No. 7 ‘Lord Lamington’

Ex-Invicta Mill, Giru

 

Invicta Mill No.7 ‘Lord Lamington’ in storage at Woodford on 12 April 2003.

Builder

Decauville, France
(Société Nouvelle des Établissements Decauville Ainé,
Petit Bourg, Corbeil, Essonne, France)

Builder’s Number & Year

247 of 1897

Wheel Arrangement

0-4-2T

 

The Decauville light railway system was based on pre-fabricated units of narrow-gauge track and points using permanently fixed steel sleepers. Being portable and reconfigurable, this railway system was well suited to building and construction projects, mines and quarries, sugar cane and other agricultural uses. Military applications including underground bunkers were also notable users. To augment their light railway system, Decauville supplied small locomotives of standard designs, together with standard rollingstock.

From this innovative concept came this little Decauville locomotive. It was planned for exhibition at the Brisbane Exposition of 1897 (presumably as promotion for the Decauville railway system) but was instead sent to Mulgrave Mill, Gordonvale. Although the first locomotive at Mulgrave Mill, for some reason it was No.7 on their roster, also carrying the name ‘Lord Lamington’. It remained in service at Mulgrave Mill until the railway system there was dieselised in 1955.

In 1956, No.7 was sold to Invicta Mill at Giru, where it served a further 8 years until retirement in 1964. The little loco was subsequently plinthed in a local park, but deterioration seems to have become an issue and in 1980 it was donated to the Australian Narrow Gauge Railway Museum Society (ANGRMS) by the Thuringowa Shire Council. No.7 arrived at the ANGRMS Woodford site in 1981, where it joined their growing collection of stored cane haulage locomotives rescued from various display locations. The ANGRMS website includes pages dedicated to individual exhibits, such as the page for No. 7.

For an impression of how this locomotive would look if restored, refer to the page for sister loco Decauville b/n 246 of 1897 (No.7 ‘Frenchy’ of Qunaba Mill, Bundaberg), which is beautifully restored and operational in the United Kingdom.

As an interesting aside, the UK firm North Bay Railway Engineering Services Ltd offer to new-build 2’ gauge Decauville locomotives; ostensibly for wealthy enthusiasts who can accommodate a substantial garden railway! The North Bay Railway Engineering Services website includes a good selection of photographs showing the first new-build Decauville locomotive under construction.  Presumably this company could provide parts for No.7 Lord Lamington, if ever required.

References

a

Light Railway Research Society of Australia Inc. Web site
(as at 17 November 2017):

'Preserved Australian Sugar Cane Locomotives' list
by John Browning (www.lrrsa.org.au/LRR_SGRc.htm)

b

Wikipedia page for Decauville, France ,
retrieved 28 February 2018

c

ANGRMS web page for No. 7

Retrieved 28 February 2018

Page updated: 24 March 2018

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