Collie has the only coal field in Western Australia which has been mined since 1898. The town once had the 2nd largest railway yards in WA. The railway line runs past the loco and still sees freight, mostly white alumina powder to Bunbury for export. It comes from the Worsley refinery which gets Bauxite from a local mine. Coal trains only recently stopped, as the Kwinana power station closed. A scheme to export coal via Bunbury to India may see the return of coal trains to Collie.

After this successful operation it was based at Forrestfield, operating steam specials. Later it moved to Ian Willis owned Pemberton Tramway Co. which operates on the old timber tramways around Pemberton. Does not seem to have steamed for a few years. All tourist trains at Pemberton Tramway are by railcars built by Willis Engineering.

The East Perth passenger terminal handles all standard gauge passenger trains, including the India-Pacific to Sydney. Also all the Transwa inter-state coaches departing Perth, leave from here. It was built on the site of East Perth railway steam locomotive depot. There is a small collection of railway exhibits inside the passenger terminal with a wall display made up from locomotive parts (see the album photos for No 542)

Collie has a small mining museum. It also has the Bill Weir rolling stock collection where old railway wagons are restored. On the outskirts of town is the last standing railway roundhouse in Western Australian. Not open to the public.

Coolgardie railway station opened 1896 on the Perth to Kalgoorlie railway line. In 1896 due to gold mining this was the third largest town in Western Australia. When the gold ran out the population declined rapidly. In the 1960s a new standard gauge line was built from Kalgoorlie to Perth. This passed to the north of Coolgardie, the station finally closing in 1972, with the town losing all railway connections.

The Old Railway Station Museum. The railway station opened in 1884 and closed 1966 when the new Standard Gauge was laid from Kalgoolie to Perth. In places it took a new alignment. Northam was an example. The 42 inch gauge railway ran through town. The new Standard gauge route by passed the centre and required a new station. The impressive old station became a folk museum.

When HVTR lost running rights over the government railway system they concentrated on their own Pinjarra, Dwellingup & Etmilyn line. 706 axle load of 14 tons compared to the W class of 10 tons made it unsuitable for their branch line. For years it has been stored out of use at Pinjarra old steam shed, near the railway station. With the HVTR acquiring 735. Maybe their future includes plans for this engine.

Now based at South West Rail & Heritage Centre, Boyanup where it is undergoing a complete overhaul. When Bunbury railway roundhouse was demolished part of it was donated to this museum. Its where 233 chassis is being worked on. Also various carriages from the Bunbury vintage train are being restored here. There maybe be plans to open the Boyanup to Donnybrook railway.

The Boyanup museum is only open to the public one Sunday a month. Normally various volunteers on site each weekend. Prior arrangements can be made to visit on these days. Very friendly.

The Boulder Loopline museum in Kalgoorlie ran railcars on a section of the 1897 Boulder to Golden Mine railway which was mainly built to take miners to & from work. The huge Superpit gold mine has slowly swallowed up the railway line. The museum is based at the Boulder City railway station. There is plenty to see (no steam locos). Various diesel locos & rolling stock, railway exhibits and a military vehicle collection. They report that the State Government has given funds to build an operating railway.

Recent years have found 123 unservicable stored outdoors at HVTR Pinjarra workshops.

The Upper Darling Range Railway, was built by Canning Jarrah Timber Company. It was a railway running from Midland to Canning Timber Mill. It required a zig zag track of 4 reversals building on the slopes and was finished in 1891, the first zig zag formation in Western Australia. It was used mainly to move new railway sleepers from the mill. In 1903 the railway line taken over by WAGR. A station was then built at Kalamunda. WAGR closed the line in 1949 and the station. The bus journey from Midland to Kalamunda gives a good idea of the original railway plus an excellent view of Perth in the distance.