Queensland's Cane Trains - Victoria Mill Part 1

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 Gedges Crossing Road between Ingham and Trebonne.
2. On the other side of Trebonne, 'Maitland' pauses at the junction between the Lannercost Extension and Abergowie Lines. After changing the points, the train continues towards Abergowie.
3. 1977 Baldwin locomotive 'Gowrie' and brake van cross Martins Rd in Long Pocket with a rake of full bins from further up the Abergowie Line.
4. 'Gowrie' pauses at Morelli Siding beside Abergowie Road to attach more full bins.
5. 'Jourama' (ex-NSWGR 7347) and brake van take a long rake of empty bins onto the Bambaroo Line, seen leaving the mill yard at Cemetery Rd level crossing in Ingham.

[@FishplateFilms]

Brilliant Sir! I like the bogie wagons of this mill When I was there back in 2014, they were just bringing in the larger bins and bogie wagons were a rare sight, but it's good to see them being widely used now! Thanks for the clips! Cheers Gregg.

[@NR54trailerail]

Thanks Gregg!

[@sunnysiderails397]

Awesome video, love the shot around 7 minutes when the train is coming through the tunnel of trees right for the camera, just AWESOME! -Ken

[@NR54trailerail]

Thanks Ken!

[@stevenallan702]

Just a note - the loco Jourama is not ex-M1851. Wilmar has been doing a rebuild program where a loco is sent away for rebuild, and another loco that has been rebuilt is sent back in its place. The current Jourama came from previously stored ex-NSWGR 7347. The original Jourama (ex M1851) is now loco 12 at Proserpine Mill

[@NR54trailerail]

Thank you! I will update the caption. I'm a bit out of the loop with regards to cane locos and the loco list I am using is 20 years old, please let me know if you see any other captions that need amending 🙂