Bush Mill Railway
The Bush Mill Railway was a 15 in (381 mm) gauge miniature railway, situated 2 km (1.2 mi) from Port Arthur, in Tasmania. It opened in 1986.[1]
Route
The Bush Mill Railway climbed steeply through a series of loops and zig zags up a hillside, then across a spectacular Serpentine Bridge. A half-size replica of the K1 was constructed to operate on the line in 1990. The prototype K1 was the world's first Garratt locomotive, built for the North-East Dundas Tramway on Tasmania's west coast.[2]
Settlement
A replica settlement was established which featured a 19th-century sawmill and a number of items which were directly related to the logging tramways which once dotted much of Tasmania.[3]
It closed on 30 June 2004.
Locomotives
Name | Built | Year | Wheel Arrangement | Current railway | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
K3 | Bush Mill Railway | 1990 | 0-4-0+0-4-0 | Perrygrove Railway | model of the first Garratt locomotive. In the summer of 1993 it visited the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway and the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway |
Mountaineer | W.van der heiden | 1972 | 0-4-0 + tender | Cleethorpes Coast Light Railway | |
DA1 | Bush Mill Railway | 1986 | 0-4-0D | Cleethorpes Coast Light Railway | Diesel locomotive |
The Railway also had 5 semi-open coaches and 2 coal wagons, these became part of the collection at the Cleethorpes Coast Light Railway and the coaches have now moved on to the Sherwood Forest Railway
References
- The Railway News Vol.53 No.2 July 2004 p. 46
- The Railway News Vol.45 No. 6 December 1993 p. 147
- The Railway News Vol.49 No.2 June/July, 1997 p. 50