Mount Newman Mining

F7A

• 5450 and 5451 (2 units) built 1950
• Model F7A, 1,435mm-gauge, B-B diesel-electric, 1,500hp

Unlike all other locomotives featured on our site, these two former Western Pacific Railroad F7A locomotives are genuine America F units. They are also the oldest streamliners in Australia, even if they did not spend their entire careers here. They were bought second-hand in 1968 by the then new Mount Newman Mining venture in Western Australia’s remote Pilbara region to be used in construction of the railway between Port Hedland and Newman. Following completion of the task, they were put into shunting and secondary duties for a few years before early retirement. 5450 was an early member of the Pilbara Rail Historical Society’s collection near Karratha, which for several years also featured classic Great Western Railway (UK) 4-6-0 steam engine Pendennis Castle. Thus for a few short years, in the remote tropics of Western Australia, you could – if you were lucky – find a genuine British Railways steam engine operating with a classic North American F unit!

• 5450 – Former Western Pacific 917A – Pilbara Rail Historical Society, Six Mile (stored)
• 5451 – Former Western Pacific 923A – Don Rhodes Mining & Transport Museum, Port Hedland (display)

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Last updated 19 May 2023