Books from other publishers

Whistles through the Tall Timber

Warburton - Powelltown - Noojee

by Nick Anchen

Published 2023 by Sierra Publications

264 pages, hard cover, large landscape format 300mm x 240mm, 260 photographs, many in colour.

The majestic mountain ranges east of Melbourne contained some of the finest stands of hardwood trees in Australia. To access the timber, a fascinating network of railways and tramwaya were built

This publication tells the story of the Warburton, Powelltown and Noojee railways, along with the prominent timber tramways of the region, from an era when the tall timber was extracted by steam and sweat.

The fascinating memoirs of legendary railwaymen and timber workers are complemented by 260 magnificent photographs - many never before seen.

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$A99.95 plus postage.
[price to LRRSA members $89.95 plus postage]

(Weight 1715 g)

The Last Engineer

on the North Australia Railway

by Brian Smith

Published 2021 by the author

192 pages, A5 size card cover, 148mm by 210mm

This book describes the life and times of a young engineer on the NAR from 1967 to 1970 during the tumultuous change from a pedantic several small trains a week to a full-blown combination of a million tonnes oa year iron ore traffic, freight, cattle and work trains. All of this was maintained while replacing and upgrading the entire workshop and office facilities and most of the track from Darwin to Katherine.

Characters that we will never see again and the events engulfing them come alove in the books, while the photographs enhance the narration.

While the NAR was government-owned, it was a light, narrow gauge railway, isolated and remote, and certainly fits the "quirky" side of light railways.

With 33 chapters generally describing a single incident, this book is highly entertaining.

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$A35.00 plus postage.
[price to LRRSA members $31.50 plus postage]

(Weight 460 g)

The Light Railways of South Australia

by Peter Lucas, for the Port Milang Historical Railway Museum

by Railmac Publications for the South Australian Light Railway Centre at Milang

36 pages, 148mm by 210mm size (A5)

This little booklet is printed on high quality paper with a card cover. The cover both inside and out is printed in colour with photos and a map. It also states that there were over 700 light railways in South Australia. It begins by defining what a light railway is, then describes examples of the different types of motive power used and the industries and some projects where they were used.

It is a good introduction to the subject of light railways and their history.

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$A10.00 plus postage.
[price to LRRSA members $9.00 plus postage]

(Weight 100 g)

A History of Clyde Engineering

Engineers and Manufacturers - The Steam Era 1898 - 1948

by David Jehan

Published 2022 by Eveleigh Press

336 pages, A4 size, hard cover, numerous excellent photographs and other illustrations.

This book covers the first five decades of the company’s operation, which is best described as the Steam Era. During this period, which covers two world wars and the Great Depression, the range of products made was exceptional. The company built 533 steam locomotives mainly for the railways of NSW, but also for most states in Australia. They also built and overhauled steam locomotives and boilers for numerous private operators.

A significant amount of locomotive-hauled and electric coaching stock were built, in addition to a sizable portion of the electric tramcar fleet that operated on the Sydney network. Goods wagons, tank wagons and coal hoppers were also constructed in large numbers.

Although most famous for locomotives and rolling stock, in particular locomotive 3801, the works at Granville produced much more than this. Including - stationary steam engines and boilers for industry and mining applications were built in large numbers as well as gold mining dredges, rotary kilns for the cement industry, a wide range of machine tools and huge turbines and valves for hydro-electric power stations. Also an extensive range of agricultural equipment was produced including ploughs, chaff cutters, horse gears, etc. Fowler steam traction engines were sold along with traction wagons which were used by various municipal councils for road building.

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$A90.00 plus postage.
[price to LRRSA members $81.00 plus postage]

(Weight 1420 g)

Top Coal

The Benwerrin Coal Mine and Tramway

by Norman Houghton

Published 2021 by the author

A4, 36 pages, 42 maps, diagrams and photos. Full page duo-tone photo on front and back covers.

