Mary Valley Rattler celebrates 100th birthday of former flagship locomotive

Having first served Queensland in 1923, a historic steam engine is celebrating its 100th birthday. Check out the important role the iconic engine played in our state.

The Mary Valley Rattler is celebrating an important milestone of one its locomotives.

One of Queensland’s oldest C17 steam engines celebrated a special milestone on Wednesday as the Mary Valley Rattler turned the clock back 100 years.

The Locomotive No. 45 was made available to view to the public by the Mary Valley Rattler team alongside the Spirit of the Mary Valley – Locomotive No. 967 – at the historic Gympie Station paired with a commemorative birthday cake.

Locomotive No. 45 was in service from 1923 to 1967 for Queensland Government Railways.

The engine was at risk of being turned into scrap when it was transferred to Andrew Fisher Park in 1972, a Mary Valley Rattler press release said.

The C17 Locomotive No. 45 is celebrating its 100th birthday.

The locomotive was taken to the Gympie and District Historical Society Museum in 1984, where it was gradually restored by a team of volunteers.

On October 10, 1992, it was officially recommissioned and steamed over a short length of track at the museum.

The locomotive then moved to the newly-formed Mary Valley Heritage Railway depot and running shed in the former Queensland Railways loco shed on September 17, 1996.

On May 23, 1998, the engine hauled the first Valley Rattler train, becoming the flagship of the heritage railway fleet.

The engine completed its last passenger journey on May 24, 2003 and was stored in the Gympie yard until 2022 when it was moved historic Gympie Station to be viewed from the platform as a static display, the press release said.

The Mary Valley Rattler put the engine on display in 2022 to be seen from the platform.

General manager Linda Barry said the public celebration was fitting given the vast amount of work undertaken by volunteers and the Rattler team to preserve such an important part of Queensland’s heritage.

“The railways opened up Gympie and Mary Valley to the rest of the state and beyond, and to preserve such heritage is one of the fundamental goals of the Mary Valley Rattler operation,” Ms Barry said in the media release.

“While Locomotive No. 45 no longer operates, its contribution in the past and its legacy for future generations is something the whole Gympie community can be proud of.

It is fitting that it will share the spotlight with fellow C-17 steam engine, The Spirit of Mary Valley, which is undoubtedly the star attraction of our fleet today.

“It will also be a great way of leading into Australia Day, so we urge everyone who can to come to Gympie Station to view these magnificent heritage steam engines in this very special celebration.”