Out west with Phil

Here's a few more from the lens of Phil Clarke to ease us all through a wet Friday here in NSW. This time the photographs come from a trip to Broken Hill in October 1978. 

First up, 4905 acting as Broken Hill's yard shunter on 9 October 1978.

Phil then captured 600, 703 and 864, all in South Australia's mustard pot scheme.  Sadly for us he was shooting black and white. Not sure who the young fella is hanging off the locos. Suspect it is Phil's son.  This would have been unheard of in our family. Any child straying in front of a loco was promptly told to get out of the way (in more colourful language than is permissible on this blog).

 

 

And two shots of the Indian Pacific - the first at Broken Hill with GM27 at the front. Noice combo.

No trip out west would be complete without a change-of-loco shot at Lithgow. So here you have 4607 heading another 46 on a down Indian Pacific at Lithgow on 11 October 1978.

Cheers!
Don

View from the Hill

We always knew it as Lithgow Hill growing up. Unless there was a flat tyre, an overheated engine or a passenger requiring medical treatment, this was the first stop on our sojourns to points west for family-related purposes. Others know the location as the PoW Memorial on Chifley Road. 

The best part about getting to the Hill was the chance to sus out what was in Lithgow loco. In the mid-60s this was easy as deforestation was a civic virtue. Over the last 50 years vegetation has taken back the Hill, as the following shots show.  Hardly worth stopping these days, unless you are prepared to climb a gummy.

These first two shots are (I think) from 1964/65 or so.  The first shows a garratt in the garratt siding, and the second has a couple of 36s arriving from the west.

While the roundhouse lasted another 20 years it was usually stuffed with brown diesels so we didn't photograph it (grrrr). By July 1986 it was gone and replaced with this shiny facility. Triple 85s can be seen getting away for a run up to Zig Zag.

In the following October it was looking a bit more lived in - with a few vintage Alcos taking up residence.  The first fronds also make an appearance.

By the early 1990s the disturbing practice of kneecapping 46s was underway. The following shot from 4 October 1993 shows 48s, 80s, a 73, 46s and an 86 in the shed nearest the Hill.

By January 1996 the trees were growing, the shed seemed emptier and the list of 46s awaiting their fate had grown past 20.

This final shot was also from January 1996. It was very much a sneak through the branches. On the upside it showed Alcos.

These days I don't even stop and I reckon the area might have just a few snakes waiting for the next photographer.

Cheers,
Don

Katoomba - winter 1983

Here's a few shots from Katoomba in the winter of 1983 as a harbinger of cooler weather.

First up, 4615 hides behind a few poles whilst heading up a CUB set.

Probably the same afternoon, a good shot of all the poles at Katoomba station - with a candy 46 on the front of set 84 in the background.

Here is my favourite shot of Katoomba, 46 classes and cement trains.  And I think I may have posted this one once before, but its soooo good.

Time for some more modern electric power - this time 8505 on a down service.

Its slightly younger cousin, resting in the up relief.  This looks to be taken at another time during the week.

Finally, a real goods train!

Will finish up with a practice which is long gone from NSW railway workings... tractor shunting goods wagons.

Cheers!
Don

The Flyer

Hopefully this won't be the last blog for 2015, but it may be.  I trust all have survived Xmas and Santa has been good.

I was leafing through a few spreadsheets this afternoon and was amazed to see that today is the 45th anniversary of the last steam hauled Newcastle Flyer. The honour that day in 1970 went to 3820 but I only have shots of her classmates.  Here to start is a couple of 3813 ascending Hawkemount around 1969 on the Midday Flyer.

3820's immediate sibling, 3821 seemingly standing still but probably rocketing along.

Another one from Hawkemount, this time the evening Flyer with 3822 up front.

The demise of steam haulage of the Flyer was the start of a general deterioration in the service.  By the late 1970s non air conditioned rolling stock was a sometimes replacement, like this day when 4618 took the Flyer out of Sydney.

And here is a little cameo of 3820 - I have great hopes of seeing a black 38 ride again.

Cheers!
Don

46s at rest

Just thought I'd start the week with a few shots of 46 class electrics stowed at Port Kembla from 1989 to 1994. Not for any reason in particular except that they were rather interesting looking beasts that ended up wearing distinctive liveries under their common hue of coal.

To start, three shots of 46s in Indian Red. Throught the wire and under the wire here are 4604 and 4605

Then 4619, carrying a memorial to Valley Heights loco depot.

Then the custard pot 4606.

Next up, 4626 and 4630 at the same spot on 6 February 1993.