The Great Western Coal Mining Coy was established in Colac during 1897, with the first coal being extracted that year from the mine site at Grass Creek, near Deans Marsh. The Deans Marsh Tramway Co was formed in 1898, to connect the mine with the Forrest railway. The tramway was broad gauge and was operated with locomotives acquired from the Victorian railways. An incline tramway was used to lift coal from the mine up to the tramway.

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$A23.00 plus postage.
[price to LRRSA members $20.70 plus postage]

(Weight 160 g)

150 Years of Railways in Tasmania

by Lou Rae and Tony Coen

Published 2021 by the authors

268 pages, large format (240 x 330mm), 501 photographs, illustration and maps. Available in both Soft and Hard cover editions

The book provides a comprehensive history of the growth and development of railways in Tasmania beginning in the 1850s and extending up until the current day. It also covers 62 individual lines scattered about the island, several of which proved extremely profitable and some that lasted only a few years. Separate sections on the Tasman Limited, unusual locomotives and current railway preservation societies are also included.

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Hard Cover: $A80.00 plus postage.
[price to LRRSA members $72.00 plus postage]
(Weight 2,150 g)

Soft Cover: $A59.95 plus postage.
[price to LRRSA members $53.95 plus postage]
(Weight 1,850 g)

Tasmanian Railways

1950-2000

by Nick Anchen

Published 2020 by Sierra Publishing

208 pages, 290 x 240 mm hardback, 208 full-colour pages containing 137 great colour photographs, most never before published

From humble beginnings in February 1871, the scenic railways of Tasmania developed a unique character all their own. From the dripping forests of the West Coast to the famed Tasman Limited passenger train, Tasmania’s ‘iron roads’ became the stuff of legend.

150 years on, this book celebrates the railways of Tasmania through the memories of the men and women who worked them, and through the lenses of some of Australia’s greatest railway photographers.

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$A69.95 plus postage.
[price to LRRSA members $62.95 plus postage]

(Weight 1,650 g)

Woodlines of Western Australia

by Phil Bianchi

Published in 2018 by Hesperian Press

449 pages, 170mmx240mm) french flaps,heavily illustrated with locality and routes of the lines

Without a source of cheap energy to fuel steam boilers and for ore treatment, only the Western Australian mines with rich ore would have been productive.

Firewood companies established privately owned train lines up to 120 miles out from major centres such as Kalgoorlie to bring in firewood. Although the Kurrawang and Lakewood woodlines are the main feature of this book; other woodlines included Lakeside south of Boulder, Kurramia/Kanowna, Cue, Laverton, Gwalia and Westonia.

Firewood cutters, carters and loaders from war torn Europe, came to Australia seeking a better life; they lived in hessian walled basic camps with earthen floors and a tin roof. The book features 22 first-hand accounts of the hardships faced by woodliners working, living and growing up on the woodlines. Many a wife and family joining the husband after a few years were shocked at the conditions; suffering flies, heat, cold, loneliness, maggots in meat and poor quality drinking water.

Between 1900 and 1964 a total of 21.6 million tons of firewood had been cut; during 1912-16 average production was 650,000 tons per year. By the time the firewood companies ceased operations they had clear-felled a staggering 3.04 million hectares of goldfields woodlands; almost half the area of Tasmania.

Other woodline topics discussed include: racism, riots, internment, exploitation and bribery, shanties, sports days, strikes and deaths and accidents.

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$A85.00 plus postage.
[price to LRRSA members $76.50 plus postage]

(Weight 1,200 g)

Horse Trams of the Old West

by Peter Bridge

Published in 2018 by Hesperian Press

26 pages, A4 size, card cover 36 photographs

Horse trams were a feature of the old north coastal towns, taking passengers and cargo from the jetties to the townships.

This booklet has a page or so of text describing the horse tramways of each of Rottnest, Carnarvon, Onslow, Roebourne-Cossack, Broome and Derby, followed by photographs. There is a bonus photo at the Sons of Gwalia mine.

Although a number of these photographs could be described as "well known", there are many lesser known (or even unknown) photographs.

