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Orenstein & Koppel B/No. 4241 ex- Lake View & Star Gold Mines Pty Ltd |
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Orenstein & Koppel 4241's upper half sitting on a
transport frame in the Abt Railway workshop yard at Queenstown. 5 May 2003.
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Builder |
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Builder’s Number & Year |
4241 of 1910 |
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Wheel Arrangement |
0-6-0T |
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The Lake
View & Star Gold Mines Pty Ltd operated a one-mile tramway for
transporting gold ore from the Hannans Star shaft to the Lake View mill, with
two 0-6-0T locomotives supplied by Orenstein
& Koppel in 1910 (builder's number's 4241 & 4242). These
locomotives were reduced to standby usage around 1938 following the arrival
of two Planet Oil Engine locomotives. Both Orenstein & Koppel steam locomotives
were later used by the Great Boulder Gold Mines. Orenstein
& Koppel B/No. 4241 was out of service at the Great Boulder Mines by 1962
and was apparently sold to a scrap dealer in the Perth metropolitan area. Fortunately,
it survived into preservation and seems to have had several owners as it
moved from location to location. It was at the Marsden Museum of Historic
Engines, Goulburn NSW from December 1973 to late 1976, when it moved to the
Wodonga Woolshed, Victoria. According to this listing of Preserved
Orenstein & Koppel Steam Locomotives it then moved to Bankstown NSW. Orenstein
& Koppel B/N 4241 was transferred to the Queenstown workshops of the West Coast Wilderness Railway
(WCWR) in approximately 2000 and a start made on overhaul and regauging from
2' to 3' 6". Work appeared to be progressing slowly at the time of my
visit of 5 May 2003; wider stretchers had been fitted to the frames and the
driving wheels mounted on broader 3' 6" axles, with the various
components stored in the workshop yard. I understand this gauge conversion project
was ultimately never completed. Update: This
locomotive has since been relocated to the Wee Georgie Wood
Steam Railway at Tullah. Being a 2' gauge line, that would suggest
conversion back to 2' gauge is now intended. I
understand Orenstein & Koppel B/N 4241 has since been purchased by a new
private owner. Further
information about the restoration of this locomotive and its status is
welcome. |
A second view of Orenstein & Koppel B/N. 4241 stored at
Queenstown, taking in the fading evening light of 5 May 2003.
The locomotive frame (upside-down) and wheelsets were
stored nearby.
The frame had been fitted with new
stretchers for conversion to 3' 6" gauge operation.
Similarly the wheels were on new, broader
3' 6" gauge axles.
(In the background are old Mt Lyell Abt tank locomotive
boilers, replaced during the restorations of those locomotives.)
When I first came across this locomotive at Queenstown in
2003 I didn't know what it was;
finding this builder's plate on the
firebox backhead provided the answer!
Alas I struggled to get a decent photo of the builder's
plate detail in the low light.
References
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a |
'Western
Australian Preserved Locomotives' published
1983 by Railmac Publications, Elizabeth SA. Compiled by
D. Whiteford, C. De Bruin, L. Watson & N. Watson. |
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b |
'Light
Railways - Australia's Magazine of Industrial & Narrow Gauge Railways', Number
69, July 1980. Published
by Light Railway Research Society of Australia Inc. ‘Marsden
Museum of Historic Engines - Goulburn Steam Museum’ by Ken
McCarthy. |
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c |
Webmaster’s
observations on visiting the WCWR on 5 May 2003. |
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Page updated: 5 May 2025
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