Mary Ann
Links to other MELSA pages:
MARYBOROUGH HERVEY BAY BAUPLE
FRASER ISLAND AND GREAT SANDY STRAIT
MODEL ENGINEERING HISTORY OF STEAM POWER
Mary Ann
The first Steam Locomotive built in Maryborough was the Mary Ann built by (then) John Walker & Company - an engineering company formed to service the timber, gold mining and sugar industries. 
The steam locomotive Mary Ann was built in Maryborough to service the fledgling timber industry in 1873. The need was to haul logs of Kauri timber from Cooloola to Tin Can Bay. Mary Ann was built such that when not hauling timber, she could be taken out of drive mode and a flat leather belt was then used to drive a circular saw on another wagon which was used to saw the rails and sleepers that formed the track for her to run on. Mary Ann had a vertical boiler and a single cylinder vertical engine.
A replica has been constructed by Wm Olds and Sons and runs along the bank of the Mary River every Thursday (Market Day in Adelaide St) and each month on the last Sunday - at the same time that MELSA runs the miniature trains at the top of Queens Park.
Please note that Mary Ann will NOT run during February 2012 due to maintenance requirements.