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$A20.00 plus postage.
[price to LRRSA members $18.00 plus postage]

(Weight 100 g)

Choppers and Chippers

by Norman Houghtom

Self Published 2018

Soft cover, 224 pages, A4 size card cover, many maps, plans and diagrams.

The West Otway Forest segment of the Otway Ranges, both as a geographical and administrative unit can broadly be defined as that area due south of Colac and running to the coast. The focus of this book is on the main saw-milling areas starting at Barongarook and proceeding south-eat to Olangalah and then west to Beech Forest and Crowes and then north to Kennedys Creek, Carlisle River, Irrewillipe and Pirron Yallock and east along the Prices Hwy to Colac.

The book focuses on the saw-milling history from its beginning up to the present day. All sawmills know to exist during this time have been listed. 

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$A63.50 plus postage.
[price to LRRSA members $57.16 plus postage]

(Weight 690 g)

Peninsula Pioneer Revisited

by Peter Knife

Self Published 2013

Hard cover, 384 pages, A4 size, Over 500 photographs cover the whole period from 1907 to the present day (2013), and 200 maps and diagrams are also included, bibliography, references, and index.

The definitive history of the Eyre Peninsula railways and tramways, this weighty tome covers the Port Lincoln Division of the South Australian Railways in detail, from inception, spread over 26 chapters, while the last chapter deals with other railways and tramways on Eyre Peninsula, including jetty and other tramways and the BHP Coffin Bay Tramway.

While the South Australian Railways would not normally feature in publications sold by the Society, the 3'6" gauge Port Lincoln Division was renowned for receiving worn-out, hand-me-downs, from other divisions of the SAR, with the result that they satisfy many of the criteria we might use when describing light railways. The division was home to some unique creations such as the Fageol railcars converted from road buses, and the SAR's experimental internal combustion locomotive from 1913. All are covered in some detail.

The recent announcement of the closure of the entire southern network of lines, to take effect from 31 May 2019, as a result of the transfer of the grain transport task to road, offers us another reason to stock this high quality publication

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$A65.00 plus postage.
[price to LRRSA members $58.50 plus postage]

(Weight 1.9 kg)

Outback Railwaymen

Life on the Commonwealth Railways

by Nick Anchen

Published 2019 by Sierra Publishing

248 pages, 197mm x 139 mm portrait, soft cover (paperback style). There are 48 B&W and colour photos printed on glossy paper, and many other photos throughout the book printed on lesser quality paper. The book includes basic maps of each railway.

'Outback Railwaymen - Life on the Commonwealth Railways' explores the life and times of three extraordinary railways, through the recollections and humourous stories of a selection of retired railwaymen and women. These were the hardy souls who kept the trains running through some of the harshest and most forbidding landscapes on Earth - the railways in the great 'Back of Beyond'.

Although books on the government owned railways of Australia would not normally be sold by the Society, the content of this publication covers the 3'6" gauge Central Australia and North Australia Railways, which were renowned for their "quirkiness", almost qualifiying as light railways. The book is up to the author's normal standard, beautifully illustrated and with interviews of 'old time' railwaymen.

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$A35.00 plus postage.
[price to LRRSA members $31.50 plus postage]

(Weight 450 g)

The Steam Tram in Australia and New Zealand

by Bruce Macdonald

Published 2018 by Eveleigh Press

Hard cover, 184 pages, A4 size

As the cities in the British Colonies of Australia and New Zealand grew in the 19th century, there was a need for public transportation: people in outlying suburbs needed to get to work more quickly than walking. Horse-drawn omnibuses were introduced by private operators but the need was for something more expansive Overseas, in Britain and America tramways were quite widespread by the 1860s and it was only a matter of time before this transport mode was extended to the colonies. In Sydney, the first tram, horse drawn, connected Circular Quay on the harbour with the railway station at Redfern in 1861. Although this was dismantled five years later, the die had been cast, tramways being the answer the city father’s were seeking. Although quite a few systems commenced with horse-drawn vehicles, steam-hauled ‘motors’ as the steam tram locomotives were to be known, became common at the front of a tram.

