BB181/4 No.1037

Downs Steam Tourist Railway & Museum, Toowoomba

 

No.1037 stripped to the frames for overhaul at Mackay.

This view is dated approximately 2004 and was kindly contributed by Peter Ford.

Builder

The Vulcan Foundry,

Newton-le-Willows, Lancashire

Builder’s Number & Year

5963 of 1950

Wheel Arrangement

4-6-2

No. in class

55

No.1037 is a survivor of the Queensland Railways modern BB181/4 class 4-6-2 passenger locomotives. The BB181/4 class was an improved version of the earlier 181/4 class and were employed on longer-distance passenger and fast freight turns, together with extensive use on Brisbane commuter services.

The unusual class designation 'BB18 1/4' comes from the QGR practice of describing 'B' for 6-coupled engine, 'BB' etc for improved design, and the class number (18 1/4) from the cylinder diameter in inches. Similarly, 'A' denotes 4 coupled wheels, 'C' denotes 8 coupled wheels, and 'D' denotes tank locomotives! Beyer-Garratt articulated locomotives were too hard to classify; they were simply known as 'Garratts'!

No.1037 was constructed by The Vulcan Foundry, Lancashire and entered service with Queensland Railways in July 1951. It was retired from Mackay in March 1970, becoming the last QR steam engine in service in the region.

Following withdrawal from service, Queensland Railways made No.1037 available for display at Mackay and it was placed on display at the old Mackay railway station.

Around 2000, Queensland Railways donated No.1037 to a group of local rail enthusiast (known as Mackay Heritage Railway Inc.) for restoration to operation. It was transferred to their storage shed and workshop in the Mackay Harbour precinct, where overhaul is progressing as manpower and funds permit. I understand that No.1037 has been converted to oil burning (with a removable oil tank in the coal space, such that the loco could revert to coal firing in the future) and will also be fitted with auto-couplers. (The Mackay Heritage Railway group also have sister No.1086 in storage.)

An excellent reference for further information about the BB181/4 Class locomotives is ‘Locomotives in the Tropics, Volume 2, Queensland Railways 1910 – 1958’ by John Armstrong.

Update:

A Facebook post by Downs Steam Tourist Railway & Museum on 3 November 2022 announced that No.1037 and No.1086 were being transferred to their Toowoomba restoration base, with an initial focus on completing 1037’s restoration and 1086 as a longer-term project. No.1037 was subsequently transferred to Toowoomba in components, with the boiler arriving first and the chassis following in February 2023. Downs Steam volunteers subsequently made rapid progress with the locomotive, culminating in a return to steam in late 2023 – including a reversion to coal firing. No.1037 and recently restored C16 No.106 were both in steam at the Downs Steam open day held 9 December 2023.

A fine view of 1037 at Caboolture on 4 October 1970, with thanks to Anthony Winstone for contributing this photo.

Interestingly this view was taken after 1037's withdrawal, so presumably it was an enthusiast train or other special outing.

References

a

Armstrong, J. 'Locomotives in the Tropics, Volume 2, Queensland Railways 1910 – 1958’,

published by the Australian Railway Historical Society -Queensland Division, 1994.

b

Information provided by Peter Ford, Mackay Heritage Railway Inc.

c

Downs Steam Facebook page, retrieved 27 February 2024

https://www.facebook.com/DownsSteam/

Page updated: 27 February 2024

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