ERTL mini Westward Ho

Initially, all motive power on Wyett’s Tramway in Beaconsfield Tasmania was in the form of horses however subsequently four locomotives were acquired.22 The arrival of the first locomotive, on the last Saturday in May 1885, caused considerable excitement in the township, especially when it came steaming up Wyett’s wooden-railed tramway to the tramway station. There, a large crowd of spectators raised hearty cheers and Wyett received many congratulations for his enterprise. The locomotive was built by W G Bagnall, Castle Engine Works in Stafford, England; Builder’s Number 682 of 1885. It was a rather diminutive 2-4-0T, weighed 5 tons 2 cwt; and had 5½in x 9in cylinders. The engine burnt wood and had a patent spark arresting chimney. It was claimed that steam could be raised in three-quarters of an hour, and the boiler was registered for 200 lbs/sq in pressure, blowing off at 180 lbs/sq in. It was of 8 horse power, and ‘guaranteed to haul 60 tons on the level, 28 tons on a grade of one in a hundred; and 12 tons at one in forty’. The estimated cost was £500, The engine arrived in Launceston aboard the ss Yeoman, on 20 May, transhipped to the ketch Robert Burns a couple of days later and landed at Bowen’s Jetty on the 23rd. A week later, unpacked and readied, she steamed into town with Julius Jensen in charge. The locomotive had been imported through the agency of Messrs W Hart and Co. Despite the trial trip being made on imperfectly ballasted line, the locomotive was said to be a ‘great success’. Bearing a name of ill-omen, Khartoum, it was generally hoped that Wyett’s venture would prove successful. Interestingly, Bagnall’s records state the engine was named Kartoum, whereas the reporter for the Launceston.

She was later moved interstate and ended up at the Sanderson Tramway in Victoria (Renamed Westward Ho before it came to Sanderson) used on Mason’s tramway at Port Welshpool. It was regauged to 3ft 6in, but where this was done is not known. By 1902 when Sanderson had opened a new sawmill at the Barwon River he needed two locomotives, Westward Ho having proved also underpowered.