This book is not a history of the various systems in the two countries but a coverage of the various motors that were found in service until the systems were electrified or shut down in favour of buses. Where known, every type of steam motor is shown in photographic or illustrative form, in some cases also showing the modifications applied. Photos have been drawn from many sources and restored trams are shown in colour. Most systems are accompanied by a map.

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$A70.00 plus postage.
[price to LRRSA members $63.00 plus postage]

(Weight 1100 g)

African Steam Safari

Albert Falls to Asmara

Compiled by Alan Williams

Published 2018 by Association of Railway Enthusiasts

Soft cover, 120+ pages, A4 size, about 160 colour photographs, with 8 maps

This volume consists of four chapters featuring regular service operation of Garratts in Natal, steam in Swaziland, industrial railways in South Africa and, finally, the brief renaissance of Italian Mallets on tour working in the spectacular mountains of Eritrea. Photographers include John Allerton, John Gaydon, Malcolm Holdsworth, Robert Kingsford-Smith, Greg Triplett and Mike Tyack. Although much of this fine book is covering the "big" railways, there is sufficient Industrial action, combined with the Malletts in Eritrea to satisfy LRRSA Members.

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$A50.00 plus postage.
[price to LRRSA members $45.00 plus postage]

(Weight 625 g)

Hudson-Hunslet Light Diesel Locomotives

Soft cover, 16 pages, A4

This is a replica of section 'L' of the full catalogue, produced by Hudson-Hunslet in 1957. Section 'L' contains Diesel Mechanical, Diesel Hydraulic, Estate Class and Light Steam Locomotives.

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$A8.00 plus postage.
[price to LRRSA members $7.20 plus postage]

(Weight 110 g)

ARE Magazine Autumn/Winter 2017 Bundle

Published by the Association of Railway Enthusiasts

32 and 48 pages respectively

This pair of the quarterly magazines published by the Association of Railway Enthusiasts includes a two-part article titled "In Search of Mocanita", describing a tour of the narrow gauge Railways of Romania. The author, Alan Williams, gave a presentation on this subject at a Melbourne entertainment meeting of the LRRSA. Alan is an accomplished photographer, and the many photographs certainly bring the tour to life.

The Winter 2017 issue also has another article of interest to LRRSA members: a lengthy article on the South Maitland Railways during the late 1960s and 1970s. This article is mostly photographs (and mostly superb photographs), taken by some of the better known photographers of the late steam era in Australia.

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$A9.95 plus postage.
[price to LRRSA members $9.00 plus postage]

(Weight 330 gm)

Shale & Shays

The Fight for Shale Oil from the Wolgan Valley

By Mark Langdon

Published by Eveleigh Press

300 pages, 279mm x 215mm, Many photos, most are black and white, but a number of available colour images have been used. Some of these images had been hand-coloured by the original photographer.

Mark Langdon, an upper Blue Mountains resident and trained historian, presents a fresh look at the exhilarating shale-oil mining days of 1906 – 1932 in the Wolgan Valley in New South Wales. Researched from existing company and government documentation and newspaper reports of the day, the book begins with the story of the Commonwealth Oil Corporation’s (C.O.C.) inception, financed and run from the London offices, continues through the building of the works at Newnes and the railway to Newnes Junction, and rounds out with the final days in the 1930s, when the fate of Newnes resided in the hands of the Commonwealth Government and National Oil Pty Ltd. The work includes the decline of the C.O.C. and John Fell’s becoming the owner. The problems faced are covered in detail, as is the lives of the miners and residents living in the valley.

Special attention has been given to the railway – locomotives and rolling stock – including exhaustive research detailing the building and use of the railway that carried the precious shale and oil to the main N.S.W.G.R. Western Line at Newnes Junction and then on to Torbane in the west and to the Sydney export seaboard. Each vehicle type built specifically for and purchased by the C.O.C. is covered, with a history and photos and a scale drawing of each vehicle type included. The work is rounded out with superb maps and a Phil Belbin painting.

