TACL-Tractor Appliance Company Limited TACL rail tractors manufactured by Malcolm Moore of Port Melbourne Located in the Parishes of Moondarra and Telbit, Gippsland, the tramway terminated at Collins Siding on the Moe Walhalla 2'6"gauge branch of the Victorian Railways. Its construction by the Forests Commission of Victoria was to facilitate the extraction of timber from the Southern and Western slopes of Mount Erica and to replace the outlet tramways destroyed during the disastrous forest fires of February 1926. Tyers Valley Tramway The line, following the Eastern arm of the river, passed Ingrams Siding (7m.) to terminate at a forest area, known as "Ten Acre Block", 8m. 60c. from Collins Siding. The western branch of the line followed the Western Tyers Valley to Growlers Creek, 13m. 40c. from Collins Siding. THE T.A.C.L. TRACTORS at Tyers Valley tramway. On the 19th January 1928, T.A.C.L. locomotive, purchased from Tractor Appliance Co. Ltd. (Malcolm Moore), was delivered. This unit had a 20 h.p. Fordson engine coupled by a chain drive to the two axles, providing a tractive effort of approx. 2000lbs. Wheelbase was 5’ and weight was four tons. It was intended that the two tractor locomotives, working with the grade, would deliver timber from the branch lines to Tyers Junction, from which place it would be steam hauled out to the Collins Siding transfer point. Following a breakdown of the steam locomotive, haulage during the early months of 1928 was carried out by the T.A.C.L. unit, supplemented by the Nattrass, which was, by this time, becoming unreliable. During April 1928, after ensuring that no suitable locomotive was available in Australia, an order was placed with the Climax Manufacturing Co., U.S.A. for the supply of a geared locomotive. A second T.A.C.L. engine was purchased during May and, on the 27th, the local mill owners, having obtained running rights on the tramway, commenced haulage with the Harman. The three tractor units worked the branch lines and transported ballast, whilst the Harman hauled the timber to Collins Siding in rakes of eight trucks (56 tons). The weekly loading of the line for the first, second and third weeks were 54, 62 and 71 trucks respectively. info from : http://www.nmra.org.au/tyersvalley/Tyers-Tram.html Historic - Industrial Narrow gauge Railway - Timber working - Rail Tractor used by the the Forests Commission of Victoria on the Tyers Valley TramwayRail Tractor with Fordson engine coupled by a chain drive to the two axles - made of steel and wrought ironerica sawmill, puffing billy, tacl, rail tractor, tractor appliance co. ltd. (malcolm moore), industrial narrow gauge railway, tyers valley tramway, forests commission of victoria

Built by the Forests Commission of Victoria for the timber haulage on the Tyers Valley Tramway near Erica. Historic - Industrial Narrow Gauge Railway - Timber working - Timber Bogies used by Forests Commission of Victoria for the timber haulage on the Tyers Valley Tramway near EricaTimber Bogies - Made of Wood and steel and wrought irontyers valley, sawmill, puffing billy, forests commission of victoria, timber bogies, industrial narrow gauge railway

Climax geared locomotive No. 1694 in active service on special occasions - stored at Emerald Station A Miraculous Survivor Climax locomotive No.1694 is a miraculous survivor of a rare breed of steam locomotive. For about 100 years from the mid-1850s sawn timber was carted from Victorian sawmills to the nearest railway station by timber tramway. These tramways were generally very rough, steeply graded, sharply curved, and of narrow gauge. Many had wooden rails, and horses provided haulage. The better ones used steam locomotives. In all about fifty steam locomotives are known to have worked on Victorian timber tramways. These locomotives were usually somewhat peculiar - made to cope with arduous, rough conditions, rather than speed. Climax locomotive No.1694 is the only one of these locomotives to survive intact. It was built in 1928 by the Climax Manufacturing Company, Corry, Pennsylvania, USA, for the Forests Commission of Victoria. The distinctive feature of the Climax locomotive is that the cylinders do not directly connect to the driving wheels. Instead they drive a cross shaft near the centre of the locomotive. From there the drive is transmitted to the small driving wheels through rotating shafts, universal joints, and bevel gears. The driving wheels are mounted in two four-wheel bogies so that they can easily follow sharp curves in the track. None of these features are found in normal steam locomotives. The result is a locomotive that is extremely powerful for its size, and that will cope with sharp curves and steep grades with ease. But this is at the cost of speed, Climax locomotive No.1694 is just about flat-out at 13 km/h (8 mph). Climax Locomotive Built in 1928 for the Forests Commission of Victoria and painted all-over black with the name CLIMAX painted on the sides of the cab in white block letters, this locomotive was issued to the Tyers Valley tramway which branched off the Moe to Walhalla line at Collins Siding. This locomotive was withdrawn from service in 1949 following the closure of the tramway and in 1950 it travelled from Tyers Junction to Collins Siding to Erica where it remained stored until 1965. Loaned to the Puffing Billy Preservation Society for its Steam Museum, it was taken to Menzies Creek in 1965 where it remained until 1982 when the Emerald Tourist Railway Board bought it and transferred it to Belgrave for restoration. It was returned to service for special use on the Belgrave to Gembrook line in 1988 painted in its original all-over black livery, except that the word “Climax” on the sides of the cab was now painted in the style of the Climax Manufacturing Co., a style that this locomotive had never carried.Historical - Industrial railway - Forests Commission of Victoria, Timber Logging Climax Locomotive Climax geared Steam locomotive made of steel and wrought iron Climax 1694climax locomotive works, climax, geared steam locomotive, puffing billy, climax locomotive no. 1694, steam locomotive