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The
PB15 class were conceived as a passenger version of the earlier B15 class
4-6-0 freight locomotives dating from 1889, hence the ‘P’ prefix. A key
difference was the larger diameter driving wheels, being 4’ for the PB15
class as opposed to the original 3’ diameter of the B15 class. The
classification otherwise followed the Queensland Government Railways (QGR) naming
convention of ‘B’ for 6-coupled locomotives and ‘15’ to designate 15-inch
cylinder diameter. The first PB15 class locomotive entered service in 1899,
10 years after the B15 class. The PB15’s proved to be useful locomotives in
addition to their handsome, well-proportioned looks, and the class had grown
to 202 examples by 1912.
As
a testament to the utility of the PB15 design, the Ipswich Railway
Workshops constructed an additional unit in 1924 for the Aramac Shire
Tramway; this locomotive later passed into QGR stock in 1958 becoming
No.12. When the Queensland Railways administration of the early 1920’s
identified a need for additional mixed traffic locomotives for light lines,
the proven PB15 design was selected with a further 30 units built by
Walkers Limited, Maryborough between 1925 & 1926. These ‘1924 design’
PB15’s featured Walschaerts valve gear instead of the original Stephenson gear,
together with other modifications and modernisations.
The
PB15 class found extensive use on mail and passenger trains, lightly-laid
main lines (such as the Main Range route from Cairns to the Atherton
Tableland) and country branch lines, together with suburban passenger and
shunting turns. A number were withdrawn in 1942 and 1943, but the balance
lasted to the end of QGR steam operations, being withdrawn between 1967 and
1970. This preserved example PB15 No.738 entered service with Queensland Government
Railways in May 1926 and was written off in October 1969 after a working
life of 43 years.
The
webmaster enjoyed a number of visits to the Rosewood Railway over the
years, the first in 1996 on the return from a scuba-diving trip to the
Great Barrier Reef. A guide book to the Rosewood Railway obtained on that
visit provides some history for this locomotive. It was initially retained
as part of the QGR heritage fleet, in company with sister No.732. In
heritage duties it was fitted with a slender cast-iron chimney, acetylene
headlamp and older whistle more in keeping with the original 1899 version
of PB15. Apparently it required boiler repairs by 1977 and was withdrawn in
August of that year, ultimately being determined as surplus to the requirements
of the heritage fleet. The ARHS Queensland Division established the
Rosewood Railway to provide a tourist railway with regular weekend
operations, probably a worthwhile counterpoint to the rather sterile display
of static plinthed locomotives at the former Redbank Railway Museum. No.738
was acquired by the ARHS Queensland Division for the Rosewood Railway,
where it was delivered in 1985 with overhaul work beginning almost immediately.
Restoration required the locomotive and tender to be completely dismantled
down to the frames, with the wheels and motion removed for inspection and
overhaul. The boiler was repaired and retubed, and a new welded tender tank
built on the overhauled tender frame and bogies. Following extensive work
by ARHS Queensland volunteers, the loco returned to steam in July 1992. No.738
is well suited to the lightly-laid tracks of the Rosewood Railway, a
surviving portion of the former Marburg branch which served local towns and
several small coal mines along the route. The Rosewood Railway section includes
a stiff 1:50 uphill climb on the return from Cabanda, giving an opportunity
for the driver to open the regulator and the steam loco to do some real work!
Alas
the Rosewood
Railway running days have ceased in recent years – apparently a
reflection of the growing cost of insurance and regulatory requirements for
heritage railway operations, coupled with an ageing volunteer base. I believe
No.738 is securely stored at Rosewood and I hope a return to operations can
be achieved in the future.
Excellent
references for further information about the PB15 class are ‘Locomotives in
the Tropics - Volume 1 (Queensland Railways 1864 - 1910)’, which covers the
original Stephenson valve gear locos, and Volume 2 (Queensland Railways
1910 – 1958 and beyond) which covers the 1924 design / Walschaerts valve
gear locomotives. The Wikipedia page for the PB15 class also contains useful
technical data.
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