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$A78.00 plus postage.
[price to LRRSA members $70.20 plus postage]

(Weight 1,400 gm)

Puffing Billy
Spirit of the Dandenongs

Updated (Third) Edition

By Nick Anchen. published by Sierra Publishing

108 pages, 235 x 173 mm, card cover, 175 photographs, almost all in colour.

A newly revised and updated (3rd) edition of this book, which is a general introduction to the Upper Ferntree Gully - Gembrook narrow gauge railway. The book includes a potted history of the railway, a description of the line, and what is to be seen on the trip, a day in the life of an engine crew, flora and fauna of the Dandenong Ranges, details of the locomotives and rolling stock, including the three non-steam locomotives, and the goods vehicles, workshop operations, and special trains.

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$A36.00 plus postage.
[price to LRRSA members $32.40 plus postage]

(Weight 325 gm)

Saving Puffing Billy

The first decade 1955-1965

Published 2015 by Puffing Billy Preservation Society

Edited by David Burke OAM

Hard cover, 200+ pages, 220 mm x 268 mm, 300+ photographs, mostly in colour

This book is a fascinating story of public sentiment for the narrow gauge railway to Gembrook giving rise to the formation of the Puffing Billy Preservation Society in 1955, and the saga of rescuing the line from imminent scrapping; the restoration phase; the reopenings to Menzies Creek in 1962 and to Emerald in 1965 - all within the Society's first decade, 1955-1965.

The book is based on extensive research and writing by PBPS member Bill Russell, enhanced by numerous interviews with a representative number of long-standing Society members.

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$A59.95 plus postage.
[price to LRRSA members $53.95 plus postage]

(Weight 1150 gm)

Rail Centre Colac

By Norm Houghton

Published 2014 by the author

262 pages, soft cover, A4 size, many photographs and illustrations

The book is digitally printed, and the photographs are well reproduced within the limitations of the printing process

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$A63.50 plus postage.
[price to LRRSA members $57.15 plus postage]

(Weight 770 gm)

Iron Work Horses

Published 2014 by Eveleigh Press

by Bruce Macdonald

176 pages, A4 size, laminated hard cover, with more than 450 photographs

An overview of Industrial Steam Locomotives in Australia.

This publication gives details of many of the most interesting locomotives in Australian industry, covering locomotives constructed in the UK, Europe, the USA and Australia. Most pages have two or three B&W photographs, with some in colour.

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$A54.00 plus postage.
[price to LRRSA members $48.60 plus postage]

(Weight 960 gm)

The Anatomy of:- The Darjeeling Garratt

and the Engine it tried to Replace

By Peter Manning

Published 2013 by the Peter Manning Design & Drafting

64 pages, A4 size landscape format, card cover spiral bound.

In the same format as the popular "The Anatomy of a Garratt", this book covers the history of both the Garratt and the B Class locomotives used on the DHR. The book includes details of the construction of both locomotives and a superb selection of accurate scale drawings mostly in full colour. Drawings on the B Class is shown both as constructed by Sharp, Stewart from 1888 onwards, and as revised by North British in 1914.

Like its predecessor, it contains numerous sub-assembly diagrams from various aspects, shown in both complete form, and as cut-aways showing the interior workings.

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$A39.95 plus postage.
[price to LRRSA members $35.96 plus postage]

(Weight 350 gm)

Wombat Woodsmen

Sawmills and timber tramways of the Wombat State Forest 1853 to 2008

By Norman Houghton

Published 2013 by the author

Soft cover, 166 pages, 40 maps and diagrams, 161 photographs.

The foundations of large scale commercial sawmilling in Victoria were laid in the Wombat Forest from 1853. This forest was the testing ground for ideas and attitudes to the harvesting, transport and sawing techniques that forged resource management and sawmilling management styles well into the 20th century. The discovery of gold throughout Victoria from 1851 onwards led to the opening of numerous mining sites and the mining centres of central Victoria were to require an enormous supply of timber and the eucalypt trees of the Wombat Forest were ideally placed to supply that need.

