WAGR Q class (1895)

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WAGR Q class
Q139 with a train of new suburban carriages at Rocky Bay (North Fremantle), 1905
Type and origin Power type Steam Builder R&W Hawthorn Leslie & Co Total produced 6 Rebuilder Midland Railway Workshops Rebuild date 1905, 1909 Number rebuilt 4 as Qa class
Specifications Configuration: ​  • Whyte 4-6-2T Gauge 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) Length Q: 34 ft 1 in (10.39 m) Qa: 35 ft 2 in (10.72 m) Loco weight Q: 41 long tons 0 cwt (91,800 lb or 41.7 t) Qa: 52 long tons 0 cwt (116,500 lb or 52.8 t) Fuel type Coal Fuel capacity Q: 2.5 long tons 0 cwt (5,600 lb or 2.5 t) Qa: 3 long tons 0 cwt (6,700 lb or 3 t) Water cap. Q: 1,200 imp gal (5,500 L; 1,400 US gal) Qa: 1,600 imp gal (7,300 L; 1,900 US gal) Firebox: ​  • Grate area Q: 14 sq ft (1.3 m2) Qa: 17 sq ft (1.6 m2) Boiler pressure Q: 160 lbf/in2 (1.10 MPa) Qa: 175 lbf/in2 (1.21 MPa)
Performance figures Tractive effort Q: 14,908 lbf (66.31 kN) Qa: 16,306 lbf (72.53 kN) Factor of adh. Q: 3.9, Qa: 4.3
Career Operators Western Australian Government Railways Numbers Q138-Q143 First run 19 August 1896 Withdrawn 31 March 1925 Disposition All scrapped

The WAGR Q class was a six-member class of 4-6-2T tank engine steam locomotives operated by the Western Australian Government Railways (WAGR) between 1896 and 1925.

In April 1896, the WAGR placed an order with R&W Hawthorn Leslie & Co for four 4-6-2T locomotives. Meanwhile, the builder had two very similar locomotives that had been built in 1895 for the Portos e Caminhos de Ferro de Moçambique, Mozambique as part of a cancelled order. A deal was done in May 1896 for the WAGR to purchase them and they entered service in August 1896. The other four entered service in 1896/97.^[1] The 1895 built locomotives had different shaped cab windows and side tanks.^[2]

They were employed as shunters at Fremantle and Midland. In 1905, Q140 was rebuilt with a new boiler and converted to 4-6-4T configuration with water and coal capacity increased to make it suitable to operate on the Upper Darling Range railway, Q141-Q143 followed in 1909. They were reclassified as the Qa class.^[2]

They operated branch line services on the Mundaring, Mundaring Weir, Pinjarra-Holyoake and Upper Darling Range lines as well as on the Eastern Railway to Northam and South Western Railway to Bunbury. All were withdrawn in 1924/25.^[2]

The numbers and periods in service of each member of the Q class were as follows:^[3]

The Q class designation was reused for the Q class locomotives that were introduced in 1931. It was reused in the 1990s when the Westrail Q class diesel locomotives entered service.

• Rail transport in Western Australia
• List of Western Australian locomotive classes