COC No.5 in Lithgow, New South Wales | Non-profit organisation

COC No.5

Locality: Lithgow, New South Wales

Phone: +61 427 455 580

Address: 54 Eskbank Street 2790 Lithgow, NSW, Australia

Website: http://www.eskbanklocomotivedepotmuseum.com.au/

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22.01.2022 The oil shale works which was established at Newnes in the Wolgan valley at the turn of the last century was a massive undertaking by anyones standards. The shale refining plant and the 32 mile long railway which connected it to the Main Western Railway at Newnes Junction was originally built by the London based Commonwealth Oil Corporation Limited and was subsequently taken over by John Fell & Co. This panoramic photograph taken in the early 1920s gives some idea of the s...heer scale of the plant which was essentially built on a number of levels with the refining processes taking advantage of the topography of the site. Given the steep grades the railway had to combat to climb out of the Wolgan valley with finished products of shale, oil, bricks and passengers, COC Limited acquired 4 shay locomotives (1 x 65T 2 x 70T and 1 90T) from the Lima Locomotive Works in the USA. One of those shays, No.1 can be seen in the foreground of the photograph was a 65 ton shay and had a relatively short life and was used as a source of spare parts, it is seen here on a storage road.

22.01.2022 Gibson Battle & Co agent plates were fitted to all shays imported into Australia. We have had Wayne James our patternmaker based in the United States make a pattern made from an original Gibson plate. Pictured below is the pattern (bottom) and the cast plate (above). COC No.5 will have her importers plates with her when she arrives in Australia later in the year.

20.01.2022 Our team in the US (Brook and Dave) have completed the inventory of all the parts and have catalogued them against an original Lima Shay Parts Catalogue. This will make the job of identifying them easier when we begin to put #2366 back together again. We are now waiting on a visit from the shipping agents to advise on the number and the types of containers we will need to ship the loco back to Australia. In the mean time we are looking for an injector similar to the one pictured. It is a Sellers brand. We need one for #2366 if anyone has any leads on one.

19.01.2022 The smoke box door number plate for COC No 5 has been cast and picked from the foundry. As can be seen here in the picture bronze plate on left, pattern on right. Plate will be de blurred, cleaned and painted. Great job Wayne!!!!

18.01.2022 Given there has been so much interest shown in this project since its inception and the fact we have been off the air for some time we thought it may be opportune to give everyone an update now that we are in a position to do so. For the past fifteen months we have had a number of issues to deal with which has all impacted on most of our projects including the shay. All of our organisations are volunteer run and so rely on a few to keep the wheels turning which at times is no...t easy. In late 2017 we announced the appointment of NMT Global who were going to handle the movement of the shay from Georgetown to Long beach where the loco was going to be cleaned and packed into containers for the voyage to Australia. By mid 2018 we had learnt that the project manager (based in the USA) who put the deal together for us had left NMT and NMT were having issues pulling the transport legs together. After many phone calls to the States we were notified by NMT they were not going to continue with the move and it would need to be re-quoted which left us back at square one. Coincidentally at about the same time in August 2018 we were confronted with another situation on the domestic front which if we had left unchecked may well have resulted in our organisation not having a place to call home after we had spent a number of years planning and thousands of dollars to secure. The matter ended up in the Supreme Court for most of 2019 where we were successful in securing the land and were awarded costs. It has been a very challenging period for all concerned but we are now moving forward and have a number projects already fired up locally. In coming weeks we will re-establish links with Mayne Global our Sydney based shipping agent to start the process of finding another company in the US who can arrange the internal transport and cleaning of the shay. Rest assured the shay project is far from dead, No.5 is secure in Georgetown and we will work towards facilitating the steps required to allow for its voyage to Australia. We are very encouraged by the amount of support and interest the shay is receiving via this page and other means. Stay tuned for further developments.

