When it was announced that BHP will donate one of its disused locomotives to ARHS museum in Perth, I was really happy! I've never seen American loco before. So it was quite an opportunity to see one.
When I saw the loco for the first time, although from the distance, I was really surprised. It was like a two storey building! And it was getting more surprising when I saw it from nearby. It was like building! It was a huge locomotive!
This Alco M636 was built (under licence) by AE Goodwin. Although it was built in Australia, it was never used in Australia's mainline, due to its immense size and weight.
It was used by Mt. Newman (later BHP) for Iron ore hauling in Pilbara. When it was retired, it briefly used for shunting duties before being sent to ARHS Museum in Bassendean, near Perth.
The 5499 loco was the last Alco loco to be operated by BHP.
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An Alco M636 can be seen in the background. The tall orange locomotive, of course. |
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This photo shows you the immense size of Alco M636. Compare it with the bystander. |
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A view of M636's radiator. The '99' number refer to loco's last two digit number, of the actual '5499'. |
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A rear view of Alco M636. Compare this huge standard gauge loco with the old steam engine to the right. |
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Another rear view, but this time with a row of former Westrail locos in the background. The loco in the middle of the row is another Alco Century class, albeit the Australian version one. And it's also a narrow gauge loco. |
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Close-up view of the cab of Alco M636 loco. The list of this loco's former owners is visible. |
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Nose view of the same loco. |
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A further view of Alco M636. This gave a clearer view of this loco. The junk surrounding the loco made it impossible for me to take a better picture. |
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Me, in front of the loco. Just for souvenir. |
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In order to run a 190 tonnes loco, with 32 tonnes axle clearance, a very heavy rails with huge sleeper is needed. This photo show's you how big it is, compared with my Nokia 3210 mobile phone. |
