Berghofer donates $300k to historic train restoration

THE “jewel in the crown” of Toowoomba’s railway history will finally be restored, thanks to the help of the city’s greatest philanthropist.

STEAMING ALONG: Toowoomba's Downssteam Tourist Railway and Museum's Andrew Caldwell (left), president Ros Scotney and marketing manager Robert Ketton (both right) can finally complete the rebuild of historic steam engine the Pride of Toowoomba, thanks to a $300,000 contribution from millionaire philanthropist Clive Berghofer (centre left).

THE "jewel in the crown" of Toowoomba's railway history will finally be restored to her former glory, thanks to the help of the city's greatest philanthropist.

The Pride of Toowoomba, the centrepiece of the DownsSteam Tourist Railway and Museum in Drayton, will finally blow steam again after Clive Berghofer committed $300,000 towards her restoration today.

The three-year contribution will allow project manager Andrew Caldwell and a team of volunteers to put the steam engine back on the rails, after the organisation saved her in the early 2000s from obscurity.

DownsSteam marketing manager Robert Ketton said the 1914 train was the sole surviving engine made at the Toowoomba Foundry.

"It was certainly built at the foundry here in Toowoomba, and it's important in several ways," he said.

"Firstly, it's the only surviving C16 train (from more than 150 built).

"It also helped open the Drayton deviation, which was the direct link from Toowoomba to Drayton.

"It was the original impetus to form DownsSteam; it's the jewel in the crown."

Mr Caldwell, who balances his time at the railway with his job as a helicopter pilot in Oakey, said the locomotive would require a massive restoration to return it to the track.

Top photo (c.2001) No 106 outside Toowoomba Railway Station; bottom photo (2018) No 106 being refurbished in Darling Downs Historical Rail Society Ltd (DDHRS - Downssteam) workshop. Manufactured in Toowoomba Foundry in 1914/15 No 106 took part in the Drayton Deviation (rail line Toowoomba to Wyreema via Drayton) opening ceremony in 1915. Railway buffs John Peel and Ernie Hills provided a brief history of No 106 in publication 'Toowoomba More Strange and Unusual Tales Vol 3' (TMSUT-3). After diesels replaced steam, No 106 retired (1964) to Redbank Railway Museum having logged 1,134,533 miles (1,815,253 km). The efforts of John Peel (appearing on the cover of TMSUT-3 with No 106), supported by Toowoomba City Council and Toowoomba Chamber of Commerce saw the return of the loco now displayed under reconstruction at DDHRS, Cambooya Street, Drayton with many other tangible railway oriented reminders of The Way We Were.

"This is a major overhaul, because the locomotive was built in 1914, and commissioned in 1915," he said.

"It ran 1.1 million miles and saw all corners of Queensland, and it's taken some wear and tear.

"That money is definitely going to make it happen, and it's the missing link that we've never had before.

"Fundraising for us has traditionally been the hardest thing.

"It's been a long road to this point already, and we've already spent a huge amount of money on this, about $200,000."

Mr Berghofer, who donated millions to charitable causes in his lifetime, said the contribution was part of cementing his legacy in Toowoomba.

"I want to get my name around, I've got no sons to give my name to, and I can't carry my business on forever, so I thought I'd do a few things but it's just gotten bigger," he said.

A plaque has already installed on the engine to commemorate the funding, with a carriage also likely to be named in Mr Berghofer's honour.

DownsSteam president Ros Scotney thanked Mr Berghofer for his generosity.

The restoration is expected to be finished by 2023.

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