Catching up

 I have finally cracked the code and am back in control of my own blog.

Here's a few photos to mark some of the things I have rambled over since I last posted in July 2022.

In August, Dad and I headed to Junee for what would end up being our last train hunt. He didn't last as long as 4497, which is still plying the rails around Harefield as it was on the 10th August.

In early September I was lucky enough to hit Bowning, just as GM10 and GM22 went north with a railset.

October was Streamliners. What an event!

At Christmas we had snuck over to Colorado for a family holiday.  One of the things I didn't expect to see was PRLX 4687 on a short San Luis and Rio Grande grain near Antonito on 29 December.

On the last day of 2022 we happened to be shopping at the Railyard Markets when a New Mexico Rail Runner left Santa Fe.

The next day we caught the Polar Express out of Durango for a great fun evening.

A week later I had a leave pass to watch the passing parade of UP power through Laramie in the snow. I saw 68 trains in a 16-hour period - not all moving. Here is one on January 6th.

The next day was better weather and I marveled at the wonders in the Colorado State Railroad Museum at Golden.

Only thing better than one Shay is two Shays....

We finished off the States with a bit of time in LA, which meant plenty of trains around Pasadena and Palm Springs.

Finally, back in Australia, the past few months have been too busy to chase too many trains.  But I did manage to catch 4532 and 44204 leaving Goulburn on a ballast on 14 March.

And that is about it for a catch up. I will finish with this snap from the young bloke, who  got VL354, 4917, 4911, 4904 and CLF2 on an up grain approaching Moss Vale on 3 June.

Back to normal transmission soon, I hope.

Cheers

Don

Northwest 1991 style

In  October 1991 the Senior Train Hunter and I headed off for a 3 day extravaganza to Werris Creek.  Although we had planned it for months, the first day of the trip (23 October) turned out to be the day of the first general strike in NSW in about 60 years - so no trains were running. At least we didn't need to worry about missing much.

We booked into our favourite motel at Willow Tree (with views of the main north) and then headed up to Werris Creek loco for a look around.  At least it was relatively safe to walk around the loco depot, knowing that a silent Alco wasn't going to come out of nowhere to crush you.  Here's a few shots of that evening foray.

The Creek was Alco heaven in those days.

Anyway, we got a good night's sleep as we figured that what we had missed out on on Day One of the trip surely needed to run on Day Two, right? Never really works out that way.  

Actually, we should have foreseen the next plague - rain.  The first train of the day was one of those 'driving to get into position... is that a headlight????' moments. Sure enough, it was  44201, 4511 and 4481 on a down freight.

If you want to see how we it really was, here's a link to a video of the train rolling through.

We also got lucky in Quirindi, and not just at the cake shop. We found the bankers 3505, 4493 and 3513 there as well.  But they shot off, shortly afterwards.

Here's a quick video of how three Alcos can leave town, quickly.

We then set up at Ardglen, hoping or a busy day.  

Excluding XPTs, we got four trains over the next eight hours. The first quarter of the sightings involved 8131 and 8102 on an empty coal off to Gunnedah.

Then it was time to see 48144, 48145 and 48120 climb the grade.  They were heard long before they came into view.

An eternity later, 48138, 48151 and 48154 worked up the same grade with a grain train.  This time there was a bonus, with double 35s banking the train.  Here's a few shots of the working.

Here is a very shot clip of the two bankers passing.

For the fun of it, lets interrupt the steady diet of Alcos with an XPT.

Back to the fun.  This time it was 8106 and 8130 coming back from Gunnedah with a loaded coal train, again banked by the 35s.

The final (fifth) train of the day arrived at dusk but managed to only get up the grade well past dark.  A 44 led two 48s, banked by the two 35s. No photographs possible. An indistinct video produced. But I'll never forget the sound around the hills.

Day Three will need to wait to another time.  Hope you enjoyed this much....

Don 

Climbing Tumulla Bank

Fifty one years ago this weekend my father left his heavily pregnant wife and his baby son at home to chase trains for a weekend. These photos are a bit diminished and at times blurry but each has a lovely little aspect.

Dad not only photographed a few trains but he somehow managed to convince the crew on the 36 class banker (3620 from memory) to let him ride on the back of the tender on at least two trips up the bank. 

The first train was a down goods, worked by two 36s and banked by the third.  

 
I have no idea what order the photos should be in so here they are.  I just love the collection of wagons in the train, including the fuel. While it is a much shorter train than the next, its loaded and would have been a slow haul up the hill.

The second train was a down empty grain with a Garratt up front and a long train of four wheel RUs, interspersed with BWH bogie wheat wagons and what could be a couple of tarped K wagons. I'm not sure what order the photos go in so here's the three in the order I think that they were taken on the basis of the coal pile in the tender.

