Reminiscing about the near past

When thinking about blog posts I always seem to be reaching for the file folder called '1966' or '1978'.  Sure, these were golden periods of the NSW railways, although 1978 was more brown than golden.

There has been another golden period since in my usually ill-considered opinion - from about 1998 to 2007.  So, lets wind back the clock a mere 15 years, to 1 May 2006.  It was during a period that I had many reasons to visit Canterbury, Dullo and Marrickville - almost all associated with work.  Now I am out of things I can confess to writing many a government brief on the seats at Canterbury station, stopping only to snap the passing traffic. And we think working away from the office is a new thing! Anyway, on 1 May 2006 the youngster and I snaffled many trains - here are six...

The day started with a tidy trippy led by 4483 and 4471. 

.. quickly followed by 2203 and two CLPs headed for the Illawarra... I stuffed the going away shot (at least the 422 is in focus)...

Jumping down the line to Marrick Vegas we scored 44208 and KL81 top and tailing a container train out of Port Botany....

Out of the XPT depot, 4833 did what it does best... smoke.

Just over the weeds, GL105, 4903 and EL51 arrived from points west/north.

And then 4708 and 4458 arrived... 

Ho hum... more Alcos... stuffed the arriving but not the going away shot... 4503 in its Big Red Tomato livery with a more sedate liveried 4468.

That was six trains, but the bonus seventh train involved 4701 and two dilapidated GMs.

I have just managed this entire blog without posted a PacNat blue loco, demonstrating it was a golden era indeed!

Cheers,

Don

Junior's efforts

The Junior Train Hunter (JTH) passed a chronological land mark this week, so to commemorate this event i thought I would invite him into the Rambler blog as a guest photographer.  

He has picked most of these as being among his favourite photographs, which is evidence of his rather quirky range of interests.  So, please, sit back and enjoy 10 of his finest.

We'll start with this 2005 Australian classic.  The only thing missing is a half-stripped HQ Holden, to go with the BBQ, Hills hoist, inventive backyard fence and Tangara.

Number 2 is from Marrickville in January 2005, showing veteran Alco 4483 and even older GM27 wandering by with a trip train, both carrying virtually-new Southern Shorthaul Railroad's yellow livery.

Just down the line at Canterbury, the driver of JL404 (nee 44209) opens the throttle to give JTH's photograph that extra element.

 

In June 2005 the trip back to Sydney from Thirlmere behind 4201 and 4803 after a Rail Transport Museum event produced this rather ethereal scene.

Junior has always been rather lucky... and none more so than the day he wandered down to Koolewong station to have these strange Western Australian K class visitors rumble through. The camber of the rail through the curve adds to the angular look of the locos.

In Christmas week 2005 2214 stropped just under Unanderra pedestrian overbridge, whilst coupled to 2208 on and AFG grain train.

Into 2006 and the luck continues. Being in just the right place at the right time, JTH catches a quad coalie being led by 8230 crossing double ELs at a rain Canterbury. 

 

Back down into the Illawarra to a scene no longer available to most - the once-wide open spaces of Port Kembla Inner Harbour for quad 82s.  The blues in this photograph just scream typical South Coast weather.

 In mid-2006 the JTH made it to California. He got to Tehachapi, Vegas and Disneyland, and Cajon Pass for these two BNSF C44Ws on a container freight.

In July 2008 when he was supposedly studying for his HSC we spent a weekend at Parkes. One of the highlights was the hospitality provided by the locals, including a SCT driver who took the JTH out to 7PG1 prior to its early evening departure.

 

There is enough left in the bank for another couple of blogs by Junior, so if he behaves himself he will be invited back.  Will leave now with this posting of a bonus photograph... a rather inventive time lapse effort at Koolewong in 2009.

The small stuff - short cements

Instead of waxing on about overtaxed locomotives straining to keep overloaded and over-length trains to overly ambitious timetables, its about time to celebrate the shorter freights in life. And in particular, cement trains, just because cement wagons are usually more interesting shapes than the locomotives hauling them.

So, whether you are a rail photographer searching for that quintessential iconic freight photograph, or a model rail aficionado seeking to capture the essence of a NSW freight train, consider for now the short cement train...

First up is our little friend 4833 on a very short cement, coming out of the Maldon Cement Works.  The companion photograph has appeared earlier in this blog in the collection celebrating this little Alco’s 50^th birthday.  Here is another shot of the same train, showing it being monstered by a 7 car DEB set on Maldon Curve.

This next photograph is an inspiration to Alco-holics, and to people who hear a loco whistle while still in bed.  Yes, in March 1992 I was bunked in a local Tamworth motel, only to hear a 48 class call to me.  So it was up and at ‘em, in the words of Atom Ant.   I caught 48136 and 48153 in glorious morning sunlight approaching Nemingha  about ten minutes later.  Thank you, Mr 48 Class Driver, for laying on the smoke too.

In 1983 the Senior Train Hunter captured 4609 and 8614 at Katoomba on a very lucrative freight run…. Well, it would have been lucrative if the wagon was full of gold flakes.

The next three photographs are from a short-lived and probably not all that profitable foray into southern NSW by Freight Victoria (later Freight Australia) during 2002.  Still, it made for good train hunting.  First up is EL61 and EL51 heading north through Werai in March 2002.

On another weekend in the dead of that winter, EL51 appeared once more – this time with T408 as a travelling companion.  Thankfully it arrived at Moss Vale just after the sun did that morning.

And just as the sun left the Southern Highlands in October of that year, G535 stormed through Bundanoon at speed.  It is getting a tad long to be described as a true short freight, I suppose…

So its back to the short stuff.  On one of its first forays into the general view in its new and still current livery, in 2004 I braved the elements which always seem to appear whenever I reach for a camera.  On this day 8113 paired with BL27 at Warrabrook.

And finally, the shortest of them all.  Just don’t bother with a loco at all.  Just get a tractor and shunt cement wagons up and down the track, as evidenced in the next photograph from Wauchope in 2006.

So folks, chase the small stuff in life!