Lithgow - 1964

 Just found a couple of snaps Dad took of Lithgow in 1964.  Sorry, can't be any more specific about when and why.  I just love the shot of 3227 and the Garratt.

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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The trouble with someone else's history

Here is the penultimate collection of photograph reels I have in my collection, but were taken by Ian Brady way back in 1955.  Several posts from 2014 explain how these arrived in my possession, which I won't cover here for sake of brevity.

The date is 1 August 1955 and it seems that Ian was in the company of others when he visited the Port Kembla area to photograph the industrial locos working that day. As with anything from nearly 66 years ago, the photos are both historic and (sometimes) a bit puzzling.

The first photo is no puzzle - it is 1806 and it is in steam.  Port Kembla was not this loco's last stop - in 1957 it was sold to the Wallarah Coal Company and worked the Catherine Hill Bay railway for a further 6 years.

More of Ian's photos containing little mystery include these three.  First up, PWD 79 sneaking out of the shot... 

Second, PWD 28 - otherwise known as Kembla -  dealing with some troublesome S trucks. 

Thirdly, PWD 75... another diminutive shunting loco showing its elegant heritage.

Now things get murkier, at least if you are relying on my brain cells.  From memory this was one of several electric locos used to shunt the ER&S plant.  Happy to hear otherwise.

And ER&S's steam shunter????

And here is, I think, a Lysaght loco - Alison or Kathleen or somesuch young lady. (Now confirmed as  ER&S 0-6-0ST No.2, Andrew Barclay 2256/1948- thanks Zane (see below)).

And here is the greatest mystery for me.  Initially I had this loco pegged as E18, which now resides at Thirlmere in far better shape.  But it could be the loco once called Bogan. That loco was based at the Port Kembla steelworks between 1939 and 1959, but I have only a very poor comparison photo so am not sure.  Bogan had a huge role in Illawarra railways - hauling the first trains in the region before the South Coast railway was linked to the wider NSW network.  So here it is - guess away!!!!

Happy to field any suggestions!

Cheers

Don

 

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

Up the Creek

Hi all, I am still around!

Promise to get back into things as the weather turns colder, especially if Souths start losing a few.

I have coincidentally come across a real live reader of this blog - sorry if I sound surprised  but my main readership appears to come from regions of the former Soviet Union.

This 'live' reader mentioned he most enjoyed the stuff from up north so, Brendan, these are for you mate!

The back story here is that around 1982 (could have been earlier) Dad shot off for a few days with two mates.  When they got to Werris Creek they asked permission to photograph the locos.  They were given the okay to do so as long as they didn't move any of the locos around.. Turns out a group of visiting photographers several weeks earlier have 're-positioned' the locos to enhance their photographs.  Cheeky buggers!

Cheers,

Don

80s Rail Cars on the Coast

Time to stick a few more up from the lens of Phil Clarke, who passed away about 18 months ago.

This time I thought I would pick a few of his rail car shots around the Illawarra.  To start off, here's a Budd set heading north through Scarborough in December 1981.

Can't have Budds without Tullochs! Here's 4470 heading Set 148 through Bellambi on 19 November 1982.

Nothing says 'passenger comfort' more than a quin set of CPHs jostling along. Here is CPH 13 leading the 8am Port Kembla worker's train at Coniston in November 1982.

Nothing was more prosaic than a 2 car diesel train on a local passenger service, like this one at Bellambi on 19 November 1982.

I will finish up with a few more snaps of diesel hauled trains, composed of end-of-life rail cars - 44100 on two such services in early 1983.  The first photo is at Wollongong, I suspect the other is round Bellambi.

Cheers!

Don

Boambee Creek

Here's four from Boambee Creek near Sawtell. Mum and Dad got these (well, Dad did) around 1986.

4499 and a 48 - this shortlived livery came in very useful as a way to date these photos.

Back to back 44s. Suspects are 4405 and 4468.  Think I have posted this one before.  This time the photo has been straightened.

Next up, 44203 on an up goods.

To round out the Alco collection fr this afternoon, a 44 and a 45 head north with an interstater.

Cheers for now!

Don