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Tully Mill No.4 Privately owned at Daylesford, Victoria |
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Tully Mill No.4 and two 4-wheel coaches run around the
narrow-gauge circuit at the Lachlan Vintage Village, Forbes in December 1975.
This view is a zoom-in from a slide image kindly
contributed by Graeme Nitz.
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Builder |
John
Fowler & Co, Leeds |
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Builder’s Number & Year |
16340 of 1925 |
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Wheel Arrangement |
0-4-2T |
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Tully Mill
No.4 is typical of the many small steam locomotives which worked the 2’ gauge
sugar tramways of Queensland. It was the fourth of a batch of five locos
ordered for Tully Central Sugar Mill, arriving in early 1925 and numbered 1 -
5. At that time Tully Mill was under construction by the Queensland state
government, and in 1931 the mill was sold to local growers to become the
Tully Co-operative Sugar Milling Association Ltd. Tully Mill
No.4 received several modifications and modernisations during its years of
sugar haulage, including the addition of a rear coal bunker. In preservation, Tully Mill No.4 was originally intended
to join the large collection of 2’ gauge steam locomotives at the Goulburn
Steam Museum at Marsden Weir, but was instead forwarded to the Lachlan
Vintage Village at Forbes circa 1974, where it was restored to working order.
Here it gave tourist rides with a short train of 4-wheel passenger cars on a
loop track around the Village exhibitions. Sister loco Tully Mill No.5 (Fowler B/N 16341 of
1924) was also stored at the Lachlan Vintage Village at that time, ostensibly
as a source of spare parts. Unfortunately the Lachlan Vintage Village did not enjoy
ongoing success and its railway operations were closed after a few years,
leading to an auction of their railway equipment in 1986. Tully Mill No.4 was
purchased by the management of the Goulburn Steam Museum, together with two
4-wheel carriages, and relocated to Marsden Weir, Goulburn. The loco was
reported in 1997 as being under restoration at the Marsden Weir Steam Museum,
and it apparently worked there for several years over the tourist railway which
linked the historic pump house with the museum entrance gates. Unfortunately
the railway at the Marsden Weir Steam Museum had been removed by the time of
my visit in 2003, although the historic original Appleby Beam Engine pump and
Galloway boilers at this National Trust registered site remain well worth a
visit. Tully Mill No.4 was apparently sold to an enthusiast for
private preservation and relocated to the spa town of Daylesford, Victoria.
Light Railways magazine of February 2011 (Number 217) included a photograph
and news report showing the locomotive under repair in a sawmill workshop at
Daylesford. I believe it may have since moved to Geelong, Victoria. Some
sources have reported this loco as B/N
16339 of 1924 (Tully Mill No.3), and indeed I had it listed as such until
2021.
John Browning’s catalogue of preserved sugar locos (referenced below) lists
it as Tully Mill No.4 (B/N 16340) and I understand it was known as No.4
during its preservation career, hence I have amended this website to show
No.4. Perhaps someone can clarify if any frame stamps or other definitive
evidence has been found to confirm its identity. I would
appreciate the contribution of
additional photographs and further information for this locomotive, either at
Tully Mill, Lachlan Vintage Village, Marsden Weir or Daylesford. |
A second view of Tully Mill No.4 and tourist train at the
Lachlan Vintage Village, Forbes in December 1975; image courtesy of Graeme
Nitz.
The train is passing some of the replica and relocated
pioneer buildings that were a feature of the Lachlan Vintage Village.
References
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a |
Light
Railway Research Society of Australia Inc. Web site (retrieved
4 July 2016): 'Preserved
Australian Sugar Cane Locomotives' list by John Browning |
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b |
'Light Railways', Number 69, July 1980. Published by Light Railway Research Society of Australia
Inc. |
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c |
The Steam Workshop website, retrieved 19
January 2021 |
Page updated: 17 June 2026
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