I am going to start and end with the ordinary - what the Coast was known for - 48s. In the middle its time to take a look at a few out of the ordinary consists. As usual, the quality of some of the slides is less than desirable but the content is too compelling to pass over.
So, starting with the usual... triple 48s on a steelie from the late 1960s. 4881 led 4862 and another on what would have been a very slow trip to Waterfall.
A faster trip was more likely to be had behind a flying 48120 on the afternoon milko, off to Darling Harbour during the 1970s.
Its time to delve into the unusual, starting with 4540 heading a diverted interstate freight - again from the 1970s.
The Illawarra was Alco heaven in the 60s and 70s. Trialling of locos undergoing overhaul at Delec brought strangers, like this immaculate 4206 in the early 1960s. The K wagon is a nice touch and dates the photo to an earlier period.
Next is a hurredily shot 4511. Don't really blame the photographer for this one. After watching 48s trawl up and down the line for months a growlier Alco engine may have gone unnoticed until the last moment.
Thankfully the photographer was more alert on this occasion. Yet another Alco engine but this time it was a Canadian import.
Time to complete the first generation Alco collection. This time 4303 and 4485 sandwich 42103 on a down goods.
And just when it couldn't get any weirder, it did. Through the gloom you may be able to see a WAGR L class trialling on an up goods around 1967. Of course, 40 years and several liveries later, this loco probably plied the same rails, routinely.
Enough - time to return to the normal. In 1993 4807, 4829 and 4821 head south on a ballast. Maybe not the finest way to end, but 48s were always going to need to be the first and the last word in such a blog post.
Ciao!
