Episode description
A10 No. 6 is one of the oldest steam locomotives in the world, still capable of operating on a main line. The tiny locomotive has a long, and remarkable history. It was there(well, almost)to witness the beginnings of the railways in Queensland.
Today, we will talk about the story of this steam powered time traveller, how in 1965, it was the showpiece of the centenary celebrations of the railways in Queensland, and how important it still, in the third century of its existence.
We also chat with Train Operations Inspector (TOI) Matthew Bushnell and find out first-hand what it was like to drive the A10 No.6! Matt had the great opportunity to drive the A10 back in 2015 for the 150th anniversary of Queensland Rail. We also chat about how his father drove the A10 back in 1991, after the loco had been completely restored.
If you’d like to see the A10 No.6 in person, head to the Workshops Rail Museum website –www.museum.qld.gov.au and book yourself a ticket!
If you have any questions about our rail history, please message us on the Queensland Rail Instagram or Facebook accounts or just email Greg himself: history@qr.com.au
And, if you’re enjoying what you’re hearing, please leave us a review. We’d love to hear from you, what you love about the podcast, and what you’d like us to feature on a future episode.
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Podcast transcript
Introduction
Annette: Good day, and welcome to another episode of the Queensland Rail History podcast. I’m Annette, and as always, it’s great to have you along with us today as we dive back into the Queensland Rail history vaults. The A10 No. 6 is one of the oldest steam locomotives capable of operating on a main line in the world. The tiny locomotive has a long and remarkable history. It was there – well, almost – to witness the beginnings of the railways in Queensland. Today, we will talk about how important it still is in the third century of its existence.
Male:“It’s an integral item of our railway heritage. That ongoing operation and conservation, it’s just so important, and it’s a real steam powered time traveller that takes us back to the very beginnings of the Queensland Railways.”
Annette:We’ll also talk with someone who’s quite familiar with A10 No. 6, and hear about his experience driving it in 2015.
Male 1:It was a terrific little thing and our driver was quoted as once saying it ran like a Singer sewing machine, and that’s exactly what it sounded like.
Male 2:Be that as it may, we, in common with the whole community, hail with pleasure the inauguration of the railway in Queensland.
Female 1:An old woman in our carriage was very proud of this little bit of railroad.
Annette:Today, as always, I’m in Toowoomba with Queensland Rail historian, Greg Hallam. How are you today, Greg?
Greg:As always, it’s wonderful to be here and talking with you about the story of the Queensland Railways.
Annette:All right, so today we’re going to chat about the A10 No. 6. Something tells me that you have a special soft spot for this train?
Personal connections with A10 No.6
Greg:Yes, Annette, I remember seeing the locomotive put back into service in May of 1991, after its restoration by a group of volunteers which worked restoring the locomotive to operational on the main line. That was the first time in Queensland. I’ve had a couple of trips behind it over the years, and it’s actually got – yes, a lot of, a personal relationship with that locomotive. So, looking back over the past 30 years since it was returned to service, it’s been an important historical part of the story, very much so.
Well, the story of A10 No. 6, it really is a great survivor of the Queensland Railways, and when you look at that locomotive, which is at the North Ipswich Railway Workshops, the Workshops Rail Museum today, although it is still part of Queensland Rail’s heritage fleet, it’s a real steam powered time traveller, Annette. The fact that it has survived for nearly a 160 years tells us so much about the story of the railways in Queensland, from where it came from and where we began, to where we are in the present day. It was built in 1865 – we’ll talk a little bit more about that later on. It is the oldest steam locomotive able to operate under its own steam when it goes out on a main line, in the southern hemisphere.
So, we can say that with confidence, that on the day it is operating, it is one of the oldest operating steam locomotives, probably in the world in this day and age as well too.
Annette:Oh, wow! So, I’m interested, if our train from 1865 is one of the oldest, do you know which is the oldest in the world?
Is it really the oldest locomotive to operate on a main line in the world?
Greg:Oh, dear, dear me! There are contenders for this. My own personal experience was, about five years ago, I was actually in Sweden, and there was a steam locomotive there from the 19850s that they could operate as well. But I think the marvellous thing is, when they do so, that day that it is operating, they say, on this day, at this moment, it is the oldest operating. But there are other locomotives around dating from the 1870s here in Australia that operate; as well too New Zealand.
But what is interesting is, with the age with these locomotives or these steam powered time travellers, what you’re also looking at, Annette, is really, what we’re seeing now has been changed and has been added to and been taken from, literally over decades and decades and decades. So, even though obviously today – it was made in 1865 – but how much of that is still original or not, that’s always a big question that goes with it.
Annette:Correct me if I’m wrong, but – so this one would have been a wood burner to start with, yes?
Greg:Great pick up as always there, Annette. When you see the photographs of A10 No. 6, or the B Class engines as they were back then, you see what the Americans call a spark arrestor. Its proper name is a bonnet, and it sits over the funnel of the steam locomotive, the bonnet, or spark arrestor. When those locomotives were introduced in the 1860s to the 1870s, they burned wood. And so, when they were introduced in the railways in Queensland, they weren’t coal burners or anything like that; they burned timber, yes.
Annette:Just a bit of a side question again. So, it came over as a wood burner; did it ever go to coal?
Greg:Yes, it did, actually. They adopted the burning of coal in Queensland about the mid to late 1870s. And that’s when they converted, mainly because of the cost of timber and the procuring of timber, and also, burning wood, well basically, it didn’t produce as much heat or energy as using coal. So, about the first decade, yes, wood burning locomotives, similar to the United States in the same era.
Annette:So, can you tell me about the A10 and its history, and where it came from; how it got to Queensland? Was it our first train? Sorry, I’m hitting you with 100 questions all at once.
The background story of 10 No. 6 and its journey to Queensland
Greg:Well, hopefully with 100 questions I can give you about 200 answers, as is the case, Annette. Well, A10 No. 6, it was part of the second group of steam locomotives to be commissioned to operate in what was the infant Southern and Westerns Railway of the Queensland Government Railways. Now, No. 6, it was built by Neilson Company is Glasgow in Scotland, and it was given the works number of 1170. It actually came over here on board a ship, and that was the Queen of the Seas, I think it was, when it travelled halfway around the world, under a canvas, on a sailing ship, here to Queensland.
