| Builders Neilson & Co Dubs & Co |
| total weight 62t 17c |
| coupled wheel dia 3'0" |
| tractive effort 17221 lb |
| coal capacity 3.5t increased to 7.5t |
| water capacity 2500 gal decreased to 2000 gal |
2-8-0 freight locomotive introduced Sept 1896-August 1898. Withdrawn 1907
( 10 locomotives used to construct N class suburban tank locomotives) and
1940 - 1961. The O class were introduced as a heavy freight locomotive able
to traverse the light 45lb rails of the Eastern Goldfields Railway. They
remained in this service for some five years until the arrival of the more
powerful Ec class Baldwin compound locomotives. With the expanding light
agricultural line network the O class remained on secondary branchline duty
for many years until the arrival of the L class ( simple expansion rebuilds
of the Ec class) and in the post war period the W class.
O.218 entered service on 11 October, 1898, & during its service life
it ran some 750,000 miles (1.2 million km). The loco was finally retired
on 25 July, 1961. It then gave further service as the steam cleaning engine
at Northam Loco Depot, before being transferred to the Rail Transport Museum
on 2 December, 1971.
Oa Class
| Builders W.A.G.R. Midland Workshops |
| total weight 62t 14c |
| coupled wheel dia 3' 6.5" |
| tractive effort 15,195lb |
| coal capacity 7.5t |
| water capacity 2000 gal |
In 1909 there was a predicted motive power shortage for the haulage of the wheat harvest. Five new locomotives were therefore built at Midland workshops using the tenders side tanks and sundry parts off the O class locomotives that had been used to build the N class. New frames were constructed and the coupled wheel diameter was increased to 3' 6.5". A further five locomotives were built during the 1909-1910 financial year. As with the O class the Oa became standard secondary branchline locomotives until final withdrawal in the period 1953 - 1962.