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Kathleen Richmond Vale Railway Museum |
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Kathleen shortly after arrival at the Richmond Vale
Railway Museum, in the industrial surrounds of the Richmond Main Colliery. This rather poor scanned print photo dates
from my first visit to the Richmond Vale Railway Museum in 1985. While superficially rust-streaked, the
loco was generally complete. The saddle-tank of sister locomotive Marjorie is behind, sitting on a
workshop bogie. |
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Builder |
Bristol |
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Builder’s Number & Year |
1862
of 1921 |
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Wheel Arrangement |
0-4-0ST |
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Built in
Bristal by the Avonside Engine Company, this well-proportioned industrial
shunting locomotive ‘Kathleen’ worked at the John Lysaghts steel rolling
plant at Port Kembla. Shunting locomotives of the 0-4-0ST type weren’t known
for speed or agility, but the entire mass of the loco and water tanks bearing
down onto the small diameter wheels provided good tractive effort for coaxing
troublesome trucks into motion, and the short wheelbase was ideal for
negotiating tight corners common as sidings threaded their way between industrial
buildings and plant. Following
retirement, Kathleen (together with fellow Lysaghts shunter Alison) were donated to the NSW Rail Transport
Museum (NSWRTM) in 1972 and placed on display at the Enfield museum site.
It seems the two locos were
cosmetically restored around that time, as the webmaster remembers them both
resplendent in fresh lined green liveries. Together
with other NSWRTM exhibits, Kathleen moved to the NSWRTM's new Thirlmere site
in 1975. Alas the attractive lined apple green livery subsequently
deteriorated due to exposure to the elements and was rather rust-streaked by 1983. In 1984,
Kathleen was placed on long-term loan to the Richmond Vale Preservation
Co-operative Society Ltd and she arrived at their
Richmond Main Colliery site on 19 November 1984. Here she joined Clyde
Engineering built sister locomotive Marjorie,
which was nearing completion of restoration. Kathleen was subsequently
stripped for overhaul, and her frames and other components have occupied one
of the two roads in the historic Richmond Main engine shed while her
restoration to steam slowly progressed. By April 2010 it seemed the end of
repairs was in sight, with the boiler having been re-tubed and general reassembly
in progress. As I revisit these notes in 2026, I am not aware of Kathleen
having yet been steamed, although its sister Marjorie remaining the stalwart
of steam operations at the Richmond Vale
Railway Museum. A very
similar machine preserved in operating condition in the UK is ‘Dora’
(Avonside b/n 1973 of 1927), normally resident on the Keighley & Worth
Valley Railway. |
References
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a |
Leon Oberg, ‘Locomotives of Australia’, published by J. W. Books Pty Ltd. 1982
reprint |
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b |
Griffiths, D. 'BHP Locomotives', published
by Railmac Publications, page 31 & 32. |
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c |
Eardley,
G. H. 'Locomotives: A Guide - Enfield
Railway Museum', published
by the NSWRTM, 1973. |
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d |
Email
from J. Mullier, received
7 October 2010 |
Page updated: 20 August 2026
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