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$A47.50 plus postage.
[price to LRRSA members $42.75 plus postage]

(Weight 520 gm)

Closed 50 Years Ago

The Colac to Beech Forest Narrow Gauge Railway

By Norm Houghton

Published 2012 by the author

84 pages, A4 size card cover, many photographs and illustrations.

The last train ever on the Colac to Beech Forest narrow gauge railway ran on Sunday the 30th of June 1962. This railway was the lifeblood of the West Otways for several decades, enabling farmers and sawmillers to bring economic production to the natural wealth of the region. The many previously unpublished photos bring out the character of this much loved railway

The book is digitally printed, and the photographs are well reproduced within the limitations of the printing process.

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$A25.95 plus postage.
[price to LRRSA members $23.35 plus postage]

(Weight 200 gm)

Built by Bundaberg Foundry

By John Browning and Brian Webber

Published 2012 by the Australian Narrow Gauge Railway Museum Society

80 pages, A4 size card cover, over 160 photographs, mostly in colour, and diagrams and drawings.

Using manufacturer's records and the memories of those who built them and worked on them, this book tells the story of the steam and diesel locomotives produced by this famous Queensland company. Narrow gauge locomotive manufacture began after the Second World War. Bundaberg Fowler steam locomotives were used to haul sugar cane, and Bundaberg Jenbach diesel locomotives were supplied to the sugar and coal mining industries. 35 years later, the Hunslet Engine Company assisted the Foundry to produce new powerful canefield diesels. Subsequently, many ex-government railway locomotives were converted for cane haulage. Subsequently, many ex-government railway locomotives were converted for cane haulage. Many of the steam locomotives are well known because of their use on Australian tourist and heritage railways.

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$A22.50 plus postage.
[price to LRRSA members $20.25 plus postage]

(Weight 450 gm)

Narrow Gauge Downunder - No.42

July 2011

Published by Gavin & Louise Hince

68 pages, A4 size, colour printed throughout.

This very well produced magazine is primarily directed to railway modellers but includes much prototype information.

Apart from model railway articles, this issue includes:

• The Douglas Shire Tramway - a 2ft gauge passenger and freight carrying operation at Mossman, far north Queensland.
• Le P'tit train de la Haute Somme - a French 600mm gauge line

$A13.20 plus postage
[price to LRRSA members $12.15 plus postage]

(Weight 240 gm)

Narrow Gauge Downunder - No.41

April 2011

Published by Gavin & Louise Hince

68 pages, A4 size, colour printed throughout.

This very well produced magazine is primarily directed to railway modellers but includes much prototype information.

Apart from model railway articles, this issue includes:

• The Douglas Shire Tramway - a 2ft gauge passenger and freight carrying operation at Mossman, far north Queensland. It had an 0-4-4-0 mallet loco, and there is a rare illustration of a 2ft gauge railcar.
• Narrow gauge railways in England and Wales
• A fascinating and detailed scale drawing of a typical turn of the century country store.

Model railway articles include what to do with seaweed, techniques to make plastic look like wood and many others.

$A13.20 plus postage
[price to LRRSA members $12.15 plus postage]

(Weight 240 gm)

Narrow Gauge Downunder - No.40

January 2011

Published by Gavin & Louise Hince

68 pages, A4 size, colour printed throughout.

This very well produced magazine is primarily directed to railway modellers but includes much prototype information.

Apart from model railway articles, this issue includes:

• Narrow gauge railways in England and Wales
• Walhalla centenary weekend

The model railway articles include making custom decals, rot-free testles in garden railways, painting backscenes, modelling in card, an old Ford railtruck, and many others.

$A13.20 plus postage
[price to LRRSA members $12.15 plus postage]

(Weight 240 gm)

Narrow Gauge Downunder - No.39

October 2010

Published by Gavin & Louise Hince

68 pages, A4 size, colour printed throughout.

This very well produced magazine is primarily directed to railway modellers but includes much prototype information.