Annette:Were they worried about the salt, with all the sea spray and everything, coming over on ships?
Greg:They certainly were, because they were brought over in kit form, with the boilers probably on deck and things like that. They would have been covered with tarpaulins, and also, I think it was tallow. So they used to coat the parts in tallow or oil, again, to keep the salt spray off them as well. So you’re bang on the money, because they had to – it was a long voyage, about three months to get here to Queensland. So it would have been a long time to be exposed to the elements. So, very much so. They had to take care of these locomotives to export them and bring them here to Queensland.
Annette:So, they had to get transported out here, which takes months, and then I imagine that [tallow] 00:06:32 would have been quite sticky, so then they had to sit there and meticulously clean all the engines before they could even put them together to get them into service.
Greg:Oh yes, it was a big process. That’s why they had what they call mechanics that came out with them. And the mechanics actually were specialists who could actually assemble steam locomotives. And that was why they were brought out, because you’ve got to imagine, Annette, this was all like a big Meccano set; it’s like a Hornby train set. And you’ve got to put all these parts together. So you’ve really got to know what you’re doing with it. When I talk to people about it, I get this mental image, and I say, “People who grew up with Hornby train sets when they were young, or loved Meccano sets, you would have loved to have been there in the 1860s, because literally, you are dealing with a great big Meccano set.” This is a steam locomotive that’s come from halfway around the world.
Annette:I’m interested too, you keep saying Hornsby or Meccano. When you get those sets, you’re literally getting one train. How many did we bring out?
How did they arrive in Ipswich?
Greg:As we’ve spoken in a previous episode, there were four locomotives that commenced operations here in 1865. There were about 10, I think, that came out with these B Class, as we call them, which are these Neilson engines. And that’s what No. 6 is part of. There was another one, No. 3, of course, that’s still in existence today. One thing you mentioned before, Annette, was about the journey. And I think the other interesting thing about the journey for them was, when they came, of course, they didn’t go to Brisbane. They were actually offloaded, and they were what they called lighted.
So, they were actually towed up river, I think it was from around the [unclear] 00:07:57 and that, and it was actually paddle wheels, steam paddle wheels, similar to that you see on the Murray River in this day and age. They actually towed up these lighters or flat boats, so they had all the dismantled steam locomotives, they were towed up Brisbane River, and the Bremer River; they were landed at Ipswich, the Government Railway Wharf, they called it, and that’s how they actually got to the location to be put together.
Back in – oh, heavens above – it must have been the early 1990s, we did a little bit of work in the old Railway Historical Centre at North Ipswich. And we pretty much worked out where those engines were first put together; it was actually very close to what was the historical centre, which is part of Riverlink today in Ipswich. And that was where the engines were assembled. And by the sounds of things, it was done under a little bit of cover, but it was almost out in the open. So it must have been an interesting time to see No. 6 being put together after that very long journey from halfway around the world.
August 1866 it was put into service. A few distinguishing things: they had whistles on the boiler barrel that was in front of the driver and fireman; they had a thing called live steam injectors there; and there was that spark arrestor you mentioned before, or the bonnet is another name for it as well, Annette.
The locomotive whistles
Annette:Whistles on the front – were they not normally mounted on the front, the whistles?
Greg:Yes, they had whistles that were put on the locomotive. It’s interesting, you see other photographs later in the periods and some of the engines had two whistles on them. It’s almost like the town and country whistle that they have on the diesel locomotives in this day and age. The whistles are an interesting thing as well. It must have been fascinating in the 1860s to hear those locomotive whistles for the first time in Queensland. It would have been a sound that was entirely new. Remarkable stuff.
Annette:I think even just having the train come along in the 1860s, you would have been sitting back going, “What is that?”
Greg:Exactly. So all those early locomotives, we mentioned they had wood burners. They used to take on wood coming up to Toowoomba, that ballooned to Gatton later at Murphy’s Creek for the range climb. So they had to take on wood there. Nielson Company from Glasgow, they also built engines for what was called the Northern Railway. That was later the Central Railway, which was based at Rockhampton and ran west out to Westwood. So, they were also built for the second railway in Queensland as well. Now, they ran on the Southern and Western Railway up here to Toowoomba. Apparently, they weren’t really well liked by the crews or anything like that. They were considered underpowered for the run. Small engines are not capable of taking too much of a load up the Toowoomba range.
From burning wood to burning coal
Annette:Did that change when they went from wood to coal?
Greg:Yes, probably from wood to coal, yes; basically, the fires would have been hotter for them, for a start, and coal actually produced more heat as well. So, there might have been a bit extra, but because they were small engines and small wheels and small cylinders, they weren’t highly powered for coming up the Toowoomba range or anything like that.
Burning timber and coal, it’s a very interesting thing and it was about efficiencies. But as you know, Annette, you burn something in the firebox of the locomotive, heats the water, creates steam. So, it can be either timber or it can be coal, and the efficiencies that obviously came with burning coal were recognised, and that’s why they went with it. They did even try for a period an experimental thing called coke, – not a soft drink or anything like that. And it was tried as a combustible material, but they went with coal, it was locally produced; and that was the story with that.
Annette:I’m interested – a little bit off topic – but being the fireman, that’s the guy that shovels in, right?
Greg:That’s correct.
Annette:Yes. How it would have been for him going from wood to coal? If the coal is so much hotter, and it’s completely – I imagine it’s heavier and you’re starting to shovel it instead of pop it in, it would have been a really big change.
Greg:Probably, but probably not, because they would have been fairly used to whatever they burned. The thing with the timber, of course, you think of timbers when you’re burning timber. I’m thinking old-fashioned barbecues here. But you think timber, throwing it into the firebox, lots of splinters on those things. So, I’m fairly sure they would have worn gauntlets and that. But when you’re actually using coal, of course, you’re using a fireman’s shovel or a scoop to put it into the firebox as well. So, different firing techniques, but as I said, over the years, from cases where Queensland Railway steam locomotives ran out of coal, they did have to revert to timber on occasion, or sleepers and things like that. So a bit of a tradition of source that was continued there, Annette.
