Mapleton Tramway Shay - 2 truck No. 'Shay'
Nambour, Queensland, Australia 		Location: Nambour & District Historical Museum
Status: Display
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Photo Copyright © Robert Sweet
Here are the notes for Mapleton Tramway No. 'Shay', a Shay - 2 truck located in Nambour, Queensland. If you have additional information about this locomotive, and would like to share it, click the Add Note button.
Posted: Nov 12, 2018 @ 13:11:48 by Robin R Beck
In 1908 Moreton Central Sugar Mill purchased a Shay loco from Lima, works number 2091 and named her DULONG. It was their first locomotive to be named after a sugar growing district. It was bought to work the mills steeply graded and sharply curved line to Dulong.

In 1914 DULONG was sold along with the tramway from Nambour to Dulong to the Maroochy Shire Council who extended the line to Mapleton. Another Shay, works number 2800 was purchased by Maroochy Shire in 1914 to work along with DULONG on the 12 mile extended tramway. This new Shay loco was named MAPLETON.

The Nambour to Mapleton tramway closed in 1944. The slow speed of the trains, the change of gauge 24 to 42 inch at Nambour to the Queensland mainline railway and road vehicles taking traffic being the 3 major causes. Moreton Mill purchased the two worn out Shays and all the railway track & rolling stock..

In 1948 the two Shay locomotives from the ex Nambour to Mapleton tramway DULONG & MAPLETON were rebuilt into one loco. Work was carried out at Moreton Sugar Mill using approx 50% of the good parts from each loco. The resultant loco was named SHAY. It worked until 1960. Was then displayed at the entrance to the mill. Some time after the mill closed in 2003 SHAY moved to storage at Ipswich Workshop Museum. In 2010 SHAY was returned to Nambour, joining an expanding collection of ex Moreton Sugar Mill locomotives at the District Historical Museum where it has been cosmetically restored by volunteers.

Posted: Aug 5, 2017 @ 17:08:53 by Robert Sweet
In 1949 Moreton Mill, Nambour combined the best parts of shays Mapleton & Dulong into one locomotive. At Nambour it was referred as the "Shay". The shay is now displayed at the Nambour Museum.