WAGR C class (1880)
| WAGR C class (1880) | |
|---|---|
|
C 1 on display at Perth railway station, 1956. | |
| Type and origin | |
| Power type | Steam |
| Builder | Robert Stephenson and Company, England |
| Serial number | 2390-91 |
| Build date | 1880 |
| Rebuilder | Western Australian Government Railways |
| Rebuild date | 1885-87 |
| Number rebuilt | 2 |
| Specifications | |
| Configuration | 0-6-0T |
| Gauge | 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) |
| Driver diameter | 36 in (0.914 m) |
| Wheelbase | 10 ft 6 in (3.20 m) (pre-rebuild) |
| Length | 23 ft 3 1⁄2 in (7.10 m) (pre-rebuild) |
| Axle load | 6.5 long tons (6.6 t) |
| Locomotive weight | 19 long tons 4 cwt (19.5 t) (pre-rebuild) |
| Tender weight | 5 long tons 19 1⁄2 cwt (6.07 t) |
| Locomotive and tender combined weight | 25 long tons 3 1⁄2 cwt (25.58 t) (post-rebuild) |
| Tender type | Two-axle |
| Fuel type | Coal (originally wood) |
| Fuel capacity |
0.95 long tons (0.97 t) (pre-rebuild) 1.25 long tons (1.27 t) (post-rebuild) |
| Water capacity |
350 imp gal (1,600 l; 420 US gal) (pre-rebuild) 950 imp gal (4,300 l; 1,140 US gal) |
| Tender capacity | 600 imp gal (2,700 l; 720 US gal) of water and 1.25 long tons (1.27 t) of coal |
| Boiler pressure | 130 psi (896 kPa) |
| Cylinders | Two, outside |
| Cylinder size | 10.5 in × 18 in (267 mm × 457 mm) |
| Performance figures | |
| Tractive effort | 5,292 lbf (23.54 kN) |
| Locomotive brake | Hand |
| Train brakes | Vacuum |
| Career | |
| Operator(s) | Western Australian Government Railways |
| Number in class | 2 |
| Number(s) | C1, C2 |
| Nicknames | Katie (C1) |
| Locale | Perth, Western Australia |
| Delivered | 1880 |
| First run | 1881 |
| Retired | 1899 |
| Withdrawn | 1899 |
| Preserved | 1 |
| Restored | 1956 |
| Current owner | Australian Railway Historical Society West Australian Division |
| Disposition | Static display |
| Similar to NZR F class | |
The first WAGR C Class (1880) was a class of steam locomotive used by the Western Australian Government Railways, and were the first class used by the railway around Perth. Built by Robert Stephenson and Company in 1880 to the same design as the NZR F class, of which the company had built three and would later go on to build another nine for NZR and the Westport Harbour Board.
The two locomotives arrived in Perth in 1880-81 and were in service on the Fremantle to Guildford railway by 1881 as the C class with road numbers C1 and C2. As the Perth railway network grew it became clear that the C class had insufficient fuel capacity for such long distances. Both were then rebuilt as 0-6-0STT saddle-tank tender engines with a small four-wheeled tender. This conversion necessitated the removal of the back cab wall. The original coal bunkers and cab front were retained although the bunkers were not used for coal storage.[1]
The conversion of C1 was necessitated both through this insufficient capacity and also due to its having been involved in an accident in a crash near Boya in 1885. It was recovered and transported back to the Midland railway workshops but did not re-enter service until 1887, when it emerged with its new tender. It had also been fitted with vacuum brakes.[2]
Unlike the NZR locomotives, some of which had service lives of over 80 years, the C class were relatively quickly withdrawn. C1 was first to be withdrawn in 1899 and was sold into industrial service after just 19 years with the WAGR. C2 followed shortly after but was not onsold and was presumably scrapped.
Preservation
C1 was withdrawn in 1899 and sold to Westralian Jarrah Forests Ltd who then used it at their Greenbushes sawmill, where it was named 'Katie'. It was later onsold and ended up working for Bunning Brothers at Nyamup, who used it last in 1940. However, C1 was not scrapped and instead remained at Nyamup until WAGR purchased it back in 1956 and restored it at their Midland Workshops. It was then placed on display at Perth railway station during Show Week 1956, and remained there until 1959 when it was placed in the Railway Exhibition Hall at Claremont Showgrounds in 1959 under the care of the Rail Heritage WA group.[2]
C1 'Katie' passed into the care of the Australian Railway Historical Society, West Australia Division in 1970 and was transferred to the Bassendean Railway Museum in Perth, where it is now on static display.[3] It has since been repainted in all-over black as opposed to the original livery from the 1956 restoration, which appears to be green.
Similarity to the NZR F class
The WAGR C class was built to the same design as the New Zealand Railways F class, of which 88 locomotives were built between 1872 and 1888 by seven different companies. While both designs were initially similar, the NZR F class locomotives built by Stephensons were later rebuilt with modified cabs to the design of the Neilson & Co.-built engines. The boilers were also modified with a taller dome and firebox-mounted safety valves. None of the F class were ever fitted with tenders either as their use after 1900 was limited mostly to shunting.
The F class engines were all fitted with cowcatchers and also later fitted with Westinghouse continuous air-brakes. Those which survived into the 1950s were fitted with Pyle National turbogenerators to power the locomotive's head and tail lights. The C class engines by comparison were retrofitted with vacuum brakes and retained oil or acetylene headlights until withdrawal, and do not appear to have ever been fitted with cowcatchers.
The closest preserved F class locomotive to C1 is F 233 'Ada' (Stephenson 2593/1885), owned by the Railway Enthusiasts Society and stored at the Pukeoware workshops of their Glenbrook Vintage Railway in South Auckland. This locomotive was also sold into industry and worked for the Southdown Freezing Works in Auckland, who fitted it with a simpler-design saddle tank. It was donated to the RES in 1964 and displayed outside their clubrooms, the former Onehunga Railway Station until 1984 when it moved to the GVR for storage and eventual restoration.[4]
See also
- NZR F class - the original design on which the WAGR C class were based and built as early as 1872.
- Rail transport in Western Australia
- List of Western Australian locomotive classes
References
- ↑ Austin, Jeff (2006). "Locomotive C1 - Katie". In Geoffry Higham. All Stations to Guildford - 125 years of the Fremantle to Guildford Railway. Bassendean: Rail Heritage WA. Published in 2006 to mark the 125th anniversary of the opening of the Fremantle-Perth-Guildford railway in Western Australia
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "C Class steam locomotive: C 1 Katie". Rail Heritage WA.
- ↑ "West Australian Government Railways". Australian Steam.
- ↑ "Steam Locomotives Register". New Zealand Rolling Stock Register.
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