|
|
South Bulli No.2 Bulli Black Diamond Museum & Heritage Centre |
|
South Bulli No.2 and its short train displayed at Bulli
station on 19 March 2006.
The rolling stock is an AIS brake van and
a Corrimal Balgownie / Corrimal Coal & Coke timber coal wagon.
The timbers of the old 4-wheel coal hopper
wagon were showing the effect of age and rot.
More recent photos show a security fence
has been erected around these exhibits, but they remain open to the weather.
It seems the track is sinking underneath the loco,
particularly at the front, and it now leans noticeably forward.
|
Builder |
Hudswell
Clarke & Co, Leeds |
|
Builder’s Number & Year |
297
of 1888 |
|
Wheel Arrangement |
0-6-0T |
|
‘South Bulli No.2’ is a handsome and well-proportioned
tank locomotive built by Hudswell Clarke & Co. of Leeds in 1888. By 1891
it was in service at South Bulli Colliery hauling coal to the company jetty
at Bellambi, including a flat crossing over the NSWGR Illawarra main line.
Following closure of the jetty its route was truncated to exchange sidings
with the NSWGR near Bellambi station. The loco was retired in April 1962 after
a working life exceeding 70 years. A treasured and dog-eared old booklet among the webmaster’s
library is the 1973 edition of the New South Wales Rail Transport Museum
(NSWRTM) ‘Guide to Exhibits’ written by Gifford Eardley, souvenir of a childhood
visit to the formative NSWRTM at Enfield Roundhouse. Gifford Eardley also
wrote the earlier work ‘Transporting the Black Diamond’, Book 1 of which covers
the colliery railways of the Illawarra district. Both books state this
locomotive initially worked at the Ringwood Colliery, near Bundanoon NSW, based
on Giff Eardley’s research which led him to conclude that ‘South Bulli No.2’ was
one of two imported by Thomas Saywell for Ringwood Colliery. Ken McCarthy
references Giff Eardley’s ‘Transporting the Black Diamond’ in his 'Gazetteer
of Industrial Steam Locomotives - Illawarra District' of 1983, repeating that
it was first supplied to Thomas Saywell for Ringwood Colliery. Ken McCarthy also
repeats the Ringwood Colliery history in his exhibit guide for the Illawarra
Light Railway & Museum collection. Subsequent research has revealed the Ringwood Colliery provenance
for this locomotive cannot be correct. A Sydney Gazette article
of 28 November 1885 describes the sale of all Ringwood Colliery plant and ‘a very
superior locomotive’ to the proprietors of Russell Vale colliery (later known
as South Bulli Colliery): It is the intention of the company to turn
out of this colliery (Russell Vale) 1000 tons of coal per day, and with that
purpose in view they have brought here the whole of the plant, about three
hundred tons, belonging to the Ringwood colliery, which comprises a very superior
locomotive, a large hauling engine of between fifty and sixty horse power;
skips, rails for the inside and outside of the mine, and a lot of other
appliances, which are necessary for the carrying on of a coal mine . . . . . Given that the closure and sale of Ringwood Colliery
assets was three years before the 1888 build date of Hudswell Clarke b/n 297 ‘South
Bulli No.2’, it cannot be the Ringwood Colliery locomotive. (Its identity is
an interesting topic for further research.) The Illawarra’s various industrial concerns hosted an
amazing variety of privately owned steam locomotives of varying gauges from international
builders, together with antique second-hand machines from NSW Government Railways
and tramways. (Ken McCarthy’s book ‘Gazetteer of Industrial Steam
Locomotives, Illawarra District NSW’ details the many interesting steam locomotives
which once worked in the Illawarra.) While most of these interesting machines
met their fate during the 1960’s, fortunately ‘South Bulli No.2’ was spared when
donated by South Bulli Colliery to the Australian Railway Historical Society
(ARHS), NSW Division. South Bulli No.2 was loaded onto a well wagon and met at
Bellambi by an ARHS tour train on 12 March 1966. A small handover ceremony
followed before ‘South Bulli No.2’ was hauled to Sydney Central Station by
Standard Goods loco 5593 as part of the tour train. The loco was cosmetically
restored at Eveleigh Workshops before a period of storage at Petersham
sidings. In 1972 it joined the growing New South Wales Rail Transport Museum
(NSWRTM) collection in the Enfield Roundhouse. When the NSWRTM was evicted from Enfield, South Bulli
No.2 was not transferred to their new Thirlmere site. Instead, the Australian
Railway Historical Society (NSW Division) arranged for the loco to be
returned to the Illawarra region for display by the Illawarra Light Railway
& Museum Society at Albion Park. South Bulli No.2 arrived at Albion Park
on 15 October 1974. Here it was well cared for, being sand-blasted and
repainted a number of times. In 1995 ‘South Bulli No.2’ moved to the Bulli Black Diamond Museum &
Heritage Centre, which is based in the historic Bulli
Station building. Here it is displayed together with a Corrimal-Balgownie Coal
Co. open hopper & Australian Iron & Steel 4-wheel brake van, both of
which had also previously been at Albion Park. The Bulli Black Diamond Museum & Heritage Centre has an excellent website with
further information about ‘South Bulli No.2’ and local history. Alas Bulli Station is not far from the coast and ‘South
Bulli No.2’ and its short train require ongoing maintenance against the
effects of the salt & moisture-laden air. Hopefully at some stage funding
will become available for a secure covered shelter so that these old-timers
can be properly protected and displayed for future generations to
contemplate. |
A scanned photo view of South Bulli No.2 and her short
train at Bulli Station, circa 1999.
The nameplate, builder’s plate, brass dome and other
refinements are removed, presumably for safekeeping - a necessary adjunct to
open display.
A second view of South Bulli No.2 circa 1999.
It can be seen that the antique buffer
beam comprises wooden beams behind a heavy steel plate.
The front of the loco has sunk considerably since that
photo was taken.
My thanks to Graeme Nitz for contributing this view of
South Bulli No.2 at the ILRMS, Albion Park on 04 November 1989.
At this stage, the brass builder’s plate
– but not nameplate - was affixed to the cab; both are now removed, presumably
for safe keeping.
The loco also sports a brass steam dome
cover, also now absent as displayed at South Bulli.
(Amongst the surrounding bric-a-brac are
the bunker and driving wheels of one of the A
& D Munro Shay locomotives.)
References
|
a |
McCarthy, K.
‘Guide to the Main Exhibits - Illawarra Light Railway Museum Society’, published
1992. |
|
b |
Bulli Black Diamond Museum & Heritage Centre
website, retrieved 10 June 2015. |
|
c |
McCarthy, K. 'Gazetteer of Industrial Steam Locomotives,
Illawarra District NSW', prepared by Ken McCarthy for the
Illawarra Environmental Heritage Committee. Published by the Australian
Railway Historical Society (NSW Division), December 1983. |
|
d |
Eardley, G. H. 'Locomotives: A Guide - Enfield Railway
Museum', published by the NSWRTM, 1973. |
|
e |
Sydney Gazette of Saturday 28 November 1885, National Library
of Australia (via Trove): http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article132342667 |
|
f |
Information provided
by J. Browning via email, 14 March 2021 |
Page updated: 20 March 2021
|
Government Railways: |
|
|||||||||
|
Private & Industrial Railways: |
|