The WAGR Msa class was a class of

Garratt A Garratt (often referred to as a Beyer Garratt) is a type of 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 ...

-type

articulated An articulated vehicle is a vehicle which has a permanent or semi-permanent pivot joint in its construction, allowing it to turn more sharply. There are many kinds, from heavy equipment to buses, trams and trains. Steam locomotives were someti ...

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...

s. The class was built at the

Midland Railway Workshops The Midland Railway Workshops in Midland, Western Australia, were the main workshops for the Western Australian Government Railways (WAGR) for over 80 years. History The first railway workshops in Western Australia were located at Fremantle an ...

and operated by the

Western Australian Government Railways 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 responsi ...

(WAGR) between 1930 and 1963. It was the first Garatt type to be designed and constructed entirely in Australia. Western Australian Government Railways class Msa Garratt articulated steam locomotive -- elevation and plan drawing

Western Australian Government Railways class Msa Garratt articulated steam locomotive -- elevation and plan drawing

History

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 The Darling Scarp, also referred to as the Darling Range or Darling Ranges, is a low escarpment running north–south to the east of the Swan Coastal Plain and Perth, Western Australia. The escarpment extends generally north of Bindoon, to th ...

; as well as those with steep inclines such as those on the

Mundaring Weir Mundaring Weir is a dam (and historically the adjoining locality) located from Perth, Western Australia in the Darling Scarp. The dam and reservoir form the boundary between the suburbs of Reservoir and Sawyers Valley. The dam impounds the Hele ...

, Nannup, and

Flinders Bay Flinders Bay is a bay and locality that is immediately south of the townsite of Augusta, and close to the mouth of the Blackwood River. The locality and bay lies to the north east of Cape Leeuwin which is the most south-westerly mainland poin ...

lines. In their later years, the boiler pressure was reduced to match that of the M/Ms class. By this stage they had been concentrated on the Bunbury to Boyup Brook and Pinjarra to Boddington lines. Hearsay evidence suggests that the poor quality of the boilers in the Msa rendered some inoperable by the late 1940s. The last remaining Msa was awaiting moving to a preservation status in the adjacent to the

, when instructions were misunderstood by a scrap metal company employee, and it was cut up.

Class list

The numbers and periods in service of each member of the Msa class were as follows:

References

Notes

Bibliography

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External links