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DD17 No.1051 Last built of the DD17 suburban tank locos |
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A family outing to the
Redbank Railway Museum in 1979 yielded this postcard of DD17 No.1051, as
prepared for preservation by QR.
Similar portrait views were taken by QR of each of the
Redbank exhibits, prior to their placement in the Redbank Railway Museum.
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Builder |
Ipswich Railway Workshops |
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Builder’s Number & Year |
210 of 1952 |
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Wheel Arrangement |
4-6-4T |
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No. in class |
12 |
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The
DD17 class locomotives were the final development of Queensland Railways (QR)
steam power for Brisbane suburban workings; this successful design benefitted
from the early lessons from the 6D16 class 4-6-2T locos (later converted to
4-6-4T) and experience with the later D17 class 4-6-4T locos. The 4-6-4T
configuration was popular for suburban passenger traffic around the world,
key features being a symmetrical wheel arrangement that was equally suited to
forward or reverse travel at speed, good adhesion from the mass of water
tanks over the driving wheels, and good visibility in both directions. The
DD17’s were modern locomotives, featuring extensive use of welded components,
superheated boilers, electric lighting, mechanical lubricators and roller bearings
on all axles. Twelve DD17 class locomotives were built at Ipswich Railway
Workshops, the first six (949 - 954) in 1948-49 and the final six (1046 –
1051) between 1950 and 1952. The class featured an attractive blue livery, a
stark contrast to the black livery worn by the earlier D17 and 6D16 class
locomotives. I believe the class were known as ‘Blue Babies’ by railwaymen
and Brisbane residents. The
last-built in the class, DD17 No.1051 entered service in July 1952 and was
written off in September 1968. It was selected by QR to represent all
suburban passenger locomotives at the former Redbank Railway Museum, where it
was plinthed with other statically-displayed exhibits from 1970 until closure
of the museum in 1992. No.1051
was restored to operation at Ipswich Railway Workshops in August 1993 for
tours on the QR network, principally around the Brisbane suburbs. As
restored, I understand it received the name ‘Blue Baby’. Unfortunately 1051
has since been stopped for overhaul and reboilering and is stored at ‘The
Workshops’ railway museum, Ipswich awaiting manufacture of a new welded
boiler. UPDATE: As
at June 2012, No.1051 is still stored but components for the new boiler had
been recently delivered, with welding expected to start shortly. (I would
appreciate a more recent progress update for No.1051.) |
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This photo is courtesy
of Graham Watkins and his former SunSteam website, with the caption:
'DD17 1051 gets ready to leave Mitchelton on another run to
Ferny Grove as part of the Mitchelton Heritage Festival on 29 July 2001.’
References
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a |
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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b |
‘Locomotives
of Australia’ by Leon Oberg, published
by J. W. Books Pty Ltd |
Page updated: 11 April 2020
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