Apart from model railway articles, this issue includes:

• Hampton Plains tramway at Mount Lyell, Tasmania
• Tullah Tramway, Tasmania

$A12.00 plus postage
[price to LRRSA members $10.80 plus postage]

(Weight 240 gm)

Narrow Gauge Downunder - No.38

July 2010

Published by Gavin & Louise Hince

68 pages, A4 size, colour printed throughout.

This very well produced magazine is primarily directed to railway modellers but includes much prototype information.

Apart from model railway articles, this issue includes:

• Kalgoorlie and Boulder Firewood Company, Beria, Western Australia
• Third generation diesels in the canefields
• 2010 Southern Forests Narrow Gauge Meet
• Narrow gauge railways in England and Wales

$A12.00 plus postage
[price to LRRSA members $10.80 plus postage]

(Weight 240 gm)

Narrow Gauge Downunder - No.36

January 2010

Published by Gavin & Louise Hince

68 pages, A4 size, colour printed throughout.

This very well produced magazine is primarily directed to railway modellers but includes much prototype information.

Apart from model railway articles, this issue includes:

• Portable track for the cane fields
• The Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad
• Long Tunnel Extended Tramway - Walhalla
• Narrow gauge railways in England and Wales
• Industrial railways in New Zealand

(The model railway articles include detailed articles on A class Shay and A class Climax locomotives).

$A12.00 plus postage
[price to LRRSA members $10.80 plus postage]

(Weight 240 gm)

Narrow Gauge Downunder - No.34

July 2009

Published by Gavin & Louise Hince

68 pages, A4 size, colour printed throughout.

This very well produced magazine is primarily directed to railway modellers but includes much prototype information.

Apart from model railway articles, this issue includes:

• South Australian Railways K class No.52 3ft 6in gauge 0-6-4T loco, including scale drawings
• Ida Bay 2 ft gauge railway, Tasmania
• Small (2 ft gauge) rolling stock with character (Queensland sugar railways)
• The cane trains of Ledesma (Argentina)
• Denver & South Park Mason bogie 2-6-6T - scale drawings showing original ornate livery in full colour (USA)
• Narrow gauge railways in England and Wales
• Baby Krauss locomotives in Australia

$A12.00 plus postage
[price to LRRSA members $10.80 plus postage]

(Weight 240 gm)

Narrow Gauge Downunder - No.33

April 2009

Published by Gavin & Louise Hince

68 pages, A4 size, colour printed throughout.

This magazine is primarily directed to railway modellers but includes much prototype information.

Apart from model railway articles, this issue includes:

• A class Climax locomotives in Australia
• The Pelican River lifting bridge on the Moreton Sugar Mill's tramway near Nambour, Queensland
• The Wee MacGregor tramway, near Cloncurry, Queensland
• The Cane Trains of Ledesma, Argentina
• Wholestick trucks of Queensland sugar tramways
• Riding the White Pass & Yukon, (USA & Canada)
• The South Park Mason (single Fairlie) locomotives (USA)
• Lake Goldsmith Steam Rally
• Magnetic Island Tramway (Queensland)

This issue includes four scale drawings of A class Climax locomotives, three of which worked in Australia. Also included are magnificent coloured drawings of a 2-6-6T Mason bogie locomotive in its as-built livery of 1878.

$A12.00 plus postage
[price to LRRSA members $10.80 plus postage]

(Weight 240 gm)

Narrow Gauge Downunder - No.32

December 2008

Published by Gavin & Louise Hince

60 pages, A4 size, colour printed throughout.

This magazine is primarily directed to railway modellers but includes much prototype information.

Apart from model railway articles, this issue includes:

• The sugar cane trains of Ledesma, Argentina
• Narrow gauge railways in England and Wales
• Narrow gauge railways in Germany

The model railway articles in this issue include (amongst others) modelling Queensland sugar cane wholestick trucks, modelling Mason-Fairlie locomotives, modelling a four-wheel A class Climax locomotive. All of these articles have a high level of prototype information.