Going to duck over to the nearby coal loader for this next one. 4606 had lost its custard pot scheme by this time, but it still retained its coal dust overlay. The date was 29 October 1994.

 And to wrap up, Boxing Day was usually a day to find a bounty of locos in every depot. In 1994 4613 was to found peaking out from behind a Tangara set.

House cleaning is calling. Better wind this up here.

Ciao for now!
Don

More from Norff Gong

Don's stupid photographic rule #37... don't waste scarce film on light engine movements.  I never did, anyway, until about 1994.

Here is another installment of 'what ran past the back fence at my grandmother's place at North Wollongong'.  In the case of light engine movements, thanks to my stupidity, this will be a short but fairly interesting blog.

Lets start with a couple before I could hold a camera.  This first one is pretty notable, he says immodestly.  It is of 2001 and a PWD loco - thought to be 1803 - headed on a one way trip to Thirroul and points north after the closure of the Reid's Hill loco depot in 1964.  I think the 18 class is just along for the ride.

Going the other way, here's double 55s headed to Unanderra to take up banking duties on goods trains to Moss Vale.  Nice to see both a Wampu and a turret tender in tow.

Nothing says 1970s in Wollongong like a 48 class, so I need to include at least one.

And to wrap up, the other form of traction to work past the back fence.  This was taken in May 1994 and by then I was taking photos of light engine movements.

Ciao for now!
Don

The early Indians

Twenty three years ago today, on 1 February 1992, Australian National assumed the responsibility to provide locomotives for the Indian Pacific. Prior to then it was possible to find just about anything hauling the train, including branch liners.  

We were generally blase about photographing the IP as it was a loco-diesel hauled passenger train.  Yes, another thing in life we were profoundly mistaken about. Lets have a look at the few times when we could be bothered.

The first two are of marginal photographic quality but describe the initial loco rostering - double 46s from Sydney to Lithgow and then double 44s from Lithgow to Parkes. The first is from the train as it climbs the Blue Mountains.

In May 1977 4485 and another western division 44 rip through Raglan.  The difference in shades of paint on the two locos is rather significant.

Once west of Parkes, the IP was usually a single 80 class roster.  8021 has made it to Broken Hill and someone has run to the end of the platform before it gets decoupled.

In January 1982 we did one of those summer road trips where you nearly froze and it rained all the time.  It did stop for a bit at Wallerawang with 44210 and 4452 up front.

 
The following year we tried something similar and got a similar result - this time with a 442 leading an 80 class.

In July 1985 we found 8046 arriving at Parkes for a crew change - otherwise the bloke in the foreground is just a very enthusiastic passenger.

In July 1986 we spent a week chasing trains over the Blue Mountains. One we didn't manage to miss was the Indian Pacific.  In fact we caught it twice: firstly going west through Zig Zag and then the eastbound service at Lithgow.

When Australian National took over responsibility for the IP life didn't get quieter. I will finish with their greatest statement on the style of that train - double CLPs in the special IP livery.

Ciao!

Don

Central in the 80s, at night

I am no photographer, especially after dark, and now I am going to prove it in a three-part series.

I walked through Central and Sydney Terminal hundreds of times in the 1980s, and particularly in the latter half when I was commuting from the coast. Usually I was rocketing through, late for a train. Sometimes there was a chance to stop and smell the diesel exhaust in the air, usually on Sunday nights. So here is a collection of shots taken of mainline diesels at those times, things that seemed fairly humdrum then....

First up, the ubiquitous XPTs. I must have been very mellow to get the camera out of the bag for this shot.

Electric locos made it into Central rarely after the electrification to Newcastle went through. The major exceptions were to work the Gold Coast Motorail, the Brisbane Limited, and successor services. On dusk, 8605 is on one such service.

For a period, much later in the evening the West Mail and northern mail trains were also worked by electrics, and here is class leader 4601 being readied to go west on what was, from memory, a two car plus van consist.

Onto diesels... here is a rather daggy and slightly overexposed 4480 resting on one of the relief roads. It could be the 'spare', as the Railways often kept a backup loco at Central to cover a failure.

In keeping with the daggy 44 theme, here is the class leader shut down.

Now I am going to run through a fair proportion of the GM 422 class roster, starting with an immaculate 03.

42209 has just worked an up service from the Southern Highlands, and has been decoupled from its train.

Next up is the 15th member of the 20-strong brigade, tucked away behind a FG carriage.

Possibly my favourite is 42217 peering down the yard.

And to the last of this series, bicentennial 42218 in all its glory.

And now for the last word in 80s power... 8144 readying itself at the head of the Spirit.

That's all for now: be back soon....