This photograph is kindly provided by Brett Mohen and shows W 945 on 4 October 2009.

W 945 was built by Beyer Peacock & Co, Manchester (builder's number 7457 of 1952) 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.

An interesting feature of this locomotive design was the sloping cab front which was parallel with the boiler / firebox back plate; this minimised the area of boiler that was within the cab.  Anyone who has been in the cab of a steam locomotive during the heat of the Australian summer would appreciate this feature!

Most WAGR W-class locomotives were withdrawn in June 1971 and joined the long lines of modern steam power that were cut up for scrap at Midland Workshops, however 19 class members (W 901 / 905 / 906 / 907 / 909 / 914 / 916 / 919 / 924 / 927 / 929 / 931 / 933 / 934 / 941 / 953 / 954 / 958 & 959) were retained a little longer until officially withdrawn in August 1972.  Several W-class locomotives remained in storage during the 1970's (together with a handful of V and S-class locomotives) and many of these were subsequently acquired for preservation.  The last two remaining in WAGR storage (W 906 and W 958) were cut up for scrap in 1980.

W 945 entered preservation in July 1977 when sold to the Pinjarra Steam & Hills Preservation Society (now known as the Hotham Valley Tourist Railway). It was restored at their Pinjarra depot for tourist operations and now carries the name 'Banksiadale' in the HVTR fleet.

The webmaster enjoyed a visit to the HVTR on 12 May 2002, capturing this view of

Page updated:  29 October 2014