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BB181/4 No.1037 Downs Steam Tourist Railway & Museum, Toowoomba |
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No.1037 stripped to the frames for overhaul at Mackay.
This view is dated approximately 2004 and was kindly
contributed by Peter Ford.
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
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a |
Armstrong,
J. 'Locomotives in the Tropics, Volume 2, Queensland Railways 1910 – 1958’, published
by the Australian Railway Historical Society -Queensland Division, 1994. |
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b |
Information
provided by Peter Ford, Mackay Heritage Railway Inc. |
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c |
Downs Steam
Facebook page, retrieved 27 February 2024 |
Page updated: 27 February 2024
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