14.01.2022 Work has recommenced back at Clarksburg after the Christmas break to retrieve pallets of smaller items taken off the shay locomotive some time ago in preparation for its last restoration. Unfortunately the retrieval work has been hampered by constant rain which has made getting into the property difficult as the ground turns to mud very easily. Brook and the team have taken advantage of a dry spell between showers to commence collecting the items. They also have another added... problem to contend with in that thick wild berry vines have also engulfed the area. Consequently they have to fight their way in through the vines ( delicately) before they can get their hands on the parts. The air compressor and fire box grates are rescued together with an assortment of small parts and a steam dome cover can be seen in the photos just in from Clarksburg. See more

14.01.2022 Just in from California are some more photos. Saturday (yesterday) Brook and Dave took delivery of the last of the parts belonging to #2366 which were being held for safe keeping. The parts included numerous cab fittings headlight and tender light and her bell. Now the cleaning and packing begins.............

12.01.2022 Whilst we sort out shipping and cleaning arrangements for #2366 our pattern maker has been busy This week Wayne completed the work on the patterns for the smokebox door number plate as well as her builders plate. Both patterns have now gone to the foundry and by the end of the month we will have a new set of bronze plates for #2366 when she will become COC No.5, representing the fifth shay to be owned by the Company (COC Limited).

11.01.2022 WOLGAN VALLEY 1943 "one of the 90 ton No. 4 Shay locomotives imported in 1910 from Lima Locomotive Co. of Lima, Ohio U.S.A. Pictured L. to R.- Max Redding just visible behind head of Jack Longworth (manager of Kirkconnell sawmill), Pat Taylor sitting on cabin window and Ira John Patrick (Jack ) Taylor. Photograph late Jack Taylor, Bathurst."

11.01.2022 The new set of builders plates for #2366 (COC Ltd No.5) have been cast by the foundry and are being cleaned up and painted.

11.01.2022 We would like to thank Bruce Butler who recently wrote to us inquiring about progress on our shay. He recounted as a boy he remembered seeing both 35 and 36 at work on the Brimstone Railroad in Tennessee. He has sent us a link to a fantastic collection of photographs of the Brimstone shays at work. We would also like to credit Bill Gordon for the use of the collection on our site.

10.01.2022 Brimstone Railroad No.35 at Brimstone Mine in June 1963.

10.01.2022 In the not to distant future the ELD&M will be selling replica Lima Shay Locomotive builders plates to assiat in the fund raising campaign for COC No.5. Wayne James our master pattern maker from the United States has been busy finalising the patterns to enable us to produce full size builders plates. smoke box door number plates, boiler backhead plates and shay patent plates to suit the 4 wolgan valley shays plus COCs latest edition to the fleet COC No.5. Pictured are the patterns and some samples that have already been produced. Check into our website for details. http://www.eskbanklocomotivedepotmuseum.com.au/

09.01.2022 Have you ever considered having a new boiler built? Wasatch railroad Contractors is a fully certified ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers) S Stamp ...holder. This means we can build your new boiler to suit. We are very proud of the many boilers we have built to serve the historic #rail industry.

08.01.2022 Brimstone RR No. 35 at Sterling Siding, Scott, TN 1963

08.01.2022 Brimstone Railroad Shay No.35 on display at the Chattanooga Tennessee Valley RR Museum in November 1973. The photos are displayed in Flickr and are credited to David Pirmann.

06.01.2022 Brimstone RR No.35 in action at New River TN during the 1960s hauling coal. After her restoration we hope she will be doing the same thing again but hauling passengers on the State Mine Branch as COC No.5. Click on the picture below to see her come alive................................

06.01.2022 Featuring in this months issue of Track & Signal, we find Leon Obergs article on COC No.5

05.01.2022 Pictures just in, Rich and Dave were at Clarksburg today to retrieve more of the shay whilst to good weather prevailed. Todays haul included the smoke box door, steam dome, fire grates and two pallets of miscellaneous parts. All these items will be cleaned inventoried and packed ready for the voyage to Australia later in the year.

