What is WAGR Ra class?
{{no sources|date=October 2023}} [[File:Hugh llewelyn 174 (5361450160).jpg|thumb|No. 174 displayed outside Midland Shopping Centre in 2010, No. 174 was formerly an Ra class engine.]] The '''WAGR Ra class''' were a total of 14 [[Steam locomotive|steam]] [[Locomotive|locomotives]] operated by the [[Western Australian Government Railways]] (WAGR) from 1909 to 1948. The Ra class came about as a result of the need for more powerful engines on lightly-laid lines in rural areas. A trailing set of wheels was fitted behind the driving wheels to allow the standard [[WAGR R class|R class]] to traverse the lighter rails, becoming the Ra class. Several locos were converted to Ra and then converted back to R and then converted to Ra again depending on the needs of the WAGR. Withdrawals for the Ra began in the 1920s as part of a program to replace and upgrade the WAGR's aging fleet of locomotives which resulted from a 1922 [[Royal Commission]]. Curiously the Ra designation was abolished in 1933 but those that remained continued operating with Ra specifications under the R designation. No. 174 has been preserved but was converted into its original R class form shortly after withdrawal to represent the class in its original condition, it is now on display at the [[Australian Railway Historical Society|ARHS]] [[Rail Heriateg W.A.]] [[Bassendean Railway Museum]]. [[Category:Western Australian Government Railways locomotives]] {{Multistub|Transport|Technology}}