Queensland has a fascinating network of sugar cane railways stretching from Bundaberg in the South through to Mossman in the North. 17 sugar mills have railway networks with over 4000km of track across the state. All the mills use 2ft gauge track, except for Pioneer Mill which uses 3ft 6in gauge track.
Locomotives are diesel hydraulic, with ages ranging from 70 years old to brand new (2023 built). Some locomotives have been converted from former Queensland Rail 3ft 6in DH class, or New South Wales Government Railways 4ft 8 1/2in 47 class.
Wagons are unbraked and some trains operate with a remote controlled brake van at the rear of the train to provide additional braking force. Trains can be up to 1km long, consisting of up to 200 wagons with a weight of approximately 1000 tons.
Some trains require two crew members however many locomotives have been converted to driver only operating and can be switched to remote control operation for shunting.
This video contains footage taken in August 2023 of Tully Mill. Tully utilises a fleet of ex Queensland Rail 'DH' class locomotives, which were rebuilt into cane locomotives in the 1990's. They also have two permanently coupled 'Com-Eng' locomotives which are used as back up locos. I was fortunate to capture these locos at a couple of different locations.
Trains in this video are:
1. 'Tully 6' crosses the Tully River and passes the triangle at Jodrell Rd with a rake of empty bins.
2. 'Tully 8' crosses the Murray River bridge with a short rake of empty bins.
3. 'Tully 9' heads though the fields near Davidson Rd with a rake of empties. Meanwhile at the nearby junction 'Tully 3' arrives with a rake of empties and completes a number of shunting moves to bring loaded bins out of the siding and shunt the empty bins in. Finally, Tully 3 contiunes towards the mill as it crosses Davidson Rd level crossing.