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The
Emu Bay Railway was built to serve the rich mining ventures of
Tasmania’s rugged west coast, requiring steep grades and sinuous curves
for the climb from Emu Bay (now Burnie) and through difficult terrain
to Zeehan. For heavy freight duties, Dübs & Co supplied three
sturdy 4-8-0 locomotives which became Emu Bay Railway Nos.6 - 8. A
fourth unit, which became No.11, was built by the North British
Locomotive Company in 1911. (The North British Locomotive Company was formed
in 1903 by merger of three Glasgow locomotive manufacturers; Sharp,
Stewart and Co, Neilson, Reid and Co, and Dübs & Co.)
In
summary, the four Emu Bay Railway 4-8-0 locomotives of this type were:
|
Number
|
Builder
|
Notes
|
|
No.6 ‘Murchison’
|
Dübs
b/n 3854 of 1900
|
Preserved
at WCHC, Zeehan
|
|
No.7
|
Dübs
b/n 3856 of 1900
|
Withdrawn
1960 & scrapped 9/1961
|
|
No.8
‘Heemskirk’
|
Dübs
b/n 3855 of 1900
|
Preserved
at the Don River Railway
|
|
No.11
|
North
British b/n 19576 of 1911
|
Withdrawn
~ 1960 & scrapped 11/1963
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(It
seems odd that Nos.7 & 8 did not receive running numbers in the
same sequence as builder’s numbers. Some sources list No.8 as b/n 3856
rather than b/n 3855, but preserved No.8 at Don carries Dübs builder’s
plate no.3855, which also concurs with two authorative sources - Ken Milbourne’s
‘Steam Locomotives of Tasmania’ and Lou Rae’s ‘The Emu Bay Railway’.)
One
aspect of these locomotives that intrigues the webmaster is the
resemblance to earlier 8-coupled heavy freight locomotives built by
Dübs & Co for South Africa. In particular, the Emu Bay Railway’s
4-8-0 locos have a similar appearance to the Cape Government Railways 7th class
supplied from 1892. The 7th class locomotives had evolved
from earlier 4-6-0 designs to provide increased traction in wet and
humid conditions, not unlike those encountered on Tasmania’s west coast
where stiff, moisture laden winds blow off the Antarctic, and so
perhaps the Dübs engineers turned to their drawings for the proven 7th
class locomotives when tasked with specifying a sure-footed and
powerful freight machine for the Emu Bay Railway?
|
CGR
7th Class (1892)
|
Emu
Bay Railway (1900)
|
|
Pistons
|
17
by 23 inches
|
17
by 22 inches
|
|
Wheel
Diameter
|
3
foot 6 & 3⁄4 inches
|
3
foot 9 inches
|
|
Boiler
|
Round-top,
160 psi
|
Belpaire,
175 psi
|
|
Smokebox
|
Drumhead
extended
|
Short
|
|
Tender
|
8-wheel
bogie tender
|
8-wheel
bogie tender
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Tasmania’s
west coast is one of the more remote corners of the world, featuring
weather-beaten mountain terrain, wild rivers and lush forest. Following
the pioneer mining interests came a growing tourist trade, drawn to the
pristine environment of the west coast and south-west including
Macquarie Harbour and its convict heritage. Other jewels included Lake
Pedder and its glacial sand beach, which surely would today be a
World Heritage site had it not been lost under a hydroelectric
impoundment. Many west coast mining towns remained isolated from the
road network into the post-war years, leading to demand for a tourist service
over the Emu Bay Railway. In response, an innovative passenger train
was introduced between Burnie and Rosebery in October 1960 – the ‘West
Coaster’ – for which 4-8-0 locos No.6 & No.8 were removed from
store, converted to oil burning and returned to service, complete with
valances along the running plate and large smoke deflectors. The West
Coaster also conveyed cars and a tourist bus on flatcars, with the
locomotives and passenger consist receiving an attractive two-tone blue
livery. For this service No.6 was named ‘Murchison’ while No.8 was
named ‘Heemskirk’, the names referencing mountains and rivers in the
region. (The two-tone blue livery was also carried by diesel-hydraulic
locomotives purchased by the Emu Bay Railway Co. to replace their steam
fleet. Perhaps the livery was inspired by the well-known AT&SF
‘Blue Goose’ No.3460!)
In
December 1963 the Murchison Highway opened, providing for the first
time a road linking many of Tasmania's isolated west coast communities.
The opening of the Murchison Highway also facilitated development of
hydroelectricity along Tasmania’s west coast, including dams on the
Pieman River which required part of the Emu Bay Railway to be diverted.
Hydroelectricity is a now major employer on the west coast and supplies
clean, renewable electricity to mainland Australia via an underwater
cable across Bass Strait. Alas the opening of the Murchison Highway was
the death knell for some local railway operations including the West
Coaster passenger train, which last ran in January 1964.
No.8
was initially preserved in foreshore parkland at the Emu Bay Railway’s hometown
of Burnie. In November 1978 it was relocated to the Don River Railway, being towed along the
government railway by vintage diesel X25. No.8 has since been
completely rebuilt, including heavy boiler repairs and complete renewal
of the tender tank, and returned to its original coal-burning
configuration. No.8 is now maintained in operable condition for use on Don
River Railway tourist services, presented in original configuration with
plain black livery, thus making a good counterpoint to sister No.6 ‘Murchison’
displayed at Zeehan in blue livery and smoke deflectors in ‘West
Coaster’ oil burning configuration.
The
Emu Bay Railway operated a fascinating variety of steam locomotives
over the years, from pioneering 4-4-0 types through to three
magnificent 4-8-2+ 2-8-4 Beyer Garratts and later a fleet of Australian
Standard Garratts. Lou Rae provides a complete and well-illustrated
description of the Emu Bay Railway and its wonderful locomotives in his
book ‘The Emu Bay Railway – VDL Company to Pasminco’. It is a pity that
none of the Garratts or pioneer engines survived, all having been
scrapped by 1966.
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