This locomotive was built by John Fowler in Leeds in 1927 for use at Racecourse Mill, near West Mackay. The locomotive is unusual in that it is a tender engine and the tender has its own works number -17684.
(In some places the locomotive is referenced as Fowler works number 17693 but this is believed to be incorrect.)
Racecourse Mill began operations in 1889 under the Racecourse Central Mill Company Limited. In 1927, the Racecourse Co-operative Sugar Association Limited was formed to take over the former company’s assets and an agreement was entered into with Farleigh Mill management to resume Farleigh’s Homebush area cane supply in return for the Calen/Kolijo lands supplying Racecourse Mill.
The locomotive was fitted with a replacement boiler in 1953.
It was withdrawn from service in 1965 after which it was stored at the mill for some years.
In 1971 the locomotive was placed on a plinth in Mulherin Park at Mackay Outer Harbour.
In 1993 the locomotive was acquired by a private individual and stored at the owners industrial estate in Kallangur / Murrumba Downs. The original tender remained privately owned by someone else close to Marian Mill.
In 2007 the locomotive had a new owner following the death of the previous one. The locomotive was moved to a recycled building materials site in Virginia, Brisbane.
The locomotive was later resold and by October 2018 it was in an industrial storage site at Kingswood in Sydney’s West.
In May 2021 the locomotive was moved to the Port Milang Historic Railway Museum in South Australia who subsequently purchased the locomotive following generating the funds to do so.
It has been cosmetically restored.
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