Queensland Government Railway No. 45

Queensland Government Railway No. 45 is a class C17 4-8-0 steam locomotive it was built in 1923 by the Evans Anderson Phelan for the Queensland Government Railway.
No. 45 is one of the oldest surviving C17’s, having been placed in service by the Queensland Government Railways in January 1923 and written off 44 years later in October 1967. Upon retirement it spent some time in storage before being placed in Andrew Fisher Park, Gympie in 1972.
Following the unfortunate scrapping of sister park loco C17 No. 820 at Gympie in 1982, No. 45 was threatened with a similar fate in 1983 until concerned locals came to the rescue and it was transferred to the nearby Gympie & District Historical Society Museum on January 4, 1984. Here No. 45 was gradually restored to operation by a team of local volunteers in a rather cramped location at the rear of a display building. Upon removing the firebox doors (which had been welded shut during No. 45’s park days) it was found that the firebox was still full of ash. Replacement or refurbished parts were obtained from many sources, including swaps with other plinthed C17 locomotives.
On September 17, 1996, No. 45 was transferred to the newly-formed Mary Valley Heritage Railway where it worked hauling tourist trains and it subsequently hauled the first ‘Valley Rattler’ train on May 23, 1998, becoming the flagship locomotive of the MVHR fleet which has since grown to six C17 locos with the addition of Nos. 253, 705, 802, 819 & 967.
Today it's still at the Mary Valley Heritage Railway but it is no longer operational, having it's last run in May 2003, since it was placed in storage at the Gympie locomotive shed and restoration depot.
==Trivia==
*A major milestone was achieved on October 10, 1992, when No. 45 was officially recommissioned and became available for steaming over a short length of track at the museum.
*No. 45 was built to the original ‘1920 design’ of C17 which are identifiable by a straight-sided cutaway cab, cast iron chimney and a low-sided bogie tender.
*At some stage it was fitted with the ‘1938 design’ boiler with a low steam dome, but retains the original style of cast-iron chimney.
*Since the locomotive’s retirement in 2003, No. 45 was stored in the Gympie yard, and shifted to its current location in 2022 to be restored as a static display at the historic Gympie Station.
Category:Locomotives
Category:Australian Locomotives
Category:Steam locomotives
Category:Tender locomotives
Category:Eight-coupled locomotives
Category:4-8-0 steam locomotives
Category:4-8-0 locomotives
Category:Built in 1923
Category:Restored locomotives
Category:Australian Steam Locomotives
Category:Queensland Locomotives