WAGR Msa class

The WAGR Msa class was a class of 2-6-0+0-6-2 Garratt articulated steam locomotives. The class was built at the Midland Railway Workshops and operated by the Western Australian Government Railways (WAGR) between 1930 and 1963. It was the first Garatt type to be designed and constructed entirely in Australia.

Class Msa Garratt articulated steam locomotive

WAGR Msa class
Works photo of Msa468, taken in 1930.
Type and origin
Power typeSteam
BuilderMidland Railway Workshops
Serial number46–55
Build date1930
Total produced10
Specifications
Configuration:
​
 • Whyte2-6-0+0-6-2 (Garratt)
 • UIC(1′C)(C1′) h4t
Gauge3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm)
Driver dia.39 in (991 mm)
Adhesive weight60 tonnes (59 long tons; 66 short tons)
Loco weight74 tonnes (73 long tons; 82 short tons)
Firebox:
 • Firegrate area		27 sq ft (2.5 m2)
Boiler pressure160 lbf/in2 (1.10 MPa)
Heating surface1,088 sq ft (101.1 m2)
Superheater:
​
 • Heating area180 sq ft (17 m2)
Cylinders4 (Garratt)
Cylinder size13.25 in × 20 in (337 mm × 508 mm)
Performance figures
Tractive effort24,489 lbf (108.93 kN)
Factor of adh.4.9
Career
OperatorsWestern Australian Government Railways
NumbersMsa466–Msa475 (later Msa491–Msa500)
Withdrawn1962-1963
Current ownerall scrapped

History

The class was preceded on the WAGR system by the M/Ms class Garratts. The class were used extensively on WAGR lines with light rails and sharp curves, as a consequence many of the smaller older branch lines on the Darling Scarp; as well as those with steep inclines such as those on the Mundaring Weir, Nannup, and Flinders Bay lines. In their later years, the boiler pressure was reduced to match that of the M/Ms class. By this stage they had been concentrated on the Bunbury to Boyup Brook and Pinjarra to Boddington lines.[1][2][3]

Hearsay evidence suggests that the poor quality of the boilers in the Msa rendered some inoperable by the late 1940s. The last remaining Msa was awaiting moving to a preservation status in the adjacent to the Midland Railway Workshops, when instructions were misunderstood by a scrap metal company employee, and it was cut up.

Class list

The numbers and periods in service of each member of the Msa class were as follows:[4][5]

Builder's
number		 First
number		 Second
number		 In service Renumbered Withdrawn Notes
46 466 491 22 February 1930 22 September 1947 7 October 1963 Stowed 3 April 1962
47 467 492 22 February 1930 16 November 1949 7 October 1963
48 468 493 26 April 1930 29 July 1948 7 October 1963 Stowed 20 September 1961
49 469 494 31 May 1930 1 November 1947 7 October 1963 Stowed 8 November 1961
50 470 495 28 June 1930 2 October 1947 7 October 1963
51 471 496 19 July 1930 1 October 1947 7 October 1963 Stowed 27 September 1959
52 472 497 16 August 1930 11 July 1947 7 October 1963 Stowed 29 June 1961
53 473 498 13 September 1930 3 June 1948 6 September 1962 Stowed 20 January 1962
54 474 499 4 October 1930 30 April 1948 7 October 1963 Stowed 12 August 1960
55 475 500 1 November 1930 6 February 1948 7 October 1963 Stowed 14 December 1958

See also

References

Notes
  1. Watson, Lindsay (1995). The Railway History of Midland Junction: Commemorating The Centenary Of Midland Junction, 1895-1995. L&S Drafting. ISBN 0 646 24461 2.
  2. Turner, Jim (1997). Australian Steam Locomotives 1896-1958. Kenthurst: Kangaroo Press. p. 107. ISBN 086417778X.
  3. Oberg, Leon (2010). Locomotives of Australia 1850s-2010. Dural: Rosenberg Publishing. pp. 208–209. ISBN 9781921719011.
  4. Durrant 1981, p. 68.
  5. Gunzburg 1984, p. 110.

Bibliography
  • Durrant, A E (1981). Garratt Locomotives of the World (rev. and enl. ed.). Newton Abbot, Devon, UK; North Pomfret, Vt, USA: David & Charles. ISBN 0-7153-7641-1. OCLC 9326294.
  • Gunzburg, Adrian (1984). A History of WAGR Steam Locomotives. Perth: Australian Railway Historical Society (Western Australian Division). ISBN 0959969039.

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