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Plaque on side of locomotive, last steam locomotive built in Australia, Ipswich Railway Workshops, North Ipswich, 1969
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TitlePlaque on side of locomotive, last steam locomotive built in Australia, Ipswich Railway Workshops, North Ipswich, 1969Date Created1969PhotographerKerry Paul Smith (1950-2025)AcknowledgementKerry Smith
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DescriptionThis plaque is on the locomotive that was restored at the Ipswich Railway Workshops for the Redbank Rail Museum that opened from 1969 to 1992. As the last steam locomotive built and in service in Australia the plaque states 'This locomotive Class BB18¼ No.1089 which entered service on 13th March 1958 was the last steam locomotive built and placed in service in Australia. This plate was donated by Walkers Limited of Maryborough on the occasion of the centenary of the Queensland railways, 1965'.Additional Information The locomotive was the final part of a contract that was awarded in 1948 for twenty BB18¼ class locomotives to supplement thirty-five that were built in England by the Vulcan Foundry. The Vulcan engines were built in 1950, and arrived in Queensland in 1951. The Walkers engines were not delivered until 1956-58. When 1089, the last engine in the Walkers contract was handed over in March 1958, diesel electric locomotives that were also being constructed by Walkers, for QR, were being delivered at the same time. There was no formal recognition at this time to signify that this was the last steam locomotive built for a government railway in Australia. 1089 was stored at Mayne depot after its delivery. It was then officially allocated to Mayne depot in the former south-eastern division of Queensland Railways. The locomotive however, also was allocated to the Willowburn depot in Toowoomba, and at Mackay during the northern sugar season. It received a partial overhaul in Mayne erecting shed in 1960, at Ipswich in 1961, and was re-boilered in 1962, and gain in 1966 when it received the boiler off BB18¼ 1085. 1089 saw service on special excursion trains throughout the 1960s as well. It ran its last tour train on 11 May 1969 between Brisbane and Ipswich. It was written off officially from service in June 1969, although withdrawn from traffic in April of that year. It ran a total of 247 038 miles during its short working life.
The formal recognition of this locomotives significance began in 1963. The Australian Railway Historical Society (Qld Division) approached QR that this engine should be set aside for preservation along with another locomotive C19 700. With 1965 being the 100th anniversary of the Queensland Railways as part of the celebrations to be held at Grandchester in July, it was proposed that 1089 should have some special commemorative plates fixed on the engine to recognise it as Australia’s last. On Saturday 31 July, at 1.00pm, the Commissioner for Railways, Mr A G Lee unveiled the two plates either side of the cab. These recognised it as the last steam locomotive to be placed in service with a government railway in Australia. On 23 August 1969 it was placed in the Queensland Railways Redbank locomotive museum. For the next thirteen years it was one of the collection of engines cared for by volunteers to tell the story of the steam locomotive in Queensland. In 1992 the Museum was closed, and the locomotive was then placed in storage at the Redbank railway workshops.
1089 was steamed for the first time since its being placed in Redbank, on 14 November 2001, at the Ipswich Workshops.
Additional information provided by Greg Hallam, Historian with Queensland Rail.
The formal recognition of this locomotives significance began in 1963. The Australian Railway Historical Society (Qld Division) approached QR that this engine should be set aside for preservation along with another locomotive C19 700. With 1965 being the 100th anniversary of the Queensland Railways as part of the celebrations to be held at Grandchester in July, it was proposed that 1089 should have some special commemorative plates fixed on the engine to recognise it as Australia’s last. On Saturday 31 July, at 1.00pm, the Commissioner for Railways, Mr A G Lee unveiled the two plates either side of the cab. These recognised it as the last steam locomotive to be placed in service with a government railway in Australia. On 23 August 1969 it was placed in the Queensland Railways Redbank locomotive museum. For the next thirteen years it was one of the collection of engines cared for by volunteers to tell the story of the steam locomotive in Queensland. In 1992 the Museum was closed, and the locomotive was then placed in storage at the Redbank railway workshops.
1089 was steamed for the first time since its being placed in Redbank, on 14 November 2001, at the Ipswich Workshops.
Additional information provided by Greg Hallam, Historian with Queensland Rail.
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Government & Non-Government OrganisationsQueensland Railways Locomotive MuseumCurated CollectionsMonuments & MemorialsTaxonomy20th Century | 1960s | 1969
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Reference IDqips-2009-09-15-0021Asset TypeImage - JpegImages, Maps and Artefacts (Trove mapping field)imageColour or Black & White ImageColourOrientationPortraitGenreIndustrialTransportCopyright StatusIn CopyrightCopyright NoticeTo use this image, please contact the Picture Ipswich Digital Archivist.CopyrightPicture Ipswich Copyright Information
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Plaque on side of locomotive, last steam locomotive built in Australia, Ipswich Railway Workshops, North Ipswich, 1969. Picture Ipswich, accessed 15/09/2026, https://www.pictureipswich.com.au/nodes/view/3117