| Class LA Ballast Hopper |
| In 1931 a group of ten ballast hoppers were taken over from the PWD (PWD number 79-88). These wagons had been built for the PWD by the State Implement and Engineering works at Fremantle. They were of a more modern design and higher capacity than the existing L class wagons and so were given a new classification (LA). A superb picture of LA593 can be found in the Weston Langford collection here. |
| 1931 | 233, 262, 406, 426, 471, 587, 593, 599, 600, 604 ex PWD 79-88 in that order. |
| 1964 | 233, 406, 593, 600 fitted with extension boards |
| 1965 | 262, 599, 604 fitted with extension boards |
| 1966 | 471, 587 fitted with extension boards |
| 1968 | 262, 471 written off |
| 1969 | 599 written off |
| 1970 | 587 written off |
| 1971 | 406 written off |
| 1977 | 426, 593, 600, 604 written off |
| 1983 | 233 written off. Preserved Hotham Valley railway. |
| The WAGR outline diagram of these prewar wagons is shown below.
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WAGR official photo of LA23701 (RHWA collection) The ten 1931 wagons formed the basis for a new postwar ballast hopper to replace the old, life expired L class wagons. There were detail differences between the two groups as might be expected given the passage of time. The new wagons having a deeper underframe and being noticeably taller. A total of 155 of these new wagons were built between 1955 and 1960. The WAGR outline diagram of these postwar wagons is shown below.
From 1963, 7" high extension boards were fitted to most of these wagons and a 25mph (later 40kph) speed limit imposed when loaded. About 40 remained without these extensions, presumably to work on lines where the full weight could not be taken. |
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| 1955 | 23701 - 23750 built |
| 1957 | 23751 - 23800 built |
| 1958 | 23801-6 built |
| 1959 | 23807-23825 built |
| 1960 | 23826 - 23855 built |
| 1963 | 23701, 23702, 23703, 23707, 23708, 23710, 23711, 23712, 23713, 23715, 23716, 23718, 23719, 23722, 23723, 23724, 23725, 23726, 23728, 23729, 23730, 23731, 23732, 23733, 23734, 23739, 23740, 23742, 23743, 23744, 23745, 23746, 23747, 23748, 23749, 23750, 23752, 23753, 23755, 23756, 23758, 23759, 23760, 23761, 23762, 23763, 23765, 23766, 23767, 23768, 23769, 23770, 23771, 23773, 23774, 23775, 23776, 23777, 23778, 23779, 23781, 23782, 23784, 23786, 23787, 23789, 23760, 23791, 23795, 23796, 23797, 23798, 23799, 23800, 23801, 23802, 23803, 23804, 23806, 23807, 23808, 23810, 23811, 23812, 23813, 23814, 23816, 23818, 23819, 23820, 23822, 23823, 23824, 23825, 23827, 23828, 23829, 23830, 23831, 23832, 23834, 23835, 23836, 23837, 23839, 23840, 23841, 23842, 23843, 23844, 23846, 23848, 23849, 23850, 23851, 23855 fitted with extension boards |
| 1964 | 23706, 23717, 23720, 23721, 23727, 23735, 23736, 23737, 23738, 23741, 23754, 23764, 23772, 23783, 23788, 23792, 23793, 23794, 23817, 23821, 23826, 23845, 23847, 23852, 23853, 23854 fitted with extension boards
23704, 23714, 23785, 23833 written off |
| 1965 | 23705, 23709, 23751, 23757, 23780, 23805, 23809, 23815, 23838 fitted with extension boards
23753 written off |
| 1970 | 23722, 23796 written off |
| 1971 | 23726, 23756, 23793, 23806 written off |
| 1978 | 23830 written off |
| 1980 | 23746, 23802 written off |
| 1981 | 23825 written off |
| 1985 | 23701, 23702, 23718, 23720, 23729, 23734, 23736, 23737, 23744, 23745, 23749, 23757, 23775, 23777, 23778, 23779, 23782, 23788, 23789, 23790, 23792, 23794, 23797, 23800, 23808, 23810, 23819, 23821, 23826, 23827, 23832, 23838, 23840, 23844, 23845, 23849 written off |
| 1986 | 23709, 23760, 23762, 23786, 23801, 23812, 23817, 23834 written off |
| 1987 | 23770 written off |
| 1988 | 23783 written off |
| 1989 | 23843 written off |
| 1990 | 23706, 23780, 23799, 23811 written off |
| 1992 | 23733, 23707, 23787 written off |
| 1993 | 23804 written off |
| 1995 | 23703, 23711, 23712, 23717, 23725, 23740, 23748, 23752, 23754, 23764, 23765, 23768, 23769, 23774, 23795, 23803, 23806, 23807, 23822, 23823, 23829, 23837, 23841, 23846, 23852 written off |
| 1996 | 23829 written off (also recorded as 1995!) |
| A further group of wagons classified as LA were the MRWA O class wagons which were put in class LA in 1964 until it was realised that they were much more comparable to the older L class wagons. By 1966 they had all been re-classified as L. |
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