Annette:Yes, I do think though if you have a train that runs out of fuel, it would be much easier to source wood than trying to find somewhere where you can get coal.
Greg:Well, I’ll tell you a couple of really good stories about that one day over a really good cup of tea, Annette, anyway, from stories I’ve been told over the years as well.
Podcast interviewee Matt Bushnell Queensland Rail Train Operations Inspector
Annette:Who better to interview for today’s episode other than a Queensland Rail Train Operations Inspector or TOI for short, Matthew Bushnell. Matt’s family has a rich heritage in the railways and in 2015, Matt was handpicked to run the A10 No. 6 on a special excursion for Queensland Rail’s 150th anniversary. I recently gave Matt a call to talk about that special day. Can you tell us about your experience with A10 No. 6?
Matt:It was a terrific little thing, Annette. It ran like – our driver was quoted that one sounded like a Singer sewing machine, and that’s exactly what it sounded like. I’m sure my fireplace at home was bigger than it, the firebox on it. And I remember getting a shovel and John said, “Don’t need the shovel,” he said, “we’ll just use your hands. Throw the coal in.” Big chunks of coal. Yes, it was good. Good little thing and did the firing, did the driving on it. Yes, it was great.
Annette:So, was it difficult to run or was it nice and easy?
Matt:No, it was difficult. It’s designed to beat a horse and cart. It handled the speed, you know, 50, 60k an hour, which is about the most we wanted to do in it. And yes, it purred along lovely.
Annette:Yes, I’m pretty sure it has a top speed of like 30 miles per hour, so 50 kilometres, it’s like, I’m done now, no more, please.
Matt:Yes, she was working hard in the old days; she’s old and we want to look after her.
Annette:Hearing Matt’s first-hand account of driving the A10 No. 6 made me feel like I’m right there along for the ride. But how did he find himself in the lucky hot seat? Well, we have to head back to 1984 to where his career in the railways actually started.
Matt:I started as an engine cleaner in Toowoomba. At that particular time, there were six of us started. And our role was basically then to fuel locos, wash and clean them and anything else that the loco inspector at that time required us to do, often helping fitters and cleaning out the sheds.
Annette:So Matt, can you please tell me what your role is now as a Train Operations Inspector? What do you do every day?
Matt:A lot of it is now coaching and mentoring, where we ride with the driver there and upskill them. We all try to be approachable, talk to them. They come and talk to us with the notices that come out and we just tell them what’s required, and to their required level of traction and just anything. A lot of it, driving trains, if we can get a train to drive, that’s special, it’s great. And lately, we’re doing a lot of ETCS testing of the new software for the up-and-coming Cross River Rail. At this specific [moment] 00:15:56 I’m at Ipswich Depot, and the train crew here are wonderful. Couldn’t say I have any trouble with them at all.
They’re here in Springfield, I look after with Gary. And yes, very, very good. Nothing but praise for them. You ask them to do something, they’re quite happy to help. And consequently, they know they can call us out of hours if they need something, or some clarification.
Annette:It’s fantastic that you’ve got that reputation that they do reach out to you. That’s great.
Matt:And the same with Gary, they do the same. Most out-depot TOIs, basically part and parcel, if you’re prepared to come out there, you’ve got to be prepared to take a lot of out-of-hours questions and answers. Most times, if we’re able to take the call, we will answer it and get it rectified for them.
Annette:So you’ve gone from being a train cleaner to teaching and coaching and mentoring people who drive trains now.
Matt:Yes, so back as a cleaner in ‘84, and then I got classed as a fireman, which is basically the driver’s assistant on the diesels, to a driver, to a TOI. I was a driver in charge.
Annette:Okay, where were you driver in charge?
Matt:Mayne.
Annette:At Mayne. Okay, fantastic.
Matt:And that was 2010 and ‘11 for a period of time and then back to driver and then back now as a TOI. And one particular bloke that I started with, started the same day and we’re both TOIs now, both in Brisbane. And a long-term friend, so you make friends for a long time, yes, a lifetime.
Annette:Yes, definitely. It’s funny how your career can flow along, isn’t it, and then have people who come along with you. It’s nice to have some mates in the business.
Matt:Yes, it is, yes, definitely. It’s friendships there for a lifetime.
The next generation of steam locomotives in Queensland after the 1860s
Greg:Now, the interesting thing is, the 1870s, 1880s, there were more – there were larger locomotives that were progressively introduced to the Queensland Railways and so the A10s and those smaller engines were sidelined in a way as larger and more powerful locomotives come in. So what happened was by the 1880s, A10 No. 6 was actually, I guess you’d say, reached a limit of usefulness in the Queensland Railways and it was actually started to be hired out. And this helps in the story of it becoming such a steam powered time traveller surviving. It was actually hired out for construction of a couple of railways in Queensland. If memory serves me correct, I think it was part of what was the original South Coast line.
It was hired out to railway contractors and they ran material or construction trains during the construction phase and things like that. So that was when it was the B Class. The other thing is, in 1890 the Queensland Railways introduced their – the state-wide classification system. You know we spoke about the A class, the B class, C class and all those, and D classes. So that was introduced in 1890. That’s when these B class engines actually became an A10. 10 being the cylinder diameter of the steam locomotive, A being four driving wheels. So you’ve got two axles and you’ve got one, two, three, four; four driving wheels. So that’s where the A10 came from. And that was – well, that’s how we come to know it. So up until 1890, they were still called the B class. And then after 1890, in the state-wide system it became the A10 class.
How a sugar company heled safeguard the future of A10 No.6
The other thing that’s great about this story of survival, it really is remarkable. Now, in 1896, it was sold to Gibson & Howes Sugar Mill for use on their sugar tramways. They’re not the real narrow ones you see throughout Queensland, which is the old two-foot gauge, 610 millimetres. This one was actually on the Queensland gauge, 3 foot 6 – remember our narrow gauge discussions that we had nearly two years ago now, Annette? 1,067 millimetres. So Gibson & Howes Sugar Company, they bought it. It went to the Fairymead Sugar Mill near Bundy, or Bundaberg, and then it went to the Bingera Sugar Mill. And the little engine, it was used primarily during the sugar season and then it made its way to the Wattawa plantation, which is near Gin Gin, and that hauled the cane traffic to the Mount Perry branch of the Queensland Government Railways. What’s interesting, that Wattawa is – I think, part of it is a rail trail in the modern era, I think, for the regional council there. So there’s another remarkable story of survival there.
