Roderick Smith will present on the following subject:
Queensland and Fiji Sugar Tramways in the 1960s and 70s
From the earliest days of VLRRS morphing into LRRSA, our Queensland coverage was dominated by the sugar lines. Most were 2 ft [610 mm] gauge; some matched QR, 3 ft 6 in [1067 mm].
They too have morphed: small steam locos and diesels on lightweight track hauling long-cut cane on 4-wheel wagons, to large diesels on heavy rail hailing machine-cut cane on bogie wagons.
Quaint and narrow, but capable: these lines hauled more absolute tonnage than Victorian Railways did in some years.
Many mills have been closed, but that has resulted in extension of territory for surviving mills, and also the taking over and regauging of minor QR branches.
Roderick Smith's presentation looks mainly at the mid 1960s to mid 1970s: transition years, with surviving steam pockets and some tourist operation.
Friends and LRRSA members have extended the coverage into the modern era.
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