The M class are a class of diesel-hydraulic locomotives built by

Walkers Limited Walkers Limited was an Australian engineering company, based in Maryborough, Queensland. It built ships and railway locomotives. The Walkers factory still produces railway locomotives and rolling stock as part of Downer Rail. History In ...

, Maryborough for 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 ...

in 1972–1973.

History

had previously supplied similar locomotives to the

Emu Bay Railway The Emu Bay Railway was a Tasmania, Australian railway company. The railway was significant during full operation, in that it linked the Tasmanian Government Railways system at Burnie with that at Zeehan that further linked to the Mount Lyel ...

(as the 11 class),

Queensland Railways Queensland Rail (QR) is a railway operator in Queensland, Australia. Owned by the Queensland Government, it operates local and long-distance passenger services, as well as owning and maintaining approximately 6,600 kilometres of track and relate ...

(as the DH class) and the

New South Wales Government Railways The New South Wales Government Railways (NSWGR) was the agency of the Government of New South Wales that administered rail transport in New South Wales, Australia, between 1855 and 1932. Management The agency was managed by a range of differen ...

(as the 73 class). The first two members were purchased for use in hump shunting at Forrestfield yard. In 1973 a further three were purchased. These differed in having Caterpillar engines, were much lighter and could operate in multiple with each other. These were designated as the MA class. In January 1994, four were written off and later sold to CSR for use on its sugar cane railways in

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

. MA1862 remained in service with

Transperth Transperth is the brand name of the public transport system serving the city and suburban areas of Perth, the state capital of Western Australia. It is managed by the Public Transport Authority (PTA), a state government organisation. Train op ...

as the Claisebrook depot shunter until 2014. In 2015, it was sold to the

Hotham Valley Railway The Hotham Valley Tourist Railway (commonly Hotham Valley Railway) is a tourist and heritage railway in the Peel region of Western Australia. The railway operates over a 32 kilometre section of the original Pinjarra to Narrogin railway line ...

. In 1996, M1851 was sold and returned to Walkers for conversion to a locomotive for further use hauling sugar trains in Queensland. It remained in service in 2014."Image" ''

Railway Digest ''Railway Digest'' is a monthly magazine, published in Sydney, covering contemporary railways of Australia. Overview The magazine's publisher is the Australian Railway Historical Society (ARHS), NSW Division. The first issue was published in ...

'' December 2014 page 17

References

External links

{{WAGR Locomotives, state=collapsed B-B locomotives Diesel-hydraulic locomotives of Australia Diesel locomotives of Western Australia Railway locomotives introduced in 1972 Walkers Limited locomotives 3 ft 6 in gauge locomotives of Australia 610 mm gauge locomotives