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Decauville Millaquin Mill, Bundaberg |
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(Photo required)
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Builder |
Decauville,
France |
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Builder’s Number & Year |
399 of 1904 |
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Wheel Arrangement |
0-4-0T |
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Light Railways
magazine of October 2000 included an interesting story and photograph of a
steam locomotive relic exhumed near Millaquin Mill – the boiler of Decauville
locomotive b/n 399 of 1904. This corroded relic was discovered during
excavation for a gas main; it is believed that the frames remain buried
nearby, but circumstances did not permit further exploration. This
Decauville locomotive originally worked at the Tamanoa Mill, Fiji. In 1923 it
was purchased by a Bundaberg machinery dealer and placed in storage at
Millaquin Mill, Bundaberg. It was subsequently abandoned and buried on site
in 1937. I don’t
know what became of this old locomotive boiler – perhaps it was just disposed
as scrap. None-the-less, it is an intriguing footnote in the history of
Queensland’s sugar tramways and mills. Further information and photographs
are welcome. As an
aside, the UK firm North Bay Railway Engineering Services Ltd offers to
new-build 2’ gauge Decauville locomotives; ostensibly for wealthy steam
enthusiasts who can accommodate a substantial garden railway! The North Bay
Railway Engineering Services website includes a good selection of photographs
showing their first new-build Decauville locomotive under construction. (Alas,
North Bay Railway Engineering Services Ltd ceased trading during 2024 but at
least one locomotive was completed, a 2ft gauge replica Decauville ‘Type 1’
0-4-0T named ‘Edgar’.) Update
July 2025: A social media post by ‘Kerosene Creek Tramway’ in Facebook
Group ‘Light Railways of Australia’ revealed that the chassis of this
locomotive has now also been unearthed! The chassis has been retained for
conservation; hopefully the boiler found 25 years earlier still survives and
the two remnants can be reunited. Photographs and some further details can be
found on the social media post of 7 July 2025: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1521663494557395/user/100068496941150/ |
References
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a |
'Light Railways - Australia's Magazine of Industrial
& Narrow Gauge Railways', Number 155, October 2000, published by Light Railway Research Society
of Australia Inc. News item on pages 18 & 19. |
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b |
Web page
for North Bay Railway
Engineering Services, retrieved
28 February 2018. |
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c |
Wikipedia page for Decauville, France, retrieved
28 February 2018. |
Page updated: 30 July 2025
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