U and Ut Class Steam Locomotive
U 655 and Ut 664
| Builder: North British Locomotive Co No 651-664 No 664 rebuilt Ut 1957 | ||||||||
| Coupled wheel diameter 4' 6" | ||||||||
| Total weight 107 tons 15 cwt | ||||||||
| Tractive effort 22,032 lbs | ||||||||
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| Total number in service 15 |
U Class
In the immediate post war period the WAGR found itself short of locomotives. The fourteen locomotives that became the U class had initially been constructed in 1942 for war service in North Africa. The locomotives had not been required. They were therefore available for immediate purchase.
The locomotives were equipped as oil burners and used the 'Pacific' wheel arrangement. The locomotive used bar frames unlike the majority of WAGR locomotives which were built with plate frames. The 11.5 ton axle loading meant that they were unable to run on the light (45lb rail) branch lines. The locomotives found a niche for themselves running on passenger and goods services between Perth, Bunbury and Albany. In practice the locomotives were hampered by being over three times more expensive to run than the equivalent coal fired locomotive.
After the introduction of the X class diesel electric locomotives the U class was relegated to goods working. Most had been stowed out of service by 1957 due to the high running costs. All the class were temporarily returned to service during 1960-62 and U 655 was used as the Bassendean shunter from February 1967 until October 1968. Condemned on 10 September 1970 it was delivered to the Rail Museum on 3 June 1972.
Ut Class
In 1954 the introduction of diesel railcars on the Perth suburban service saw the introduction of a faster timetable. Steam locomotive hauled trains which were used during peak periods were having difficulty keeping to the railcar schedule. U class number 664 was therefore rebuilt as a 4-6-4 tank locomotive. The Ut locomotive was able to easily keep to the railcar schedule. Further conversions were not undertaken due to the high running costs. The Ut was used intermittently until withdrawn in 1970.