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This locomotive was built for the Western
Australian Government Railways (WAGR), receiving the road number G 111. The
WAGR G-class comprised both 2-6-0 and 4-6-0 versions of this classic Beyer
Peacock & Company design, G 111 being one of the 4-6-0 version and
entering service in October 1897.
G 111 and sister G 112 were sold on 29
October 1897 - brand new - to railway contractors Smith & Timms for
construction duties on the Kalgoorlie to Menzies & Kanowna lines, with
G 111 receiving the name ‘Menzies’ and G 112 ‘Kanowna’. Both passed into
the ownership of Millars’ Karri & Jarrah Forests Ltd before 1900 and
were transferred to their mill and forest railway operations at Yarloop,
where ‘Menzies’ became No.71 and ‘Kanowna’ became No.70. (Interestingly, a
second loco numbered G 111 subsequently entered the WAGR roster in 1898,
this loco (James Martin b/n 172 of 1898) being of the 2-6-0 variety.)
No.71 ‘Menzies’ had a long working life
with Millars at Yarloop before finally being retired in 1973. It was
donated by Millars to the Hotham Valley Railway Society in 1977 and transferred
to their Pinjarra locomotive depot. No.71 has yet to operate in
preservation; my visit to Pinjarra on 12 May 2002 found No.71 fully
dismantled for restoration for intended use on the Etmilyn Forest Explorer,
which operates from Dwellingup into the nearby forests.
Update:
Alas the years have
not been kind to No.71 ‘Menzies’ since I last saw her in 2002. I understand
its restoration was abandoned and the loco remains dismantled, with the
various components shunted to a remote siding away from public sight.
Presumably it was found that expensive repairs were required; hopefully
resources can be found to at least reassemble this handsome veteran for
static display, rather than it be left to rust in pieces.
As a webmaster’s
suggestion of a possible future home for this historic locomotive – the
lack of a WAGR G-class loco is somewhat of a gap in the locomotive display at
The Railway Museum, Bassendean, although their collection does include two
former South Australian Railways Y-class locos (2-6-0’s Y 71 and superheated
Yx 86) both veterans of the WA timber Industry. Perhaps
G 71 / G111 would make a useful static exhibit at Bassendean, not only demonstrating
the 4-6-0 version of this popular Beyer Peacock & Co design, but also telling
the story of the rapid expansion of the WAGR network in the 1890’s.
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