WAGR X class

The WAGR X class is a now-withdrawn class of diesel locomotives built by Beyer, Peacock & Company and Metropolitan-Vickers, Bowesfield Works, Stockton-on-Tees for the Western Australian Government Railways (WAGR) between 1954 and 1956. Several members of the class have been preserved.

WAGR X class
Preserved XA 1401 at the Hotham Valley Railway in July 2011
Type and origin Power type Diesel-electric Builder Beyer, Peacock Metropolitan-Vickers Serial number 830–877 Build date 1954–1956 Total produced 48
Specifications Configuration: ​  • UIC 2′Do2′ Gauge 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) Length 14.63 m (48 ft 0 in) Loco weight 80 t (79 long tons; 88 short tons) Fuel type Diesel Prime mover Crossley HST-Vee8 Engine type Two-stroke V8 diesel Aspiration Exhaust pulse-charged Generator MV TG4203 Traction motors MV136 Cylinders 8
Performance figures Maximum speed 89 km/h (55 mph) Power output 779 kW (1,045 bhp)
Career Operators Western Australian Government Railways Number in class 48 Numbers X 1001–X 1032 XA 1401–XA 1416 Nicknames Hummingbirds Submarines First run 4 May 1954 Retired 31 March 1988 Preserved X 1001 XA 1401 XA 1402 XA 1405 XA 1411 XA 1415 Disposition 6 preserved, remainder scrapped

Construction

In the early 1950s the Western Australian Government Railways placed the largest single Australian order for diesel locomotives, when it ordered 48 2-Do-2 locomotives from Beyer, Peacock and Company and Metropolitan-Vickers. All were delivered between 1954 and 1956.

The seeds for the construction of the class were laid in by the then WAGR Chief Mechanical Engineer, Tom Marsland, with a proposal for the acquisition of 87 diesel locomotives, including 3 small jetty shunters, 18 diesel shunters and 66 mainline locomotives, later reduced to 48 when railcars were selected for suburban service. The proposal developed further during discussions with Beyer, Peacock regarding issues with the design of the W Class locomotive.

Operation

XA 1402 at Forrestfield Yard in August 1987

The X class revolutionised operations on the WAGR. Their light axle load of less than 10 tons meant they could travel on all lines, and the dual cab arrangement eliminated the need for turning. They were quickly allocated to express passenger trains including the Albany Express, Australind, Kalgoorlie Express and The Westland. Although considered as good runners, the eight driving wheels being attached to the rigid main frame caused these locomotives to ride roughly.

The Crossley engine

At the time of construction, the HST-V8 was an untested concept, though the engine itself was an evolution of a design used successfully in patrol boats during World War Two. One line of thought is the motor was an evolution of either of the HRN8 marine diesel, or the HRP8 stationary diesel.

The engines used Crossley's system of exhaust pulse pressure charging and developed 1,200 horsepower (895 kW) at 625 rpm, though in 1981 they were down-rated to 875 hp at 600 rpm. There were no valves, and inlet and exhaust were via ports in the cylinder walls.

Failures commenced within weeks of the first locomotives being unveiled. It was only the skill of staff at WAGR's Midland Railway Workshops that saved the day. In their early days, availability was less than for steam.

The engines burnt and leaked oil, had underfed bearings, vibrated and popped heads and pistons, and suffered from ring scuffing for most of their lives. It was only the engineering excellence, and perseverance of Midland Railway Workshops staff that kept the locomotives operating, and performance improving. In the end, over 600 design faults, mainly in the Crossley engine, were overcome. One of the strategies used to minimise problems was to de-rate the engine to 1045 hp (officially quoted as 1000 hp).

Rumours persisted that the engine was either war surplus, or formerly from a sub-maritime application. Neither of these are correct, despite some publications suggesting this. The myth may have arisen from Crossley's success in delivering robust engines for marine and other modes of transport. Experience in Western Australia with both Metropolitan Vickers and Crossley engines was otherwise positive. It has been noted that the Irish Railways (CIÉ), through the respected Engineer Oliver Bulleid, had "heard" through the British Admiralty that the "Crossley unit gave no trouble".

