F&*%Gs

There have been a couple of recent postings on other sites about one of my least favourite carriages, the mighty FG.  These things rode like a brick and the seats were never up to scratch.  They ended up on Illawarra trains in the 1980s, as was to be expected I guess as various administrations seemed intent on punishing South Coast travellers for just living down there. 

Anyway, I found a couple of photos (I think) taken by an auspicious uncle, in Campbelltown in 1966.  Behind this gleaming 3802 is none other than a FG. 

Then I dug up its sister photo.  Its a bit indistinct but it sure looks like there is a second FG behind the first, and there could even be a third?

 Looks like patrons from the Southern Highlands had the privilege of enduring the pride of the passenger fleet a couple of decades earlier than I did.

Cheers!
Don

North 'Gong non-stoppers

Continuing a very occasional series of trains past the paternal grandparents' family home at North Wollongong, here's a few snaps of diesel-hauled express passenger services through that location.  There were taken in the days that North Wollongong was just another suburban station and not the jumping off point for the University of Wollongong. 

Perhaps start by a capture of the train least likely to ever stop at this location? A diverted Southern Aurora with 4444 at the pointy end.

And the second least likely - the Commissioner's car attached to an air conditioned set.  I am guessing that this was a Sunday South Coast Daylight service (ie the day that the Budds got serviced). This service may have been conveying some minor royal - hence the family's use of black and white film. Its from the early 1970s.
 

Onto the more routine express trains, a 421 on an up South Coast Daylight.  Lovely set of cars.

By the late 1970s we had lost the 44s for 422s on most of these trains as shown in the following shots - the 44s were to make a return in the 1980s and 1990s.

This next one was the Sunday morning (near) express - it worked ahead of the air-conditioned set.

Moving into the motley era - the late 1980s.  The passengers in car B were certainly the unlucky ones.

This is out of focus and deteriorated but it does show a rare jumbo (442) on a passenger.  Probably a weekday afternoon service.

The 44s returned about now - including the candy ones like 4460.

Post electrification it was Sunday which provided some good GM action.  On 1 August 1993 42217 shot through North Wollongong headed south, while a year later (or thereabouts) it was 42210's job.

Might close off with the last word in loco power on the Coast in those days - 8157 hauling a  special north in 1989.

Cheers!
Don