The International Steam Pages


Steam Rally at Echuca, Australia 2013

Ray Gardiner reports on the 50th Echuca Steam Rally which was held over the Queen's Birthday long weekend, 8th - 9th June 2013.

Echuca is located on the Murray River, which is the border between NSW and Victoria. Once it was a major port on the river with a rail connection to Melbourne. The port is now the historic centre of the town and draws many tourists to the area. The port now has the most steam powered paddle steamers in operating condition in the world and there are normally about 3 in steam each day. The wharf has a good museum with a number of portable engines and stationary steam engines. At present a new interpretive centre is being built so access to the stationary engines was not possible. On Sunday morning a steam train arrived behind 4-6-4 R761 leaving Monday morning after posing for photos with 2 steam rollers and a steam wagon.

The rally is held at Rotary Park several km from the port. The rally had very good weather with large crowds in attendance. As well as the steam powered machinery there were many vintage cars, tractors and military vehicles. and oil engines. There were also displays of horses sheep dogs and wood chopping. The Campaspe Model Engineers have a 5'' & 7.25'' track onsite which was very busy.

The Echuca rally normally has some rare steam exhibits on display, with 2 Leyland steam wagons, one in operating condition 8 ton built 1925 with the 5 ton one undergoing a slow restoration. New this year was a ''Comet'' 3hp portable built by S Williams, Brisbane, the company being better known for windmills. Several years ago there were also several JJ Seeking portables, also very rare. Unfortunately the Case tandem compound traction engine with steam powered steering was not working this year.

There were 13 traction engines, 6 road rollers, 6 steam wagons, 8 portables, 1 fire engine, 1 steam launch and a replica Locomobile steam car. There were several stationary engine including a G Walker, Stroud single cylinder horizontal recently restored. The Shand Mason fire engine was used on Sunday for the annual burning of the dunny.

There are more pictures of this event on the Traction Talk Forum http://www.tractiontalkforum.com/showthread.php?t=27394, but those showing individual engines are linked below too.

We would welcome picture to fill the gaps and also further information on the engines.


Click on a thumbnail to see the full size picture, then click the picture to return to this page.

Traction Engines

Marshall ''Blackbutt'', owned R Lloyd This 8hp 3 speed compound built 1911. Originally used in Blackbutt and Benarkin forests in Queensland. Later used at a sawmill and for irrigation project.
Buffalo Pitts 8111/? 13hp T & S Langley
Case ?/? tandem compound with power steering
McLaren 1314/1911 8hp twin cylinder ''Tinkerbell'' Tindarra Resort. Traction Talk Forum
picture here 
Cowley ?/ 1916, only TE built by Cowley, Scienceworks Museum See also http://museumvictoria.com.au/about/mv-blog/feb-2012/cowley-steam-engine/ 
(link broken by December 2021)
Fowler 9873/1903 7hp compound J Beer This engine worked around Wellington NSW.
Burrell 3010/1905 compound ''The Devonshire Engine'' Rushworth Historical Society
Foden ?/1911 compound A & L Hazelman
Foden 2652/ ? compound A Auditori
  Ruston Proctor ?/ ? Traction Talk Forum
picture here 

Fowler ?/1907 ''The Wizard'', G. based at Rushworth Musuem More
pictures here
Fowler ? ? stump puller Traction Talk Forum
picture here 
Willis ? ? 6inch scale model of Wallis & Stevens D Atkinson

Rollers

Aveling & Porter ?/ ? ''Panting Pansy''

Aveling & Porter 10101/1921
Aveling & Porter ?/1923 8ton Municipality of Canterbury D Fitton`
Albaret 1984/? ''La Frog'' Coleman brothers
  Cowley ?/ 1939 Scienceworks museum http://museumvictoria.com.au/about/mv-news/2007/roller-returns/
(link broken by December 2021)
Cowley 12/1928

Wagons

Leyland ?/1925 8ton A Auditori
Leyland ?/ ? 5ton under restoration A Auditori 
Foden 11102/ 1923 Navy Steam Club
Foden ?/? Concept Engineering
Sentinel 5091/1924 Robin Gibb
Sentinel 5271/? Warby Engine Club
Locomobile ?/? Replica steam car
Shand Mason ?/1880 ''The Defender'' Fire Service Museum

Portables

Ruston Proctor 32419/ 1907 2½hp A Fitton Traction Talk Forum
picture here 
Marshall 59820 ? 
  Clayton & Shuttleworth 44137 J Beer
  Clayton & Shuttleworth 44184
  Richard Garrett 34384/1923 Traction Talk Forum
picture here 
Case 35805/1924 size 18 ` C Lloyd
S Williams ? 1912 3hp ''Comet'' W Francis
  ? ? ? cylinders and motion missing, being used as stationary boiler

Stationary Engine

G Waller & Sons

Paddle Steamers etc

Steam Launch Breezy
PS Alexander Arbuthnot
PS Britannia
PS Canberra

PS Emmylou with Marshall engine
PS Etona
PS Hero
PS Pevensey

Steam Locomotive

4-6-4 R761


Rob and Yuehong  Dickinson

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