Now, that little engine, so it operated out from Wattawa, so we’re looking about the 1890s onwards, and for decades it became associated with that area, operating sugar trams, sugar trains during that period. Sometimes, it’d be seen there at Wattawa and those areas near Bingera. And actually, my mother, she remembered travelling out to Mount Perry in the 1940s, and on one or two occasions she saw the funny little engine, as she called it, come in. She remembered it; it was a green colour, and she said it had a big polished dome on it. She called it the funny little engine, anyhow.
Annette:It’s good to know that even though it was a working train, it was out in the sugar mills, that they took care of it and they had a nice polished engine and things.
Greg:I know, Annette, we spoke about that, and I think we’ve seen some photographs from the early 20th century, 1890s. And you can see the care that was lavished on that engine, I think because of a sense of an appreciation of the story, the history behind it as well. So, yes, for many decades it was there, became well known, and it was actually given by Gibson & Howes, it was called – it acquired a new running number, it was Bingera No. 2, Bingera engine No. 2. And in 1963 it actually ran a special train for members of the Australian Railway Historical Society Queensland Division, because they did a special visit. This is around the time, the A10 engine was getting close to its centenary; the Queensland Railways were getting close to their centenary, and I think it was that association of realising this is a remarkable survivor, from the beginnings of the railways in Queensland.
Annette:I know I’m not a spring chicken, but to think in 1965, 1966, that train turned 100 years old, and it’s still running today.
The star of the Queensland Railways centenary in 1965
Greg:It’s remarkable, yes. Well, okay, we’ll jump in our steam powered time travel machine, we’ll go back to 1965. So, Annette, the centenary of the Queensland Railways was to be celebrated, and this is where another phase of this incredible career takes place. Bingera No. 2, it was offered back to the Queensland Railways, and that was to take part in the centenary celebrations at Grandchester. That was on July 30th of 1965. Now, that locomotive in July of 1965, it went from the Bingera sugar mill, which is out towards Gin Gin way, and it went down to Brisbane and Ipswich, and ran under its own steam the entire way. They had a fitter on board from the Bingera mill to make sure the Queensland Railways driver and fireman looked after that engine for them, but also to tell them about the various quirks on the way that went with it.
I’ve seen a photograph, actually, of it at Gympie in 1965, on its delivery run, sitting in the Gympie depot there. And it’s a remarkable photograph; you see the engine there, and the Queensland Railways employees looking around, “Oh, that’s interesting, isn’t it,” sort of thing. So it ran all that way under steam. When it got down to Brisbane and Ipswich, it was actually repainted in a Queensland Rail diesel blue colour scheme, and they put a Westinghouse pump on it so it could operate on the Queensland Railways. But for many years that engine was in the Redbank Museum; it was painted blue, and they painted it blue because, basically, the Queensland Railway diesel engines of that era were painted blue. So it wasn’t about historical accuracy or anything like that, it just looked good in blue, and they painted it up.
Annette:Sorry, I’m just going to throw back for a second too.
Greg:Please do, yes.
Annette:So we’re talking 1965. Was this train still being worked in the sugar mills at 100 years old?
Greg:Yes, leading up to 1965 it was still doing its little service out there. There’s actually some photographs of the 1963 visit, and we’ll share them later on. But it shows it sitting in its shed at Watttawa, still operating during the sugar season. It’s a remarkable story, this; I love it. It never fails to almost inspire me in my historical work. Anyway, so for the centenary celebrations, July 30th, the engine was going to haul two special carriage train. They were re-enacting the opening of the railway to Bigges Camp. They got members of the Ipswich Little Theatre Society dressed up in crinolines and 1860s gear and everything like that. Annette, I could see you in a crinoline, no worries whatsoever, and a bonnet. I could just see you like that, no worries at all. So, the special party joined the train at Rosewood, and then they actually re-enacted what they called the arrival of the first train from Ipswich to Grandchester, which was known as Bigges Camp a century ago.
Annette:Did they put on the big picnic as well?
Greg:Oh, it was a big show there that day. Apparently my brother was there and my parents were there with a couple of thousand other people, a lot of other people, to re-enact the commencement and the beginnings of the railways in Queensland. I wasn’t there, Annette. A bit before my time anyway.
Annette:Sorry, I was just going to flick back earlier. We were talking about how the engine wasn’t very popular with the drivers and the crew.
Greg:It was underpowered, yes.
Annette:Because it was underpowered. But then we talk about it being involved in building of other railways. So we must have been taking quite a load, taking equipment up to these locations. So it can’t have been that underpowered.
Greg:Oh, I think it’s like in this day and age, well, you use a ute to get around to do work on your property or something like that. So if it’s hauling a couple of wagons of material or rails or sleepers or navvies, as the case may be, perfectly suited for that and for the contractor. But if you’re pulling bigger trains up the Toowoomba Range, I think it’d only bring about 70 tonnes up the Toowoomba Range for a start. So it’s not really much. But if you’re building a railway and things like that, it’s nowhere near as heavy work. And it’s what they call contractors’ engines now. It’s good for that sort of work, Annette. It’s good for the work, good for the job at the time. As a wise person said to me one time, it’s like the little steam engine that could.
Podcast interviewee Matt Bushnell Queensland Rail Train Operations Inspector
Annette:When I called Matt for our phone interview, it didn’t take long to find out where his passion for the railway came from.
Matt:Dad joined in 1944. Back then, I think he said he was a 16-year-old call boy. They used to ride the pushbike all over Ipswich delivering calls –
Annette:Oh yes, waking people up, “Come on, we need you to come to work today.”
Matt:Yes, that one, yes. And one of his stories he tells me, that they were North Ipswich based, and one of the drivers lived out at One Mile, which is two or three mile from this depot. So he’d ride the bike out and he was a cranky old bugger, Dad said. “Take off,” he’d say, “son, disappear.” So Dad would ride back and the loco foreman would say, “Go back out and see him again.” So Dad said, “I’m not going out for that.” So he’d go and play pool at the Ritz for a couple of hours and then wander back and say, “No, he’s not home again.”
