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C17 No. 720 Named ‘Ken Biggs’ at the Rosewood Railway Museum |
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C17 No.720 running
around its train at Cabanda Station at the Rosewood Railway on 29 March 2015.
The handsome C17 ‘Brown Bomber’
livery of mid-brown with green lining is seen to good effect.
A brass nameplate ‘Ken
Biggs’ can be seen attached to the running plate.
My thanks to Jarrod Mitton for contributing this photo.
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Builder |
Walkers
Limited, Maryborough |
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Builder’s Number & Year |
348 of 1922 |
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Wheel Arrangement |
4-8-0 |
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No. in class |
227 |
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No.720
is one of Queensland Railways’ highly successful C17 class 4-8-0 locomotives of
which 227 units were constructed by a variety of builders between 1920 and
1953. The C17’s were a ‘maid of all work’ that were powerful enough for main
line freight duties, yet with a low axle load which permitted wide deployment
and accordingly they could be found on everything from suburban and express
passenger trains to main, secondary and branch line freight and mixed traffic
work, although the type are perhaps best associated with Queensland Railways’
(QR) long rural routes. The final C17 class members were retired at the very
end of QR revenue steam operations in August 1970. No
720 is of the original C17 ‘1920 design’ which are identifiable by a
straight-sided cutaway cab, tall steam dome, cast iron chimney and a
low-sided bogie tender. No.720 has been reboilered at some stage, receiving
the 1938 style of boiler with low steam dome, although retaining an
older-style cast iron chimney. No.720
was placed in Queensland Government Railways service in February 1923 and
written off 45 years later in August 1968. Following retirement it was placed
in a park at Goondiwindi, in the south-west of the state, for the local Apex
club. In
1993, No.720 was donated to the Queensland Branch of the Australian Railway
Historical Society (ARHS) and transported to their Rosewood Railway.
Here it was dismantled and progressively overhauled by ARHS volunteers,
culminating in a return to operation with its first test run at the Rosewood
Railway Museum on 10 June 2007. No.720 has been named ‘Ken Biggs’ after a
long serving Secretary of the Society and now wears the handsome C17 ‘Brown
Bomber’ livery of mid-brown with green lining. It is a regular traffic loco
on the Rosewood Railway Museums’ operating days, running between Kunkala and
Cabanda Stations on the restored section of the former Marburg branch. This
trip includes a stiff uphill climb at 1:50 grade on the return from Cabanda,
giving an opportunity for the driver to open the regulator and for No.720 to
do some work! No.720
also features on ‘Driver Experience’ operations at the Rosewood Railway
Museums, where visitors can book for a session on the locomotive footplate to
learn and experience the art of steam locomotive firing and driving. I
would really appreciate some good action shots of No.720 in action for
addition to this page, so contributions are welcome. For
further information about the Queensland Railways’ C17 class locomotives,
refer to the page for C17 No.2. |
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Newly-restored C17
No.720 in steam at the Rosewood Railway Museum on 29 July 2007 following a full
overhaul by ARHS volunteers.
At this stage the boiler
cladding was yet to be painted and the rest of the locomotive is in undercoat.
This photo was kindly contributed by Clinton Taylor.
No.720's overhauled
boiler is gingerly lowered into the frames at Rosewood Railway Museum by ARHS
volunteers.
This photo is courtesy of Matthew McIntosh.
A second view of
No.720's overhauled boiler being lowered into the frames at the Rosewood
Railway Museum.
This photo is courtesy of Matthew McIntosh.
Another view contributed
by Matthew McIntosh showing No.720 with the repaired boiler having just been
placed back on the loco chassis.
The restored tender can be seen behind No.720.
References
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a |
‘Locomotives of Australia’ by Leon
Oberg, published by J. W. Books Pty Ltd |
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b |
Armstrong,
J. 'Locomotives in the Tropics - Volume 2 (Queensland Railways 1910 – 1958 and
beyond)’, published by the ARHS
Queensland Division, 1994. |
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c |
‘Rosewood
Railway Museum – The Remaking of a Railway’ by Greg Cash, published by the Australian
Railway Historical Society, Queensland Division, 1992. |
Page updated: 11 May 2019
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