|
|
C17 No. 802 Mary Valley Heritage Railway |
|
No.802 'Roma' riding the
turntable at Imbil in preparation for its return journey to Gympie on 28
January 2004.
A thunderstorm had blown over the large tree in the
background only the day before.
|
Builder |
Sir W
G Armstrong Whitworth & Co Ltd, Newcastle
upon Tyne |
|
|
Builder’s Number & Year |
850 of 1927 |
|
|
Wheel Arrangement |
4-8-0 |
|
|
No. in class |
227 |
|
|
No.802
is one of Queensland Government Railways’ highly successful C17 class 4-8-0
locomotives of which 227 units were constructed by a variety of builders
between 1920 and 1953. No 802 represents the original ‘1920 design’ of C17
which are identifiable by a straight-sided cutaway cab, cast iron chimney and
a low-sided bogie tender, however it has been fitted with the later ‘1938
design’ boiler with a low steam dome. No.802 was the first of a batch of 25
additional C17-class engines imported from the UK manufacturer Armstrong
Whitworth & Co in 1927 and unloaded at the Pinkenba wharf in
Brisbane. (I have provided some
further information about the Queensland Railways’ C17 class locomotives on
the page for C17 No.2.) No.802
was placed in Queensland Government Railways service in July 1927 and written
off 42 years later in June 1969. Upon
retirement it was plinthed in a park at Roma for the Roma and District
Tourist Development Association. After
30 years plinthed at Roma, fate turned for the better for No.802 in March
2000 when it was acquired by the Mary Valley Heritage Railway (MVHR) for their popular
‘Valley Rattler’ operation on the branch line from Gympie to Imbil. No.802
was overhauled in their Gympie workshop and released to MVHR service in 2003,
becoming the second service engine to sister No.45. The restored loco No.802
'Roma' follows the MVHR tradition of being named after the town in which it
was once plinthed. Following restoration and overhaul it now sports a B18 1/4
class tender and a suburban D17 whistle. The photos on this page date from the webmaster’s ride to
Imbil on the Mary Valley Rattler on 28 January 2004; a most enjoyable day declared
by my wife to be “the best steam train trip yet” (high praise indeed!) The
train crew were particularly welcoming and friendly, and an unexpected treat
arose when the train paused at Dagun on the return journey, where a local
community stall sold fresh frozen mango ice-blocks, which provided welcome
refreshment to the heat and humidity of a Queensland January. Update: No.802 was withdrawn from service at the Mary
Valley Rattler around 2011 / 2012. It has since been purchased by the Southern Downs Steam Railway
and was transported to Warwick by truck, arriving on 12th June 2019. It is
intended that No.802 will be completely overhauled to provide a second
locomotive and ease the workload for operational sister No.971. |
|||
No.802 and her nicely-presented train
departing Imbil on the return run to Gympie.
28 January 2004.
No.802 awaiting deaprture time at the
delightful Imbil station. 28 January
2004.
No.802 ambling up the turntable road at
Imbil. 28 January 2004.
No.802’s builder’s
plate, attached to the cabside.
Armstrong Whitworth & Co builder’s plates seem to be
missing some decoration or text in the centre!
No.802 in storage at the
Southern Downs Steam Railway in their restoration base at Warwick locomotive
depot.
This photo was kindly contributed by Stephen Shepherd and
is dated 15 June 2019.
References
|
a |
‘Locomotives of Australia’ by Leon
Oberg, published by J. W. Books Pty Ltd |
|
b |
Armstrong,
J. 'Locomotives in the Tropics - Volume 2 (Queensland Railways 1910 – 1958 and
beyond)’, published by the ARHS
Queensland Division, 1994. |
|
c |
Locomotive information sheet
provided by the Mary Valley Heritage Railway, 28 January 2004. |
Page updated: 19 October 2019
|
Government Railways: |
|
|||||||||
|
Private & Industrial Railways: |
|