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Tully Mill No.4 Privately owned |
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Tully Mill No.4 and two
4-wheel coaches run around the narrow-gauge circuit at the Lachlan Vintage
Village, Forbes in December 1975.
This view is a zoom-in from a slide image kindly contributed
by Graeme Nitz.
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Builder |
John
Fowler & Co, Leeds |
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Builder’s Number & Year |
16340 of 1925 |
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Wheel Arrangement |
0-4-2T |
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Tully
Mill No.4 is typical of the many small steam locomotives which worked the 2’
gauge sugar tramways of Queensland. It
the fourth of a batch of five locos ordered for Tully Central Sugar Mill,
arriving in early 1925 and numbered 1 - 5. At that time Tully Mill was under
construction by the Queensland state government, and in 1931 the mill was
sold to local growers to become the Tully Co-operative Sugar Milling
Association Ltd. Tully Mill No.4 received a number of modifications and
modernisations during its years of sugar haulage, including the addition of a
rear coal bunker. In preservation, Tully Mill No.4
was originally intended to join the large collection of 2’ gauge steam
locomotives at the Goulburn Steam Museum at Marsden Weir, but was instead
forwarded to the Lachlan Vintage Village at Forbes circa 1974, where it was
restored it to working order. Here it gave tourist rides with a short train
of 4-wheel passenger cars on a loop track around the Lachlan Vintage Village
exhibitions. Sister loco Tully Mill
No.5 (Fowler B/N 16341 of 1924) was also stored at the Lachlan Vintage
Village at that time, ostensibly as a source of spare parts. Unfortunately the Lachlan Vintage
Village did not enjoy ongoing success and its railway operations were closed
after a few years, leading to an auction of their railway equipment in 1986. Tully
Mill No.4 was purchased by the management of the Goulburn Steam Museum,
together with two 4-wheel carriages, and relocated to Marsden Weir, Goulburn.
The loco was reported in 1997 as being under restoration at the Marsden Weir
Steam Museum, and it apparently worked there for several years over the
tourist railway which linked the historic pump house with the museum entrance
gates. Unfortunately the railway at the Marsden Weir Steam Museum had been
removed by the time of my visit in 2003, although the historic original
Appleby Beam Engine pump and Galloway Boilers at this National Trust
registered site remain well worth a visit. Tully Mill No.4 was apparently
sold to an enthusiast for private preservation and relocated to the spa town
of Daylesford, Victoria. Light Railways magazine of February 2011 (Number
217) included a photograph and news report showing the locomotive under
repair in a sawmill workshop at Daylesford. I believe it may have since moved
to Geelong, Victoria. Some
sources have reported this loco as B/N
16339 of 1924 (Tully Mill No.3), and indeed I had it listed as such until
2021. John
Browning’s catalogue of preserved sugar locos (referenced below) lists it as
Tully Mill No.4 (B/N 16340) and I understand it was known as No.4 during its preservation
career, hence I have amended this website to show No.4. Perhaps someone can
clarify if any frame stamps or other definitive evidence has been found to
confirm its identity. I would
appreciate the contribution of
additional photographs and further information for this locomotive, either at
Tully Mill, Lachlan Vintage Village, Marsden Weir or Daylesford. |
A second view of Tully
Mill No.4 and tourist train at the Lachlan Vintage Village, Forbes in December
1975; image courtesy of Graeme Nitz.
The train is passing some of the replica and relocated
pioneer buildings that were a feature of the Lachlan Vintage Village.
References
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a |
Light
Railway Research Society of Australia Inc. Web site (retrieved 4 July 2016): 'Preserved Australian Sugar Cane Locomotives'
list by John Browning |
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b |
'Light Railways', Number 69, July 1980. Published by Light Railway Research Society of Australia
Inc. |
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c |
The Steam Workshop website, retrieved 19 January
2021 |
Page updated: 26 January 2021
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