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H 18 The Railway Museum, Bassendean |
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H 18 displayed at The Railway Museum, Bassendean on 2 May
1992.
At this stage the steam dome cover was
not in position, and the chimney looks like a fabricated replacement.
The chimney cap damaged in WAGR years has
been replaced but possibly not with copper, as it is painted basic black.
There is no headlight or mounting plate
above the smokebox.
Image used with permission of the Rail Heritage WA archive:
http://railheritagewa.org.au/archive_scans/displayimage.php?pid=16752
(Image reference
P02956, original photographer – unknown.)
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Builder |
Glasgow |
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Builder’s Number & Year |
3631
of 1887 |
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Wheel Arrangement |
0-6-0T |
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This dinky
0-6-0T was one of two locomotives built by Neilson, Reid & Co, Glasgow in
1887 for delivery to the Western Australian Government Railways (WAGR),
arriving in 1889. Numbered H 18 and H 22, these locomotives had interesting
careers with several changes of ownership and location; both were allocated
to the (then) isolated Bunbury - Boyanup line when first opened in 1891 and
later the Mundaring Weir line during its operation by the Goldfields Water
Supply Department. Preserved
loco H 18 and sister H 22 worked from 1895 to 1897 on construction duties at
Fremantle Harbour. H 22 spent much of its later working life on the isolated
Port Headland to Marble Bar line in the north of the state, finally being
scrapped in 1956. H 18 ended
its career at Bunbury where it had found use on jetty and other shunting
duties. H 18 was presented to the Australian Railway Historical Society (ARHS)
WA Division as early as 1962 and subsequently spent about a decade in storage
at Bunbury locomotive depot prior to entering The Railway Museum,
Bassendean. H 18 was
displayed at Bassendean until 1996 at which stage it moved to the nearby Midland
Workshops for intended restoration to operation by ARHS volunteers. It was
stripped to the frames for full overhaul, however the boiler was subsequently
assessed as requiring replacement. Mechanical overhaul of the locomotive was
completed and H 18 has now been beautifully restored for static museum
display, pending the possibility of future boiler replacement. Also
restored at Midland Workshops at this stage was a delightful 4-wheel WAGR
brake van of 1892 vintage. Both restoration projects were finished around
2011 and I believe H 18 and the brake van are now displayed at The Railway
Museum, Bassendean. I look forward to visiting the museum again, after which
I will add detailed photos of the restored H 18 and brake van. |
An early view of H 18 at Bunbury; date unknown.
H 18 appears to sport a polished copper-cap
chimney and features a kerosene headlamp on a flat mounting plate.
The front buffer beam has a circular
access hole at the near side to camera; this is the site of damage seen in
later photos.
The side water tank has an oval access
plate on the front; this is seen to be patch welded over in more recent photos.
Image used with permission of the Rail Heritage WA archive:
http://railheritagewa.org.au/archive_scans/displayimage.php?pid=2776
(Image reference
P06168, original photographer – unknown.)
H 18 stored derelict at Bunbury loco shed on 16 October
1966, with the workshop shed in background.
The loco shows signs of some front-end
accident damage, notably the smashed copper chimney cap and a broken front
buffer beam.
Photos show this damage was in place when
H 18 arrived at the ARHS Bassendean railway museum, where repairs were then
made.
Image used with permission of the Rail Heritage WA archive:
http://railheritagewa.org.au/archive_scans/displayimage.php?pid=6542
(Image reference
P09933, original photographer – P. Hopper.)
A second view of H 18 stored derelict behind Bunbury
roundhouse, with the station and Fs or G-class shunting in the background.
Photo date unknown; circa 1970.
Image used with permission of the Rail Heritage WA archive:
http://railheritagewa.org.au/archive_scans/displayimage.php?pid=28614
(Image reference
T06133, original photographer – N. Pusenjak.)
H 18 under restoration at Midland Workshops, as seen during
an open day on 3 November 2002.
Evidence of repair to the broken front
buffer beam is evident by a faint weld line under the paintwork.
The boiler assembly can be seen behind
the loco.
This photograph was kindly contributed by Stuart Jackson.
References
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a |
A. Gunzburg
'A history of WAGR steam locomotives', published
by ARHS (Western Australian Division) 1984. |
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b |
Gray. W. K.,
'Guide to Rail Transport Museum, Bassendean, Western Australia', Australian
Railway Historical Society W. A. Division, First Edition November 1999. |
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c |
Rail
Heritage WA website www.railheritagewa.org.au, 'What's
New’ page, retrieved
12 February 2015. |
Page updated: 21 May 2026
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