Annette:Oh, dear. They were different times, weren’t they? People – literally, a kid would ride out on the bike and say, “Come on, we need you for a shift.” And then he’d come on in.
Matt:Yes. And then at 17, he’d become an engine cleaner, then to a fireman, and in ‘56, he was classed as a driver, steam driver.
Annette:So he pretty much followed the same career path as you have.
Matt:He has, yes. Except I did everything in reverse. I did diesels, electrics and then steam and rail motors, where he went through the steam, rail motors, diesels and electrics, yes.
Annette:Oh, that’s funny.
Matt:When I did my drivers for the steam, he was – what, he would have been 80s those days, and it was surprising, he hadn’t forgotten a thing; knew it all.
Annette:Wow. So we spoke a little bit about your dad. So you obviously have family heritage with Queensland Rail. Do you have any other family ties?
Matt:Yes. I’ve got a son that’s a bridge inspector at Redbank. Our daughter-in-law, she’s a station officer here. I had a cousin that was a fireman in Gladstone, an uncle that’s a driver – was a driver in Gladstone. I had another cousin that was a porter. My uncle was a shunter in Toowoomba. Another couple of cousins up there, one was another shunter and one was a [numbertaker] 00:28:28. So yes, we’ve got family everywhere.
Annette:Yes, sounds like it. So, did your dad or your uncle start first? I’m just interested to see where the love started.
Matt:Yes, my father started it in ‘44 and Uncle Colin, which was my mother’s brother, I’m pretty sure he started in the 50s in Toowoomba.
Annette:Yes. So your dad has really brought everybody in, because it’s a real family affair for you guys.
Matt:It is, yes. And as I said, now my son, and I had one other son that was in, but he’s gone back into another position outside the industry, Annette, yes.
Annette:But yes, that’s amazing. Three generations so far.
Matt:So far, yes.
Annette:It’ll be interesting to see how far it goes, right?
Matt:Yes, and the grandson, that’s all he wants to do is, “I want to drive trains.”
Annette:Oh, that’s awesome. So do you have any memorable stories of your dad’s time as a train driver?
Matt:I worked a lot with Dad. It was a privilege here at Ipswich. I was a fireman, so I worked with Dad on shunt jobs and coal trains. The bonus was that I never had to worry about lunch. Mum always had that provided. And often, issues that happened, I could always call him and speak to him about it. And it got me through the steam, that sort of thing. It was a real privilege.
Annette:Yes, to be working side by side. I didn’t realise you were the fireman when your dad was a driver. You actually got to work side by side.
Matt:Side by side, yes, for many a job on the diesels. And as I said, as a young fellow, I’d jump on the steam engine and rail motors and the diesels with him, and just go for a run. Just tell Mum, “I’m going to work with Dad.” “Yes, all right!” That’d be it, yes.
Annette:Oh, dear. What a great opportunity. What a great story to tell. No wonder your little grandson wants to drive trains too.
After the railway centenary in 1965
Greg:Okay. Now, back on the old A10 steam-powered time traveller. So, its celebrity didn’t finish in 1965. At that point, at the RNA show, the Brisbane Exhibition of 1965, it made an appearance there, in steam, on a section of rail, so people could inspect the engine and see it with steam and blow the whistle. It even went to Elizabeth Street in Brisbane. Now, you and I are familiar, and I think others, with that famous photograph of the two steam trains sitting in what’s today King George Square in Brisbane, which was Albert Square.
Annette:Yes, great photo that one.
Greg:I’ll frame it for you one day and you can put it in your office, when you’ve got it. But that locomotive went to – it was in steam in Elizabeth street on a short section of track. So it was all part of the centenary celebrations down in Brisbane there. I’d be very impressed to see a steam locomotive down there in this day and age, of course, but I don’t think you will. It became a special excursion engine for the Queensland railways and was used on various charters. The last time it actually went out for an excursion in that era was 1969; I think it was to Shorncliffe. The little engine that could, couldn’t on that occasion and actually did unfortunately break down.
It was also doing a trip with what was the largest steam engine operating then, which was one of the Beyer-Garretts, so 130 tonne and about 25 tonne. And that was its last trip on the main line, Annette. So, what happened was, in 1970 it became part of the old Queensland Railways Redbank Locomotive Museum collection, and that’s where it stayed. In 1979 it left for a while when we inaugurated the first electric trains in Brisbane, November of 1979. It was part of a transport cavalcade, sat on its own special flat wagon; it was sitting there and basically, it went through as part of a special parade through Roma Street as part of that connection as well. So it got out and about, and I actually remember seeing that. Okay, I do remember seeing that in 1979.
Annette:I’m just thinking, by 1979 this little train has deserved someone else to pull him along.
Greg:You’d think so, but obviously No. 6 still had get-up-and-go. And of course, they did indicate the significance of that little – of the engine – it was still blue at that stage – going through on the flat wagon; it was explained, the significance of it as well, and that it was one of the original engines for the Queensland Railways.
Annette:I was just going to say, I can imagine you being a little train buff even back then, so excited to see this little steam train go through.
Greg:Annette, I was deadly serious.
Annette:Little childhood Greg.
Greg:Oh, dear, dear. I was probably listening to Video Killed the Radio Star, or something like that at stage anyway, so there we go.
Annette:So, Greg, you said they had a train in King George Square.
Greg:Well, we jump back in time, for Elizabeth Street, yes, in 1965. It was just on a section of track there, and I don’t know if it was under light steam or not, but it was sat there again. Remarkable.
Annette:I was going to say, there’s no train track there now.
Restoring a 125 year old steam locomotive to operation and afterwards
Greg:Aha! But as you and I have discussed previously, 1940, in February you had two steam trains sitting in what’s King George Square today, so anything is possible, given the will to do it. In late October of 1989, No. 6 again left the Redbank Museum. It was part of an initiative to return it to service to commemorate the 125th anniversary of the first section of the Queensland Railways. So a volunteer group consisting – there was members of the Australian Railway Historical Society Queensland Division, private individuals and others – they oversaw the restoration and rebuilding of the locomotive.
