2-foot gauge Australian sugar locomotive's epic journey

[Wayne Laepple]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jb4o8cstGs&feature=youtu.be

[James Patten]

Great video!  I knew that there was a lot of sugar trackage, but I had no idea that they could go so far.

"Bundy runs best when it uses Blair Athol Coal."

[john d Stone]

That is so cool! Thanks Wayne!

Makes Quebec seem like not such an unreasonable goal!

[John Kokas]

Maybe we should look into one of those Aussie diesels.  Independent trucks with what appeared to be bidirectional controls.  Couldn't hurt to ask...…..

[john d Stone]

Wayne, did those systems ever have extensive passenger service or anything approaching common carrier freight service?

[Wayne Laepple]

I don't know the answer, John. These lines were and are industrial railways, and except during the sugar harvest season, I don't believe there is regular operation on them.  They may have transported field workers in the past, but I doubt they still do. And I would imagine the only freight handled would be company material.

[john d Stone]

Thanks Wayne. In my furtile mind (on account of it being full of fertilzer) I was conjuring up visions of those proposed dining and sleeping cars which were supposed to offer first class accomodations to exotic Quebec.  2000km of line cries out for such service!

[John Browning]

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

[john d Stone]

Thanks John! looks like some very interesting reading!