WAGR WCA/WCE class

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WAGR WCA/WCE class

Prospector Guildford, 1986.JPG

The Prospector crossing the Swan River at Guildford in April 1986
Manufacturer Comeng
Built at Granville
Entered service 1971
Number built 8
Number scrapped 6
Fleet numbers WCA901-WCA905
WCE921-WCE923
Operator(s) WAGR (1971-1975)
Westrail (1975-2000)
WAGR Commission (2000-2003)
Transwa (2003-2005)
Specifications
Car length 27.43 m (90 ft 0 in)
Maximum speed 150 km/h (93 mph)
Prime mover(s) MAN D3 650 HM6U x2 (as built)
Cummins KTA19R x2 (from early 1990s)
Power output 360bhp
Transmission Voith T113R
Auxiliaries Leyland 401
Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge

The WAGR WCA class railcars and WCE class trailers were built by Comeng, Granville for the Western Australian Government Railways in 1971 to operate the new Prospector service between East Perth and Kalgoorlie. At the time of their construction the WCA class units were the longest and fastest diesel railcars in the world.

Commonwealth Engineering defunct Australian engineering company which specialised in design and manufacture of railway locomotives and rolling stock

Commonwealth Engineering was an Australian engineering company that designed and built railway locomotives, rolling stock and trams.

Granville, New South Wales Suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Granville is a suburb in western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Granville is located 22 kilometres (14 mi) west of the Sydney central business district, split between the local government areas of Cumberland Council and the City of Parramatta.

Western Australian Government Railways

Western Australian Government Railways (WAGR) was the operator of railway services in the state of Western Australia between October 1890 and June 2003. Owned by the State Government, it was renamed a number of times to reflect extra responsibility for tram and ferry operations that it assumed and later relinquished. Its freight operations were privatised in December 2000 with the remaining passenger operations transferred to the Public Transport Authority in July 2003.

Contents

History

In 1968 Comeng, Granville were awarded a contract to build built five WCA power cars and three WCE non-powered trailers. The WCAs had a crew compartment at both ends, the WCEs at one end. [1] [2] [3] They were ordered to operate the new The Prospector service, on the Eastern Goldfields Railway between East Perth and Kalgoorlie that was in the process of being converted to standard gauge. [4]

Eastern Goldfields Railway

The Eastern Goldfields Railway was built in the 1890s by the Western Australian Government Railways to connect Perth with the Eastern Goldfields at Coolgardie and Kalgoorlie.

East Perth railway station railway station in Perth, Western Australia

East Perth railway station is located on the Midland line in Perth, Western Australia. It is operated by Transperth serving the suburb of East Perth. It is adjacent to the East Perth Terminal and Public Transport Centre.

Built to take advantage of the generous loading gauge of the new line, they were the largest carriages ever built in Australia. As they were too large to be hauled on the New South Wales Government Railways network east of Parkes or travel by road over the Blue Mountains, they were transported from Sydney by road to Parkes on a circuitous route via Goulburn and Temora, from where they continued their journey by rail. [1] [2]

Loading gauge the maximum height and width for railway vehicles and their loads to ensure safe passage through bridges, tunnels and other structures

A loading gauge defines the maximum height and width for railway vehicles and their loads to ensure safe passage through bridges, tunnels and other structures. Classification systems vary between different countries and gauges may vary across a network, even if the track gauge remains constant.

The New South Wales Government Railways (NSWGR) was the agency of the Government of New South Wales that administered rail transport in New South Wales, Australia, between 1855 and 1932.

Parkes, New South Wales Town in New South Wales, Australia

Parkes is a town in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia. It is the main settlement in the local government area of Parkes Shire. Parkes had a population of 11,408 as at 30 June 2016.

All of the WCA class vehicles were powered by MAN engines coupled to Voith transmissions. In the early 1990s, these engines were replaced by Cummins KTA19R engines. At 27.43 metres and with a top speed of 150 km/h, the WCAs were the longest and fastest diesel railcars in the world. The trains made up of the WCA/WCE class units were the first in Australia to have at-seat catering and up until their withdrawal, operated the highest average speed train service in Australia. [1] [2] [3]

MAN SE German mechanical engineering company

MAN SE, formerly MAN AG, is a German mechanical engineering company and parent company of the MAN Group. It is a subsidiary of automaker Volkswagen AG. MAN SE is based in Munich. Its primary output is for the automotive industry, particularly heavy trucks. Further activities include the production of diesel engines for various applications, like marine propulsion, and also turbomachinery.

The Voith Group, which is headquartered in Germany, is a family-owned multinational corporation in the mechanical engineering sector as well as the automation and IIoT business with worldwide operations.

Cummins American corporation that designs, manufactures, distributes and services engines and related technologies

Cummins is an American Fortune 500 corporation that designs, manufactures, and distributes engines, filtration, and power generation products. Cummins also services engines and related equipment, including fuel systems, controls, air handling, filtration, emission control, electrical power generation systems, and semi trucks. Headquartered in Columbus, Indiana, United States, Cummins sells in approximately 190 countries and territories through a network of more than 600 company-owned and independent distributors and approximately 6,000 dealers. Cummins reported net income of $999 million on sales of $20.4 billion in 2017.

On 24 September 1995 they began to operate AvonLink services between East Perth and Northam. [5]

Northam railway station, Western Australia

Northam railway station is located on the Eastern Railway in Western Australia. It serves the town of Northam.

They travelled over 20 million kilometres and carried 2.6 million passengers over 33 years before being replaced by the Transwa WDA/WDB/WDC class railcars with the last retired in July 2005. [6] These held the record for the highest speed attained by an Australian train until bettered by a New South Wales XPT in September 1981. [4] [7] Two have been saved for preservation with the other six scrapped. [8]

Transwa WDA/WDB/WDC class

The Transwa WDA/WDB/WDC class are a class of railcars built by United Goninan, Broadmeadow for Transwa in 2004-2005 to replace the WAGR WCA/WCE class railcars on the AvonLink, MerredinLink and Prospector services in Western Australia. They are capable of high-speed operation.

New South Wales XPT

The New South Wales XPT is the main long-distance passenger train operated by NSW TrainLink on regional railway services in New South Wales, Australia from Sydney to Dubbo, Grafton and Casino as well as interstate destinations, Brisbane, and Melbourne. The XPT is based on the British Rail designed High Speed Train and entered service in April 1982.

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The Eastern Railway is the main railway route between Fremantle and Northam in Western Australia. It opened in stages between 1881 and 1893. The line is continued east to Kalgoorlie as the Eastern Goldfields Railway.

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Public Transport Centre

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Gray, Bill; May, Andrew (2006). A History of WAGR Passenger Carriages. Perth: Bill Gray. pp. 304–311. ISBN   0-646-45902-3.
  2. 1 2 3 Dunn, John (2010). Comeng A History of Commonwealth Engineering Volume 3 1966-1977. Rosenberg Publishing. pp. 77–91. ISBN   9781877058905.
  3. 1 2 "Future prospects for the Prospector" Railway Digest October 1997 pages 18-19
  4. 1 2 "An inter-city interlude: The original Prospector and AvonLink cars" Railway Digest May 2005 pages 17-20
  5. ↑ AvonLink and MerredinLink Transwa
  6. ↑ Prospector - East Perth to Kalgoorlie Transwa
  7. ↑ Cooke, David (1984). Railmotors and XPTs. Australian Railway Historical Society NSW Division. ISBN   0 909650 23 3.
  8. ↑ "Remembering the Merredin and Avon Link Train Services" Australian Railway History issue 928 February 2015 page 27
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