Messages

1

Two Footers outside of the US / Re: New sugar 2-footer in Australia

« on: March 08, 2021, 07:37:55 PM »

No. These lines are not assembled from pre-made sections. Only switches are pre-made and dropped into place.

2

Two Footers outside of the US / Re: Queensland Sugar Railways

« on: March 08, 2021, 07:21:41 PM »

Just for the record, the cane harvester involved in the collision was owned by a contractor. There is not a great deal of cane grown on mill estates in Queensland. Most cane is grown by independent farmers and most (but not all) harvesting is done by contractors.

3

Two Footers outside of the US / Re: 2-foot gauge Australian sugar locomotive's epic journey

« on: February 24, 2019, 04:29:32 PM »

Most of these Australian 2ft gauge lines were purely industrial but some were initially established as common carrier lines by the local government authority ("Shire Council") and so ran passenger services until road transport by car and bus eliminated their clientele. One of these lines became part of the Government Railways and remained so until 1977. There was also one sugar-mill owned line that ran a profitable passenger service to the coast into the 1920s. No sleeper or parlour cars, unfortunately. The most spectacular line was one that was built by a sugar mill and then taken over by the Shire Council. It used two Shay locomotives. If you have a little time on your hands, you would enjoy looking at a large web site dedicated to this line, the Mapleton Tramway http://www.starfieldobservatory.com/MapletonTramway/Index.htm

4

Museum Discussion / Re: Roster of Surviving Maine 2' Locomotives

« on: September 27, 2018, 07:40:32 AM »

I recently had a very interesting few days in late July visiting the Maine 2ft gauge sites as well as Edaville. I had long wished to have the opportunity to visit from Australia and I was not disappointed.
I particularly would like to congratulate the WW&F for the wonderful work being done. This places your operation in the top few I have visited worldwide.

To return to the topic of this thread, I make the following observations:

1. Another "honorary" addition to the 2ft gauge ranks would be the Hudswell Clarke 0-6-0 #21 from Edaville (shop number 1664). This was built in the UK in 1936 to haul sugar cane in Fiji. I was very keen to see it but was told at Edaville that it is currently in Maine for refurbishment. I did not see it in Maine and would be very interested to learn where this work is being done.

2. There is now an additional Henschel locomotive at Boothbay Railway Village. This is shop number 23768, previously at Leyh Steam Museum, Ellicott City, MD.

3. I would like to have better information on the 2ft gauge critters on the lines I visited. I will make a list of what I saw below but would welcome further information to fill in the gaps of years built, shop numbers and origins
Maine NG Museum, Portland
•   #1 GE Class B-B-46/46-4GHM844D 23 tons (30491, 8-1949) ex Whitin Machine Works
•   Brookville Model BCL 10 tons (L-6303, 1977) ex US Metals Refining
•   #11 Plymouth Model DDT 10 tons (7086, 1975) ex US Metals Refining
•   #10 Plymouth Model DDT 10 tons (6727, 1970) ex US Metals Refining
•   #14 Plymouth unidentified - is it Model CL-2 1515, 1923 ex Edaville? 
•   #6 Plymouth Model DDT 10 tons unidentified - is it 6738, 1970 ex US Metals Refining?

Boothbay Railway Village
•   FRED Brookville unidentified - is it 2006, 1935 ex Maine Peat Moss Co?
•   #3 Plymouth unidentified
•   Brookville unidentified - is it L-6506 1979 ex US Metals Refining?

Wiscasset, Waterville & Farmington RR, Sheepscot
•   #52 Plymouth Model DDT-6 (6290, 1962) ex Carpenter Steel
•   Brookville Model BSA 1.5 tons (3233, 1947) ex J B Atkins, Harwick, Mass

Sandy River & Rangely Lakes RR, Sanders
•   #11 Brookville Model BCA-12P 12 tons (L-6601, 1980) ex US Metals Refining
•   #12 Brookville Model DDT-6 12 tons (L-6702, 1981) ex US Metals Refining
•   #14 Plymouth built 1947? unidentified.

Edaville, South Carver
•   #2 GE Class B-B-46/46-4GHM844D 23 tons (30491, 8-1949) ex Whitin Machine Works
•   GE Class B-B-46/46-2HM844 23 tons (30580, 5-1950) ex Whitin Machine Works
•   #3   Whitcomb unidentified - is it 40736, 1952 ex Carpenter Steel?
•   #5   Whitcomb ex Canada unidentified

4. I have now discovered that there may also be (or once have been) 2ft gauge critters in Maine at Albion and at Biddeford Station. Any further information would be welcome.

Thanks

John Browning
Brisbane, Australia