Tyers Valley Tramway
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The Tyers Valley Tramway was a narrow gauge timber tramway built by the Forestry Commission of Victoria to exploit timber resources on the slopes of Mt Baw Baw, Victoria. The tramway met with the Victorian Railways narrow gauge line from Moe to Walhalla at Collins Siding, and was built to the same 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) gauge.
Sawmills in the forests of Victoria were usually connected to a railway by a privately owned tramway. Many of these tramways were constructed to very basic standards, as basic as using timber rails and horses for motive power. The tramways serving the Tyers Valley were largely destroyed by bushfires in 1926. Rather than rebuild the private tramways, the Forestry Commission, a government body, decided to construct a higher quality tramway to serve all the private sawmills in the district.
The tramway used secondhand 40lb rails from Tasmania. It had a maximum grade of 1 in 30, and the curves a minimum radius of 80' (24 metres). No ballast was used, however greater use was made of sleepers than was normal.
A geared locomotive was constructed by the Port Melbourne firm of Alfred Harmon in 1927. Unfortunately this locomotive, which had been purchased under requirements to support local industry, was too heavy and only ran once before being parked. Permission was given to import a Climax locomotive from the United States. This loco, a 25 ton class B, was the last Climax ever manufactured, and the only one built for 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) gauge.
The tramway route extended 6.1 miles (9.8 km) from Collins Siding to Tyers Junction, where the line divided to follow the two branches of the Tyers River. Normal operation was for timber to be moved from sawmills to Tyers Junction behind TALC rail tractors. At Tyers Junction the timber was consolidated into trains which were then hauled by the Climax upgrade to Collins Siding.
The tramway closed in 1949, and the Climax moved to the Government sawmill at Erica. The Climax was subsequently preserved on the Puffing Billy Railway, along with one of the TALC tractors. Most of the tramway route has been opened as a "rail trail".
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