There is also an article on A class Climax locomotives, including four scale drawings. However a number of errors have occurred with the production of these, and the article needs to be treated with caution.

$A12.00 plus postage
[price to LRRSA members $10.80 plus postage]

(Weight 240 gm)

Beech Forest

Capital on the Ridge

By Norm Houghton
Published 2007 by the author

112 pages, A4 size card cover, many photographs and illustrations.

A complete history of the town of Beech Forest and surrounding district. It includes the important role the narrow-gauge railway, timber tramways and the timber industry played in the town's industry.

The book is digitally printed, and the photographs are well reproduced within the limitations of the printing process.

$A29.95 plus postage
[price to LRRSA members $26.96 plus postage]

(Weight 450 gm)

The Ridge

A brief historical guide to the West Otway Ridge

By Norman Houghton, published by the author

16 pages, A4 size, card cover, 22 photpgraphs, 3 maps.

This digitally printed booklet is a brief history of the areas and communities served by the Beech Forest to Crowes narrow gauge railway. Contains some information on the railway and timber tramways, and includes some very interesting photographs, which are well reproduced within the limitations of the printing process.

The maps are from the LRRSA book The Beechy, but are printed in one colour only.

$A7.00 plus postage.
[price to LRRSA members $6.30 plus postage]

(Weight 100 gm)

By the Barwon

A History of Forrest and Barramunga

By Norman Houghton, published by the author

24 pages, A4 size, card cover, 42 photographs, one double-page map.

This digitally printed book is a general history of the townships of Forrest and Barramunga in Victoria. Includes much information on timber tramways including a very detailed map, which is much more comprehensive than any previously published. The photographs include two very nice views of the locomotive Tom Cue on Sanderson's timber tramway.

$A7.00 plus postage.
[price to LRRSA members $6.30 plus postage]

(Weight 120 gm)

The Mapleton Tramway

The line of the diminutive Shay locomotives

By John Knowles

Published by the author

92 pages, A4 size, plus card cover, 81 illustrations, references, and index.

The Mapleton Tramway was an 18 km long 2 ft gauge railway, which climbed the Highworth and Blackall Ranges, west of Nambour, and about 110 km north of Brisbane, Queensland. In many places the line was located on shelves in the mountainsides with magnificent views over the coastal lands to the sea. It used steep gradients and very sharp curves, and reached 380 metres (1247 ft) altitude.

The line was built over the first range by the Moreton Central Sugar Mill Company of Nambour between 1897 and 1904 to tap what it was hoped would become sugar growing lands. Building that section severely damaged the finances of the company. It was extended to the top of the second range at Mapleton by the Maroochy Shire Council in 1914-15, the Shire having purchased the section already built by the mill company.

The company portion was initially operated by horses and gravity, but that was very expensive, and eventually a Shay geared locomotive was obtained. The Shire bought a second such locomotive. The line as extended was used to haul sugar cane, logs and sawn timber, fruit, cream, small livestock and supplies, as well as passengers and mails. With its poor alignment, the very slow speed of the geared engines, and the stops en route, the journey took two hours.

With the light loads possible on each tram, the need to tranship some of the traffic to or from the 3 ft 6 ins gauge Queensland Railways at Nambour, and the development of road transport the line was outdated almost from the time it was built.

It had to be supported financially by ratepayers. The Council kept it running only while revenue paid the working expenses, something which was prolonged a little by the shortages of World War II. It was closed at the end of 1944, but it was not until 1966 that the Shire paid the last of its debt.

This book includes a detailed description of the route, and gives an interesting insight into the strengths and weaknesses of the Shay geared locomotives. Train operations are described, including the excursions operated at weekends which connected with QR trains.

An interesting feature of the line was the private siding to the general store at Mapleton, where goods were unloaded from the daily tram across the store verandah.

The illustrations include five aerial photographs of the route in 1940, four maps of the route, and six scale drawings of the rolling stock and one of the locomotives.

$A28.50 plus postage (Weight 480 gm)

[price to LRRSA members $A25.65 plus postage]