Railways and Tramways of Australia

Faugh-a-Ballagh: clear the way

 

Queensland’s first locomotive began operating on 11 January 1865.

 

Four 2-4-0 locomotives were ordered from England when construction of Queensland’s first railway was underway. Following their completion, the locomotives were dismantled and transported by ship to Brisbane. They were then moved by lighter up the river to Ipswich.

 

Narrow gauge (1067 mm) was chosen for the first railway in Queensland because of its cheaper construction costs and the possibility of using sharper curves. The first section built was 31 kilometres in length from Ipswich to Bigges Camp (now named Grandchester) and became Australia’s first narrow gauge railway.

 

Queensland’s first locomotive was put into steam before the railway opened. It was named Faugh-a-Ballagh (pronounced fog-a-bolla), which means ‘clear the way’ in Gaelic, a name which was given in respect to the Irish track layers. Faugh-a-Ballagh spent its first day of operation hauling a goods wagon and an eight-wheel carriage between the workshop and the wharf at Ipswich, providing free rides to those who were interested.

 

The railway was officially opened on 31 July 1865, with all four locomotives being used on the opening day. Shortly afterwards the locomotives were given numbers, with Faugh-a-Ballagh becoming no. 2. As larger locomotives became available, the older engines were less useful. No. 2 was transferred to Maryborough in 1879, where it was used in construction work. It was renumbered no. 108 in 1890 but then sold in 1891 to railway contractors Overend and Paterson. Its subsequent fate is unknown.

 

Another Queensland locomotive named Faugh-a-Ballagh was built in 1900 by John Fowler and Company of Leeds for the Mossman Central Mill. It operated in sugar cane haulage until 1958 and is today preserved at Port Douglas.

 

Faugh-a-Ballagh cleared the way for future locomotives and railways in Queensland.

 

Bibliography

J Armstrong, Locomotives in the tropics, vol. 1, 2nd edn, Brisbane, Australian Railway Historical Society (Queensland Division), Sydney, 2017.

‘Faugh-a-Ballagh’, Australian Steam – Preserved Steam Locomotives Down Under www.australiansteam.com/fowler8733.htm, accessed 10

     January 2026.

T Hancox, ‘Queensland Railways steam locomotive names’, Sunshine Express, vol. 54, no.2, March–April 2018, pp 36–38.