What is WAGR W class?
{{no sources|date=October 2023}} [[File:WAGR 953 (5361360126).jpg|thumb|W class No. 953 at Bassendean Railway Museum in 2010 on display.]] The '''WAGR W class''' were a total of 60 large [[Steam locomotive|steam]] [[Locomotive|locomotives]] operated by the [[Western Australian Government Railways]] (WAGR) from 1951 to 1972. The W class were initially proposed by [[Engineer|C.M.E.]] [[Frederick Mills]] in 1947, but his death in 1949 delayed the project. [[Beyer, Peacock and Company|Beyer, Peacock & Coy]] of [[Manchester]], [[England]] had already been advised of the design but identified multiple design flaws which they addressed in a meeting held in the [[United Kingdom|UK]] in 1950. Alterations included the [[firebox]] which was shaped to suit [[Collie, Western Australia|Collie]] coal which was notorious for its bad quality. Once they entered service, the W class could be found across the network on primary goods trains, though they did haul passengers as well, such as the ''Australind'' from [[Perth, Western Australia|Perth]] to [[Bunbury, Western Australia|Bunbury]]. The reputation of the W class was good being depicted as strong and free-steamers with sound reliability. Minor teething problems and faults were attributed to poor welding resulting in no fewer than 34 W class laid up for repair at one point, though these issues had been eliminated by the late 1950s. Withdrawals began in 1968 and ended in 1972 with the end of steam on the WAGR. 15 of the W class have been preserved with several in [[South Australia]] and one in the [[Northern Territory]]. They also make up the majority of the steam [[Heritage railway|heritage]] operations on the [[Hotham Valley Railway]] in [[Dwellingup, Western Australia|Dwellingup]], [[Western Australia]]. == Gallery == <gallery> File:W901, East Perth, 1951.jpg|No. 901 at East Perth in 1951. File:Hotham Valley Railway-Wizards Express.jpg|No. 920 hauling the Wizards Express on the Hotham Valley Railway in 2005. File:WAGR 947 (5360453923).jpg|No. 947 under restoration at Bas