| Weight | 14 tons |
| Driving Wheels | 2ft 0in |
| Boiler Pressure | 160psi |
| Cylinders | Outside – 9½in x 12in |
This locomotive was built by the Hunslet Engine Company in Leeds in 1918 for the British Arm as one of 155 War Office 4-6-0T engines. They were ordered by the War Department Light Railways to run on their 600mm gauge lines supplying the front line during the First World War. The design of the locomotive is an evolution of an earlier Hunslet 0-6-0T type, with extended frames and an added 4-wheel bogie to provide a low axle-load suitable for quickly-laid light railway.
It is interesting to note that the 155 locomotives were completed at a time when Hunslet were also constructing howitzers, shells, and machinery to make shells as well as a limited number of other locomotives. By comparison, in peace time they averaged about 40 locomotives of all designs per year.
Most of the locomotives became surplus at the end of the war and a number of the locomotives were repurchased by the Hunslet Engine Company Ltd. They were then overhauled and regauged where necessary prior to being resold. These locomotives and the nine built after the war ended up in diverse locations including Argentina, Palestine and Australia as well as the UK. Fifteen of these locomotives were sold to the Engineering Supply Company of Australia (ESCO) in two batches in 1920 and 1924 for use on the 2 feet gauge (610mm) tramways of the Queensland cane fields.
This locomotive was one of two such locomotives delivered to the Proserpine Mill where it was given the name Digger.
Following withdrawal from service in 1962 at the Proserpine Mill the locomotive was placed on a plinth at Proserpine.
Around 2001 it was acquired by the Proserpine Historical Museum Society and was cosmetically restored before being placed on display in the museum.
This is one of five such locomotives which operated in Australia which have been preserved. The others are.
- WD 303 – Works number 1215
- WD 306 – Works number 1218
- WD – Works number 1229
- WD 327 – Works number 1239
Back to Preserved Outside Britain – By Country
Back to Preserved Outside Britain – By Builder
Back to Preserved Outside Britain – Australia
served Outside Britain – By Country
Back to Preserved Outside Britain – By Builder
Back to Preserved Outside Britain – Australia
Share this: