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South Bulli No.2 Bulli Black Diamond Museum & Heritage Centre |
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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.
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Builder |
Hudswell
Clarke & Co, Leeds |
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Builder’s Number & Year |
297
of 1888 |
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Wheel Arrangement |
0-6-0T |
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‘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 in 1974, 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 several 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 was 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 required 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. UPDATE: The NSW
Rail Museum’s ‘Roundhouse’ magazine of Autumn 2025 contained the welcome news
that South Bulli No.2 had been acquired. It is to be transferred to the Chullora Heritage
Hub where it will benefit from secure undercover storage! (Hopefully the
open hopper and brake van have also been acquired; alas they certainly would
need extensive refurbishment.) The Roundhouse
article also provided the interesting snippet that apparently South Bulli
No.2 is now the world’s oldest surviving locomotive built by Hudswell Clarke
& Co! |
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
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a |
McCarthy,
K. ‘Guide
to the Main Exhibits - Illawarra Light Railway Museum Society’, published
1992. |
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b |
Bulli Black Diamond Museum & Heritage Centre
website, retrieved 10 June 2015. |
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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. |
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d |
Eardley, G. H. 'Locomotives: A Guide - Enfield Railway
Museum', published by the NSWRTM, 1973. |
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e |
Sydney Gazette of Saturday 28 November 1885, National Library
of Australia (via Trove): http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article132342667 |
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f |
Information
provided by J. Browning via email, 14 March 2021 |
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g |
‘Roundhouse – The NSW Rail Museum Magazine for Members and
Enthusiasts’ Autumn 2025 (Vol.62
No.2) Article ‘THNSW welcomes
Illawarra icon to collection’ Written by David Bennett,
Head of Engagement. |
Page updated: 15 May 2025
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