WAGR G class G233 Leschenault Lady

G233 Leschenault Lady
Leschenault Lady at the Railway Museum, Bassendean, in 2006
Type and origin Power type Steam Designer Beyer, Peacock & Co Builder James Martin & Co
Specifications Configuration: ​  • Whyte 2-6-0 "Mogul"  • UIC 1'C Gauge 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) Driver dia. 3 ft 3 in (991 mm) Length 39 ft 0 in (11.89 m) Width 6 ft 11.8 in (2.13 m) Height 11 ft 5.8 in (3.50 m) Total weight 42 long tons 2 cwt (94,300 lb or 42.8 t) Fuel type Coal Water cap. 1,600 imp gal (7,300 L; 1,900 US gal) Boiler pressure 160 lbf/in2 (1.10 MPa) Cylinder size 14.5 in × 20 in (368 mm × 508 mm)
Performance figures Tractive effort 13,801 lbf (61.39 kN)
Career Operators Western Australian Government Railways Leschenault Railway Preservation Society Rail Heritage WA Numbers G233 Official name Leschenault Lady First run 13 November 1898 (1898-11-13) Current owner Rail Heritage WA Disposition Operational

Between 1889 and 1899, a total of 48 G class engines were acquired by the WAGR, both new and second-hand.[1] They were designed by Beyer, Peacock & Co of Manchester, England, but most of them were built by James Martin & Co at Gawler, a short distance north of Adelaide, South Australia.^[2]

The G class engines were the first locomotive class to be introduced to the WAGR network in quantity, and were part of what became almost an Australian 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) standard.^[1] Initially, the WAGR used them as main line general purpose locomotives, on passenger, mixed and goods trains.^[3]

Service history

G233 was one of the G class locomotives built by James Martin & Co. It was also one of the 24 members of the class constructed in 2-6-0 configuration. The single axle wheelset at the front of the 2-6-0 G class engines had a tendency to derail when at speed. Later G class locomotives were therefore built as 4-6-0-type engines with a four wheel leading bogie, which solved that issue.^[3]

For the first few years after G233 entered service on 13 November 1898 (1898-11-13), it was used as a main line locomotive on the principal WAGR network radiating from Perth. However, the G class engines were quickly displaced from main line service by more powerful locomotives.^[3][4]

In 1909, G233 was one of five locomotives sent to operate the isolated Hopetoun–Ravensthorpe railway on the south coast of the State. That line, which was constructed to serve goldfields near Ravensthorpe, opened during 1909, and G233 began running on it on 8 September of that year. As traffic on the line was not substantial, the locomotive roster operating it was soon reduced to just two locomotives, G233 being one of them.^[3][5]

After the Hopetoun–Ravensthorpe railway closed in 1935, G233 stayed there as its only remaining locomotive until November 1943, when the WAGR began dismantling the line. The locomotive was then sent in crates to Newdegate, the terminus of a wheatbelt railway line from Wagin via Lake Grace.^[3]

Following the end of World War II, the crates containing G233 were taken to Midland Railway Workshops, where the locomotive was reassembled. By the 1960s, it had made its way to Bunbury, where it was used as a jetty shunter and on other duties, such as taking coal wagons to and from the powerhouse. G233 also spent some time at Kalgoorlie and Fremantle. Although G233 had proved to be extraordinarily durable, it also often struggled with the loads it hauled on goods services in the Bunbury area.^[3][6]

Preservation

In 1967–68, with the full

In 1985, the Bunbury rail yards and station were closed as part of a redevelopment of the city centre. The goods shed and a portion of the roundhouse were relocated, piece by piece, to railway land leased by the Preservation Society at the nearby town of Boyanup. At that site, a museum, the Boyanup Transport Museum, was opened, with the partially rebuilt roundhouse being used to house the Vintage Train.^[3][7][11] Leschenault Lady continued to haul the Vintage Train on outings. Destinations included the Donnybrook Apple Festival and the Vintage Rail days at Yarloop. In 1988, the locomotive spent a year in service at Dwellingup on the Hotham Valley Railway.^[6][7]

In 1992, the Preservation Society found itself unable to continue and decided to shut down. It transferred its land lease and assets to the Western Australian division of the

By then, the insurance and regulatory complexities of running a steam train on main lines were making operations of the Vintage Train increasingly difficult and expensive. Leschenault Lady was sent to Perth, where it operated a few tourist services.[3] In 1999, RHWA volunteers overhauled the locomotive at the former Midland Railway Workshops. After that overhaul, which included replacement of the boiler tubes, no work was available for Leschenault Lady in the South West, and so it was loaned to the Golden Mile Loopline Railway in Boulder from 2001 to 2005.^[3][6][7] Following the conclusion of that arrangement, the locomotive was displayed for a short time at RHWA's Railway Museum in Bassendean; in April 2007, it was returned to the museum at Boyanup,^[3] which had been closed in 2005.^[13]

In 2012, the Boyanup museum was reopened, under the new name "South West Rail and Heritage Centre".

In December 2020, the boiler passed its cold-water pressure test. The following month, Piacentini sent the tender back to the museum.[7] On 22 August 2021, the locomotive returned to steam, as part of celebrations marking the sesquicentenary of railways in Western Australia.^{[14][17][18][19]} Now that the locomotive is steaming again, RHWA will run it up and down the small length of track at the museum. RHWA is also hoping to secure a short section of the former WAGR line to Capel and Busselton, to take passengers on a longer ride and relive memories of the Vintage Train. As the locomotive weighs only about 40 tons with coal, it is also feasible to move it by truck to special events.^[19]

See also

• Ballaarat steam engine
• History of rail transport in Western Australia
• List of Western Australian locomotive classes

References

Notes