Sunday afternoon is not time for a cerebral task. I started a rather self indulgent frolic - selecting my favourite photos. After selecting about a dozen I realised that eight contained 44 class locos. So I chose another two photos of 44 class locos and now have ten of my favourite 44 class shots.
These photos aren't incredible compositions or particularly insightful; just pleasant reminders of the work-horses that these locos were between 1957 and 2012. First up, 4473 is on a fuel train through Scone in 1979.
I remember this bloody hot January day in 1981 at Bundanoon. 4405 and 4516 nipped through town and we got them at the top of the grade.
This is one of those ripper shots not taken by me. I think Senior got it on one of those trips to the Liverpool Ranges when the trains were running, as opposed to all the times I went there when they weren't running. 4453 is on the front of quad Alcos lifting a grain to Newcastle in 1982.
If there is a place in NSW where trains don't run when I am around it is the Western Division. Here, 4474 must not have got the memo... I think its near Brewongle. Really love the sky and the Patterson's Curse.
Another 'wish I got it' shot, but thankfully Senior did. Its 1983 and 4416 is at Otford and off to the South Coast.
By now you may have guessed that I am particularly partial to Series 1 44s, No.2 end leading. Here is another, this time at Central.
This shot of 4445 was got at Wollongong just before the electrification works commenced. Photo was taken at dusk on a Sunday afternoon when I had a particularly large dose of Mondayitis. Gee, just like every Sunday evening, ever since.
Here is a third shot by Senior - he managed back-to-back Candy 44s at the most picturesque spot on the NSWGR (in my opinion). Plain lucky. It was 4405 and 4456 for the purists.
This one is mine - triple 44s flying through Stroud Road. It was good to be holding onto the flimsy railing at the stop when this one shot through.
And finally, a hack shot at a hack location (according to some) - but I love it. The lavender 4488 leading the white & green 4458 on PAT1 containers at Canterbury on 5 September 2002.
Ciao for now!
Don
About a year ago I started what has proven to be a very occasional series of posts on Enfield loco depot in the 1960s and 1970s. Given that my last post on this subject was April 2014 it has proven to be very occasional. Time to redress the absence with a post covering those locos which went though storage at Enfield and didn't end up scrapped.
First shot is one of an oil-burning 5910 being hauled across the turntable by 1033. I have this photo marked as June 1963. At this time 1033 was supposed to be the Eveleigh shunter but may have been doing a cameo. 5910 was converted to coal burning in early 1966 and both are now with the organisation formerly known as the Rail Transport Museum (RTM).
The alleged reason for the RTM's existence was the preservation effort focussed on 5711. Here it is around 1966 at rest. Ignore those youngsters climbing on it with screwdrivers - it was the 60s!
Around 1970 a number of RTM and other preserved locos were located together - 3265, 3801, 3642, 3616, 381 and 3820 at Enfield all make it into this photo.
1919 never looked better than when it was withdrawn. It had a run on an RTM tour so had been spruced up somewhat.
1076 was another of those locos that probably shouldn't have survived, but did. Now it rests at Goulburn.
3102T was about to escape storage and head to Canberra by the time this photo was taken around 1975.
Finally, in 1975 3237 had to wait a long time for preservation but it was worth it.
Ciao for now!
Don
OK, charming comments like those from Linton never fail to elicit a positive response. This post is a just a shorty, to take me up to 1994 which was quite a watershed year for loco power in NSW.
The following photo comes from at least five years before then (and possibly earlier). I may have posted it previously but its such a great caricature of southern NSW goods workings in the 1970s, with 42102, 4205 and 48148 heading south with an eclectic range of goods wagons.
I have always loved this next shot too - taken in those days when it was okay to swing off the end of an FO carriage. Here 3137 is about to pass 42211 in October 1980. Managed to ruin some guy's photo of the 30 tank too - oops, sorry!
The short south in the early 1980s was 422 territory. Taken off the road bridge in 1980, the class leader works an up Southern Highlands Express.
And the next shot is from nearly the same location. It provides a salutary lesson about the lamp posts of Picton, which jump out and move around randomly! I fell victim to one such lamp post in 1983 when trying to photograph 42209 on an up goods.
To avoid the roaming lamp posts, on a Sunday afternoon late in April 1984 I moved over to the western side to photograph an RTM shuttle - only to have triple 80s (including 8043 and 8008) obscure the train. Thirty odd years later, I am not too sad that I missed the steam train.
Finally, its always god to finish with a gaggle of Alcos... this time it is 4887, 4805, 4807 and 4845 on a Tahmoor Colliery coal train at Picton on 14 June 1992. Wrong road too, so it is about to be stowed.
Ciao for now!
Don
Its been three months since the first installment of the Picton series, so it is time for another dose of the best little town south of Menangle and north of Bargo. This time I thought I would clean out a few remaining steam shots so the next installment can concentrate on superfreighters and block coal etc.
So, to steam locos in preserved service. I appreciate the recent populist trends to colourise our rail heritage by painting everything that steams into a livery that may have some tangential connection to the locomotive concerned. In my humble opinion, there are few finer things than a black pig (one which comes to mind is a black pig heavily weathered after years working on the Western Division of the NSWGR). Exhibit A is 3616 on a tour at Picton on 20 December 1970.
3137 was a stalwart for the RTM in its early years at Thirlmere. I think these two shots are from the winter of 1979 as it works the last shuttle of a Sunday afternoon.
I think I was going through a glint-shot phase as I scored 3214 in basically the same position in 1983.
The next three shots are from the RTM's Open Day in 1989. First up is 3112 and 5910 working through to Thirlmere.
Another shuttle involved 3001T and 3137. Nearly another glint shot!
And here is 3801, which once appeared at every steam festival because it was the epitome of rail heritage. There is not much to the photograph, but take a look at the bloke on the footbridge copping a lungful of smoke!
Finally, for many years every trip to Picton meant seeing a green C38 Pacific. Sadly, it was 3813 (or the greater part thereof) loaded into S trucks.
Ciao!
Don