It was intended as a volunteer program to return it to the rails for QR and the work was carried out in what’s now the demolished directing shed of the former Mayne steam locomotive depot. It was a pretty big effort. You think it’s a small locomotive; it was a big effort. Although there’d been other volunteer groups in Queensland had restored locomotives for operation, what made this different was, it was for the Queensland Railways and it was also operated on the main line, so it was it was ground-breaking in its own way, or locomotive-putting-together perhaps might be more the case. But it was a project that was sponsored by the Railway Historical Society with Queensland Railways. There were people who came into the project from different areas and that; they were all volunteers, those with steam qualifications who understood the locomotive.
So it was a it was an interesting effort they went through. There was work that was done by private companies, of course, because it was specialist work. And it was a fairly tight time frame because it was basically a bit over two years, or eighteen months, was to get that locomotive and then get it back into service. And that was to recognise, as we said, 125 years of the railways in Queensland. But more importantly, it was to actually get it ready for the – if memory serves me correct – also for the centenary of the railway opening between Cairns and Kuranda. So a couple of events around that certain – around that time frame, and so there was an impetus there.
Annette:Sorry, just another thing that interests me – so, we know that the train was brought out on a boat.
Greg:That’s right, yes.
Annette:Then it was ferried upstream; it was built – and we think – what, probably took a few months to put it together, really?
Greg: Yes, it came in August of 1866, so yes, you’d be looking at definitely a couple of months to get it all back into service there, Annette, yes.
Annette:And then we’re looking at two years to restore. So, it’s taken them seven times longer, roughly, to restore it than to actually –
Greg:Well, there’s a difference. When you’ve been in the museum for many, many years, compared to when you’re ready to go to steam, basically, I’d suppose you’d say it’s a considerable difference. The boiler had to be refurbished; new boiler tubes made. It was basically a huge restoration job, reconstruction work, to bring that locomotive back to steam. So, pretty remarkable effort all the same. There was a lot of hard work went into it, but there was a lot of interest in it as well too. The locomotive colour scheme is in a lovely red colour, Midland Red today. Again, that’s not original colour.
We’re still not a hundred percent sure on its colour scheme, but we think it probably was a dark – a very dark green, possibly even like a black or something like that, might have been the original colour scheme for the engines. The colour that was chosen, it looked good. It does look good in that red colour and does make it stand out. So, maybe historically not accurate, but it’s been like that for over 30 years now so it’s got its own history to it.
Podcast interviewee Matt Bushnell Queensland Rail Train Operations Inspector
Annette:Fantastic. One of the first trips the A10 No. 6 had after its completed restoration in 1991 was with Matt’s own father at the controls. I chatted with Matt to find out what this moment would have been like for him.
Greg mentioned that your dad drove the No. 6 back in 1991/’93. Can you tell us about that? Was it special for him?
Matt:I remember Dad taking it out when it first came out of the restoration. I think that was about ‘89, ‘91, something like that, and having a look on it. Yes, it was terrific. Very proud moment, seeing Dad on it those days. Obviously, he qualified, one of the last, the originals, and for him to take the No. 6 out, which is one of Queensland Rail’s oldest loco, yes, I remember him saying it was a real privilege. I remember watching him take it out, out of the workshops, and they went out to Bundamba Box Flat section there. They were running up and down there, around that balloon area, and back and forth for all the passengers. That was back in ‘91. It was overcast, rainy day. I still remember it, yes. Saturated, but he was having a ball; loved it.
Annette:Yes, because it was all open, wasn’t it? There was no real protection in the train cabs of the old trains.
Matt:No. All it was was just a roof over their head and the rain was blowing in on them and the wind and that. They had coal, covered from head to toe.
Annette:I still bet he had a huge smile on his face, literally. He’s all saturated and he’s been playing in the coal of this train that’s so old; it would have been a beautiful run for him.
Matt:Definitely do remember that, for sure. Yes, he did love it. He loved his job in QR. I remember when he retired in ‘95 and I asked him, I said, “What would you do? Would you do it again, or anything different?” And he said, “No.” He said, “I’d do the whole thing again without a change.”
Annette:That’s amazing. How do you feel yourself? Do you think you would do anything different, or you reckon you’re pretty content with where you’ve landed too?
Matt:Yes, I’m pretty well like him; I’m where I am today [thankfully] 00:39:39 from Dad in the railway. Prior to me joining, I was a motor trimmer, apprentice motor trimmer, and I’d always wanted to be – Aad it come up, and I said to Dad, “That’s it, I’m giving my apprenticeship away. I’m out.” And Dad said, “It’s your decision.” So, yes. “I think you’re making the right decision”, he said. So yes, it was good. I had his blessing. That was good. And no, I wouldn’t change a thing. I wouldn’t have met my wife; everything fell into place, perfect.
A10 No. 6 after returning to service in 1991 to Kuranda and other places
Annette:I’m interested, Greg, after it was all restored back in 1991, what trips did it make? Did it go back to the Museum fully restored, or is it still out on the rails now? Can we ever see it running around?
Greg:Again, here’s the next stage in that remarkable story of survival. It actually did a couple of test runs, and it was recommissioned in May; and then in June of 1991 – this was the big thing for it – it actually went up to Cairns and Kuranda, because it was the centenary of the opening of the the line from Cairns through to Miola, which is just beyond Kuranda.
Annette:Are you telling me it went on its – under steam, its own steam?
Greg:No, it travelled on that nice big flat wagon. But there was another one of the steam locomotives, PB15, No. 732, they made their way north to Cairns. There was a special train that was sent up, basically. It took a couple of days to get up there. And so they went to Cairns and Kuranda, and they were up there for the 100 days of steam. So, these two steam locomotives used to operate from Kuranda out to Miola, and they’d tie in with what’s today the Kuranda Scenic Railway, coming up from Cairns. So they did that for a 100 days of steam, they called it, for the centenary. The A10 used to run out to Oak Forest, I think, was the station, and back, and tie in with those things. Occasionally go down to Cairns for a bit of attention for the boiler and those sorts of things, [washouts] 00:41:36. And there are photographs showing that engine 732 going up the Kuranda Range, Barron Gorge, up across Stoney Creek and everything like that.
