The K-class was a class of 2-8-4T steam locomotives of 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 ...

History

Between October 1893 and August 1898, the WAGR took delivery of 24 K class locomotives from Neilson & Co. They entered service on the Eastern Railway between

Midland Junction Midland is a suburb in the Perth metropolitan region, as well as the regional centre for the City of Swan local government area that covers the Swan Valley and parts of the Darling Scarp to the east. It is situated at the intersection of G ...

and Northam. In 1902, they were displaced from this work by the F class. They then mainly operated freight services on the

Collie Collies form a distinctive type of herding dogs, including many related landraces and standardized breeds. The type originated in Scotland and Northern England. Collies are medium-sized, fairly lightly-built dogs, with pointed snouts. Man ...

line and within

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

, although they did operate

Royal Perth Show The Perth Royal Show is an annual agricultural show held in Perth, Western Australia at the Claremont Showground. It features informational exhibits, agricultural competitions and animal showcases, a sideshow alley and rides, and showbags. It ...

and raceday special passenger services. In 1915, two were repowered with

superheated A superheater is a device used to convert saturated steam or wet steam into superheated steam or dry steam. Superheated steam is used in steam turbines for electricity generation, steam engines, and in processes such as steam reforming. There are ...

boilers. A further three followed, but all were converted back by 1937. Further reboilerings increased power output by a quarter. Six examples originally intended for the WAGR were purchased by the British Government and sent to South Africa to ease a shortage being encountered by the

Imperial Military Railways The Central South African Railways (CSAR) was from 1902 to 1910 the operator of public railways in the Transvaal Colony and Orange River Colony in what is now South Africa. During the Anglo-Boer War, as British forces moved into the territory of ...

as a result of the

Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sou ...

where they became the C class.

Class lists

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

Namesakes

The K class designation was previously used by the K class that was reclassified as the L class. It was reused in the 1960s when the K class diesel locomotives entered service.

References

Notes

Cited works

External links

{{WAGR Locomotives Neilson locomotives Neilson Reid locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1893 K WAGR class (1893) 2-8-4T locomotives 3 ft 6 in gauge locomotives of Australia Mixed traffic locomotives