The Smith Royal Commission into the class identified blind faith in the British manufacturers, and chided the WAGR for ignoring the advice of supervising engineers in the UK who reported problems with the diesel motor during testing. Whilst CIÉ re-engined their similarly powered Crossley 001 Class locomotives to rid themselves of the problem, The Smith Royal Commission recommended against rebuilding, proposing that the entire class be replaced wholesale. To be fair to the WAGR, they were not the only ones that rushed into buying unproven traction: British Railways also did the same, buying many different types of diesel locomotives from many different manufacturers in their haste to dieselise, including purchasing the unsuccessful Class 28 Co-Bo locomotives, which could be regarded as "first cousins" to the WAGR X class.

Multiple unit working

X 1007 in Bunbury

During construction, 16 locomotives were fitted with multiple unit control and denoted as XA class. These locomotives included communication doors at each end, and were numbered in a separate block starting from 1401.

From December 1963, Midland Workshops fitted 10 of the X class for multiple unit working, and these were reclassified as Xb class. Units so converted were not fitted with communication doors, and retained their original 10XX series numbers.

Other modifications

Whilst the class were built with locomotive pneumatic braking and train vacuum braking systems, during 1969 and 1970 eight XA class (1402, 1403, 1406, 1408, 1409, 1410, 1413 and 1416) were modified to operate with dual vacuum/air braking systems manufactured by Davies and Metcalfe to allow them to operate air-braked salt traffic on the Esperance Branch. This equipment was removed in the early 1980s, only to be reinstalled in XA 1406 (October 1986) and XA 1403 (November 1986) to allow these units to haul hired Queensland Rail SX carriages on suburban services.

End of career

In their final years, those still in service were reputed to have performed well. They ran grain trains in the South West as late as 1984, and provided power for trains following the reopening of the Fremantle line up to the last retirement in 1988.

The first were withdrawn in 1973, primarily as sources of spare parts. The last in service, XA1402 was withdrawn on 31 March 1988, after completing a transfer working.

The last to operate on the public network was XA1401, under the stewardship of Hotham Valley Railway, working a consist of sleeping cars back from Dowerin on 27 August 2004.

Names

The locomotives carried the names of Indigenous language groups, leaders and warriors from around Australia. However, confusion at the time resulted in several duplications and irregular spellings. Within the WAGR, proposals were made to code the class as "T", and for the class to be known as the "Tribal class". This was not adopted.

Within the WAGR, the class earned the nickname "Hummingbirds" due their distinctive engine noise, while they were called "Submarines" by rail enthusiasts due to the widely circulated myth that they had submarine engines.

Status list

The 48 locomotives were:

X Class

No. Locomotive Name Entered Service Converted to XB Written Off Status 1001 Yalagonga 8 March 1954 28 March 1983 Preserved by Rail Heritage WA, Bassendean on 7 April 1983 1002 Bibbulmun 20 April 1954 28 January 1983 Scrapped 1003 Ditu-Wonga 30 April 1954 12 February 1980 Scrapped 1004 Kadjerden 31 May 1954 15 July 1965 27 June 1983 Scrapped 1005 Meananger 26 June 1954 30 January 1985 Scrapped 1006 Nangamada 17 August 1954 27 February 1968 9 November 1985 Scrapped 1007 Natingaro 15 September 1954 30 March 1984 Scrapped 1008 Warrangoo 1 October 1954 12 December 1967 17 September 1985 Scrapped 1009 Arnga 9 December 1954 31 March 1980 Scrapped 1010 Arawodi 5 November 1954 29 May 1981 Scrapped 1011 Balgua 9 February 1954 31 March 1980 Scrapped 1012 Ballardong 14 December 1954 3 December 1982 Scrapped 1013 Boonara 23 December 1954 31 March 1980 Scrapped 1014 Churoro 11 February 1955 22 June 1983 Scrapped 1015 Cheangwa 11 February 1955 17 November 1976 Scrapped 1016 Djukin 11 February 1955 31 March 1980 Scrapped 1017 Ewenyoon 22 February 1955 15 May 1968 17 October 1986 Scrapped 1018 Inpirra 28 March 1955 20 February 1964 28 January 1986 Scrapped 1019 Ingarra 13 April 1955 31 March 1980 Scrapped 1020 Jargurdi 22 April 1955 16 December 1964 29 June 1983 Scrapped 1021 Jarroo 4 May 1955 30 March 1984 Scrapped 1022 Kardagur 1 June 1955 17 November 1967 9 November 1982 Scrapped 1023 Kariera 23 May 1955 8 of August 1984 Scrapped 1024 Kogara 26 May 1955 14 September 1966 27 March 1986 Scrapped 1025 Loonga 17 June 1955 30 June 1983 Scrapped 1026 Mangala 16 June 1955 9 November 1982 Scrapped 1027 Marangal 30 June 1955 29 March 1968 30 March 1984 Scrapped 1028 Meeraman 11 August 1955 30 June 1983 Scrapped 1029 Muliarra 8 July 1955 17 November 1976 Scrapped 1030 Mooroon 18 August 1955 9 December 1982 Scrapped 1031 Yauera 21 August 1956 28 January 1986 Scrapped 1032 Yeithi 19 September 1956 20 December 1963 31 March 1980 Scrapped

