Well kept Alcos

There are presently a fair few 48 class locos getting around in a fairly tatty state.  We can all understand the rationale - paint subtracts from the bottom line. Still, it does set a tone. I am no expert but it feels like we are in one of those periods when there are more well worn than pristine locos floating around. The last time I felt like this was the early 1990s - just before a great number of venerable locomotives were retired and/or scrapped.  Perhaps 2017 will be another 1994, with many locos coming out of service once this harvest is over?

Anyway, during that last great period of weather-beaten liveries, I happened upon 4539 shunting around Acacia Ridge yard.  It was on 21 October 1990 to be precise.

Here is the old Alco lifting a load of loaded container flats...

Different gauges, different owners... QR's shunter looks on...

Not all 45s were in a shabby condition - the comparison with 4502 is stark...

It at least showed some foresight not to give the old girl a lick of paint. 4539 was scrapped in 1994 after Sims Metal Recyclers paid a handsome $18,000 for its carcass. 4502 has survived another 20+ years and now rests just inside the western edge of NSW, at Broken Hill.

Merry Christmas all!
Don