At some stage during the day there was also a cab ride, which produced the following shot of 6041 crossing the down train.

Now, before I post the last snap I should point out that next to no photographs in the family collection are dated.  But I know these shots were taken on 17 January 1965 because Dad wasn't the only photographer out that day. In a certain publication there is dated photograph of the down goods being banked, complete with a certain youthful photographer trying his best but failing to get out of the shot!

So here is the banker in question, darkened by its own cloud of smoke.

Cheers,
Don

Farewell 2015

I threatened one more post for 2015 so here it is...I have been reflecting on the 250+ snaps and videos I have taken of trains this year and there are a few personal favourites - as well as quite a few dogs! It didn't take too long to select a personal favourite which is the following shot.

Yep, a couple of humble and tatty 48s stowed at Werris Creek on the 4th day of July this year. Why did I pick it? Well, it was part of a great weekend away in those parts but its a bit of a sentimental favourite too.  Going back a few years my annual photo collection was littered with 48s but these days they are scarce beasts in my hemisphere.  Probably not before time you may well say, but I do fear for their continued operation on the mainlines of NSW.  

If they are to operate then perhaps it will be only with Graincorp on their seasonal wheaties, a condition that I discovered 48215 (nee 48149) to be in on the same day and at the same location.

So, there you have it... these were the only two 48s I saw all year earning their keep.  Sure, I have seen the two butter-menthol hued 48s doing their XPT transfer work around Sydney and a couple of restored/heritage units, but its otherwise been a lean year!  

Even with 165 units in the class I always lapse into thinking that I have tons of shots of every 48 that ever went around. Not quite the case, though I think the case is proved with 48157 which haunts me.

I only have a couple of shots of 48153, the earliest being from 1 March 1984 when it and 4809 (another haunter of mine) were snapped at the Erko end of AcDep shunting the Southern Aurora cars.

And 48161 has been similarly elusive - only got it for the first time in 2009 at Port Kembla squished between a couple of mainliners...

So before I finish off the year I want to thank everyone who has indulged me by visiting this blog over the last year. I don't measure value by page views but getting these shots out and onto this blog is far better in my opinion anyway, than have them festering in some mouldy drawer. 

Fittingly, I will depart this blog for this year with my final train-shot for 2015. It was one of those classic events - know the train is coming, left things to the last moment, broke thong when running to bridge with camera, had to run in bare feet with baby in backpack on-board - get to hear the Alco go through under the bridge with 20 yards to run. Make the effort and get it disappearing around the corner at Hurlstone Park...

Happy New Year... May 2016 bring you all the little Alcos you desire!
Don

Saturday on the South

I am overjoyed.  I finally found a scrap of paper amongst my many other scraps of paper which explains a series of photos I have been hanging onto for years - 28 years to be precise.

On Saturday, 11 March 1987, we headed off early to Douglas Park on the main south line - it lies between Campbelltown and Picton. We just pulled up on the side of the freeway, as the line parallels the road for about five kilometres.  In those days one could just pull off the freeway for a couple of hours without getting the attention of the authorities.

The special part about these photos is that I didn't for once use a telephoto lens so the photos aren't a series of trains looking like sliced loaves of bread.  What we got that morning was just the then usual parade of local, intrastate and interstate services, stretched out against the background. 

When I scanned these shots in the late 1990s pixels were at a premium, so I scanned the section of the print with the train on it.  This produced a rather elongated and small scan.  I apologise if the photo is too hard to see on this blog - you should be able to just click on the photo to load a hopefully larger version if necessary.

Anyway, enough prose. Instead of putting a rose-coloured commentary to that morning, I am just going to reproduce the notes I took that day along with the photos (apart from the bracketed comments).  

 

7:15am       44 and five cars up service (No photo of this one - dunno what happened here!)

7:20am       G518 up containers (looks like this was the last photo on the reel from the discoloration on the right hand side of the print)

7:25am       8156/G up containers (couldn't resist a close up)

7:47am       Double 81s – up Sydney Express (this is worth snaps of each end of the train)

8:16am       4468 up passenger ex Picton (another close up)

8:26am       Double 81s and 38 wheaties (another bloody close up)

8:35am       Down 7 car DEB set on the Canberra Monaro

8:45am       42201 Down Intercapital Daylight Express (five cars and Spirit dining car)

 

8:50am       44/4481 up wheaty (worth two shots for the close up of the first 44)

9:35am       42204 Two FGs, BN and MFH on a Goulburn passenger

9:45am       42208 in reverse Indian Red on a five car interurban set

10:25am     Up Canberra XPT

And that was it - 12 trains in 3 hours; a typical Saturday morning 28 years ago.

Ciao for now!

Don