U and Ut Class Steam Locomotive
| Builder | North British Locomotive Co | ||
| coupled wheel diameter |
4'6" | ||
| total weight | 107t 15c | ||
| tractive effort | 22,032lb | ||
| oil capacity |
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| water capacity |
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| number in service | 15 No 651-664 No 644 rebuilt Ut 1957 |
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
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 express passenger 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. The
class was not however withdrawn till 1969.
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 644 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Ut was used intermittently until withdrawn in 1970.