Walkers Limited was an Australian engineering and shipbuilding company based in Maryborough, Queensland. It built large vessels and railway locomotives. The Walkers factory still produces locomotives and rolling stock as part of Downer Rail.
History
In 1863 John Walker and three friends set up the Union Foundry of John Walker & Co in Ballarat. In 1867 a branch was opened in Maryborough.
The Ballarat assets were disposed of in 1879 and in 1884, the business became a limited company under the title John Walker & Co Limited, being renamed Walkers Limited in 1888. The company produced most of the parts for machinery at sugar mills.
In 1980 Walkers Limited was sold to Evans Deakin Industries. It was included in the purchase of Evans Deakin by Downer Group in March 2001 and today the Maryborough factory continues to operate as part of Downer Rail.Evans Deakin Industries Limited delisted.com.auAnnual Report 30 June 2001 Downer EDI
In 2003 Bundaberg Foundry Engineers completed the acquisition of the Walkers Sugar Business and moved to change the operating name to Bundaberg Walkers Engineering in January 2008.History Bundaberg Walters
Ships In 1884, the firm began work on five hopper barges for the Queensland Department of Harbours & Rivers. During construction the decision was taken to convert them to also serve as auxiliary gunboats, which made them the largest warships built in Australia before federation. During World War II, Walkers constructed two s, a and seven s, in addition to other smaller vessels. Post war naval contracts included seven s in the late 1960s and eight in the early 1970s. After the completion of the latter, Walker's Maryborough shipyard closed in 1974.
Royal Australian Navy ships 1 Bay-class frigate: 2 River-class frigates: and 7 Bathurst-class corvettes: , , , , , and 7 Attack-class patrol boats: , , , , , and 8 Balikpapan-class landing craft heavy: , , , , , , and 9 Koala-class boom defence vessel: HMAS Kimbla 2 Explorer class general-purpose vessels: HMAS Bass, HMAS Banks
Trains
The company's first locomotive was built at Maryborough in 1873 for William Pettigrew's (now heritage-listed) Cooloola Tramway; it was called "Mary Ann" as it was the name of the daughter of William Pettigrew and also the name of the daughter of his business partner William Sim. The first major contract for locomotives came in 1896, when an order for thirty B15 class steam locomotives was placed by Queensland Railways. In the 1960s Walkers offered a diesel-hydraulic unit to Queensland's sugar operators. Although not successful, it did sell six to BHP, Whyalla from 1962. It had more success with its DH class shunter with over 130 built for Queensland Rail, the New South Wales Government Railways, Emu Bay Railway and Western Australian Government Railways.
Steam locomotives 46 Queensland B class 122 Queensland PB15 class 45 Queensland C16 class 138 Queensland C17 class 6 Queensland C19 class 59 Queensland B18¼ class 20 Queensland BB18¼ class 20 Victorian DD class 20 Commonwealth Railways KA class 8 Commonwealth Railways C class 40 South Australian T class 3 Tasmanian Government Railways Q class
Diesel electric locomotives 12 Queensland 1170 class
Diesel hydraulic locomotives 6 BHP Whyalla DH class 3 Emu Bay Railway 10 class 73 Queensland Railways DH class 50 New South Wales 73 class 7 Emu Bay Railway 11 class 5 Western Australian Government Railways M class
Electric locomotives 50 Queensland Rail 3500/3600 class 30 Queensland Rail 3900 class
Electric multiple units
264 Queensland Rail EMU carriages 36 Queensland Rail SMU200 carriages 90 Queensland Rail SMU220 carriages 20 Queensland Rail ICE carriages 30 Queensland Rail IMU100 carriages 12 Queensland Rail IMU120 carriages 96 Transperth A series carriages 90 Kuala Lumpur Metro Line 3 & 4 light rail vehiclesEDI Wins Light Rail Order Extension Railway Digest June 1995 page 9
Tilt Trains 12 Queensland Rail Tilt Train carriages
Awards In 2017, Walkers Limited was inducted into the Queensland Business Leaders Hall of Fame. Walkers Limited is regarded as being one of Queensland's greatest companies spanning 150 years in the engineering manufacturing sector.
References
External links
Queensland Business Leaders Hall of Fame – 2017 Inductee digital story – Walkers Limited