| 1921 Mossman |
| Data still required about this railway ambulance. |
| About this Railway Ambulance |
| Basic data |
| Name | Power | |
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I | ||
| Gauge | 2ft | |
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| Builder | Ipswich QGR | length | 6ft 10in |
| Year | 1921 | weight | 406kg |
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| In service info by J.W. Knowles 1990 |
| In 1921, a 2ft gauge trolley was built at the Ipswich workshops of the QGR for the QATB at Mossman. |
| At that time, the district hospital was at Port Douglas, and the two towns were connected by the 2ft gauge Douglas Shire Tramway, even in dry weather, there was no road, and in emergencies patients were hauled over the tramline by special train, usually on a flat wagon hauled by a mill locomotive, hastily put in steam or commandeered from cane haulage (the Shire's locomotives were kept at Port Douglas). The trolley was kept at Mossman so that this would not be necessary. |
| The trolley was 6ft 10in (2083mm) long, with no protection from the elements. The patient was carried on an outrigger and to smooth the ride, the pressed steel trolley wheels were fitted with a quarter inch rubber tread. A 4-5 hp engine was fitted, with a Ford radiator in front. There were forward gears only and the car was manhandled to and from the line, including when a train was met. It weighed 8cwt (406kg) |
| The trolley was used for all ambulance transport to Port Douglas until a road was available and the QATB bought a road ambulance. The trolley was then used only when road transport was impossible, until 1931, when the hospitable was transferred from Port Douglas to Mossman. |
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| Out of service |
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| About the location(s) |
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| About the railway line (extracts used from Triumph of Narrow Gauge, J Kerr) |
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| About the people helped |
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| More info ! |