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W 931 In storage at the Pichi Richi Railway |
W 931 is seen outside the PRR workshops on 28 March 2011, in company of W 916 (as W 22) and W 933.
This photo was kindly contributed by Glenn Harris.
W 931 was built by Beyer Peacock & Co, Manchester (builder's number 7408 of 1951) and entered service in December 1951 as one of sixty "W-class" 4-8-2 locomotives delivered to the Western Australian Government Railways for light lines service. The W-class proved to be highly successful locomotives, displacing older O-class 2-8-0T+T and G-class 2-6-0 & 4-6-0 types on secondary lines and augmenting the V and S-classes on main line duties.
W 931 was one of the final 19 class members on the WAGR books when officially withdrawn in August 1972, although it had probably been in storage prior to this. W 931 was
of the final steam locomotives in WAGR storage when acquired by the Pichi Richi Railway in 1980 and transferred to South Australia. (Unfortunately the final two W-class locomotives in WAGR storage were not so lucky; sisters W 906 and W 958 were scrapped in 1980.)W 931 has also been stored at the Pichi Richi Railway since acquired for preservation, spending many years in the long-term storage shed where it has been protected from the elements (but where photography is very challenging!) The boiler clothing and miscellaneous fittings have been removed at some stage, but otherwise W 931 remains much in "as received" condition.
While W 931 was acquired as a potential donor of heavy spares, it is conceivable that it may be restored in its own right at some stage in the future.
W 931 ventured outside the long term storage shed in March 2011 and was photographed outside the Pichi Richi Railway workshops by Glenn Harris in company with some of its sister W-class locomotives, as seen above.
References
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a |
A. Gunzburg 'A history of WAGR steam locomotives', published by ARHS (Western Australian Division) 1984. |
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Page updated: 25 October 2014