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Decauville boiler Millaquin Mill, Bundaberg |
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(Photo required)
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Builder |
Decauville,
France |
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Builder’s Number & Year |
399 of 1904 |
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Wheel Arrangement |
0-4-0T |
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Light
Railways magazine of October 2000 included an interesting story and
photograph of a steam locomotive relic exhumed near Millaquin Mill – the boiler
of Decauville locomotive b/n 399 of 1904. This corroded relic was discovered
during excavation for a gas main; it is believed that the frames remain
buried nearby, but circumstances did not permit further exploration. This
Decauville locomotive originally worked at the Tamanoa Mill, Fiji. In 1923 it
was purchased by a Bundaberg machinery dealer and placed in storage at
Millaquin Mill, Bundaberg. It was subsequently abandoned and buried on site
in 1937. I
don’t know what became of this old locomotive boiler – perhaps it was just
disposed as scrap. None-the-less, it is an intriguing footnote in the history
of Queensland’s sugar tramways and mills. Further information or photographs
are welcome. As
an aside, the UK firm North Bay Railway Engineering Services Ltd offers to
new-build 2’ gauge Decauville locomotives; ostensibly for wealthy steam enthusiasts
who can accommodate a substantial garden railway! The North Bay Railway
Engineering Services website
includes a good selection of photographs showing their first new-build
Decauville locomotive under construction. |
References
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a |
'Light Railways - Australia's Magazine of Industrial
& Narrow Gauge Railways', Number 155, October 2000, published by Light
Railway Research Society of Australia Inc.
News item on pages 18 & 19. |
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b |
Web page for
North Bay Railway
Engineering Services, |
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c |
Wikipedia
page for Decauville,
France , |
Page updated: 1 March 2018
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