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Burra Illawarra Light Railway Museum Society |
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'Burra' in steam at the Illawarra Light Railway Museum Society open day of 19 March 2006.
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Builder |
R. & W. Hawthorn, Leslie and Co Ltd, Newcastle-on-Tyne |
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Builder’s Number & Year |
3574
of 1923 |
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Wheel Arrangement |
0-4-0ST |
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The
Illawarra region of NSW hosted an amazing variety of rail operations servicing
the various mining and industrial enterprises, with the escarpment adding a
dimension of complexity to many of these lines. A prime example is the railway
operations at Corrimal Colliery, where a 2’ steam railway traversed the
escarpment to connect mine adits with the top of a rope haulage incline. At
the foot of the escarpment, coal was transferred from the incline to standard
gauge rail wagons where antique locos shuffled the mine produce to exchange
sidings at Corrimal station. Delivered
new to Corrimal Colliery in 1923 was this wonderful Hawthorn Leslie
locomotive, which received the name ‘Burra’. (The name is possibly a
contraction of ‘Kookaburra’.) Burra operated the 2’ gauge line traversing the
rugged escarpment at the top of the haulage incline, in company with resident
0-4-0WT locos Hudson b/n 1423, Krauss b/n 2589 and Krauss b/n 6927. Following
withdrawal from service, Burra was retained for preservation. It was
cosmetically restored at the Australian Iron & Steel (AIS) Locomotive
workshops at Port Kembla prior to being plinthed at the AIS Visitors’ Centre,
Port Kembla. A change
of fortune came in 1978 when Burra was donated to the Illawarra Light Railway
Museum Society (ILRMS). After many years of restoration by ILRMS volunteers,
Burra returned to steam in December 1994 and is now one of their key
operating exhibits, arguably the ‘jewel in the crown’ of the ILRMS collection
given its place in local industrial heritage. Ken
McCarthy wrote a detailed and comprehensive article describing the history, rail
operations and locomotives at Corrimal Colliery in 'Light Railways’ magazine,
Number 60, April 1978, as referenced below. In addition, the Illawarra Light
Railway & Museum page for Burra provides a brief history for this interesting
locomotive. |
A detail view of the cabside, showing the builder’s plate. 19 March 2006.
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a |
McCarthy, K. 'Gazetteer of Industrial Steam
Locomotives, Illawarra District NSW', prepared by Ken
McCarthy for the Illawarra Environmental Heritage Committee. Published by Australian Railway Historical
Society (NSW Division), December 1983. |
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b |
'Light Railways
- Australia's Magazine of Industrial & Narrow-Gauge Railways', Number 60, April 1978. Feature article "The Corrimal
Colliery Railway" by K. McCarthy. Published by
Light Railway Research Society of Australia. |
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c |
Wikipedia page for R. & W. Hawthorn, Leslie and Co Ltd, retrieved 19 October 2021. |
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d |
ILRMS website, page for exhibit Burra, retrieved 19 October 2021 |
Page updated: 19 October
2021
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