Talk:WAGR X class

March 2008
made some minor formatting changes to the article:
 * added link to external site
 * added reference to published article
 * added information re the Xb derivatives of the class.
 * added comment re the type of engine.

If anyone is interested, there is some information on the Crossley experience in the UK and Ireland- the irish remotored their Crossleys with GMs because the motor was such as a dud - the link to Nic Doncasters page will give you more information. (Sulzer55 (talk) 23:16, 16 March 2008 (UTC))

Big Fiddle
Have reformatted the page to be similar to other Australian Locomotive pages. have added in some additional data and refs to make it a little more valid Text will need a spin up - anyone? Sulzer55 (talk) 10:05, 9 November 2008 (UTC)

Class identification
Someone changed the subclass of the X from "XA" to "Xa": the XA was clearly marked in service as "XA" in BIG FAT SHINY letters, whereas the Xb was noted by the Big X and a tiny little "b" - see photos here on Railpage. if you have clearer photos of an Xb designation, I'd love to see it Sulzer55 (talk) 09:23, 5 January 2009 (UTC)

Smith Royal Commission
I think this would be Royal Commission appointed to inquire into administration of the Western Australian Government Railways, chairperson Alan G. Smith, appointed 19 June 1957. Can anyone confirm this? It seems to have produced lots of interim reports but I can't find a final report. Biscuittin (talk) 12:42, 12 May 2012 (UTC)

Crack trains
The article mentions 'crack trains'. Does this mean prominent trains of the time or something else?  Stepho  talk 04:10, 12 June 2012 (UTC)

Clean up.
Have edited a few things to correct; Sulzer55 (talk)
 * Provenance of the HST-VEe engine
 * referencing of Xb as XB
 * minor other corrections.

additional information
Have updated some refs and material to link to that published in 2014 by Rail Heritage WA. this publication also notes the intent to publish a book on the class... still waiting. Sulzer55 (talk) 11:18, 22 April 2020 (UTC)


 * rumours about the 'book' are almost ten years old... JarrahTree 12:24, 27 April 2020 (UTC)

Smith Royal Commission
I've tidied up a lot of the references but "Smith Royal Commission" has me stumped. Any clues to online (preferred) or otherwise reference details?  Stepho  talk 12:20, 27 April 2020 (UTC)

smith
smith was a magistrate in the 1960s in Perth, and he knew nothing whatsoever about railways before he took the posiiton in the 1950s

the royal commision was a rolling commission tha covered a range of wagr issues - and eventually got closed down by politicians without a final summary...

state records detail
State Records Office catalogue has the item - AU WA S4410- cons1067 1958/146

Title

Western Australian Government Railways By Royal Commissioner, A. G. Smith, S. M. Interim Report No.1 into The Management, Administration and Control of the Western Australian Government Railways Interim Report No. 4 into The Economic Disaster Of the X and XA Class Diesel Electric Locomotives and Recommendations Arising Therefrom Interim Report No. 5 into Direction, Management and Control of the Western Australian Government Railways Supplement to Interim Report No. 5. «

Due to being in 1958 the copyright on material in trove finishes earlier and so the extensive newspaper record of the royal commission is not easily available...

The numerous reports are in lockdown and would cost a kings ransom to get copy..

''Due to COVID-19 Coronavirus precautions, the SRO is currently closed to the public and we are unable to process requests to view archives at the SRO until further notice. We are still accepting requests to digitise State archives through the SRO's online catalogue.''

parliament house record

 * full details as understood by the parliamentary reocrd of the commision(s) (alluded to above)
 * Royal Commission appointed to inquire into administration of the Western Australian Government Railways

Chair: Alan G. Smith
 * Report on the working of the government railways for quarter ended 30 September 1957

(File size: 11.8 MB)
 * Report of the Western Australian Government Railways Commission for the quarter ended 30th June 1959

(File size: 10.53 MB)
 * Interim report No. 3 of the Royal Commission on The Western Australian Government Railways

(File size: 19.73 MB)
 * Interim report No. 6 of The Royal Commission of The Western Australian Government Railways

(File size: 21.41 MB)
 * Railways Classification Board awards Nos. 4 and 5 of 1959 with report thereon by The Western Australian Government Railways Commission

(File size: 49.67 MB)
 * Report No. 8 of The Royal Commission on The Western Australian Government Railways

(File size: 20.42 MB)
 * Interim report No. 9 of The Royal Commission on The Western Australian Government Railways

(File size 94.55 MB)
 * Report No. 10 of The Royal Commission on The Western Australian Government Railways

(File size: 34.25 MB)
 * Report of the Western Australian Government Railways Commission for the year ended 30th June, 1959

(File size: 39.83 MB)

The X class was mixed up into all of this...

For the way it got into the Government Gazette -

WAGG No. 58, 21 June 1957, p. 1979 Amended on 26 November 1958 and published on WAGG No. 101, 5 December 1958, p. 3155 / Amended on 29 April 1959 and published on WAGG No. 36, 8 May 1959, p. 1185

Tabled paper Interim Reports 200/1957, 269/1957; Interim Reports Nos.1,4&5 146/1958, No.6 192/1958, No.7 220/1958 ; 164/1959, 165/1959, 166/1959

verbatim from https://www.parliament.wa.gov.au/intranet/libpages.nsf/589198976847966848256e5a0008666d/576f693668722e924825774300287922?OpenDocument

JarrahTree 12:48, 27 April 2020 (UTC)


 * Thank you. I may have to wait for the weekend before I can digest that. Or someone can jump in early if they wish.  Stepho  talk 11:39, 28 April 2020 (UTC)
 * The trick is - if it had been 5 to 6 years earlier - it would have been caught on trove - and the terminology of the royal commission and how it was reported does not help... JarrahTree 11:17, 29 April 2020 (UTC)