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North Eton Mill No.2 Privately owned |
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The frames of North Eton
No.2 in storage at Kallangur on 12 April 2003, surrounded by a jumble of
treasure and trash.
The loco’s rear frame
& buffer plate / dragbox has been removed,
presumably due to wastage.
The surrounding items include some ornate cast-iron columns
hiding among various manufacturing scrap & offcuts.
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Builder |
Hudswell,
Clarke & Co. Ltd, Leeds |
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Builder’s Number & Year |
853
of 1908 |
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Wheel Arrangement |
0-6-0ST |
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This
locomotive was No.2 on the roster of the North Eton Mill, near Mackay, where
it was known as ‘Septimus’. It was originally supplied by Hudswell Clarke
& Co as a 0-4-2ST but converted in 1930 to 0-6-0ST via modification to
the rear frames; evidence is seen in the side rods which have an unusually
long reach to the rear axle, which was presumably situated behind the
firebox. North
Eton Mill No.2 was initially preserved in 1970 at the Pioneers Transport
Museum, Nambour, moving to the Seal Park Zoo & Museum, Tanawha in 1973.
Around 1986 it was acquired by a collector and moved to his industrial
premises at Kallangur / Murrumba Downs, north of Brisbane. The owner kindly
showed me his collection at Kallangur on 12 April 2003 and the photos on this
page date from that visit. North Eton Mills No.2 was found dismantled with
the frames, boiler and saddle tank stored around the site. The saddle tank
was heavily corroded but was being retained as a template for a replacement. The
industrial premises at Kallangur / Murrumba Downs were sold for redevelopment
around 2007, with North Eton Mill No.2 and most other steam relics at the
site transferred to a new business location in Narangba. Alas the owner has
since passed away. Internet newsgroup posts in November 2018 suggest the
locomotive has now changed hands; further information is welcome. The
photographs on this page don’t give a good view of how North Eton Mill No.2
looked when in service, but presumably it was similar to sister 0-6-0ST North Eton Mill No.1 (Hudswell Clarke B/N
496 of 1898). I would appreciate the contribution of further information or
photographs for North Eton Mill No.2, either during its service career or
during its later preservation era moves. As
an aside, the namesake North Eton Mill closed in 1988 after 100 years of
operation, following merger with Farleigh, Racecourse, Marian and Cattle
Creek Mills to form the Mackay Sugar Co-operative Association Limited. Glen
Hall provides a good history of the North Eton Mill on his Mackay History website. An
excellent source of information on the various Hudswell Clarke steam
locomotives employed by the Colonial Sugar Refining Co Ltd (CSR) in Australia
and Fiji is ‘Salute to the Hudswells’ by Ian Stocks, David Mewes and John
Browning. Page 132 of this book provides some history for this locomotive and
other Hudswell Clarke products supplied to the non-CSR mills in Queensland.
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The boiler of North
Eton Mill No.2 at Kallangur on 12 April 2003, with the boiler of Krauss
‘Dulce’ behind. It looks like the tubes had been recently been burned
out, in preparation for boiler repair.
The old saddle tank, being retained as a template for a
replacement.
An example of the interesting items stored at Kallangur: a
saturated boiler of unidentified origin, sitting on an ancient 4-wheel wagon
frame. |
References
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a |
Light
Railway Research Society of Australia Inc. Web site (Retrieved 3 November 2018): 'Preserved Australian Sugar Cane Locomotives'
list by John Browning |
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b |
Wikipedia page for Hudswell, Clarke & Co. Ltd, retrieved
28 November 2018 |
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c |
‘Salute
to the Hudswells’ by Ian Stocks, David Mewes and John Browning Published
by Australian Narrow Gauge Railway Museum Society, 2014. |
Page updated: 24 January 2019
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