The WAGR E class were a type of sixty-five steam-locomotives built for 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....

  narrow-gauge

Narrow gauge

A narrow gauge railway is a railway that has a track gauge narrower than the of standard gauge railways. Most existing narrow gauge railways have gauges of between and .- Overview :...

 network by three British manufacturers Nasmyth, Wilson and Company, Vulcan Foundry

Vulcan Foundry

Vulcan Foundry was a British locomotive builder sited at Newton-le-Willows, Lancashire .-History:It was originally opened in 1832 as Charles Tayleur and Company to produce girders for bridges, switches and crossings, and other ironwork following the opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway...

, and the North British Locomotive Company

North British Locomotive Company

The North British Locomotive Company was created in 1903 through the merger of three Glasgow locomotive manufacturing companies; Sharp Stewart and Company , Neilson, Reid and Company and Dübs and Company , creating the largest locomotive manufacturing company in Europe.Its main factories were...

, from 1902. The locomotives provided a huge increase in locomotive power available to the WAGR and were the mainstay traction of WAGR passenger services for two decades. The Es class was the name given to a reconstruction of all but four of the class carried out between 1924 and 1925.

Background

In the early 20th Century, the WAGR was using a wide range of locomotives for a variety of operational roles. One type of locomotive lacking, however, was a dedicated long-distance of express passenger locomotive. The R class engines of 1897 had not proved appropriate for the steep gradients made necessary by the crossing 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...

, due to their lack of power. In 1902 an order was placed with a number of different locomotive construction companies in England, the Nasmyth, Wilson and Company, Vulcan Foundry

Vulcan Foundry

Vulcan Foundry was a British locomotive builder sited at Newton-le-Willows, Lancashire .-History:It was originally opened in 1832 as Charles Tayleur and Company to produce girders for bridges, switches and crossings, and other ironwork following the opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway...

, and North British Locomotive

North British Locomotive Company

The North British Locomotive Company was created in 1903 through the merger of three Glasgow locomotive manufacturing companies; Sharp Stewart and Company , Neilson, Reid and Company and Dübs and Company , creating the largest locomotive manufacturing company in Europe.Its main factories were...

 for 65 4-6-2 "Pacific" type

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...

. These became the WAGR 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 and were the first 4-6-2 locomotives in Australia.

Es class

Sixty-one of these locomotives were rebuilt as Es class in 1924/1925; one example has been preserved. The E and Es class revolutionised the long-distance travel between Perth and Kalgoolie. They were later replaced on this service by the P class in 1924 and again by the Pr class
- arguably the most successful and handsome WAGR designs - in 1938.

Construction and Introduction

Due to slow delivery times by the British Companies as a result of full-order books and a preference for larger orders, twenty modified E class locomotives were ordered from the United States and became the WAGR Ec class. They differed from the E class in that they were compound engines. The E class eventually totalled sixty-five in number, with 30 examples being built by the Vulcan Foundry, 20 by North British and 15 by Nasmyth, Wilson. The first fifteen entered service between 1903/04 and were successful from the outset, providing a much needed boost to WAGR locomotive power.