So, another incredible part of the story. It came back down to Brisbane in October of 1991. They had it in steam when the Roma Street goods yard closed, which is today part of the parklands and other developments going on in Roma Street in this day and age of course. And it also, in May of 1992, it did a trip from Brisbane to Toowoomba, and that was for the125 years of the railway to Toowoomba. And when you think about – in its early years it came back to the line it used to operate from the 1860s. That trip, I think it took about eight hours because it was a slow trip, and it had to stop off and take water and take coal. It was really one and a half carriages behind the train that came up the Toowoomba range. But I remember that one well too, because the Toowoomba Station platform was thronged with people, and when the train came in, the locomotive and one carriage and a guardsman attached to it, I remember thinking at that stage, all these people on the platform, I hope they don’t sneeze at once; they’ll blow the entire thing over on its side or something like that.
Annette:I’m just interested, how big a carriage was it? Would it hold 30, 40 people?
Greg:Well, I think it ran with one of our – the BL excursion carriages, so probably about 48 passengers on that one; and they had a special guardsman behind it as well. If I remember, there’d probably only be about 56, 58 people on the trip up that day, and it took about eight hours. I do have my own memory of seeing the – of the train being put in at Wacol – I think was to take water and let electric trains go past. Yes, as I said the looks on people’s faces, especially on the electric trains coming past from Ipswich and that, seeing this sitting off to the siding there at Wacol, it was a remarkable thing to witness indeed. So, back in 1995, August, Queensland Rail workshops from North Ipswich, it was made ready for the AusRAIL convention; it was the centrepiece of the AusRAIL convention there in 1995, down at South Brisbane, the Convention Centre. There were other historical exhibits there, but it was literally centre stage and everything like that.
Annette:So, this poor train at 130 is still being worked. You still have to work.
Greg:Well, I think it’s marvellous because it’s basically like the family silver; you bring it out, you polish it up and say “Isn’t this a wonderful thing indeed.” Anyway, so it went to North Ipswich workshops. They had to do additional repair work at that stage, after AusRAIL. It was actually put in steam again in April of 1996, and before that time, it’s actually steamed at other various times and various events; it’s come out of retirement. And there was one particular time which [we know] 00:44:25 very well, and that was in 2015 for the 150 years of the Railways in Queensland, when it did a trip to Ipswich and Grandchester. And our special guest today, Matthew Bushnell, he was actually driving the locomotive that day.
Annette:What an honour.
Greg:Yes, it was, actually.
Podcast interviewee Matt Bushnell Queensland Rail Train Operations Inspector
Annette:The journey you did for Queensland Rail’s 150, where did you go? Where did you start, where did you end? And was it all under the A10 steam?
Matt:No, no. The 150 we had the BBs – 1079, the BB18¼, and then ‘89, BB18¼. And we went from basically Brisbane to Cairns, out to Longreach, out to Charleville and yes, all over the state. And they were terrific people; we got to meet a lot of people, do a lot of things, different things. I got the privilege of putting a plaque on the wall at Charleville, on one of the runs, dedicated to my father, about when he was in Charleville as a driver. That was a privilege to do that.
Annette:What was it like to drive the A10 No. 6 in 2015?
Matt:Terrific, yes. Terrific. We had a lot of dignitaries on board. And the occasion of it being 150 years with Queensland Rail, it was terrific to get on board. Had to – I remember we stopped outside Calvert there, and they put palm fronds on to replicate what was done in 1965; it was to simulate – I forget, actually, what it was. It was something to do with some sort of tree or something. Greg will tell you, anyway; he knows the story about it.
Greg:Thank you for that, Matt. I’ll just chime in for a second here. The palm fronds, well basically, they’re the leaves of palm trees and these actually relate back to the opening day of the Southern and Western Railway on the 31st of July of 1865. On that day, locomotive No. 1 came out from its shed with what a piercing scream on its whistle. It shunted onto a long tail of carriages behind it and puffed its way into the platform at Ipswich. All the locomotives and carriages were polished until they glistened brilliantly in the morning sun. Locomotives and carriages were decorated with evergreen laurels and newly made flags, and from what we got from the historical description, red white and blue coloured flags dominated.
Now, in 1965 for the Railway centenary at Grandchester, A10 No. 6 had palm fronds on the front of the smoke box, and that was an attempt to keep some form of historical linkage back to 1865, when they spoke about evergreens on the locomotives and things like that. So again, that was done in 2015. Anyway, let’s get back to our chat with Annette, and her interview with Matt Bushnell.
Annette:Where did you run the A10 that day?
Matt:From the workshops platform up to Grandchester, drop the people off there ,and then we ran it into the angle there as a static display; and then the ceremony was on there, and then we took the old girl home. And that’s – I think on the way home, that’s where we got the hot bearing. Put her in the workshops, and I think that’s its last trip at this stage.
Annette:Yes, I think after over 100 years of traveling around, she deserves some rest.
Matt:Yes, she does, yes.
Annette:Rough life, being a train, hauling goods, then going to the sugar cane and back again. Bit of a rough one.
Matt:I’m sure I wouldn’t look that good after 150 years.
Annette:Given the history of this amazing locomotive, what did it mean to you to have the opportunity to drive it?
Matt:Oh, everything. I remember there was a few of us qualified in steam, but not on the A10. It was a huge honour to be given the opportunity to drive it, yes, because as I said, it’s the oldest locomotive. It’s probably one of the ones that’s remembered by most people, and it draws a lot of crowds when it comes out. We used to do – for a little while when it was first restored, it was – we used to do what they call the Santa train out of the workshops, just over to Riverlink Shopping Centre, and take Santa there and drop him off for the kids, and then back to the workshops. That was – just little things like that, they were special; you see the kids’ faces, the crowd it drew, see the little locomotive.
Annette:Having driven No. 6, what has it taught you about train drivers from 150 years ago?
Matt:They were a tough breed; they were in obstacles that weren’t even thought of. Those days there was no braking system on it; there was there was no roof on the loco or anything like that. But they worked out in the open; they were hard; they were they were a tough generation, I believe. And they’re pioneers, they were the pioneers of Queensland Rail to where it is today through the generations. That’s – what we have today is from them driving, and the guys that built the tracks, conditions that they endured. I remember Dad saying that out at Hughenden and that, they lived in Bondwood huts; that that was their accommodation. Mum and the kids stayed down here; there was no accommodation for them. And I think he said they spent seven years away apart. And that was just part and parcel.
