The black diamond

Thirty two years ago today (9 June 1988) I have recorded as the first time that 85 class locos worked into the Illawarra on a coal train.  On that day, 8501, 8509, 8504 and 8503 worked 9K55 coal to Port Kembla Inner Harbour.  I can't quite remember who informed me of this trivia (it was probably the Digest), but I wrote it down just for a time like now.

85s were infrequent visitors to the South Coast - especially when compared to their electric cousins the 86 class and electric grandfathers, the 46s.  This is my excuse for having so few photos of them on the Coast.  But here is one about to be there... 8506, 8501 and 8502 at Waterfall on another coalie in 1993.

Happy anniversary!

Cheers,

Don

Views from Zig Zag

I was too young to see steam working over the Blue Mountains so big electrics seemed to me at least to be the way to tackle the incline out of Lithgow, headed east.

Thirty years ago this month I headed up the mountains with Senior to watch a steady parade of electrics do their stuff on passengers and freights.  On the Wednesday afternoon we snuck out to the Zig Zag, to perch ourselves at a lookout facing west into the winter sun.  Here are a few shots from that afternoon, into the sun.  I am not quite sure of the order so I'll just load them and see how it all goes.

First up, an 86 on a down empty grain.

Followed by double 86s, banked by double 85s.

 
After the bankers dropped back down the hill (sorry, muffed that shot), an empty coalie rolled past with two 86s.

 An 85 on a down ore train.

We had come to this location for one shot - the Indian Pacific.  Initially I was disappointed that the sun was close to setting by the time it rolled through.  These days I love the atmosphere that the following shot sort of captures.

It was a very good afternoon - just a couple of hours out of life.  I don't normally post shots of the train hunters in action but this was the scene. Coffee out of a thermos, Mum's cake or a few biscuits. So I will leave you with a picture of how to relax.

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

Epic fail at Waterfall

Time for a whimsical look at Waterfall, to give those IMRA folk something new to model...

There are many definitions of failure, and I have invented a few myself.  Here are a few at Waterfall.

First up, 3526 disgraced itself at Waterfall en route to Wollongong in the early 1970s.  I was pretty young and impressionable at the time, and was deeply affected by an RTM tour train arriving in Wollongong with a diesel at the front end.  But enough about me, Waterfall yard held the Nanny captive for a few days until it was towed back to Enfield.

Here's an epic fail of another dimension. Taken on the night of fires in the Royal National Park (with tragic loss of life) around 1979, it is less a photo about trains and more a photo about life's struggle in Australia.

Back to the rails.... the prosaic Metro coal scored a newly repainted 48119 at Waterfall in 1993 after the original combination of 4842 and 4839 couldn't do the job.

I think the failure in the following photograph will become evident in the next decade. As the Aussie dollar drops back to usual levels and world oil prices creep up again, we may be well be ruing the decision not to invest more heavily in electric freight traction.

Next one is an epic fail on my part - I actually drove to Waterfall in the early 1980s to photograph a V set on its trial.  Then, for the next 30 years, V sets ran through Waterfall about 50 times a day, every day.

Another loco is down... this time its 2005 and GM42 expired when on ARG's Manildra flour train. So it got a visit to the outer reaches of Waterfall's yard.

And finally an epic fail.  A shunting accident in 1995 left a substantially shortened version of a suburban carriage, so what was left was parked on the turntable, as one does.

So, Waterfall seems to be a harsh place. 

Ciao!