The Westland - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Not to be confused with The Westlander, a Queensland train.

The Westland was the name given in 1938 to the overnight train operated by the Western Australian Government Railways

Western Australian Government Railways

Western Australian Government Railways was most common name of the Western Australian government rail transport authority from 1890 to 1976. It is, in its current form, known as the Public Transport Authority of Western Australia....

with sitting and sleeping car

Sleeping car

The sleeping car or sleeper is a railway/railroad passenger car that can accommodate all its passengers in beds of one kind or another, primarily for the purpose of making nighttime travel more restful. The first such cars saw sporadic use on American railroads in the 1830s and could be configured...

s that ran between Perth

Perth, Western Australia

Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....

and Kalgoorlie

Kalgoorlie, Western Australia

Kalgoorlie, known as Kalgoorlie-Boulder, is a town in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia, and is located east-northeast of state capital Perth at the end of the Great Eastern Highway...

in Western Australia, where it connected with the Trans-Australian Railway

Trans-Australian Railway

The Trans-Australian Railway crosses the Nullarbor Plain of Australia from Port Augusta in South Australia to Kalgoorlie in Western Australia...

service to the Eastern states of Australia

Eastern states of Australia

In Australia, the term eastern states refers to the states adjoining the east coast of Australia. These are the mainland states of New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria. The Australian Capital Territory and Jervis Bay Territory, while not states, are also included. The term usually includes the...

History

The Perth to Kalgoorlie railway was built to the 3'6" (1067mm) track gauge

Cape gauge

Cape gauge is a track gauge of between the inside of the rail heads and is classified as narrow gauge. It has installations of around .The gauge was first used by Norwegian engineer Carl Abraham Pihl and the first line was opened in 1862.- Nomenclature :...

, and opened in 1897, following the discovery of massive gold deposits. However, it was not until 1917 that the thousand miles of standard gauge railway between Kalgoorlie, WA and Port Augusta, SA

South Australia

South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...

was completed as a condition of Western Australia's joining the newly federated Australian colonies in the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901. From 24 October 1917, the Kalgoorlie Express connected with the new Trans Australian Express, and a separate overnight express between Perth and Kalgoorlie for Interstate passengers and mail was introduced by the WAGR in May 1921. The train ran three times a week, and had no official name. It included sitting and sleeping cars (both first and second class), and a dining car

Dining car

A dining car or restaurant carriage , also diner, is a railroad passenger car that serves meals in the manner of a full-service, sit-down restaurant....

was attached between Perth and Northam

Northam, Western Australia

Northam is a town in Western Australia, situated at the confluence of the Avon and Mortlock Rivers, about north-east of Perth in the Avon Valley. At the 2006 census, Northam had a population of 6,009. Northam is the largest town in the Avon region...

. This served dinner on the eastbound service, and was attached to the westbound service for breakfast. Refreshment Rooms were also provided at major stations for passengers wishing to purchase cheaper snacks and drinks.

The twenty year old E class

WAGR E Class

The WAGR E class were a type of sixty-five steam-locomotives built for the Western Australian Government Railways narrow-gauge network by three British manufacturers Nasmyth, Wilson and Company, Vulcan Foundry, and the North British Locomotive Company, from 1902...

locomotives initially assigned to haul the train were replaced in 1924 with the larger P class

WAGR P and Pr Classes

The WAGR P and Pr classes are two classes of 4-6-2 "Pacific" type steam locomotives designed for express passenger service on the Western Australian Government Railways 1067mm narrow gauge mainline network. The initial designs were prepared by E.S...

locomotives imported from North British Locomotive Works in Glasgow

Glasgow

Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...

. Ten new first class sleeping cars were built by the WAGR Midland Workshops

Midland Railway Workshops

The Midland Railway Workshops in Midland, Western Australia were the main workshops for the Western Australian Government Railways for over 80 years.-History:...

in 1928 to improve accommodation on the train.

