Further to my recent email, Bruce Macdonald has advised me that both the Phoenix and Baldwin motors had the sloping top to the valve chest. The main distinguishing feature of the Phoenix motors was th

According to William F Scott, in his book 'Last Tram at 11', the Bendigo Tys Co's concession was passed in 1900 to The British Insulated Wire Co, which in the same year passed it on to the associated

Having read the various emails, I agree that this is definitely not in Australia, nor indeed in Australasia...and is quite possibly in South America. Richard Horne

The only system that springs to my mind, is that at Mt Bischoff in Tasmania, which was 3' 0" gauge and used a Baldwin-Westinghouse trolley wire loco. The French postcard shows some men wearing flat cl

Dear Frank, The Mercury article stated that the winch had about a quarter of a mile of wire rope on the drum, not one mile as Ken stated. If one assumes that, the diameter of the winch drum was, say,

Dear Frank, Well, it's been interesting ...but it seems that we are no further forward in identifying it; just more possibilities. You observe that we cannot be sure that it actually was in Tasmania,

Frank and Mike, Thank you for your prompt responses. I'll look forward to seeing if Ken Milbourne and the other Tasmanian experts can add anything. Regards, Richard

I have posted a photo of an unidentified vertcal boiler loco on a bush tramway. It was given to me many years ago by the late John Buckland, who thought that it might be in Tasmania. The dress of the

Further to my email of 26th March, the photo of the Fowler 0-4-2ST on this line, that I referred to, can now be found in LRRSA photo file 'Woy Woy Basalt Quarries'. Richard Horne

The loco used was ex Wallaroo Mines in SA and was originally built as 5' 3" gauge by John Fowler (B/No. 6026 of 1889) and later rebuilt to 3' 6" gauge, No.2, resembling the Mines' Hudswell Clarke loco

Dear Bruce, The photo of N252 in 'Power Parade, is of one of four of the N class that were converted to motor working by the addition of small side tanks either side of the smokebox and improved cab.

Exactly. Hence 'take you pick', but I aver that 'smoke-stack' and 'stack' are the terms least used in Australia and the UK (irrespective of the country in which the locomotive is built). Richard Horne

Even the Concise Oxford Dictionary shows 'chimney', 'funnel' and 'smoke-stack' as all being the thing through which smoke comes out of a locomotive's boiler (but ships are only credited with a 'funnel

Thank you. Yes, of course. Richard Horne

The gauge appears to be slightly less than half of 5' 3", say 2' 0". Does 'Engine House' at the end of the line indicate that a locomotive was used? Richard Horne

Readers of LR are probably more erudite than the people who supply photo captions at the NLA. Privates they are in the picture! I think it's fair to say that the captions to far too many of the photos

Without a doubt the picture shows two privates...not even lance corporals. The soldier at left, with the less energetiic task of holding a target marker, is wearing his greatcoat. Richard Horne

I don't think wire mesh in the bottom of the post box is necessarily an invention of bush folk. Fifty years ago in suburban Adelaide, our post box was an old ammunition case lashed to the gatepost, wi

Delivered to UK my address Thurs 18th. Not bad at all. Richard Horne

It looks rather like the brake cylinder off a wagon, but how or why it came to be there I couldn't say. Might it have been altered for some other use? Richard Horne