2024 Canberra Model Railway Exhibition - Kaleen High School

Just a few snaps of layouts from the most excellent model railway exhibition, recreating in minature the railways of NSW.

Gresham: an N gauge layout showing just how much modelling in this gauge has taken off over the last 20 years.  Of course, its rise has only been matched by the descent in my ability to see small things.

A Small Depot: Geoff Small once again proves small can be interesting with an inspired layout.

Gunning: more N gauge goodness.

Darling Harbour: just mesmerising.

I wasn't the only person keen to capture the essence of Darling Harbour.

Yendys: a real favourite. Nannies on Yendys? Yah!

Will finish off with this cute scene from the otherwise work-in-progress freemo layout.

Stayed too long (for others), Spent too much. Chatted until I lost my voice. Can't wait for next year!

A few trams from 1958

Hi, just a quickie as I rediscovered some photos from the camera of Ian Brady, which were passed to me by a mate (after he bought them second hand).

As a younger man in the late 1980s, I had the great pleasure of living on Glebe for about seven years.  I would often trip over the tram rails that poked through the road tarmac from time to time.  As I was falling, I would often dream of the trams that plied their way through Glebe and Forest Lodge 30 years before I was falling about the place.  Thankfully on 17 November 1958, Ian took his camera and recorded several of those scenes.

Here are two from the general location of the intersection of Parramatta and Glebe Point Roads.

A few from around the location of Ross and Pyrmont Bridge Roads.  This area is technically Forest Lodge, from memory.

And finally, back in town as we called it in those days.  West Circular Quay.

Thanks to Ian we get to see a bit more of Sydney that exists no more.

Cheers

Don

 

Tumulla '63

For once, I have been scouring photos from the family collection for train composition, rather than what is up front. Must be getting old(er) and wiser. The quality of the photos leaves a lot to be desired - Dad certainly wasn't using Kodak! I have tried to remove the most egregious marks off the following snaps.

I love this first shot, which I believe is 3670 on a down goods climbing Tumulla Bank in 1963 (from the date of the slide).  Although the train is largely empty, It requires 5364 as a banker (more of that in a moment).  A CW cattle wagon is tucked in behind the Pig, then there are 10 G wagons.  I can't be certain that these are wagons returning to Broken Hill for the W44 ore concentrate run but might be. Then there appears to be an S wagon, followed by a K wagon, then a series of S wagons.  It is only this part of the train that is the 'revenue' service.

And to complete the picture, here is our banker! I may have posted this one previously. The country looks very dry and the shadows are short, so I am guesssing it is near the middle of a winter's day. This timing sort of works as Dad was never one to share a paddock with a snake.

In this next shot, 4904 in its original livery still looks to be under warranty - unlike the RU hoppers trundling behind. As these would almost certainly be loaded, the crew of the 49 would be in for a fun trip downhill.

Now this next photo is of 3812 or 3822, but not 3802. But it is the two wagons immediately behind the loco that are of interest presently, especially if they are filled with product from Arnotts Biscuits.

That reminds me, it is time for a cup of tea and a monte carlo.

Cheers

Don

Lithgow - 1964

 Just found a couple of snaps Dad took of Lithgow in 1964.  Sorry, can't be any more specific about when and why.  I just love the shot of 3227 and the Garratt.

Catching up

 I have finally cracked the code and am back in control of my own blog.

Here's a few photos to mark some of the things I have rambled over since I last posted in July 2022.

In August, Dad and I headed to Junee for what would end up being our last train hunt. He didn't last as long as 4497, which is still plying the rails around Harefield as it was on the 10th August.

In early September I was lucky enough to hit Bowning, just as GM10 and GM22 went north with a railset.

October was Streamliners. What an event!

At Christmas we had snuck over to Colorado for a family holiday.  One of the things I didn't expect to see was PRLX 4687 on a short San Luis and Rio Grande grain near Antonito on 29 December.

On the last day of 2022 we happened to be shopping at the Railyard Markets when a New Mexico Rail Runner left Santa Fe.

The next day we caught the Polar Express out of Durango for a great fun evening.

A week later I had a leave pass to watch the passing parade of UP power through Laramie in the snow. I saw 68 trains in a 16-hour period - not all moving. Here is one on January 6th.

The next day was better weather and I marveled at the wonders in the Colorado State Railroad Museum at Golden.

Only thing better than one Shay is two Shays....

We finished off the States with a bit of time in LA, which meant plenty of trains around Pasadena and Palm Springs.

Finally, back in Australia, the past few months have been too busy to chase too many trains.  But I did manage to catch 4532 and 44204 leaving Goulburn on a ballast on 14 March.

And that is about it for a catch up. I will finish with this snap from the young bloke, who  got VL354, 4917, 4911, 4904 and CLF2 on an up grain approaching Moss Vale on 3 June.

Back to normal transmission soon, I hope.

Cheers

Don

XPT retrospective - part III

I hadn't realised I had left my XPT retrospective untouched for two months.  I think I left things in Melbourne around 1994.  The next big thing in my on/off XPT relationship was the 1995 Tilt Train, captured here in March of that year in Goulburn.

The real star was at the other end of the platform.

The late 1990s was a time of comparative stasis - few innovations, just millions of XPT miles.  There was that time I arrived at Orange East Box 10 seconds too late to take a photo of a crew in a hurry to get to Sydney.

And I always thought that this accidental capture of XP2008 in 1998 highlighted its HST heritage nicely.

And then we all went rather colourful.  First the Olympics....

And then a color that should never adorn anything, unless it is a vegetable. Or in Bundanoon on a grey day in 2002.

By 2004 I was pretty much over rides on XPTs, nearly always late, overloaded and prone to mechanical failure.  Here is a 2004 snap of one such delay at Gloucester.

It was time for a change, so I was pretty happy on 26 April 2006 when the new livery of the XPT was unveiled at Central.

The next and final instalment will cover the XPT up to its present autumnal years.

Cheers,

Don

XPTs, Act II

Here is the next XPT installment, starting around 1992. 

1992NP067A 2 car diesel set and the North XPT eye each other off at Maitland on 22 August 1992.

The up Riverina XPT rests for a moment at Moss Vale in 1992.

On 25 March 1992 the down West XPT nears Spring Hill.  Thank you work for sending me to the country on this day.

The up Muwillumbah XPT rolls across the bridge just north of Gloucester on 11 February 1993.  This is one of my favourite train watching locations.

Getting bored yet? I will try to mix it up a bit.

Here's an XPT at platform 16 at Central, due to close-down of the Sydney Terminal yard, on 1 October 1994.

Another one of my favourite places - Urunga, late 1994.

And the big thing that happened to the XPT in the 1990s was that it went south - sadly replacing the loc hauled overnight trains.  But I rode it anyway.

Here's A76 and the XPT at Spencer St Station on 2 August 1994.

And two days later... the City of Cootamundra soon to depart.

Cheers!

Don