K 37 (with spark-arresting chimney) heads a train of water pipes
for construction of the Mundaring-Kalgoorlie
pipeline.
I love this photo, which equally captures
the K-class in their original main-line freight role, while also referencing the
vital water pipeline built
to support the expanding Kalgoorlie
goldfields and the WA gold boom – key infrastructure and milestones in the State’s
development.
Image used with permission of the Rail
Heritage WA archive:
http://railheritagewa.org.au/archive_scans/displayimage.php?pid=26734
(Image reference P20254.)
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The 24 members of the K-class were
introduced for main-line freight duties on the Eastern Goldfields Railway,
being the first 8-coupled locos on the WAGR and the most powerful
locomotive in Western Australia at time with 50% greater tractive effort
than existing WAGR freight types. The class were an immediate success, achieving
significantly reduced operating expenses.
The K-class were provided with saturated
steam boilers and slide valves, both features being typical of the time of their
construction. 5 locos were rebuilt with superheated boilers in 1915-16 but proved
not very successful, including the common issue of hot, dry superheated steam
causing lubrication issues with slide valves, and the superheated locos
ultimately returned to saturated steam configuration.
Following the success of these heavy main-line
2-8-4T locos, the O-class 2-8-0T+T design followed in 1896, conceived as a
light-lines version of the K-class for use on routes laid with lighter rails,
although the types differed in many technical details.
The first K-class members were written off
in 1926, having been superseded in main-line work by the F-class 4-8-0’s,
but many found further use in shunting service though to the mid-1950’s,
with some lasting into the early 1960’s. Records show that K 190 was the
last of the class to be written off (on 7 December 1964) although photos
show examples lingering on the Midland Junction scrap roads for several years
after. While at least one was marked “Not to be cut up” (as per photograph below)
it seems that literacy was not a requirement for employment in the Midland Workshops
cutting crew, and the K-class were consigned to history in one of the clean-outs
of redundant steam locos – possibly in the same SNAFU that claimed the last
of the M / Ms / Msa Garratt locos, one of which
was also earmarked as retained for preservation.
I recall talking with volunteer at the Railway
Museum, Bassendean who told me of his days driving K-class locos in
shunting and local trip freight workings around Perth. It is tempting to
think of the K-class in this humble shunting role, but from a ferroequinological perspective they should be
remembered as main line heavy freight locos entrusted with the most
important duties of their day, bringing operational and cost efficiencies and leading the way for later 8-coupled
designs. It is a pity that none were saved for posterity; perhaps one day
someone with knowledge of the goings-on at Midland Workshops in the late
1960’s will provide further information on the accidental cutting-up of steam
locos ostensibly intended for preservation.
Central South African Railways
C-class
An interesting side note concerns the fate
of 6 K-class locos originally ordered by the WAGR, which were urgently
diverted to South Africa for use in the Boer War, under an agreement
brokered by the British Imperial Military Railways. These six locos
(Neilson B/Nos. 5897 - 5902) eventually became the Central South African
Railways (CSAR) C-class, numbered 203 – 208.
The type didn’t last long in government
service in South Africa, being withdrawn as early as 1911 – perhaps
reflecting their status as a small number of non-standard machines. Three locos
found further use in industry, including Nos.204 and 208 at the Clydesdale
Colliery. Here No.204 lasted until 1972, outlasting the WAGR locos by several
years. Alas I understand this locomotive has since been scrapped, thus
rendering the type extinct on both continents.
Information about
the CASR C-class can be found in one of most the treasured books in the
webmaster’s library, ‘Railways of Southern Africa 150 years’ by J. A.
Dulez, as referenced below. This work provides a richly illustrated treasure
trove of steam locomotive design and evolution, including many designs similar to those found in Australia. While the CASR
C-class / WAGR K-class 2-8-4T design found limited success in South Africa,
similar Scottish-built 4-8-2T locos achieved popularity in both main line
and industrial usage, such as the 100 members of the South African Railways
A-Class dating from 1888. Indeed one example – A-class
No 196 (Dubs b/n 3819 of 1899) was repatriated to the UK in 2011 by the North
British Locomotive Preservation Society and can today be seen displayed at
the Mizens Railway, near Woking, Surrey.
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Builder’s photo of K 112 with lovely copperplate writing listing
the loco’s key dimensions; this engine was renumbered K 191 before entering
service.
Some likeness to the O-class (conceived
as a light lines variant of the K-class, with weight transferred to the tender)
is apparent.
Image used with permission of the Rail
Heritage WA archive:
http://railheritagewa.org.au/archive_scans/displayimage.php?pid=8
(Image reference P00008.)
K 40 (Neilson b/n 4605 of 1893) seen in storage at Midland
Junction loco sheds on 10 May 1964.
This locomotive is recorded as written-off
on 1 August 1963, leaving K 190 as the last on the books.
Stencilled on the side tank is “Written
Off – Not to be Cut Up” but alas it seems the Midland Workshops scrap gang were
legibly challenged.
Image used with permission
of the Rail Heritage WA archive:
http://railheritagewa.org.au/archive_scans/displayimage.php?pid=17191
(Image reference P03396, original photographer - Unknown L.
Poole collection.)
O 218 photographed at
Northam loco shed on 21 May 1967, where it had found final use as the shed’s
steam cleaning loco.
Some similarity to the K-class is
apparent. (The tender is piled high with coal and the loco is gleaming in fresh
black paint,
but the connecting rods aren’t fitted; it
seems the loco has been taken out of storage and prepared for inspection.)
While the K-class are extinct, O 218 was saved for preservation.
Image used with permission of the Rail
Heritage WA archive:
http://railheritagewa.org.au/archive_scans/displayimage.php?pid=7282
(Image reference P11473, original
photographer P. Hopper.)
A pleasing broadside
view of K 190 shunting near Fremantle Loco Depot on 7 May 1962.
Image
used with permission of the Rail Heritage WA
archive:
http://railheritagewa.org.au/archive_scans/displayimage.php?pid=12093
(Image reference T03484,
original photographer. R. Taylor.)
References
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a
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A. Gunzburg
'A history of WAGR steam locomotives',
published
by ARHS (Western Australian Division) 1984.
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b
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Gray. W. K.,
'Guide to Rail Transport Museum,
Bassendean, Western Australia',
Australian Railway Historical Society W. A.
Division,
First Edition November 1999.
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c
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Rail Heritage WA website, Photo Archive,
(via various
images as represented on this page)
retrieved 6 January 2023
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d
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Dulez, J.A., ‘Railways of Southern Africa 150 years’,
Published by VIDRAIL Productions, 2012. (pp.33 – 34)
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e
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Website ‘Old Steam locomotives in South Africa’
https://steam-locomotives-south-africa.blogspot.com/2014/12/mizens-railway-dubs-no-3819-sar-class-4.html?m=0
retrieved 30 April 2023
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Page updated: 30 April 2023