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S 542 ‘Bakewell’ East Perth Railway Terminus |
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This scanned photo from 9 May 2002 and shows S542 plinthed
at East Perth Railway Terminal, on the site of the former East Perth steam
locomotive depot.
The exhaust steam passage exits the
cylinders via the front of the valve chest, a design feature shared with the
ASG Garratts.
In the background 'The Prospector' rail motor can be seen
arriving from Kalgoorlie.
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Builder |
WAGR Midland Workshops |
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Build Year |
1943 |
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Wheel Arrangement |
4-8-2 |
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The S-class were the first locomotive type to be entirely designed
and built by the Western Australian Government Railways (WAGR), with the
design team led by Chief Mechanical Engineer Frederick Mills. Although conceived
in the late 1930’s, construction of these powerful 4-8-2 locos was delayed by
competing wartime priorities and material shortages, with the first three
units emerging from the WAGR Midland Workshops in 1943. The class ultimately
grew to 10 units, with 2 more completed in 1945 and another 5 in 1947. The
firebox and boiler design was optimised for the slow-burning local Collie
coal, resulting in a wide diameter boiler and large grate, contributing to
the purposeful look of these imposing machines. It is interesting to note that the competing construction
priorities at Midland Workshops included ten 4-8-2+2-8-4 ASG Garratts, which
were designed by the Commonwealth Land Transport Board under the leadership of
F. Mills. There is a resemblance between the S-class and the contemporary ASG
locomotives, including a skyline boiler cowling running from smokebox to cab –
a streamlining and fashion design feature which is hard to reconcile with wartime
austerity and cost constraints. Given their 4-8-2 ‘Mountain’ wheel arrangement, the
S-class appropriately received names of Western Australian mountains, carried
on brass nameplates attached to the running boards. The class were intended
for mixed traffic duties, although most of their career was spent on freight
turns. Preserved example S 542 was the second completed and named ‘Bakewell’,
being originally numbered 477 among the first three locos in the WAGR numerical
sequence 476 – 478 prior to the 10 S-class being reallocated into the number
band 541 – 550. The S-class locomotives suffered some teething troubles,
leading to early modifications to the steam inlet, regulator and superheater arrangements.
The original domeless boiler design, which incorporated an internal
perforated-pipe steam collector, was replaced by a stubby steam dome and
external steam pipe running to the smokebox via an anti-vacuum valve. One of
the more visible consequences of these modifications was the shortening of
the boiler-top cowling from full length to only half of the boiler length, with
these live steam components remaining hidden under the boiler-top cowling at
the smokebox end while other items – notably the safety valves – were now
revealed further along the boiler top towards the cab. Other early modifications include the replacement of
exhaust steam injectors with live steam injectors, and the addition of
flanges to the leading driving wheels. These modifications were also made to
the ASG Garratts, again suggesting the latter’s relationship to the S-class design. Five of the original low-sided tenders were rebuilt in the
1950’s to a high-sided design, which increased water capacity at the expense
of coal capacity. Adrian Gunzberg provides a full history of the S-class and
the various design modification in his authorative book ‘A History of WAGR
Steam Locomotives’. This book includes a fine colour photo of S 542 in steam
on the front cover! S 542 ‘Bakewell’ was officially withdrawn in June 1971,
together with all but S 549 ‘Greenmount’, and placed in storage. Photos from
that period show long lines of forlorn S, W and V-class locomotives awaiting
scrapping at Midland Workshops and Collie. Fortunately, S 542 was ultimately saved
and plinthed at the new East Perth Railway Terminal in 1976. It is now paired
with a low-sided tender which had originally been fitted to sister S 547. (In
turn, S 542's high-side tender is now paired with S 547 at the Bellarine Railway.) Ownership of this locomotive was transferred to the Australian
Railway Historical Society in 1995 and volunteers completed another repaint
of this locomotive in 2025. This organisation (now known as Rail Heritage WA)
also maintains S 549 ‘Greenmount’ among
their museum at nearby Bassendean. |
Cabside view of S 542 Bakewell from a scanned photo dated 9
May 2002.
The cab window – perhaps glassless or painted over? – has
been slid into the open position.
Here are two further photos dated August 2005, kindly
provided by Chris Thompson and showing S 542 after a recent repaint.
The stylish ‘Bakewell’ nameplate can be seen mounted to the
running board.
This rear view highlights the design of the low-side
tender.
S 542 ‘Bakewell’ at Collie in January 1971.
The builder’s plate and numberplate have
been removed from cabside, but the nameplate remains on the footplate.
Image used with permission of the Rail
Heritage WA archive:
http://railheritagewa.org.au/archive_scans/displayimage.php?pid=3453
(Image reference P06845, original photographer – G. Wilson)
S 542 ‘Bakewell’ taking water in Leighton yard. Photo dated
19 May 1967.
Image used with permission of the Rail
Heritage WA archive:
http://railheritagewa.org.au/archive_scans/displayimage.php?pid=7265
(Image reference P11456, original photographer – P. Hopper)
S 542 ‘Bakewell’ on a coal train departing Collie. Photo circa
1970.
The coal wagons are a motley mix of
designs, capacities and ages.
Image used with permission of the Rail
Heritage WA archive:
http://railheritagewa.org.au/archive_scans/displayimage.php?pid=28602
(Image reference T06121, original photographer – N. Pusenjak)
S 548 ‘Gardner’ (low sided tender) leads S 542 ‘Bakewell’ (high
sided tender) on No. 104 goods through Darkan station.
Photo dated 5 September 1970.
This view provides a useful comparison of
the two tender styles – the original low-side version and rebuilt high side
version.
Image used with permission of the Rail
Heritage WA archive:
http://railheritagewa.org.au/archive_scans/displayimage.php?pid=28824
Image reference T06343, original photographer – N. Pusenjak)
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, Photo Archive, (via various images as represented on this
page) retrieved 9 July 2026 |
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Page updated: 13 July 2026
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