. The WAGR had its origins in 1879, when
7476-565: Was responsible for managing the state's rail infrastructure. It operated urban and regional passenger and freight services throughout Western Australia. In Perth, Westrail provided the metropolitan area rail service, under contract to another arm of the State government. Its country passenger services involved the operation of both trains and road coaches. In October 1987, it was announced by Premier Brian Burke and Federal Minister for Land Transport & Infrastructure Support , Peter Duncan , that
7565-532: Was seconded to lead a team of engineers in Melbourne to design the new locomotive. The Queensland Railways were vocal opponents, stating its preference for a modified version of its C17 class . The result was the Australian Standard Garratt locomotive. The first was built in a record-breaking four months, entering service in September 1943. Only 57 ASGs were completed; assembly of the remaining eight
7654-657: Was the Caminhos de Ferro de Luanda , which bought six 4-8-2+2-8-4 locomotives (501–506) from Beyer, Peacock in 1949, and six more (551–556) from Krupp of Germany in 1954. The third user was the Caminhos de Ferro de Moçâmedes , who bought six 4-8-2+2-8-4 locomotives (101–106) from Henschel & Son of Germany. Garratts operated on 3 ft 6 in ( 1,067 mm ) gauge through trains from South Africa to Rhodesia. Kenya and Uganda Railways and Harbours , which operated railways in British East Africa and
7743-517: Was the fact that the firebox door opened flat on the floor of the driving cab, maximising heat radiation into the crew compartment. This resulted in them having fairly short lives with most withdrawn by the mid-1950s. Some were resold for use on the Emu Bay and Fyansford Cement Works Railways where they would have more successful careers. The Queensland Railways purchased 23. One was never used and another saw only two months service. In September 1945,
7832-654: Was the highest posting at the Midland Railway Workshops , which in turn managed (through construction, repair and design) all aspects of railway maintenance and equipment. The post was established in 1900 and abandoned in 1989. A number of former WAGR locomotives and rolling stock types, as well as many examples of WAGR architecture and railway infrastructure have been preserved, with the Hotham Valley Railway and Rail Heritage WA holding extensive collections. Some items are preserved interstate, notably by
7921-474: Was used on all signs, buildings and printed material. The Westrail logo incorporated a stylised ⟨W⟩ surmounted by a solid bar representing a railway track. Between the bar and the ⟨W⟩ was the word ⟨Westrail⟩ . In July 1997, a yellow with blue livery was unveiled when the first Q class diesel-electric locomotive was delivered. A range of committees of inquiry as well as Royal Commissions were conducted on aspects of
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