WAGR K class (diesel)
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The WAGR K class were a total of 10 diesel-electric locomotives operated by the Western Australian Government Railways (WAGR) from 1966 to 2000.
The K class were constructed by English Electric of Rocklea, Brisbane, Queensland from 1966 to 1969. They were built to serve on the Eastern Goldfields Railway working on construction trains converting that line to standard gauge, soon after they began hauling wheat traffic from Merredin to Fremantle harbour, after the Eastern Goldfields Railway re-opened the K class started running services from Kalgoorlie to Esperance.
Class leader No. 201 made history when it travelled through five states, requiring three bogie exchanges. No. 202 was purchased by the Goldsworthy Mining Coy as one of their similar locos had been destroyed in an accident. A new K class was ordered as a replacement, becoming K class No. 210, and Goldsworthy purchased No. 203 soon after.
In 1974 three R class were converted to standard gauge, becoming the Ka class. All but two were included in the sale of Westrail assets in 2000. 7 of the K class have been scrapped, with two in storage in Melbourne, Victoria, and one operational under SCT Logistics.
