POWERHOUSE COLLECTION

Notes

Two saddle tank industrial locomotives, built in 1911 by the Manning Wardle Company, were ordered by the Public Works Department of the New South Wales Government. They left the company's Leeds factory on 28 October 1911 and were shipped from Britain to Australia. The Museum's locomotive, with builder's No.1781, is thought to have initially been put to work on construction of the North Coast railway between Gloucester and Taree, but in February 1914 it joined its sister engine at Coffs Harbour for work with the Navigation Department, on the early stages of harbour improvement works. In 1915 the harbour works were contracted to Norton Griffiths and Company. One of the locomotives remained operating on the jetty tramway, whilst the other was used for constructing a breakwater. The engines were later acquired by the Metropolitan Water Sewerage and Drainage Board (now Sydney Water) and sent to Sydney for construction of the Potts Hill reservoir. At this time Locomotive 1780 became No. 3 and 1781 became No. 4. At the reservoir site the engines hauled Western dump trucks loaded with excavated spoil and brought sand and gravel to the concrete mixers for the reservoir lining. After completion of the reservoir in 1923 the locomotives were separated. Number 3 (1780) was bought by the Public Works Department and transferred to the south coast town of Moruya where it worked on tramways hauling granite from the quarry supplying the stone for the pylons of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. The granite was taken by rail to waiting steamers on the Moruya River, which carried it to the Bridge construction site on Sydney Harbour. The locomotive continued its work until the Bridge pylons were completed and the quarry closed in December 1928. In March 1929 No.3 locomotive was sold to Associated Blue Metal Quarries and transferred to its Dunmore Quarry. The Museum's locomotive, No. 4 (1781), was transferred to the new Ryde Water Pumping Station in Sydney in May 1923. The locomotive hauled 40 ton (40.6 tonne) and 60 ton (61 tonne) coal wagons from the main railway line via a siding to the coal bunkers over the boilers in the pumping station. Following a boiler replacement in 1936 and cracks to the boiler in 1954 and 1958, the locomotive was considered unreliable. In September 1958 it was replaced by a Hibbard 'Planet' diesel locomotive, No. 51, which had previously been used on the construction of Warragamba Dam. The Manning Wardle locomotive was placed on standby for 12 months but was retired in 1960 and presented to the Museum in 1966. It was restored to steaming condition in 1986.