05.01.2022 A visit to the Wolgan Valley can give flight to all sorts of wild, steamy imaginings...

04.01.2022 Brook and Rich returned to Silver Bend Farm Wednesday to retrieve the last of the parts making up #2366 including the all timber cab. Unfortunately it has seen better days and had to be dissassembled to make the trip. Unfortunately being timber and suffering from wood rot the cab will not come to Australia. Instead it will be photographed and all metal brackets and fittings will be retrieved and sent to Australia. A new cabin built to the original plans will have to be fabricated and fitted to the locomotive. If there is anyone out there with carpentry skills interested in taking on this aspect of the restoration please let us know.

04.01.2022 Its been some time since we posted a report on where things are currently standing with the shay. This past 12 months we have been working with a number of shipping companys in the US to determine the way forward on moving the loco from its storage location to a port for shipping. Unfortunately there is a cleaning step in the middle of this which has to be undertaken also. Thre seems to be a reluctance to ship the the loco from Oakland but all we have spoken too are quoting... to ship it from LA. We are currently looking at the options to settle on the most cost effective one. In the mean time both Brook and Rich have finalised the cataloguing of all the parts and have palletised the numerous pieces into what maybe 12 to 16 pallets this is in addition to the 7 large major componants making up the locomotive. Depending on finaces it is hoped to have everything planned and in place to ship the loco back to Australia in the later part of this year. Stay tuned for further updates and please keep those donations rolling in. For details on how to make a donation follow the link below. http://eskbanklocomotivedepotmuseum.com.au/howtohelp.htm

04.01.2022 How about this one!! Georgetown Loop Shay 9

04.01.2022 After what seems to be an eternity we have finally found a winning combination with two shipping agents to handle No.5s journey to Australia. The Museum Board is pleased to announce the appointment of NMT Global Project Logistics based in Houston Texas and Mayne Global of Sydney. Both companies will play an important role in the logistics of moving the locomotive from Georgetown to Lithgow a distance of some 12200 km. NMT will handle the movement from Georgetown to Long Be...ach where the loco will be cleaned and packed then placed into containers for the voyage to Australia. Mayne Global will handle the shipment once it arrives in Australia. We would like to thank Jim Pursell and David Mayne for their assistance in pulling this plan together.

04.01.2022 News in from Clarksburg........... We have just received pictures in from last weekend where both Brook and Rich were down at Silver Bend Farm (taking care of business) rounding up more parts. I understand that there is only another load to go including the timber cab which has certainly seen better days and will not make the trip to Australia.

03.01.2022 In recent weeks we have been working with Mayne Global who are our shipping agents based in Australia with offices in the USA. They are currently working with Brook and the team in California to looking at the logistics of moving the shay to Australia, with particular reference to the number of containers that will be required. Unfortunatley the free falling Australian dollar is not helping our cause at all with it currently hovering around 73 cents. This means we will need ...to top up our transportation fund with some more dollars. We have some more photographs just in showing our shay arriving at its transition point earlier this year.

03.01.2022 Its been some time since we have been able to report anything out of the ordinary regarding our shay. However this morning we received some pictures from El Dorado County, California of COC No.5 (Lima Shay #2366) under snow in a Christmas post card setting. Our team on the ground (Brook and Rich) have been working when they can, cataloguing the various items that make up the sum of the locomotive. This process is being undertaken by producing photographs of all the items so... we can readily identify them when we put her back together. Once this has been done a manifest will also be produced for shipping purposes. This information will be handed to Mayne Global, our shipping agents so they can determine how many containers or what configuration of transport options will be needed to bring COC No.5 back to Australia. We are hopeful that 2016 will see No5. arrive in Lithgow to commence her ground up rebuild which eventually will see her operate on the State Mine branch. She will become a fitting living tribute to the Commonwealth Oil Corporations endeavours to develop a shale oil works in the Wolgan valley at the turn of the last century.