Queensland's Cane Trains - Victoria Mill Part 2

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 Victoria Mill near Ingham. Victoria Mill is owned by Wilmar Sugar and shares a rail network with Macknade Mill. A unique feature of both these mills is the operation of 2ft gauge bulk raw sugar trains between the mills and the sugar terminal at Lucinda.
Victoria Mill operates a mix of Clyde, Baldwin and Walkers locomotives. Locomotive ages range from the 1960's to brand new (2023).
Trains shown in this video are as follows:
1. 1977 Baldwin locomotive 'Maitland' and brake van take a long rake of empty bins for Abergowie past Mortons Rd level crossing.
2. Later in the day at the same location, 1977 Baldwin locomotive 'Gowrie' and brake van haul a rake of full bins towards the mill.
3. 1977 Baldwin locomotive 'Adelaide' and brake van cross Abergowie Rd in Long Pocket with a rake of full bins from the Dalrymple Creek branch.
4. 'Adelaide' continues it's journey to the mill, again crossing Abergowie Rd a few kilometers closer to Ingham.
5. 'Jourama' (ex NSWGR 7347, rebuilt for cane haulage) and brake van cross Tokalon Rd with a long rake of empties on the Crystal Creek line.

[@davecass485]

We were just in Australia a month ago from Canada and when we traveled outside of Airlie Beach and noticed the rails along the road side and weaving through the fields we were quite struck by them. We were not sure at first if they were still active and we came across one of the mills and realized they still were. As we went further north to Cairns it really became apparent the network was quite extensive. This video just popped up in my feed and I am glad it did. Answered a lot of the questions I was still pondering. My first thought when I saw the gauge was that it reminded me of the old sugar cane train (now used to haul tourists) that runs through the Caribbean Island of St. Kitts, then I put 2 and 2 together when we realized it was sugar fields we were driving through. Here in Canada most of our sugar comes from beets.

[@NR54trailerail]

Glad you found the video! Plenty more up on my channel of the different mill networks in Queensland. The tracks near Airlie Beach would have been part of Proserpine Mill's network. It's a shame you didn't get to see any of the trains in action. The cane crushing season normally runs from June to December, outside of that there are few movements on the cane networks - normally just track maintenance trains and cane bin transfers from the sidings in the fields to the workshops for maintenance. The networks throughout the fields are very extensive. It's one of the things that makes the cane railways unique, but can also make them a challenge to chase as there are tracks everywhere!

[@deep_space_guy2900]

Great video mate! Its cool to see videos from work 😄

[@NR54trailerail]

Thanks 😁

[@FishplateFilms]

Some great shots in this one Sir! DO like those bogie bins and mini knuckle couplers! They run some long rakes at this Mill! Thanks for posting. Gregg 🙂

[@NR54trailerail]

Thanks Gregg! A few of them would have been up towards 1km long. It's a lot of weight for just a loco and brake van!

[@FishplateFilms]

@@NR54trailerail They are tough little buggers, and far more interesting than the "Narrow" gauge stuff up here on the mainline! Gregg .