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Brisbane Australia

Discussion in 'Steam Traction' started by Reading General, Feb 1, 2014.

  1. Copper-capped

    Copper-capped Part of the furniture

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    Ipswich workshops is very much still a working facility in regards to keeping steam alive. There are at least 17 steam locos extant there and maybe 5 of them are listed as operational - they maintain QR's heritage fleet and I think they still use it as part of their apprentice training program. A friend of mine did his 'time' there and has fond memories in being part of bringing a DD17 'blue baby' back to steam. All taxpayer funded. They also take on private work for other preservation railways in the state - they supplied a brand new welded boiler for the SDSR's C17 class (my local bit of puff!). image.jpeg


    It is there (workshops museum) apparently. I found a page with some info. Looks like it is in the middle of a long term tear down restoration and on its way back. The last date on the page is 2009 so it may be quite a bit further along?
    http://www.australiansteam.com/A10 3.htm
     
  2. Muzza

    Muzza New Member

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    I haven't been back to the workshops since I took those photos in 2012, so I'm not sure what progress (if any) has been made.
    I think that the perennial issue of funding is the cause of any delay.

    The disadvantage of relying on government funding is that priorities are always changing and even funds for approved projects can dry up - especially when the government changes, something that has happened a few times in recent years.


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  3. Reading General

    Reading General Part of the furniture

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    My only gripe (apart from the Fat Controller being unbelievably loud) was the usual one I have about the display area in modern museums, two many random and badly sited interpretive displays (and too few about important things like technical details) and acccess ramps which were really intrusive, blocking the view of the exhibits. Now I'm all for letting persons in wheelchirs have a reasonable experience of the exhibits, but when it's at the expense of all the other visitors experience , then it seems to me the balance is skewed. I saw just one person in a wheel chair on my visit. Fortunately the only thing spoiling the view of the locos in the workshops was the usual and authentic workshop clutter of parts and tools etc which I don't have a problem with.
     
  4. Copper-capped

    Copper-capped Part of the furniture

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    I haven't been for a few years and the last time I was there was with my family - wife, 2yr old and 5 yr old. That visit was very much skewed towards having a family day out and doing things to keep them happy and it all went down very well. Thomas and co. were appreciated but not wholeheartedly embraced by me! Needless to say, I was still guilty of finding excuses to sneak off for an extra look at a few things.

    We took the guided tour of the workshops and yes, the things happening behind the scenes were far more interesting for the enthusiast or even anyone who is just interested in how things work. I was most impressed by the Beyer-Garratt. It has steamed in preservation but is out of action again now with the prohibitive cost of overhaul putting it down the list. QR had 30 of them (10 built in Manchester), and were the most powerful steam traction by some margin but had some shortcomings - a most impressive beastie to get up close to nevertheless!

    Time for me to have another visit I think. :)
     
  5. Reading General

    Reading General Part of the furniture

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    the guide was explaining the problem of filling the shovel and walking about half a mile to the firing hole only to have to throw the coal perhaps 20 feet forward. Massive beastie, I was impressed (it's a 482+284 for those that dont know
     
  6. Copper-capped

    Copper-capped Part of the furniture

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    An update for @Johann Marsbar and @Muzza on the current status of Neilson A10 no.3.

    I made time for a visit Ipswich workshops today and asked two museum guides about the future for No.3 and naturally got two different answers! First answer was that restoration is unlikely in the near future as no.6 is already restored to steam and the need to do another loco from the same class would probably not make it a priority. The second answer was more hopeful that it may well be next on the list after they complete the boiler work and complete overhaul of a DD17 tank engine. So who knows!

    The good news is that all the bits are there and that the boiler has had ultrasonic/ultrasound(?) testing done on it and is in good enough shape to be steamed again. 120psi and developing a whopping 4800lbf tractive effort! I must say the boiler looks in amazing condition for something that was built in 1866 - I was assured it was the original but I did not query further to ascertain exactly what they meant by "original".
     
  7. Johann Marsbar

    Johann Marsbar Well-Known Member

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    Many thanks for that.
    It seemed to be in good condition (and complete) when I saw it in the park there in 1992.
    In those days the "railway museum" was a collection of locos displayed in the open down the line at Redbank, though, admittedly, they appeared to be kept in spotless condition. The last time I was in Queensland, in 2003, the Ipswich Workshops Museum was open, and, as part of a Railway Touring Company visit, we had an extensive tour of the place, including the "non public" areas, but I couldn't recall seeing No.3 there, and it doesn't feature in my photos, hence the curiosity as to where it is now!
     

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