Class XA and XAC hoppers

In 1902 the first high capacity hopper wagons appeared on the W.A.G.R. They were built in the U.S.A. by Dutilh-Smith, McMillan &Co. The fifty wagons (5894-5943) entered service in 1902 apart from the last (5943) which was issued to traffic the following year. They had a unique type of 5'-0" wheelbase bar-frame bogie and a handrail high up along the side. The WAGR outline diagram is shown below.
A blow up from State Library of WA 217015PD showing two XA's at Ravensthorpe in 1915. The nearer wagon (5922) has no handrail.
In 1909 numbers 5902, 5912, 5919, 5921, 5927, 5935, 5937 and 5940 were transferred to the isolated Hopetoun-Ravensthorpe Railway. They were joined by 5897, 5915, 5922, 5923, 5925, 5929 the following year. All of these wagons returned to the main system in 1921 and had their bodies replaced.
Another fifty wagons (but this time with 5'-6" wheelbase RB type bogies) were built in 1929 (11129-11162) and 1930 (11163-11178) at Midland Workshops. There were detailed differences between this batch and the original American built wagons. The outermost angle iron at either end of the wagon was extended and the handrail along the side deleted from these later wagons.   The withdrawal of the XA class hoppers started after the Second World War but only affected the older American built wagons at first:	XA11173 at Bassendean. Note the welded patches where corrosion has taken place along the lower sides and the longer diagonal ironwork at either end.

1947	5904 to JETTY 561
1953	5915, 5936, 5939, 5941 written off
1954	5894, 5895, 5897, 5911, 5913, 5929, 5935, 5940 written off
1955	5898, 5906, 5907, 5908, 5914, 5922, 5926, 5927, 5928, 5933, 5934, 5937, 5938, 5942 written off
1956	5899, 5919, 5920, 5921, 5943 written off
1957	5901, 5905, 5918, 5923, 5932 written off
1964	5903 written off
1965	5928, 5930 written off
1966	5896 written off
1967	5910 written off
1972	5902 written off
1973	5916 written off
1976	5900, 5912, 5924 converted to XAC
1978	5909 written off
1983	5917, 5931 written off XAC 5900, 5912, 5924 written off

The conversion to class XAC involved changes to the slope decks and mesh for a tarpaulin. Most of the wagons converted to this standard were from the Midland built batch.

Twenty-two of the Midland built wagons were converted to ballast hoppers and reclassified XL from 1969 but most were converted back to XA. The demise of the Midland built wagons was as follows:
1965	11148 written off
1967	11156 written off
1969	11130 to XL
1970	11131, 11134, 11138, 11142, 11144, 11147, 11150, 11151, 11153, 11154, 11155, 11157, 11161, 11162, 11163, 11164, 11166, 11167, 11170, 11172, 11177 to XL
1972	11173, 11175 written off
1974	11131, 11138, 11142, 11144, 11147, 11150, 11151, 11153, 11154, 11155, 11157, 11161, 11162, 11163, 11164, 11166, 11167, 11177 from XL
1975	11131, 11137-9, 11140, 11142, 11143, 11151, 11154, 11159, 11163, 11166, 11167, 11177 to XAC
1976	11132, 11133, 11145, 11146, 11155, 11158, 11160, 11165, 11174 to XAC
1977	11153 to XAC
1979	XAC11153 written off
1980	11147 to XAC
1981	11157 written off, 11150 to XAC
1983	11129, 11135, 11136, 11141, 11144, 11149, 11152, 11161, 11162, 11164, 11168, 11171, 11176, 11178 written off XAC11131, 11132, 11133, 11137, 11138, 11139, 11140, 11142, 11143, 11145-7, 11150, 11151, 11154, 11155, 11158, 11159, 11160, 11163, 11165, 11166, 11167, 11169, 11174, 11177 written off

One unrecorded modification involving XA11156 seems to involve the replacement of the steel sides with wood as shown in this Lynton Englund photo below. I have no idea when this was done or how long it lasted like this.

Hidden away at Midland workshops some surprising things could be found which never saw the light of day on the main system. One of these was a wagon built out of TWO American XAs welded together.