XPTs, Act II

Here is the next XPT installment, starting around 1992. 

1992NP067A 2 car diesel set and the North XPT eye each other off at Maitland on 22 August 1992.

The up Riverina XPT rests for a moment at Moss Vale in 1992.

On 25 March 1992 the down West XPT nears Spring Hill.  Thank you work for sending me to the country on this day.

The up Muwillumbah XPT rolls across the bridge just north of Gloucester on 11 February 1993.  This is one of my favourite train watching locations.

Getting bored yet? I will try to mix it up a bit.

Here's an XPT at platform 16 at Central, due to close-down of the Sydney Terminal yard, on 1 October 1994.

Another one of my favourite places - Urunga, late 1994.

And the big thing that happened to the XPT in the 1990s was that it went south - sadly replacing the loc hauled overnight trains.  But I rode it anyway.

Here's A76 and the XPT at Spencer St Station on 2 August 1994.

And two days later... the City of Cootamundra soon to depart.

Cheers!

Don

40 years of XPTs

Given it has been 40 years since XPTs starting earning their keep on NSW rails, I thought I would pin up a selection of photos from their service.  I have always been pretty ambivalent about XPTs - their Pommy heritage, the lousy food, the crappy seats and particularly poor sleepers, the fact that they were used to clear out mail trains and reduce services in regional areas - I could go on.  

Over the years my opposition to them has mellowed somewhat. They were given a task to do which was beyond them basically because they are unsuited to our rail system. And the alternative was a Greyhound or a Corolla so I think you could call me a fan out of necessity.  I am probably responsible for wearing one of them out, through work and holidays. And the crews have always been fantastic, charming and willing for a chat or to give help when I needed it. 

Anyway, onto the photos.... here's a few from the first decade.

Exiting Sydney Steam Terminal on 28 November 1982 (and obscuring 3214 in doing so).

Memory suggests that this is the down Riverina Express - at Gib Tunnel in October 1982.

Crew change at Bathurst in 1983.  Shortly after I stuffed the shot of the goods train.  But always liked this shot for the way the guys are chatting calmly.

Photographed while avoiding frostbite off the footbridge railing on a bitterly cold July day in 1984.

West XPT about to head to the sheds at Meeks Road, around about the time that the West Mail was heading off.  Mid 1980s, before the Greiner purge.

Up North and West XPTs at the end of their journeys. Mid 1980s again.

I am about to jump on this service to return me to Moss Vale, after a kangaroo stuck its head through the radiator of my Holden Gemini in February 1985. 

Possibly the time I was happiest to ever see an XPT. This is Sodwalls in July 1986. Sat beside the line for seven hours to this this train and a fuel train.

Here's a Canberra service on 11 March 1987, running through the then rural setting of Wilton.

On 22 June 1988 I stepped off this XPT, trundled around Tamworth for about eight hours, then climbed about the North Mail to return to Sydney.  A great day on the rails.

Four months later I did the same day out, but headed to Dubbo this time.

An April afternoon in 1989 on Piton Hill with Dad included the up Riverina XPT.

By 1991 the Countrylink livery was starting to make an appearance. Here is a mixed bunch of liveries on the up North XPT absolutely flattening it through Blandford on 25 October 1991. We had spent two days photographing 48s, 44s and 45s climb Ardglen bank - very slowly.  The speed of the XPT caught me right out, hence the going away shot.   

But, thanks to track alignments and speed restrictions, we did catach up with this train at Maitland.  A huge electrical storm rolled through Maitland just after this photo was taken.

Might leave this edition right here, after a neat 10 years.

Cheers,
Don

Nannies up North

 Its been so long I had forgotten how to log in to Blogger.  Anyway, I happened upon some of the family's photographs of Nannies - so, not the maternal grandmother but the locomotive class.  So here they are, pretty much unaltered from the 1960s.

I think this one is from the early 1960s, and it is of an unnamed 35 on the Brisbane via Wallan-garra Express. I just love the TRCs up front.

The rest are from around Gosvegas, the centre of the Central Coast, all in the mid to late 1960s. Here is 3524 under the infrastructure which did them in.

And one of the longer lived Nannies, 3509, in the same location.

Now for two of 3532, coupling up and then headed out of town.  We think these are from 1967.

Cheers

Don

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Diversions on a wet afternoon

Just sitting here on the farm, watching the creek rise. Figured it was time to do something productive so I have dug up more photos from Phil Clarke's collection.  These first three date from January 1982 and are taken at Bellambi on the south coast (the station can be seen in the background).  First up, 42204 and a 44 on the down Intercapital Daylight Express to Melbourne - diverted down the Coast.

Wherever the Daylight goes, the Riverina Express follows (or precedes, can't remember which).  So here is a little DEB goodness. Bit of an eclectic mix here, livery wise.

Then finally, at approximately 10:50 am or so (the train was scheduled into Wollongong just before 11), a scheduled service with five Budds and a Tulloch making up the down morning South Coast Express.

Phil was pretty good at giving details on the back of his photos but this one he missed. Anyway its 42212 on an air-conditioned passenger somewhere in NSW or Victoria.

Anyway, back to watching the creek rise.

Cheers

Don

 

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

Taree January 1980

Previous posts have described the agony of family caravan holidays taken in the hottest month of the year.  Forty years ago, after many supplications, the Elders agreed not to head to White Cliffs in western NSW in January, but up the NSW north coast.  Of course it was a great holiday, with tons of trains and many great photographs.  Unfortunately, we discovered a month later that the camera had been misfiring so the following is all that remains of that trip (plus the memories of 44s everywhere). So, enjoy a record of the start of the holiday - a couple of days and nights at Taree.

Lets start just out of Taree, at Wingham. Its one of my favourite shots because it sums up the time.  Even the pole leaning admirer (Dad) of 4428 in the middle of a warm January day was dressed for the times, terry-towelling hat and thongs.

Taree loco was explored, also around the middle of the day.  It took a bit of looking, but 4520 was found lurking.  More accessible was 4805 and 44207.

The whole loco depot reeked of the steam era.  The allusion was assisted by the fuel tanks, late of 5707.

The real action happened around this time of day too, with the cross of the two (up and down) North Coast Daylight Expresses.  With some nimble footwork, it was usually possible to catch the locos doing the cross, then catch one of them sidling up to the tail of the other's train.

The following day we used up the remainder of the roll of film on another superannuated practice - a human hot box detector.

Happy with these shots, we loaded the next roll of film into the camera and headed north.  And that is where the troubles started. Oh well, as I said memories....

Happy New Year!
Don

Afternoon viewing

Only time today for a few random photos from the Mighty Phil Clarke Collection. And they are random!

First up, a four car DEB set with a 620 set trailing behind. In dry country on the way to or from Canberra on 11 August 1979.

Just over a month earlier, someone had parked box number 8007 in front of a lovely view of a building in Orange (30 June 1979).

At the end of its run on a hot January day, the 15th of the year of 1980, the Comet rests in Parkes station. Something fiddly is happening to its bum - I suspect a 73 class is removing its van for transfer to the overnight Forbes Mail to Sydney.

Up north now - the crew is getting or giving orders from the cab of 4507 which, with a sister Alco, sits in front of a empty coal at Murrurundi on 16 November 1982.

Back to Picton in September 1983. 42205 pilots an up container train.

And last for now - 42104 heads a 422 on a down passenger at a rather dreary Sutherland in February 1980.

Plenty more to come from Phil's collection so stay tuned!

Don