Locomotive JACK on the Move #3

On 24-Sep-2008, 100 years and 5 days after being despatched to Australia by its Munich manufacturer, Krauss narrow-gauge locomotive 'JACK' was relocated from the Thirlmere Rail Heritage Centre to Lake Macquarie Light Rail. The locomotive is an exhibit owned by the NSW Rail Transport Museum and has been leased to LMLR.

JACK operated on the 2-foot (610mm) gauge Goondah-Burrinjuck Railway from 1909 until 1929, together with three other, almost-identical Krauss locomotives. The 42km-long railway was used to bring construction material, personnel and supplies in connection with the Burrinjuck Dam project. When the Dam was completed, JACK was sold to Farleigh Mill in Queensland and used for sugar cane haulage until being replaced by diesels in 1963 - it has not steamed since. In 1966, the owners of Farleigh Mill donated the locomotive to the NSW Rail Transport Museum whereupon it was shipped to the Museum's first location at Petersham, a suburb of Sydney.

The locomotive was displayed at the Museum's first real home at Enfield from 1972 until 1974, then relocated to its new home at the Thirlmere Rail Heritage Centre from 1975. There, the locomotive became the Museum's mascot, greeting visitors just inside the entrance for the next 33 years.

LMLR has leased the locomotive with the intention of restoring it to full operating condition for the benefit of the community. It is believed that there is only one steam-powered Krauss locomotive currently in operation in Australia. It's also thought that a Krauss loco may not have steamed on mainland Australia since the 1980s, so this new chapter in the little locomotive's rich life, will offer new generations a chance to see an important industrial survivor, both preserved and in steam.

You can learn more about LMLR and follow JACK's restoration progress through the Railway's web-site at: http://www.lmlr.org.au

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Science & Technology

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