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Mount
Lyell No.3 (Abt
No.3) West Coast Wilderness Railway |
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Abt No.3 resting in the West Coast Wilderness Railway
running shed / workshop on 6 May 2003.
(A new carriage is under construction in
the adjacent bay; stainless steel framing is evident.)
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Builder |
Dubs
& Co, Glasgow |
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Builder’s Number & Year |
3730 of 1898 |
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Wheel Arrangement |
0-4-2T |
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Mount
Lyell No.3 (Abt No.3) was built by Dubs
& Co, Glasgow for use on the Abt-rack railway linking the rich mining
town of Queenstown with the port of Strahan. It carries the nameplate ‘Mount
Lyell No.3’ but was more commonly known as Abt No.3. Abt No.3
and its four sister locomotives settled into a life of hauling copper
concentrates, mine supplies and general traffic over the My Lyell rack
railway, supported by conventional locomotives on the non-rack sections of
the route. The five Abt locos were originally coal burners but were converted
to oil firing late in their working lives. Abt No.3
was initially preserved in working order at Queenstown after closure of the
railway in 1963. It was kept in an open cage on a short length of track in a
grass reserve adjacent to the old station yard, and was still there in the
early 1970's. Abt No.3 was
subsequently displayed near this location, which became known as 'Miners
Siding', on an elaborate plinth which replicated a timber bridge on the
inclined Abt-rack section of the railway, and under a weather roof to protect
the locomotive from the wet Tasmanian west coast climate. Following
the allocation of Federal Government funding, the Mt Lyell railway from
Strahan to Queenstown was totally rebuilt as a major tourist initiative for
the Tasmanian West Coast region. The bridges were rebuilt, rails re-laid and
new Abt-rack sections fabricated and installed. The railway was officially
reopened over the entire route as a tourist railway on 3 April 2003, becoming
the West Coast Wilderness
Railway. Several of the original locomotives were also acquired for
refurbishment and operation on the rebuilt railway, including Abt No.3 which
was removed from the Miners Siding display in approximately 1998. The
locomotive was extensively rebuilt and refurbished by under contract by
Saunders & Ward, Hobart, including the fitting of a new welded boiler. By
2000 the locomotive was ready for operation and has become one of the regular
service engines for the West Coast Wilderness Railway. Lou Rae
has written several excellent books on the railways of Tasmania's West Coast,
including ‘The Abt Railway & Railways of the Lyell region’ which provides
a full account of the building and operations of
the Mt Lyell Mining & Railway Company, together with competing interests. Update: Light Railways magazine of February 2011 (Number 217)
included a photograph and report of Abt No.3 having been recently overhauled
and outshopped in black livery with red lining. |
Abt No.3 is seen here in May 1993 on its former plinth in the old Queenstown rail yard site.
This interesting plinth was a replica of a timber bridge on the inclined Abt railway section, under a weather roof, and showing the Abt rack & pinion gear.
Today the railway has again reclaimed this site and Abt No.3 is back at work on the old Mount Lyell railway route.
References
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a |
L. Rae, 'The Abt Railway & Railways of the Lyell
region', published by Lou
Rae, PO Box 508, Sandy Bay, Tasmania, 7006. |
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b |
Dix, A.,
Beck, D., and Dix M. 'Locomotives
of the Tasmanian Transport Museum Glenorchy
Tasmania', published by the Tasmanian
Transport Museum Society, October 1991. |
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c |
L. Oberg,
'Locomotives of Australia', published
by J. W. Books Pty Ltd, Brookvale NSW. 1982 reprint. |
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d |
West Coast
Wilderness Railway website, Accessed 12/8/2024. |
Page updated: 27 April 2025
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