The Hotham Valley Tourist Railway (commonly Hotham Valley Railway) is a tourist and heritage railway in the Peel region of Western Australia. The railway operates over a 32 kilometre section of the original Pinjarra to Narrogin railway line, and has its origins in a small group of enthusiasts who met together in 1974 with the object of preserving both Western Australian steam locomotives and the railway line itself, from Pinjarra at least as far as Dwellingup. Dwellingup is now the primary centre of Hotham Valley's operations. Today the railway operates both steam and diesel locomotive hauled trains on a variety of services and is staffed almost exclusively by volunteers. It is one of only a handful of heritage railway organisations in Western Australia, and as of 2018 is the only heritage and/or tourist railway in the state regularly operating original gauge Western Australian Government Railways steam locomotives. History In 1974, four local residents of Pinjarra formed the Pinjarra Steam & Hills Railway Preservation Society that later became the Hotham Valley Tourist Railway with the aim of operating steam trains on the Pinjarra to Narrogin railway line. Initially four former Western Australian Government Railways W class locomotives were purchased. The first three (W920, W903 and W945) were returned to service in the 1970s, followed by the fourth (W908) in 1988. A fifth W class was purchased in 2013 (W947). Eight former Albany Progress carriages were leased and ultimately purchased outright in 1979. In March 1976, the former Pinjarra Locomotive Depot was leased, officially opening on 17 July 1977. On 12 September 1976 the first train operated, a special from Perth to Dwellingup hauled by W920. Appeals Hotham Valley Railway host a number of appeals, some of which are ongoing. The appeals relate generally to restoration projects but have included an appeal to replace the seats in AV426 - Hotham Valley's 1919 vintage dining carriage, used regularly on the Etmilyn Forest Diner restaurant train. Two appeals run during 2012 were to enable the complete purchase of steam locomotive W947 from Rail Heritage WA with a view to restoring it to operational condition. Although Hotham Valley already owns four W class engines, W947 will considerably strengthen the steam locomotive fleet and provides added interest with a unique pattern sand-dome which ultimately served as a prototype for those later employed on the WAGR V class. Work on W947's boiler continues as funds and resources