WAGR B class (diesel)

Western Australian Government Railways B class
B1601 at the Western Australian Rail Transport Museum
Type and origin Power type Diesel-hydraulic Builder Commonwealth Engineering Build date 1962-1965 Total produced 10
Specifications Configuration: ​  • AAR 0-6-0  • UIC C Gauge 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) Loco weight 39.2 long tons (39.8 t; 43.9 short tons) Fuel type Diesel Fuel capacity 340 imp gal (1,500 L; 410 US gal) Prime mover Cummins VT-12-BI Engine type Four-stroke V12 diesel Aspiration Turbocharged Cylinders 12 Transmission Twin Disc CF11,500 series MS450 hydraulic torque converter Wiseman 15 RLGB/H final drive
Performance figures Maximum speed 26 mph (42 km/h) Power output 473 hp (350 kW) Tractive effort 23,000 lbf (100 kN) (starting) 18,000 lbf (80 kN) (continuous)
Career Operators Western Australian Government Railways Number in class 10 Numbers B1601-B1610 First run 21 March 1962 Last run 28 September 1984 Disposition 4 preserved, 6 scrapped

The B class were a class of diesel locomotives built by Commonwealth Engineering for the Western Australian Government Railways between 1962 and 1965.

History

The first five B class units entered service in 1962. Three years later, a second batch of five was delivered.

The second batch differed from the first only in having sloping cab sides, to enable the second batch to pass underneath the limited clearance cranes on the Fremantle wharves.

All members of the class spent the whole of their working lives in the Perth metropolitan area, and were written off as a group in September 1984. Some of them have since been preserved.

Further reading

• Gunzburg, Adrian (1968). WAGR Locomotives 1940–1968. Perth: Australian Railway Historical Society (Western Australian Division). pp. 38, 49. OCLC 219836193.