Notes | Three locomotives, with carriages, were built by Severn Lamb Ltd and based loosely on the design of Caledonian Railway 4-2-2 Locomotive no 23 (which had been built in Glasgow in 1886). They travelled the Festival Railway on a 25-minute circuit, and - despite their appearance - they were driven by diesel engines. The locomotives (and, it seems, their carriages) were transferred to Japan after the Festival. At least one locomotive still runs at the Rusutsu Resort. According to the Daily Express of 24 August 1988, a 'Japanese tycoon' was intending to purchase the trains for a 'Koala Park' in Brisbane. Presumably this refers to Kamori Kanko Co. Ltd - who own both Rusutsu Resort and Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, Brisbane - and the trains were diverted from Brisbane to Rusutsu. |
June 1988
image by myself
Thank you!