As part of a concerted effort by the various State railway systems to reduce Interstate travel times after the Depression, in 1938, the W.A.G.R. gave the express a makeover, giving it the name "The Westland", and using the ten new Pr Class 4-6-2

4-6-2

4-6-2, in the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles , six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles, and two trailing wheels on one axle .These locomotives are also known as Pacifics...

pacific-type locomotives built at the Midland Workshops. The new locomotives represented a vast improvement over the older P class locomotives and were named after West Australian rivers. Only two of these locomotives were available at The Westland's inception, though the Westland used the Pr locomotives almost exclusively until dieselisation

Dieselisation

Dieselisation or dieselization is a term generally used for the increasingly common use of diesel fuel in vehicles, as opposed to gasoline or steam engines.-Water Transport:...

during the mid-1950s. The train included a lounge car

Lounge car

A lounge car is a type of passenger car on a train, where riders can purchase food and drinks. The car may feature large windows and comfortable seating to create a relaxing diversion from standard coach or dining options...

but the carriages were still timber bodied, and most still had end platforms.

As with other interstate trains in Australia, facilities were downgraded during the Second World War, but were re-instated in 1946. In 1948, six new, all-steel first class sleeping cars were built for the train, and included hot and cold water and a shower compartment. The other carriages were thoroughly refurbished at the same time, and a re-launching ceremony was held on 28 March 1948. This was to be the last improvement to the train for twenty years, although the introduction of the X class

WAGR X class

The WAGR X class was a class of 48 diesel electric locomotives built for Western Australian Government Railways by Beyer Peacock and Metropolitan Vickers, at Bowesfield Works, Stockton-on-Tees between 1954 and 1956.-The Crossley engine:...

diesel-electric locomotives in 1954 marginally reduced traveling time.

Demise

The Westland was replaced by through standard gauge services from the eastern States, following the construction of a new standard gauge line between Perth and Kalgoorlie. These were the luxurious Indian Pacific and the Trans Australian. But right up to that time drinking water in the second class sleepers was provided for passengers from water bags slung from the carriage platform railing, and a stack of fire wood was kept on the platform of the dining car to fuel its stoves. The last run of The Westland was on 15 June 1969.

The standard gauge

Standard gauge

The standard gauge is a widely-used track gauge . Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge...

line followed new route through the Avon Valley

Avon River (Western Australia)

The Avon River is a river in Western Australia. It is a tributary of the Swan River totalling 280 kilometres in length, with a catchment area of 125,000 square kilometres.-Catchment area:...

of the Darling Scarp

Darling Scarp

The Darling Scarp, also referred to as the Darling Range or Darling Ranges, is a low escarpment running north-south to the east of the Swan Coastal Plain and Perth, Western Australia...

east of Perth. This was the first section of the new line to be constructed, tracks on this section being dual gauge

Dual gauge

A dual-gauge or mixed-gauge railway has railway track that allows trains of different gauges to use the same track. Generally, a dual-gauge railway consists of three rails, rather than the standard two rails. The two outer rails give the wider gauge, while one of the outer rails and the inner rail...

(1067 and 1435mm). For a short time before its demise, The Westland was routed via the new Avon Valley line, and the original ascent of the Darling Scarp via the Swan View Tunnel

Swan View Tunnel

The Swan View Tunnel is a 340 m railway tunnel located on the southern side of the Jane Brook valley at Swan View, Western Australia on the edge of the Darling Scarp. Currently inactive, due to its location within the John Forrest National Park, the tunnel and its adjacent landscape exist...

and Chidlow was closed.

Local standard gauge services between Perth and Kalgoorlie are provided by a fast daylight railcar service named The Prospector
Transwa Prospector
The Transwa Prospector is a standard-gauge passenger train operated by Transwa that runs between Perth, Western Australia, and the Goldfields town of Kalgoorlie.-History:...

, now operated by Transwa

Transwa

Transwa is Western Australia's regional public transport provider, linking 275 destinations within Western Australia, from Kalbarri in the north to Augusta in the south to Esperance in the east along with the regional centres of Bunbury, Kalgoorlie, Northam, Geraldton and Albany.Transwa is...

History

Demise

Further reading