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Possum Eskbank House Museum, Lithgow |
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Possum plinthed in the grounds of the Eskbank House Museum,
Lithgow on 18 January 2009.
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Builder |
Leeds,
England |
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Builder’s Number & Year |
1802
of 1912 |
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Wheel Arrangement |
0-4-0ST |
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This chunky
industrial saddle tank loco is a product of Manning Wardle & Co, Leeds.
It was a ‘special’ built to the purchaser’s specification, rather than one of
Manning Wardle & Co’s standard locomotive designs for industrial and
contractor use. Industrial
locomotives often changed owners across various industries and locations, and
this loco is such an example. According to a post on the World Steam website, it was supplied new to shipbuilders Vickers Ltd
at Barrow in Furness, UK where it received the name ‘Cyclops’. With a slump
in ship building after the First World War, it was sold to G & C Hoskins Ironworks
at Lithgow, NSW, where it arrived in 1919, where it received the more
antipodean name ‘Possum’. This loco is now the only surviving locomotive from
the once large railway system at Vickers Ltd shipyard in Barrow. With the
expansion of iron and steel demand in Australia, the G & C Hoskins
Ironworks at Lithgow were superseded by a larger, more modern steelworks at
Port Kembla under the newly-created Australian Iron & Steel (AIS) company.
‘Possum’ moved to AIS Port Kembla in 1928 as part of the transfer of reusable
Hoskins plant & equipment; no doubt much of the unusable plant was also
transferred to Post Kembla and fed into the steelmaking furnaces! Possum
worked among the substantial AIS locomotive fleet in shunting and general
steelworks duties at Port Kembla until retirement in 1967. Fortunately, Possum's
links to the original G & C Hoskins Ironworks at Lithgow were remembered
and the locomotive was donated to the Lithgow District Historical Society in
1969. Possum has since been plinthed in the gardens of the Eskbank House Museum
at Lithgow, near to the site of the Hoskins Ironworks. Bob
McKillop has written a thorough history of the G & C Hoskins steelworks
in his book ‘Furnace, Fire & Forge. Lithgow's Iron & Steel Industry
1874 - 1932’. The remains of the Hoskins Ironworks at Lithgow are also
preserved as an historical and industrial archaeology site. A browse
through the World Steam website reveals other Manning Wardle & Co
locomotives surviving worldwide, with the family likeness evident: https://www.steamlocomotive.info/locobrowse.cfm?bn=Manning%20Wardle |
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Possum's nameplate attached to the saddletank; photo date
18 January 2009. |
This information sheet is attached to Possum's cab rear,
providing dimensions and technical details.
Background to the loco’s preservation by
the Lithgow District Historical Society in 1969 is also provided.
Photo date: 18 January 2009
References
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a |
Information
panel attached to Possum Powerhouse
Discovery Centre Photographed
18 January 2009 |
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b |
Wikipedia
page for Manning, Wardle & Co Ltd Retrieved 2
June 2026. |
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c |
World Steam
website – page for Possum Post
by Robin R Beck on 4 June 4 2014: https://www.steamlocomotive.info/vlocomotive.cfm?Display=27497 |
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Page updated: 17 June 2026
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