The Westland

Not to be confused with The Westlander, a Queensland train, or the journal The Westland

The Westland
X1001 Yalagonga, with a Westland nameplate in 1954.
Overview
Status	Superseded
Locale	Western Australia
First service	4 June 1938[1]
Last service	15 June 1969
Current operator(s)	Western Australian Government Railways
Route
Start	Perth Railway Station
End	Kalgoorlie railway station
Service frequency	Daily each way
On-board services
Class(es)	First and second class
Technical
Track gauge	1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)

The Westland was the name given in 1938 to the overnight train operated by the Western Australian Government Railways with sitting and sleeping cars between Perth and Kalgoorlie, where it connected with the Trans-Australian Railway service to the eastern states of Australia.

Railway

The Perth to Kalgoorlie railway was built to the 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) gauge, and opened in 1897, following the discovery of massive gold deposits.^[2] However, it was not until 1917 that the thousand miles of standard gauge railway between Kalgoorlie and Port Augusta, South Australia was completed as a condition of Western Australia's joining the newly federated Australian colonies in the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901.^[3]

Kalgoorlie Express

A WAGR P class locomotive with the Kalgoorlie Express at Kalgoorlie railway station, 1935.

From 24 October 1917, the Kalgoorlie Express connected with the new Trans Australian Express, and a separate overnight express between Perth and Kalgoorlie for Interstate passengers and mail was introduced by the WAGR in May 1921.^[4] The train ran three times a week, was not officially named, although named in the press.^[5]

It included sitting and sleeping cars (both first and second class), and a dining car was attached between Perth and Northam. This served dinner on the eastbound service, and was attached to the westbound service for breakfast. Refreshment Rooms were also provided at major stations for passengers wishing to purchase cheaper snacks and drinks.

The twenty-year-old E class locomotives initially assigned to haul the train were replaced in 1924 with the larger P class locomotives imported from North British Locomotive Works in Glasgow.^[6] Ten new first class sleeping cars were built by the WAGR Midland Workshops in 1928 to improve accommodation on the train.^[7]

As part of a concerted effort by the various State railway systems to reduce Interstate travel times after the Depression, in 1938, the WAGR gave the express a makeover, renaming it The Westland, and using the ten new Pr Class 4-6-2 pacific-type locomotives built at the Midland Workshops. The new locomotives represented a vast improvement over the older P class locomotives and were named after West Australian rivers.^[8] Only two of these locomotives were available at The Westland's inception, though the Westland used the Pr locomotives almost exclusively until dieselisation during the mid-1950s.^[9] The train included a lounge car but the carriages were still timber bodied, and most still had end platforms.

Post war

As with other interstate trains in Australia, facilities were downgraded during the Second World War, but were re-instated in 1946. In 1948, six new, all-steel first class sleeping cars were built for the train, and included hot and cold water and a shower compartment. The other carriages were thoroughly refurbished at the same time, and a re-launching ceremony was held on 28 March 1948.^[10] This was to be the last improvement to the train for twenty years, although the introduction of the X class diesel-electric locomotives in 1954 marginally reduced traveling time.

Demise

The Westland was replaced by through standard gauge services from the eastern States, following the construction of a new standard gauge line between Perth and Kalgoorlie. These were the luxurious Indian Pacific and the Trans Australian. But right up to that time drinking water in the second class sleepers was provided for passengers from water bags slung from the carriage platform railing, and a stack of fire wood was kept on the platform of the dining car to fuel its stoves. The last run of The Westland was on 15 June 1969.

The standard gauge line followed new route through the Avon Valley of the Darling Scarp east of Perth. This was the first section of the new line to be constructed, tracks on this section being dual gauge (1067 and 1435mm). For a short time before its demise, The Westland was routed via the new Avon Valley line, and the original ascent of the Darling Scarp via the Swan View Tunnel and Chidlow was closed.

Local standard gauge services between Perth and Kalgoorlie are provided by a fast daylight railcar service named The Prospector, now operated by Transwa.

See also

• Eastern Railway (Western Australia)

References

Further reading