Council moves to get historic train back on tracks, bringing 70-year-old locomotive to the town centre

The Shire of Boyup Brook has moved to get a historic train back on tracks, voting to bring a 70-year-old locomotive to the centre of town. Last month councillors voted unanimously to take custodianship of the Perth Zoo train number 1954 from the Boyup Brook District Pioneers’ Museum, aiming to relocate the locomotive to Sandakan Park and house it within a weatherproof structure. The long-term goal of the shire is to have the train running on the park’s tracks for special occasions. The train’s design was based off the zoo’s original train and was the second to run at the South Perth Zoo — making steam from 1954 through to 1973. After the zoo sold the train in 1973, it was acquired by Bill Swinbank where it travelled to Geraldton before making its way to Carabooda, north of Perth, until Mr Swinbank’s death. The train was then sold at auction as part of the estate in which Byford’s Joan King acquired the locomotion. Mrs King donated it the Boyup Brook community through a business connection with Boyup Brook Farm Supplies in 2009 before it was passed on to the Boyup Brook District Pioneers’ Museum. In 2009, the museum was successful with a Royalties for Regions grant of $19,600 to restore the train back to operational condition and it now sits on display within the museum grounds. Cr Darren King said the train had was at risk of being “lost” to the shire, so it should be better utilised. “It’s a great tourist attraction and I think it’s a great idea to put it over here (Sandakan Park),” he said. Cr Helen O’Connell said the move was a fantastic idea. “The zoo train is tucked away in the museum at the moment,” she said. “This will give it a lot more exposure — there’s possibly exciting things to come for it too.”