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To the top of the Range

It has been said the tramway route around the Kureelpa area had been planned in order to service as many farms as possible, so the route was not as direct as it might have been. There is some truth in this, as there is a more direct route to Dulong than was followed by the tramway, by running south-west instead of north-west from Doig's Point. In reality, though, the track's alignment was surveyed where it was with one basic requirement in mind: to follow the 800 feet contour line as closely as possible. All railways, full-size or narrow-gauge, try to follow contour lines as much as they can, to minimise rising or falling gradients.                      

When the new extension was built up the steep climb from the Maroochy Bridge, it cost approximately 2000 pounds per mile to build. It crossed the present Nambour - Mapleton Road twice, once just west of the Willandra Heights estate turnoff heading south, and again just below the village of Mapleton, heading north. It made the final ascent up the slope below Rainbow Park Drive and Post Office Road, looping back to the centre of Mapleton via the western side of the Lilyponds.  

The opening of the line by His Excellency the Governor of Queensland Major Sir Hamilton John Goold-Adams, G.C.M.G., C.B. on 3rd December 1915 sparked a great enthusiasm for tramways in the Shire. Surveys were carried out to continue the Mapleton line towards Flaxton and to the scenic Mapleton Falls, and there were also visions of lines to connect Kenilworth and Belli with the railway at Eumundi, and another to connect the fruit-growing area of Montville with the Palmwoods Railway Station. 

These tramways were never built, though the idea of a train struggling up Montville's Razorback is quite challenging to the imagination! However, during the heyday of the narrow-gauge trams, a line was built to connect the Palmwoods Station with the richly productive Buderim Plateau, and opened in 1916. Inexplicably, that particular line was built to the different gauge of 2 feet 6 inches, so none of its equipment was compatible with that used on the other tram lines in the district.  

As work began on the extension to Mapleton, the Council realised that a second locomotive would be required, and so a nearly identical Shay was purchased from Lima, builder's number 2800 of 1914. Upon arrival in 1915 it was named the 'Mapleton', and also arrived with a diamond-shaped spark arrestor, in which the bottom section was deeper than that on top.

Builder's photograph of the loco before it left the U.S.A., with specifications and other data

As the Dulong had sported a conical spark arrestor since its accident, the different chimneys allow the two locomotives to be individually identified in photographs. Another detail that helps identification is the fact that the Dulong had a tall, thinner steam dome and three coupling pockets at each end, whereas the Mapleton had a short, fat steam dome and curved bumpers at the bottom of the head stocks instead of coupler pockets. This identification is proven by the existence of photographs showing a Shay locomotive with a tall, thin steam dome and the name Dulong painted on the cabsides. 

Occasionally, captions on some published photographs reverse the identities of the two locomotives. These are probably due to errors, but it is possible that the chimneys could have been swapped for some reason, such as repair of the internal spark-arresting baffles, or after re-boilering. This would merely entail the undoing of four bolts and lifting the chimney off. It is also possible that the chimneys themselves burned out and needed replacing at times, as the shapes appear to vary slightly in different photographs, e.g. the existence or lack of a lip on top of the Mapleton 's chimney.  

An interesting photograph exists showing the Mapleton, still very new as the bell, Lima builder's plate and acetylene headlight are still fitted, sporting a conical chimney. The most likely explanation for this is that the original chimney was temporarily swapped with the conical one from the Dulong to see if it had any effect on the steaming of the engine.