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B13 No.161 A fascinating survivor on the Normanton-Croydon Railway |
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No.161 displayed at
Normanton Station - 1 September 2008; this photo is courtesy of Dan Van
Scherpenseel.
The boiler is sitting
low in the frames; it is hard to reconcile the boiler height with the smokebox
saddle spacer, as seen in earlier photo below.
The chimney doesn’t look
original – it is more drain pipe than stove pipe! – and
possibly dates from the boiler’s last use as stationary plant.
More recent photos (from Google Earth) show the cab roof
has since been replaced.
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Builder |
Kitson
and Company, Leeds |
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Builder’s Number & Year |
2894 of 1885 |
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Wheel Arrangement |
4-6-0 |
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No. in class |
112 |
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The
B13 class were a mixed-traffic design originating with 19 locomotives
supplied by Dubs & Co, Glasgow. These first 19 locomotives were simple
and reliable machines supplied with saturated steam boilers that sat low in
the frames, with a short smokebox and spartan cab. Following orders from
Kitson & Co, Dubs & Co, and Phoenix Engine Co, Ipswich swelled the
class to 112 units by 1892, with the later engines differentiated by a
lengthened driving wheelbase to accommodate larger fireboxes, and associated
higher-pitched boilers. Extended smokeboxes were also found to improve
performance. Firebox variations included ‘wide type’ and ‘deep type’ with the
latter proving more economic, and accordingly the wide firebox engines were
among the earliest B13’s to be withdrawn. Indeed six of the wide firebox B13
locos were sold to the Commonwealth Railways for use on the North Australia
Railway (Darwin) where they were known as the Ng class. Other B13 class
members were rebuilt with deep fireboxes and higher-pitched boilers, with a
characteristic high smokebox saddle (as seen on preserved sister No.48). Most of the B13 class were
withdrawn in the 1920’s and 30’s, with a number being sold into the sugar
industry and local shire tramways. No.161
was built to the long-wheelbase design and entered service on the Central
Railway in May 1886. (The Central Railway started from Rockhampton reaching
inland to Emerald; together with most other isolated divisions, they were
eventually linked into the state rail network.) No.161 was transferred to the
isolated Normanton - Croydon Railway in 1894 and rebuilt to ‘deep firebox’
configuration in April 1909; presumably this work was performed at Normanton.
No.161
was written off at Normanton in June 1926. Its original boiler was
transferred to the Croydon pump where it survived derelict, although the
firebox has been scrapped. A second boiler was sold into the Stanhills tin
field (near Croydon) in 1926 with the boiler from No. 234 substituted. This
third boiler was later jacked out of the locomotive and taken to Croydon.
No.161’s frames, ashpan, wheels and tender remained
at Normanton railway station for many years, together with the remaining
portions of other steam locomotives that had worked on this remote line. In
recent years No.161 has been reunited with its original low-pitch boiler,
painted in ‘Gulflander’ livery and placed on display at Normanton Station, as
seen in the photo above. Judging by the boiler height, the raised smokebox
saddle spacer was removed so that the older low-pitched boiler could be
refitted, thus reversing the 1909 rebuilding. The Wikipedia page for the B13 class contains useful
technical data for these locomotives. |
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This photo is kindly
provided by Murray Lawrence and shows the remains of No.161 at Normanton in
January 1993.
At this stage the old
boiler had yet to be refitted for display purposes.
Sitting proud is the raised smokebox saddle used when
high-pitched boilers were fitted to B13 locomotives.
This photo is kindly
provided by Murray Lawrence and shows the boilers of No.203 (front) and No.161 (rear)
at Clarina in January 1993.
The ‘Gulflander'
railmotor is standing behind the two abandoned boilers.
References
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a |
Armstrong,
J. 'Locomotives in the Tropics - Volume 1 (Queensland Railways 1864 – 1910)’, published by the ARHS
Queensland Division, 1985. |
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b |
Knowles,
J. W. 'Lonely Rails in the Gulf Country – The story of the Normanton - Croydon Railway
and the Gulflander', Revised second edition 1993, published by J.
W. Knowles and distributed by the Australian Narrow Gauge
Railway Museum Society, PO Box 270,
Brisbane 4002. (Appendix 4, Page 58) |
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c |
Wikipedia
page for B13 class, retrieved 28 September 2020. |
Page updated: 20 October 2020
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Government Railways: |
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Private & Industrial Railways: |
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