The WAGR Msa class was a class of
Garratt-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 sometim ...
steam locomotives. 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 a ...
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.
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 t ...
; 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 Hel ...
,
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
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 a ...
, 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:
See also
*
Rail transport in Western Australia
*
List of Western Australian locomotive classes
This is a list of Western Australian locomotive classes, being classes of locomotive that have worked on railways in Western Australia.
The majority of Western Australian steam locomotive classes were operated by the Western Australian Governm ...
References
Notes
Bibliography
*
*
External links
{{WAGR Locomotives , state=collapsed
Garratt locomotives
Railway locomotives introduced in 1930
Msa class
2-6-0+0-6-2 locomotives
3 ft 6 in gauge locomotives of Australia
Freight locomotives
Scrapped locomotives