Money wasn’t that good. He’d send all his money home, and then to live up there he’d leave enough for a couple of bottles of beer a fortnight, and most of the time they’d go out shooting for the meat on the table, where they lived in Hughenden. Certainly a different lifestyle to current. And just like 2015, it was so hot. I remember we left in February, and we got up to Bundaberg, and I said to Dad, I said, “Oh, it’s going to kill us.” We weren’t physically up to it. And I said, “How did you survive the heat?” And the old thing with the collar, he said, “Pour water down the back of the neck.” And that’s what we were doing; and just little tricks that we weren’t aware of; those sorts of things helped us out.
Annette:Yes, I’ve seen the old uniforms they used to wear; they would have needed water down the back with those, because they were just so sturdy. There was nothing getting through them.
What kind of condition was it in when it made its way back to Queensland Rail for the restoration?
What work went into returning A10 No. 6 to operation after being tin the Redbank Musuem?
Greg:It had been out in the open since 1970, really, when you think about it, apart from those occasional removals. So when it actually came back for – they had a visual inspection; the boiling cladding on it was badly rusted; pipes and valves were badly corroded because they’d been outside in the open air museum since 1970. And also the tender of the locomotive had several rust holes visible in the tank and the coal bunker. Interestingly enough, otherwise, it seemed in pretty reasonable condition, considering its age, as you’d say, Annette.
Annette:Oh yes, she was old at this stage. And just another question; the Redbank Museum – so we hear about the Workshops Museum all the time – what’s the Redbank Museum?
Greg:Well, basically, I’d suppose you’d say that the Workshops Rail Museum today, which opened in 2002 in August, it was like the larger version. The Redbank Locomotive Museum was established – opened in 1970. There was a collection of steam locomotives there, an RM14, the little Normanton rail motor we’ll talk about in one of our later podcasts; and it was established basically as a representative of locomotive development in Queensland. Some of those locomotives were returned to operation in the 1990s and early 2000s, form part of the heritage fleet in this day and age. Other engines are still held in store. So I suppose you’d say that the Workshops Rail Museum was an outgrowth of that collection in a lot of ways. So, moving on from just the locomotives to try and encompass a lot more of the story of the railways in Queensland.
Annette:So, the Redbank Museum, was that outside?
Greg:Yes, some of our listeners would definitely remember the Museum. It closed in ‘92/’93 and the locomotive was put into storage, primarily because it had been in the outside elements and things like that. It was interesting, because that locomotive came out, the RM14 at various stages and that. There are other locomotives now that were formerly in that collection, such as 1089, which is one of the BB Class locomotives, and the Beyer-Garrett and others. So they came out in the 1990s to be returned to service and those sorts of things.
Annette:So Greg, as we talk today, where is A10 No.6?
Greg:A10 No. 6, it is still part of the Queensland Rail heritage collection, but it is actually on show as an exhibit at the Workshops Railway Museum at North Ipswich. It’s got two carriages there that used to sit behind A10 No. 3, which is an entirely different story; that was at Ipswich, and previous to that, at Countess Street, and even previous to that, Ipswich Workshops, in various times in the early 20th century. But yes, people who go to the Workshops Railway Museum at North Ipswich, they can see No. 6 sitting there. And as I said, it’ll be interesting to see when we see it in steam again, Annette, of course.
Annette:Oh, let’s keep our fingers crossed for the 160, eh?
Greg:I reckon so, Annette. I’ll look forward to seeing you there with it.
Podcast interviewee Matt Bushnell Queensland Rail Train Operations Inspector
Annette:What do you love about your job at Queensland Rail?
Matt:I think it’s just the camaraderie. I’ve been in it since 1984, and my father was a driver. And it’s all I’ve ever known in my life, from a schoolboy to current day, is Queensland Rail. I used to ride the pushbike to the station and jump on the rail motor or the diesel, because in those days you were allowed to, there was no problem. And it was good. I grew up not wanting to do anything else but be a train driver.
Annette:How has Queensland Rail supported you through your career?
Matt:That’s the one thing with Queensland Rail, there’s the opportunity to progress, and to do different fields. If you wish to go to a different avenue, like patrolling or rostering, there was that. But for me, I always wanted to be a driver, so it was just the progression. In those days, as the vacancies came up, you put in, and when your seniority number came up, that gave you the chance to be a fireman. Then, from there, it was a chance to go all over the state, different depots to have a look at. I was at Ipswich, Mayne, Cloncurry, Jilalan, those sort of places where you’ve been. And then, in Toowoomba, [acting] 00:55:21, where you relieved as a fireman at the depots when the grain was running, like Inglewood, Charleville, Chinchilla.
Annette:Sounds like you got to see a lot of Queensland in your work life.
Matt:It’s wonderful. And then the highlight would have probably – 2015, where we went all over the state. That was certainly a highlight there, yes. They support you, whatever you want to do. If you want to put the time and the effort in, then they certainly will back you.
Annette:Matt, thank you so much for joining us today. I hope you had some fun, and it’s been interesting talking with you. Just knowing that you got to work beside your dad, and now you’ve got your son and your daughter-in-law working there as well, it’s great to see that the family generation is going through, and it’s such a great place to work, Queensland Rail, that you keep pushing. You want your grandson there too.
Matt:Yes, because in Queensland Rail, as long as you do what you’re required, you’ve got a great job for life. They’ll look after you if you look after them. It’s been a pleasure talking to you.
Annette:Thank you so much, Matt.
Matt:Thank you.
Conclusion
Annette:Thank you so much for listening to today’s episode on the A10 No. 6. And also, a special thanks to our guest, Matt Bushnell. If you’d like to see the A10 No. 6 in person, head to the Workshops Rail Museum website, museum.qld.gov.au, and book yourself a ticket. If you have any questions about our rail history, please message us on the Queensland Rail Instagram or Facebook accounts. And if you’re enjoying what you’re hearing, please leave us a review. We’d love to hear from you what you love about the podcast, and what you’d like us to feature in a future episode. You’ve been listening to the Queensland Rail History podcast, hosted by our historian, Greg Hallam, and myself, Annette.