Diving to the Margaret River vineyards on 12 May 2002
provided an opportunity to see what could be found at the Hotham Valley Railway’s
Pinjarra loco depot.
Pm 706 ‘Narrogin’ was resting cold
outside the running shed, wearing an unauthentic but attractive red livery.
I believe the ‘Narrogin’ nameplate was designed by the
Hotham Valley Railway, but it appears to follow the WAGR style applied to the
Pr-class ‘River’ nameplates.
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Pm 706 is one of the fine Pm/Pmr-class
Pacific locos built by North British Locomotive Company, Glasgow for the
Western Australian Government Railways (WAGR) in the post-war years. 35 Pm/Pmr
class locomotives were built, the first 18 as Pm-class (an improvement on
the earlier P-class) while the final 17 locos were further enhanced with
roller-bearings on the driving wheels, hence Pmr class. Although designed
for passenger service, the Pm/Pmr-class proved better suited to fast
freight duties and lasted in that capacity until the end of WAGR steam.
(For more information about the Pm/Pmr-class locomotives, refer to the page
for class leader Pm 701.)
Pm 706 entered WAGR service on 7 March 1950
and was officially withdrawn on 17 June 1971, giving a working life of 21
years. While most class members ended their days among the many relatively
modern WAGR steam locos cut up for scrap metal in the 1970’s, Pm 706 was
spared this fate. It was purchased by the Narrogin Apex Club and plinthed
at Narrogin, once the site of a busy steam loco depot.
In 1988 the Narrogin Apex Club placed Pm
706 on long-term lease to the Pinjarra Steam & Hills Preservation
Society, now known as the Hotham Valley Railway
(HVR). It was transported to Pinjarra and restored to service with a focus
on main-line operations. Indeed, its axle-load it too heavy for the HVR’s
regular run up the steep branch line to Dwellingup, which remains in the
hands of their sturdy W-class 4-8-2 locos. Pm 706 must have been in
relatively good order despite its years plinthed at Narrogin – apparently
it had been under a weather roof – as Hotham Valley volunteers returned the
loco to steam as soon as May 1990. Pm 706 was named ‘Narrogin’ by the HVR
in recognition of the town’s role in saving the locomotive and making it
available for restoration, with the nameplates appearing to be a faithful
recreation of the WAGR style applied to the ‘River’ Pr-class locomotives.
In 2002, Pm 706 received a new Harry-Potter
inspired red livery in support of the HVR’s ‘Wizards Express’ train. The
Pm/Pmr class wore the handsome WAGR larch green livery during their service
careers, but the new livery is certainly striking even if unauthentic! Pm
706 was used on mainline operations until 2005 at which stage it was withdrawn
and stored at Pinjarra depot.
Update:
In 2023, the Hotham Valley Railway made an
agreement for Pm 706 to return to Narrogin under the ownership of the Shire
of Narrogin. In November 2024, Pm 706 and tender were road-hauled to Narrogin,
where the locomotive is now located in the old railway goods shed. I
understand the plan is for Pm 706 to be on permanent static display in the
old goods shed; perhaps it will be repainted to authentic WAGR larch green
livery as part of this arrangement.
Rowan Kinnane / Rail Media Productions has recorded this
interesting video showing Pm 706 returning to Narrogin in late 2024 and
recapping its earlier HVR mainline operations: https://youtu.be/rl6vFjdGyk0?si=mp6UGuj5jS1O5TPt
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Pm 706 as newly
delivered to the Hotham Valley Railway depot at Pinjarra after its time
plinthed at Northam, seen on 16 January 1990.
The
connecting rod and some motion is missing, presumably removed for transport.
The loco steamed again later in 1990.
Image
used with permission of the Rail Heritage WA
archive:
http://railheritagewa.org.au/archive_scans/displayimage.php?pid=16061
(Image reference P02291,
original photographer – L. Purcell.)
Pm 706 entering Avon Yard with a freight train from the
Eastern Goldfields Railway. Photo dated 1968.
Image used with permission of the Rail
Heritage WA archive:
http://railheritagewa.org.au/archive_scans/displayimage.php?pid=7939
(Image reference P12130, original photographer – P.
Hopper.)
Pm 706 resting out-of-service in the loco shed at Pinjarra,
shortly before its relocation to Narrogin.
An open inspection port into the tender water
space can be seen in the foreground; I believe this port is a heritage-era
modification.
Photo kindly contributed by Rowan Kinnane and dated 13/09/2024.
Detail of Pm 706’s rods and centre driving wheel, with
distinctive bifurcated spokes.
Photo kindly contributed by Rowan Kinnane and dated 13/09/2024.
Detail of Pm 706’s sanding gear, with the sandbox mounted
above the boiler.
The bracket at centre appears to be a
retractable footstep.
Photo kindly contributed by Rowan Kinnane
and dated 13/09/2024.
References
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a
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A. Gunzburg
'A history of WAGR steam locomotives',
published
by ARHS (Western Australian Division) 1984.
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b
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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
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Rail
Heritage WA website, Exhibits page: ‘Pm Class Steam Locomotive’:
https://www.railheritagewa.org.au/museum/locos/pages/pm_steam.php
retrieved
24 December 2023
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d
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HVT
website, ‘Steam Locomotives’ page:
https://www.hothamvalleyrailway.com.au/steam-locomotives
Retrieved
24 December 2023
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e
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Information
provided by Rowan Kinnane via email,
10 July
2025.
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Page updated: 4 June 2026