Chiverton

Pete’s Hobby Railway, Junee

 

‘Chiverton’ (sans side tanks) stored in the front yard of the owner’s home at Loftus on 8 January 2006.

Conservation and static restoration were slowly proceeding at the time of my visit.

Builder

Perry Engineering Co. Ltd,

Mile End, Adelaide

Builder’s Number & Year

6671.38.1 of 1938

Wheel Arrangement

0-6-2T

 

This locomotive was originally ‘Chiverton’ on the roster at Kalamia Mill, north of Ayr in the Townsville region of Queensland.  It was retired in 1958 and later plinthed in Jaycees’ Park at East Ayr.

Chiverton was acquired for private preservation on 31 January 1975 and transported to the owner’s home in Loftus, where it arrived on 7 August 1975. The side tanks were apparently in poor condition and were removed to provide access to the boiler shell for inspection. The owner kindly permitted the webmaster to view and photograph his collection at Loftus on 8 January 2006 and the photo on this page dates from that visit.

The owner relocated from Loftus to Junee in 2015 and has established a private line known as ‘Pete’s Hobby Railway’ on his property there. Chiverton now sits on an isolated section of track and continues to slowly receive attention for conservation and display purposes. The Pete’s Hobby Railway website includes further details for Chiverton and the other locomotives preserved here, together with updates on railway developments on site.

A 2018 news item on the Pete’s Hobby Railway website indicated that Chiverton had recently received a preliminary boiler inspection which revealed a damaged firebox crown sheet as a result of the fusible plug having melted; this damage had presumably led to the loco’s withdrawal back in 1958. Apparently Chiverton also requires broader curves than those laid out at Pete’s hobby railway, and hence it is likely to remain on static display for the foreseeable future.

(I previously had this loco listed as 6776.38.1 of 1938 – as per John Browning’s ‘Australian Sugar Cane locomotives’ list - however the Pete’s Hobby Railway website lists it as 6671.38.1 and I will assume that the owner has the correct details.)

References

a

Light Railway Research Society of Australia Inc. Web site
(retrieved 10 July 2018):

'Preserved Australian Sugar Cane Locomotives' list
by John Browning (www.lrrsa.org.au/LRR_SGRc.htm)

b

Wikipedia page for Perry Engineering Co Ltd,
retrieved 29 July 2018

c

Pete’s Hobby Railway website,

retrieved 3 September 2018

Page updated: 3 September 2018

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