|
|
A & D Munro – Shay No.1 Statically displayed at Ravensbourne |
|
Munro Shay No.1
displayed at Palmtree, Qld on 16 March 2019, as newly restored by the Munro
Tramway Historical Group Inc.
My thanks go to Chris
Tait for contributing this & other views (below) of Munro Shay No.1 at
Palmtree.
Comparison with earlier photographs of the jumble of smashed
and corroded parts shows the extraordinary transformation that has been
achieved.
|
Builder |
Lima
Locomotive Works, |
|
Builder’s Number & Year |
906 of 1904 |
|
Wheel Arrangement |
A-Type (2-truck, 2 cylinders) |
|
This
small A-type Shay locomotive was built by Lima Locomotive Works, Ohio as the first
of two Shays purchased a timber line known as Munro's Hampton Tramway, which was
built to 2' 6" gauge and very steep gradients of up to 1:9. The line
followed Perseverance Creek for part of its length and is sometimes referred
to as Munro's Hampton-Perseverance Tram. Munro's
Hampton Tramway closed in 1936 and the two Shay locomotives remained at the
Palmtree mill sitee, slowly slipping into
dereliction. At some stage they were scavenged for scrap metal, with damage
to the boilers showing that explosives were used to smash the cylinder
assemblies. It seems the scrap collectors were perhaps only interested in the
non-ferrous metals, as the smashed cylinder assemblies and most other
components remained on site. The remaining components of the two Shay
locomotives were donated to the Illawarra Light Railway Museum Society in
1974 and transported to their Albion Park museum in New South Wales. The
Illawarra Light Railway Museum Society (ILRMS) is slowly rebuilding the
salvaged components of the two Shay locomotives into a single operable
exhibit, based on Munro Shay No.2 Lima
B/N 2097. After many years of storage at Albion Park, a Shay boiler,
tender tank, 2' 6" bogies and other components deemed surplus to the
ILRMS Shay locomotive rebuild were sold in 2006 to Sketches Mountain Resort
at Ravensbourne, Queensland. Sketches Mountain Resort is apparently situated
near the route of Munro's Hampton Tramway and the resort was planning a
static display of a Shay locomotive in a replica engine shed. The Shay
components departed the ILRMS at Albion Park for Ravensbourne on 14 February
2006. In 2017 I received
updated information that the Sketches Mountain Resort had been sold and a new
group ‘Munro Tramway Historical Group Inc.’ had taken over preserving the Shay
locomotive parts, with plans to mount the locomotive at Ravensbourne (Sports
Grounds) beside the former Tramway route. This group has established a website
providing history of Munro’s Hampton Tramway, the Shay locomotives and their
rebuild project. Static restoration of
Munro Shay No.1 was finally completed on Saturday 30 March 2019 with a
ceremony at Ravensbourne Sports Grounds to mark the achievement. Certainly the
restored Munro Shay No.1 is an amazing transformation from the jumble of smashed
and decayed components that had remained. Munro Shay No.1 is displayed under
a suitable weather roof to prevent further exposure, and one side of the
locomotive has been left partially unrestored to provide some interpretation
of what remnants the preservationists had started with. Fact
sheets for the two Munro Shays (Lima B/Nos. 906
& 2097) can be found at the excellent Shaylocomotives.com
website. |
This interpretive sign is
displayed alongside Munro Shay No.1 at Ravensbourne.
The photo sequence
shows No.1 in operation, and the two Shays derelict in the early 1970’s.
The third of the three
B&W at the bottom say “S/N 906 remains in the 1970’s. Restoration began in
2017”
In fact that photo was
taken by the webmaster at Albion Park on 13 October 2002; the original appears
below.
None-the-less, this photo provides an insight into the extraordinary
achievement of the Munro Tramway Historical Group!
Front view of A & D
Munro Shay No.1 at Ravensbourne on 16 March 2019.
Two silver-painted
stanchions provide support for the elderly loco frames.
This photo was kindly contributed by Chris Tait.
Rear view of A & D
Munro Shay No.1 at Ravensbourne on 16 March 2019.
Two silver-painted
stanchions at rear provide support for the elderly loco frames.
This photo was kindly contributed by Chris Tait.
Front view of A & D Munro Shay No.1 under restoration at
Ravensbourne on 9 February 2019; photo courtesy of Chris Tait.
Cylinders & footplate of A & D Munro Shay No.1 at
Ravensbourne on 9 February 2019; photo courtesy of Chris Tait.
Rear view of A & D Munro Shay No.1 under restoration at
Ravensbourne on 9 February 2019; photo courtesy of Chris Tait.
The original bunker of A
& D Munro No.1 in storage among other bric-a-brac at Albion Park on 13
October 2002.
The faded black paint & lettering probably relates to
the 1978-79 period when No.2 was reassembled for static display.
The boiler of Munro Shay
No.1 in storage at Albion Park on 13 October 2002.
This photo provides an
insight into the achievement of the Munro Tramway Historical Group Inc!
(This rather poor photograph was taken by the webmaster with
a first generation 2MP digital camera.)
A second view of the
boiler of Munro Shay No.1 in storage at Albion Park on 13 October 2002.
Visible on the firebox sheets are indents where the
cylinder castings have been blasted off.
References
|
a |
http://www.shaylocomotives.com/
website, viewed 13 April 2019. |
|
b |
'Light
Railways - Australia's Magazine of Industrial & Narrow Gauge Railways', Number 188, April 2006. Published
by Light Railway Research Society of Australia Inc. |
|
c |
Information
provided via email by Chris Tait on 18 March 2019. |
Page updated: 14 April 2019
|
Government Railways: |
|
|||||||||
|
Private & Industrial Railways: |
|