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BB181/4 No.1089 The Workshops, Ipswich |
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BB18¼ 1089 leads 1079 up the Main Range on the combined
ARHS/SunSteam Mountaineer Tour to Toowoomba tour on 13 April 2002.
My thanks to Graham Watkins for contributing this fine
action shot.
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Builder |
Walkers
Limited, Maryborough |
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Builder’s Number
& Year |
557 of 1958 |
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Wheel Arrangement |
4-6-2 |
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No. in class |
55 |
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The BB181/4
class 4-6-2 locomotives represent the final development of one of the
Queensland Government Railways' most successful locomotive types. The earlier
B181/4 class had been introduced in 1926 and grew to 83 units for
passenger and fast freight service. A further 55 units were constructed after
World War 2 incorporating improvements such as roller bearings and
anti-vacuum (snifting) valves, together with Australian designed SCOA-P
wheels which provided greater strength and lower weight. These improved
locomotives were known as the BB181/4 class, with 35 constructed
by Vulcan Foundry, Lancashire and 20 by Walkers Ltd, Maryborough. No.1089
was the final of twenty BB181/4 Class 4-6-2 passenger locomotives
constructed by Walkers Ltd, Maryborough between 1955 and 1958. No.1089 is
notable as the final steam locomotive to be constructed in Australia and the
last to enter service with the Queensland Railways, which occurred in March
1958. It was retired in June 1969 after a working life of only 11 years. No.1089
was selected to represent the BB181/4 class at the Queensland
Railways Steam Locomotive Museum, Redbank. Together with other Redbank
exhibits it was prepared for display and fully repainted before entering the
museum, including posing for official portraits which were published as
postcards and available for sale at the Redbank Museum. No. 1089
was displayed at the open-air Redbank Museum from 1970. The Redbank Museum
displayed a worthy locomotive collection but was limited to a static display
in a ‘train park’ environment that lacked context, small exhibits displays
and interpretive functions. Accordingly the need was recognised for a more
comprehensive museum to tell the story of rail transport in Queensland was
recognised, resulting in the transformation of a portion of the Ipswich
Workshops into ‘The Workshops’ railway museum. In 1992 the Redbank Museum
closed, and the exhibits placed in secure storage for a number of years
before the opening of ‘The Workshops’ museum in 2002. No.1089 was
restored to operation at the Ipswich workshops, with its first mainline test
run on 12 December 2001. It has since featured on various enthusiast and
historical tours around the Queensland rail network, occasionally
double-heading with sister No.1079. It remains based at The Workshops railway
museum, where it benefits from both the excellent workshop facilities and the
skills of staff and volunteers that maintain the QR heritage locomotive
fleet. 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. |
A postcard portrait of No.1089 as prepared for static
display at the former Redbank Museum.
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 |
‘Locomotives
of Australia - 1985 to 2010’ (Fifth Edition), by Leon Oberg, published
2010 by Rosenberg Publishing Pty Ltd. |
Page updated: 27 February 2024
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