South Australian Railways
Broad Gauge
Class operators South Australian Railways; Australian National Railways
Provenance South Australian Railways; Australian National
Condition Good
Entered service January 1945
Entered the museum 24th July 1986
Ownership Port Dock Station Railway Trust
Number in class 550
Length (over coupling points) 22’ 10’’ (6.96m)
Tare Weight 9 tons 12 cwt (9609 kilograms)
Load Weight 15 tons (15,000 kilograms)
The practice of the South Australian Railways of building 4-wheel versions of larger bogie cars, and vice versa, extended to many types. When this occurred the 4-wheel version was given the same classification as the bogie wagon but with the suffix ‘f’ added. The DW-class was a bogie Louvred Van and the DWf its 4-wheel counterpart. Built to carry produce which needed ventilation but not refrigeration, 550 were built by the Islington Workshops between December 1944 and February 1955.
No. 4724 was one of the first batch of 50 and was placed in service in January 1945. Most of the class survived to be taken into Australian National ownership in 1978 but, thereafter, they were condemned in large numbers. 4724 placed in the Mile End Railway Museum on 24th July 1986. It was sent to the museum on 5th June 1987.