Pioneer

Stored by ANGRMS at Woodford

‘Pioneer’ in storage with other locos at ANGRMS, Woodford on 12 April 2003.

The chimney is missing, with the hole in the smokebox covered by a sheet of corrugated iron.

While Pioneer looks rather rough for its years of storage since retirement in 1965, none-the-less it has been saved for posterity.

Builder	John Fowler & Co, Leeds
Builder’s Number & Year	8047 of 1899
Wheel Arrangement	0-6-0T

‘Pioneer’ is typical of the many small steam locomotives which worked on the 2’ gauge sugar tramways of Queensland. This particular locomotive is one of the earlier Fowler-built examples, and is fitted with Joy valve gear.

Pioneer was the second steam locomotive delivered to Mossman Mill, north of Cairns in tropical North Queensland. It was retired from service in 1965 and stored at the mill until 1973, when it was purchased for preservation by the Australian Narrow Gauge Railway Museum Society (ANGRMS). In 1974 it was moved to Brisbane for storage before finally arriving at the ANGRMS site at Woodford, north of Brisbane, in 1983. ANGRMS is based at Woodford station on the former QR Kilcoy branch, a portion of which has been re-laid to 2’ gauge for heritage train operations. A series of storage sidings at Woodford house Pioneer and several other steam locomotives saved from scrapping by ANGRMS, but alas this interesting old loco has not received any rehabilitation as yet. ANGRMS has recently constructed a new storage and restoration shed at Woodford, and perhaps Pioneer will be a beneficiary of this investment.

The ANGRMS web page for Pioneer provides some further technical and historical information for this interesting loco.

References

a	Light Railway Research Society of Australia Inc. Web site (retrieved 18 January 2021): 'Preserved Australian Sugar Cane Locomotives' list by John Browning (www.lrrsa.org.au/LRR_SGRc.htm)
b	ANGRMS website, collections page, retrieved 18 January 2021

Page updated: 28 January 2021

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