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B15 No.299 Maryborough Railway Station |
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No.299 displayed in a
bay platform at Maryborough station. 19 July 1996
The cowcatcher a wonderful statement of branch line usage.
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Builder |
Walkers
Limited, Maryborough |
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Builder’s Number & Year |
1 of 1897 |
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Wheel Arrangement |
4-6-0 |
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No. in class |
98 (including 6 originally built
for the Chillagoe Railway & Mining Co) |
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Following
the successful B13 class mixed traffic locomotives, the B15 class locomotives
used the same 4-6-0 wheel arrangement but were designed for freight service
and provided with small 3’ driving wheels. The initial order was for 15
locomotives and supplied by Nasmyth Wilson & Co. of Patricroft in 1889.
Judged a success, the class grew to 92 examples via further orders from
Yorkshire Engine Co (10), Evans, Anderson & Phelan (21) and Walkers
Limited of Maryborough (46). Interestingly the private Chillagoe Railway
& Mining Co also ordered 6 of these locomotives from Walkers for their
Atherton tableland operations, and these locomotives also came into Queensland
Railway’s stock when the government took control of their line in 1919. Apparently
the small 3’ driving wheels of the original design caused damage to the track
and accordingly B15s were unpopular with the Queensland Railway’s civil
engineering department. The small driving wheels are evident in early photos
of B15’s and presumably these locos were not noted for high speed! In modern
times, track ride and other complex engineering problems can be assessed by
computer modelling and design, but in earlier times trial & error was
required! In an attempt to overcome track damage problems, Queensland Railways
purchased three sets of 3’ 9” wheels from the South Australian Railways; this
trial proved successful – and also improved the overall proportions and appearance!
All but five of the B15 class were progressively updated with 3’ 9” driving
wheels from the 1900’s through to the 1920s, being redesignated ‘B15 Con’ (i.e.
converted). The remaining five non-converted B15’s were written off together
in November 1934. The original 15 Nasmyth Wilson & Co. locos were supplied
with 120psi iron boilers while subsequent engines were supplied with 140psi steel
boilers, and most B15’s also received replacement 160psi boilers during
overhauls and rebuilding over the years. B15
Con. withdrawals began with 26 written off in 1935 and proceeded gradually
thereafter, with only 18 remaining on the books into the 1960s. They retained
usefulness in light lines and shunting roles, and B15’s were principal motive
power in the tropical far north of Queensland, particularly the Cairns – Main
Range – Atherton Tablelands lines, owing to the light rails in the area. No
double the class were extremely busy during the World War 2 years, when many
military facilities were established around Cairns and the Atherton Tableland
as a staging point for Pacific operations, leveraging the rail and port
facilities in the area. Preserved
example No.299 is notable as being the first locomotive officially built by
Walkers Limited of Maryborough, carrying their builder’s number No.1 of 1897,
although the first railway locomotive constructed by that company was in fact
a humble 0-4-0VB logging locomotive built in 1873 and named Mary Ann. The service history for No.299
shows it began duties in January 1897 and was converted in May 1915. It
worked at Townsville & Cairns its entire working life before being
retired in June 1966. Fortunately it was preserved in Maryborough in
recognition as the first loco built by Walkers Limited, following a suggestion
by the Queensland Division of the Australian Railway Historical Society. I
believe No.299 ran occasional enthusiast trips in the 1970’s from Maryborough
on the branch line to Pialba (Harvey Bay) and Urangan, which today a popular
whale watching town and access point to the World Heritage Fraser Island, but
in pioneer days served as a deep water port for Maryborough and the region.
(Indeed, steam locomotives built by Walkers Ltd for the Tasmanian Government Railway
and other points were exported via the railway along the Urangan pier.) Alas
the Pialba branch closed in 1993 and is now a bicycle track! Today
No.299 resides in a sheltered bay platform at Maryborough station, as seen in
the photos on this page which date from my visit on 19 July 1996. I
understand the loco remains nominally operable, but presumably would require
overhaul and documentation to meet the documentation and certification requirements
of today’s standards. I
found plenty of railway & historical interest at Maryborough station
during my visit; this was a bustling station during World War 2 and I recall
the air-raid bunker was intact and presented as a historical feature of the
precinct, among other items. The Wikipedia page for the B15 class contains useful
technical data for these locomotives. |
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The builder’s plate for No.299 displayed proudly on the cabside:
“Walkers Limited, Engineers,
Maryborough – No.1, 1897”
This purposeful old brass
Jacksons padlock, stamped “QR”, secures a storage locker on the footplate.
References
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a |
Armstrong,
J. 'Locomotives in the Tropics - Volume 1 (Queensland Railways 1864 – 1910)’, published by the ARHS
Queensland Division, 1985. |
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b |
‘Locomotives
of Australia’ by Leon Oberg, published
by J. W. Books Pty Ltd |
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c |
Wikipedia
page for B15 class, retrieved 28 September 2020. |
Page updated: 26 October 2020
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Government Railways: |
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Private & Industrial Railways: |
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