Several months back I heard that there was a plan to dedicate a Centenary plaque to the Mapleton Tramway in a park in Mapleton. I was asked if my drawing could be used for a 6' stainless steel laser engraved sign. I of course was excited and said yes to the project.
The celebration took place over the weekend and I received some photos of the plaque. The big cut out version is on the back of a stone bench which faces the smaller version with a bit of history.
The words:
"For 30 Years from 1915, two almost identical Shay locomotives called
Dulongand
Mapleton ran on a two foot tramway track between Nambour and Mapleton.
The tramway ran down the Lilyponds Park entrance and across to
Obi Obi Road.
The 10.5 mile (17 kilometer) tramway plus the two Shay locomotives and all
rolling stock were owned by the Maroochy Shire Council. The line was never
financially viable and was subsidized by the rate payers.
Several thousand Shay locomotives of various sizes were designed and built by
the Lima Locomotive Company of Ohio on the United States from 1879 to 1944.
The Shay locomotives were quite unlike conventional steam locomotives as they
had two vertical cylinders and two four-wheeled bogies. While the local Shay
locomotives were heavy coal users, slow and needed a lot of maintenance, they
were particularly suited for steep winding tracks."
"The locomotives were used to haul sugar cane, milled timber and logs, small
livestock, cream, fruit, general goods and passengers. Heavier loads could be
carried on the down run to Nambour.
The service operated Monday to Saturday, leaving Mapleton in the morning.
branch lines meant that the locomotives could shunt up to the Mapleton
shops/tavern and the sawmill. Because there was no turntable, the locomotive
made the trips to and from Nambour facing Mapleton.
After the closure of the Mapleton Tramline in 1944, the Moreton Sugar Mill
purchased the locomotives, rolling stock and track. In 1948 the sugar mill built
one locomotive using the parts from
Dulong and
Mapleton with the rebuilt locomotive
being named
Shay. The
Shay worked at the Moreton Mill until 1965.
The preserved
Shay locomotive can now be seen at the Nambour and District
Historical Museum."
Cheers Dan