XA Class

No. Locomotive Name Entered Service Written Off Status 1401 Pedong 30 September 1955 19 March 1987 Preserved by the Hotham Valley Railway in March 1989, currently stored at Dwellingup 1402 Targari 7 October 1955 8 May 1988 Preserved by Rail Heritage WA, Bassendean on 20 April 1989 1403 Wanbiri 8 November 1955 8 May 1988 Scrapped, cab preserved at Gosnells Railway Markets 1404 Pardoo 11 November 1955 17 September 1985 Scrapped 1405 Warienga 9 December 1955 19 March 1987 Preserved by Rail Heritage WA on 19 July 1987 1406 Ungarinyin 22 November 1955 19 March 1987 Scrapped 1407 Wirngir 9 December 1955 25 February 1983 Scrapped 1408 Wolmeri 21 January 1956 1 July 1986 Scrapped 1409 Unambal 9 February 1956 9 December 1982 Scrapped 1410 Tenma 6 March 1956 9 November 1982 Scrapped 1411 Weedookarri 29 March 1956 8 May 1988 Preserved by the Hotham Valley Railway on 7 July 1989, currently stored at Pinjarra, used for parts 1412 Noala 14 May 1956 2 April 1985 Scrapped 1413 Yabaroo 13 June 1956 8 May 1988 Scrapped 1414 Yindi 28 June 1956 25 February 1983 Scrapped 1415 Wurara 12 July 1956 8 May 1988 Preserved by the Hotham Valley Railway in November 1989, loaned to Narrogin Apex Club (now defunct) in exchange for PM706 in 1990, currently on display at Narrogin railway station 1416 Niligara 16 July 1956 29 June 1984 Scrapped

Preservation

One X class and five XA class locomotives have been preserved:

• X 1001 Yalagonga – Rail Heritage WA, Bassendean
• XA 1401 Pedong – Hotham Valley Railway, Dwellingup
• XA 1402 Targari – Rail Heritage WA, Bassendean
• XA 1405 Warienga – Rail Heritage WA, Bassendean
• XA 1411 Weedookarri – Hotham Valley Railway, Pinjarra
• XA 1415 Wurara – Narrogin (in place of Pm706 – on loan to Hotham Valley Railway)

References

Bibliography

• Gould, Peter (2020). The X Class Era in Western Australia: An Illustrated History. Bassendean, Western Australia: Independently published. ISBN 9780648225614.
• Gunzburg, Adrian (1968). WAGR Locomotives 1940–1968. Perth: Australian Railway Historical Society (Western Australian Division). pp. 28–30, 48. OCLC 219836193.
• Milne, Rod (September–October 2016). "From Pedong to Niligara: The WAGR XA Class". Motive Power (107): 31–43. ISSN 1442-7079.
• Pearce, Kenn (1981). Westrail Locomotives. Elizabeth Downs: Railmac Publications. ISBN 0-9863153-9-4.
• Sayer, Anthony (2022). The Metropolitan-Vickers Type 2 CO-Bo Diesel Electric Locomotives: from Design to Destruction. Barnsley: Pen and Sword Books. ISBN 978-1-52674-281-0.

External links

• X Class at Collie – Video
• CO BO World