The WAGR N class was a class of

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 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) from 1896 until 1960.

History

In September 1896, five

Neilson & Co Neilson may refer to: Places * Zec Batiscan-Neilson, in the Portneuf Regional County Municipality, Quebec, Canada * Neilson Township, in Portneuf Regional County Municipality, Quebec, Canada * Neilson River (Bras du Nord), Saint-Raymond, Portneuf ...

built N class entered service hauling suburban trains around

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 is ...

between

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for ...

and

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 Gr ...

and on the

Kalgoorlie Kalgoorlie is a city in the Goldfields–Esperance region of Western Australia, located east-northeast of Perth at the end of the Great Eastern Highway. It is sometimes referred to as Kalgoorlie–Boulder, as the surrounding urban area includ ...

Boulder In geology, a boulder (or rarely bowlder) is a rock fragment with size greater than in diameter. Smaller pieces are called cobbles and pebbles. While a boulder may be small enough to move or roll manually, others are extremely massive. In c ...

loop.

Robert Stephenson & Co The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

built a further twelve in 1898/99 and Nasmyth, Wilson & Co a further fifteen in 1901. In 1907/08 a further ten were added, when 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 ...

converted ten O class. With the cessation of suburban services in Kalgoorlie, all were transferred to Perth. Most remained in service until replaced by Dm and Dd class locomotives in the 1940s and ADH class diesel multiple units in the 1950s. The last two were withdrawn in September 1960. N201 has been preserved at the

Western Australian Rail Transport Museum The Railway Museum, also known as the Rail Transport Museum, is situated in Bassendean, Western Australia. It is run by the Western Australian division of the Australian Railway Historical Society (ARHS), which is called Rail Heritage WA. In th ...

.N Class Suburban Tank Locomotive
Rail Heritage WA

Class list

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

Namesake

The N class designation was reused in the 1970s when the N class diesel locomotives entered service.

References

Notes

Cited works

External links

{{WAGR Locomotives Nasmyth, Wilson and Company locomotives Neilson locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1896 Robert Stephenson and Company locomotives N WAGR class 3 ft 6 in gauge locomotives of Australia 4-4-4T locomotives Passenger locomotives