The Extraordinary Tourist Whyalla Foreshore Steam Train Found! Sunday, June 03, 2007 Road Trip Day 12: 3rd June 2007 Whist visiting the Mt Laura Homestead Museum, Rose and I spotted this Steam Locomotive - the only one in the museum - and thought just maybe it was the one I remember playing on at the foreshore as a child. On closer inspection of the information board we were amazed to learn that it is in fact the very same steam engine! I was even more surprised to learn that this locomotive is more than 100 years old (I bet it didn't get a certificate from the Queen). Bought new by BHP in 1891 it was used to cart ore along the tramway between Iron Knob and Whyalla. It has a fairly busy history but the key dates for me are that it was placed on the Whyalla foreshore in 1962 where it remained until 1983 when it was moved to the museum. Back then it was all painted black rather than green as you see in the photo. In fact it was the green paint that made me think it couldn't be the same train at first. Not being able to find any trace of where this train stood on the foreshore during my current visit to Whyalla made me half wonder if I was just imagining a train there based on some other memory. Having found my child hood 'play equipment' (Rose and I used to climb all over this train) it's kind of good to know it now has a good home. It didn't rust away and get sold for scrap. Whether we like it or not connecting and catching up with fond memories of the past has something of a comforting feeling. It's kind of like catching up with friends you haven't seen in a long time and learning that they're doing okay. Labels: history, museum, railway, road trip 2007, train, Whyalla 10:01 PM Comments: Post a Comment << Home

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I am South Australian Artist, 'TET' or 'The Extraordinary Tourist'. Read about things that interest me, particularly art, social commentary, humour and life observations. Please feel free to leave a comment by clicking the 'Comments' link at the bottom of each entry.

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Recent Posts

• HMAS Whyalla and The Mt Laura Homestead Museum.
• Point Lowly, Fitzgerald Bay, Ada Ryan Gardens.
• Whyalla. Where life began.
• Whyalla. Hummock Hill and Flinders Lookouts.
• Mining at Iron Knob.
• Road to Whyalla.
• Laura, C.J. Dennis, The Sentimental Bloke.
• The Living Desert and leaving Broken Hill.
• Pro Hart and Jack Absalom and more.
• The Big Picture and other Art.

Blog Highlights.
(Recommended reading.)

• Momentary pauses in cyberspace...
• 'Nothing' on a Grand Scale...
• More than 'Nothing'...
• The Black Dog with Fire eyes...
• "You are the Generation that bought more shoes..."
• I'll Pencil You in...
• Does it make bread?
• Kids today are smarter than their parents?
• Mental Poison
• Interview with an Artist's Model
• Blank Canvas
• Minimalism in Art
• "The Fear of God"
• Relationship on a Train
• The Lawnmower and I.
• Telling the Time at Dali's House
• Fantastic View for a wasted opportunity.
• Start her up and see how that sounds...
• Where to make money with Video.
• Toddler Paparazzi
• The things you hear in public.
• Copyright Laws - Time to Evolve!

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• Gawler SA to Perth WA
  Road Trip 2007.

 

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