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Blue Circle Southern Cement No. 5 Andrew Barclay Sons & Co b/n 1470 of 1916 |
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Blue Circle Southern Cement No.5 (sans wheels) in storage at Wodonga during the late 1980’s.
The wheelsets, motion
& brake rigging were removed during No.5’s final, aborted overhaul at the
Portland Cement Works.
The running plates above
the cylinders show damage typical of a poor lift by a crane operator unfamiliar
with the right way to lift a steam locomotive.
The shunter steps at the
front are totally buckled; it looks like No.5 was dropped during this poor lift;
hopefully the frame is not bent!
My thanks to Graeme Nitz for
contributing this digitized photo of No.5.
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Builder |
Kilmarnock,
Scotland |
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Builder’s Number & Year |
1470 of 1916 |
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Wheel Arrangement |
0-6-0T |
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This
sturdy 0-6-0T locomotive was No.5 in the fleet of Blue Circle Southern Cement
at their works at Portland, NSW. It
was built by Andrew Barclay, Sons & Co. at Kilmarnock, Scotland and
appears to be one of that company’s standard designs for industrial shunting
work. At Portland it shuttled over a
short but steep branch line connecting the cement works to the New South Wales
Government Railways line at Portland station. Unfortunately I never saw this operation
however enthusiasts have told me that No.5 wore an attractive green livery
and worked quite hard to climb the grade to the cement works. The
steam locomotive fleet at Portland was retired as late as 1983 and No.5
(together with locos No.3 and 2605) became available to preservation
groups. I understand that No.5 had
previously been stopped for overhaul and was sitting outside the engine shed
at Portland, raised off its wheels for repair of the axle boxes, motion etc however this work had later been cancelled, leaving
No.5 in a partially dismantled state. (No.5
may have also have received a new boiler around this time.) No.5
was acquired (still partially dismantled) in approximately 1986 by the
Tallangatta Railway Society for their proposed tourist railway at
Tallangatta, Victoria, where it was planned to be regauged to 5' 3" for
operation on a restored portion of the Victorian Railways’ Cudgewa branch. Unfortunately these plans did not come to
fruition and the rails of this scenic branch line were subsequently lifted. I believe No.5 was taken to an industrial
site in Wodonga in connection with its planned overhaul for use by the
Tallangatta Railway Society, where it remained stored during the late 1980’s. Newsgroup
posts stated that No.5 remained stored at Wodonga in late 1990's, still
sitting on its frame & without wheels, however it subsequently moved to a
private site nearby and its location had not been reported for many years. I finally found evidence of this locomotive
in Wodonga on 7 August 2010 when two wheelsets were spotted in a storage
compound; while photographing the wheels I was approached by son of the
locomotive's owner, who advised No.5 was now stored on a rural property
outside of Wodonga (together with the third wheelset, motion & brake
rigging). I was advised the locomotive
was likely to be auctioned in coming months. Railway Digest
magazine of October 2010 included a notice that this locomotive would be
auctioned on 16 October 2010. Newsgroup reports after the auction suggest
that No.5 was purchased by the Dorrigo Steam Railway & Museum; presumably
it will be transported to Dorrigo to join the collection there. Interestingly, I have recently received a
photo of No.5 taken in the late 1980’s (above) which show the locomotive has sustained
considerable damage consistent with a ‘bad lift’ and drop by an inexperienced
crane operator. Further information
about this damage and No.5’s current location is welcome. |
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The webmaster spied two
of No.5's three wheelsets in storage at a Wodonga industrial premises on 7
August 2010.
These wheels retain the
light green livery which was apparently a feature of this locomotive during its
working days at the Portland Cement Works.
I couldn’t see any evidence of the third wheelset, motion,
brake rigging etc but I understand they are all held
in storage.
References
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a |
Griffiths,
D. 'BHP Locomotives', Railmac Publications, 1982. |
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b |
Railway
Digest, October 2010 (Volume 48, Number 10), published by the Australian
Railway Historical Society NSW Division. Page 18. |
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c |
Webmaster's
observation or comment. |
Page updated: 15 April 2016
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