Climax Locomotive No 1694 Restoration Project

History of Climax locomotive 1694

By Frank Stamford

Why is Climax locomotive 1694 of 2 ft 6 in gauge ?

Climax locomotives of 2 ft 6 in gauge were extremely rare, and it seems to be an accident of history that Climax locomotive 1694 was built to this gauge, rather than 3ft.

In 1912 William Murie laid a 2 ft 6 in gauge tramway from his sawmill on Hotel Creek, about two miles north of Erica, towards Erica railway station. The purpose was to cart sawn timber to the Victorian Railways' Walhalla railway. It was an unusual gauge for a Victorian timber tramway, most of the others at that time were 3 ft or 3 ft 6 in. Furthermore, 3 ft was already established as the gauge for timber tramways around Erica, as in 1911 G.V. Morgan laid the first timber tramway into Erica station, and it was 3 ft gauge. Gauges narrower than 3 ft were generally not considered a good idea for timber tramways due to instability - logs tended to be of large diameter, and the centre of gravity of the load was high. The instability was made worse by poorly laid track.

One can only assume that Murie had no experience in laying timber tramways, and thought that if 2 ft 6 in was good enough for the Victorian Railways, it should be good enough for him, without taking into consideration the different types of traffic and track standards.

Murie subsequently sold his business to O'Shea & Bennett, who then sold it to Munro & Sons. The new owners moved the mill further west onto the Eastern Tyers River, and built several lengthy log tramways. Since the tramway he had taken over was 2 ft 6 in gauge, he used the same gauge for the log tramways. Most of the tramways used horse haulage, but winches were used in some places. In conjunction with his mill manager - Fred Rayner - Munro also built a peculiar eight-wheeled rail tractor using a car engine for power.

A number of other millers then built timber mills in the Tyers Valley area, and as they shared Munro's tramway to Erica station, they naturally used 2 ft 6 in gauge tramways. But this gauge was by no means the standard for timber tramways around Erica. By the mid 1920s there were many 3 ft gauge timber tramways, some of which fed into the Walhalla railway at Collins Siding, 1-1/2 miles south of Erica.

Forests Commission builds a tramway ...

At the request of local sawmillers, in 1925 the Forests Commission of Victoria (FCV) decided to lay a steel railed tramway in the Tyers Valley to provide the timber mills in the area with more reliable transport for their sawn timber to the Walhalla railway. The project involved the sawmillers themselves doing much of the construction work.

Since the majority of the existing timber tramways in the Tyers Valley were of 2 ft 6 in gauge, it seemed logical to build the steel railed line to this gauge, so that the sawmillers' rolling stock could be used. It was the only line the FCV built to this gauge, subsequent FCV tramways in the Thomson Valley and at Tanjil Bren were built to 3 ft gauge.

The FCV tramway was intended to run to Erica station, but while construction was underway, in March 1926 extensive bushfires swept the Tyers Valley. This prompted a survey of available timber in the Tyers Valley, and it was found that a route from Collins Siding would be more suitable to gain access to timber in the Western Tyers than a route from Erica.

The new tramway took a very circuitous route from Collins Siding to Tyers Junction (6-3/4 miles from Collins Siding). Here the line split, with one line going north-east along the Eastern Tyers River to Ten Acre Block (8-3/4 miles from Collins Siding), and the other going westerly along the Western Tyers River to Growlers Creek (13-1/2 miles from Collins Siding).

Motive power ...

It was intended to work the tramway by steam. For this purpose the FCV were not free to choose the best locomotive for the job, but were obliged to invite tenders for the supply of a locomotive. They gave quite specific requirements for the locomotive in terms of weight, load hauling, and ability to cope with sharp curves. Unfortunately for the FCV they received one tender from an Australian supplier, which they were forced to accept due to government policy to support local industry. The locomotive was built by Alfred Harman of North Melbourne, and incorporated two Harman logging winches in its design. Harman logging winches were widely used in the timber industry but the design of the locomotive was unique and untested. Whilst it appears to have been carefully thought out, and well engineered, it did not work to the specifications. Apart from several test runs it never went into service.

With this debacle the FCV was now able to convince the government that it needed to go overseas to an established supplier of suitable locomotives. As a result it ordered a Climax locomotive from the Climax Manufacturing Company in Corry, Pennsylvania, USA.

This locomotive, Climax 1694, was delivered to the tramway in September 1928 and was immediately successful. With the delivery of the loco, the Tyers Valley Tramway now settled down to regular operation. The tramway's other motive power consisted of two Fordson engine TACL (Malcolm Moore) rail tractors. One of these brought sawn timber from mills on the Growlers Creek line to Tyers Junction, whilst the other brought sawn timber from the mills on the Ten Acre Block line to Tyers Junction. At Tyers Junction the loads were combined and taken to Collins Siding by the Climax. The Climax loco was housed in a shed at Tyers Junction.

Although the Tyers Valley Tramway was the same gauge as the Walhalla railway, usually there was no physical connection. A temporary connection was laid in 1928 to deliver the Climax loco, after it had been assembled at the VR's Newport Workshops.

A temporary connection was again laid in 1933 to allow a test run of a VR NA class loco on the tramway, as far as the Johns Creek bridge. The purpose of the test was to see whether an NA class could cope with the tramway's tight (80 ft radius) curves. The FCV was looking for back-up motive power for when the Climax was being serviced. The NA passed the test, but the FCV did not proceed with the purchase of an NA from the VR. Instead the TACL tractors, double-headed, had to cope with the Tyers Junction - Collins Siding traffic when the Climax was unavailable.

Whilst sawn timber was the main traffic on the tramway, it also carried logs and piles, and potatoes from G.V. Morgan's farm at Tyers Junction to Collins Siding. Backloading included sawmilling equipment and provisions for the many bush settlements around the mills.

Rolling stock on the tramway

Rolling stock on the tramway consisted of short-wheelbase, wooden-framed, unsprung log bogies, which were adapted to carry all the traffic that was offering. Two examples of these primitive vehicles are in the Menzies Creek museum.

Closure

The Tyers Valley Tramway closed in July 1949. By that time there was little traffic, and the line was in poor condition. The Climax loco remained in the shed at Tyers Junction until 14 December 1950 when it was run under its own steam to Collins Siding, across a temporary connection to the VR line, and taken to the State Sawmill at Erica.

It remained there until 1965 when it was moved to the PBPS's museum at Menzies Creek for static preservation and display. The two TACL tractors were also moved to the State Sawmill. One was used for shunting around the mill, whilst the frames and wheels of the other was used as a mill truck. The one that was used as a shunter has survived, and restored to operating condition. It is now on display at the Menzies Creek museum.

References: The major source of information for this article is Mike McCarthy, "Trestle Bridges and Tramways: The Timber Industry of Erica District, 1910-1950", Light Railways No.79, January 1983; but the theories on why the loco was 2 ft 6 in gauge are my own.