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

The Comet

This is the 100th post for this blog, which is a bit of a milepost for me starting and sticking to the job. Gratifyingly, I seem to be rapidly approaching the 50,000 pageviews for the blog too (and not all of them are mine!).

Anyway, today is significant for greater reasons.  Twenty five years ago today (2 November 1989) the Silver City Comet ran its last regular revenue service, having commenced as Australia's first air-conditioned passenger train just over 52 years prior to then. 

While the Comet did a few years' service between Sydney and Newcastle, it spent most of its service life plying western lines - from Orange to Broken Hill and to Dubbo. And it is in this service that one of our first photographs of the Comet was taken in the mid-1970s.

I always thought that the previous photograph was at Orange, but am not so sure these days.  The large building in the background looks a bit like the Bathurst gasworks.

No doubt about this next one being in Orange - just out of it actually, on its way to Dubbo in 1977.

And when the Comet made it to Dubbo, it was parked opposite the station when I snapped it in December 1979.

The Comet's spiritual home will always be Broken Hill. Keen eyes will pick the tuscan EHO at the rear of the train.

For the greater part of its period of operation the Comet ran in a distinctive silver livery with blue lining.  In the 1950s it scored a tuscan and russet livery, which was replaced by a complete tuscan scheme.  The last non-silver iteration was the candy scheme, which was rather less than flattering.  Here is a 'Hill' bound service, in the middle of nowhere.

My last trip on the Comet was in June 1988, which required a 4:30am start in the Broken Hill.  Taken from the Comet as it stood at Parkes station, here is a view of the Comet depot/graveyard.

And shortly after we hopped off at Orange, the Comet was snapped basking in the late afternoon sun.

Appropriately these days the class leader may be found well cared for in Broken Hill.
 

I have a lot of fine memories of the Comet but none more than the breakfasts served in its spartan dining car. While quality was almost absent, devouring four slices of white toast completely submerged in baked beans at 100kph as the Comet raced towards the sun at dawn takes some beating.  Especially as when one looked out of the window, emus and 'roos could be seen taking flight from the railway right of way.

Ciao for now!

Orange

Just  back from a few days in the Central West of NSW, observing the near wipe-out of all railway infrastructure and operations in that region.  Nowhere is this scorched-earth policy more in evidence than at Orange.  Before I show a few shots of Orange over the years, its worth seeing what is left - the station and platform, two roads, the shed and the signal box in the distance.

It wasn't always this way - even fairly recently.  Here is a snap of 5390 shunting a packed Orange yard around 1970.

In the mid and late 1980s Orange was always worth a drop-by, although it was a lesser venue than Lithgow, Bathurst or Parkes.  For example, in October 1985 I found 8046 leading another 80 and a 48 on a Sydney-bound freight, with 7332 adjacent.

Even five years later in August 1990 the Dubbo fuel train was often a daytime visitor.

It wasn't all freights -  Orange was 'home' to the Silver City Comet.  In the next three photographs it is seen in Orange in May 1977, May 1978 and at the end of its days - in June 1988.

 

  

The Comet was the signature rail service, but from the late 1970s the Central West Express became an XPT service.  Four years later we snapped one such service on the outskirts of Orange.

And to wrap up this installment,HPC 402 was caught at Orange station on 25 March 1993 during its numerous trips to the region when involved in radio testing for the then State Rail Authority.

\

Will take a 'now and then' look at Orange East Fork in the near future.

Nurail Travels part 1

Near enough to 38 years ago in November 1974 the Public Transport Commission decided to take pity on frequent travelers and rail tragics (like myself and the Senior Train Hunter) by introducing a new style of ticket – a 14 day unlimited travel rail pass known as a Nurail Pass.  I am not convinced that it was ever widely popular, but the invitation to ride the rails intensively was an invitation too tempting to avoid occasionally. 

What follows is a summary of 14 days on the rails – in the depth of winter, knowing it was likely to be the last time a Nurail ticket was worthwhile with impending cuts to the final mail trains rumoured to be effected by year’s end.

The odyssey commenced on Tuesday, 14 June 1988, with a day trip to Cooma and return aboard S37, the down Canberra-Monaro Express.  Express it was not – it involved a seven car DEB set working to Canberra, with three cars then working south of Canberra to the eventual destination.

A 7:30am departure from Central produced a lunchtime arrival in Canberra, where a lone 442 was spied in the yard. 

And then it was onwards to Cooma, where it wasn’t snowing but it should have been.  While the crew reversed the seats on the train, we snuck out for a couple of photographs.  Looking carefully at the photograph one can see that Cooma’s residents are a welcoming mob.

The following day was a more leisurely 7:55am departure on W27, the Central West XPT, with a 2:40pm arrival in Dubbo.  As the following photograph shows, the Cooma weather had followed us north-west.

That afternoon we walked the railway yard and environs, trying to keep warm.  While there we were lucky enough to see a western freight, going further west (this was not to last much longer).  Sadly we were cutting across a car park when we saw this train, but you take ‘em when you can get ‘em.  

The following photographs were taken around 4pm, with the 48 acting as yard shunter and then a light engine transfer surprising us from the east.

As the sleet set in we decamped to the club, and then it was back to the mighty BAM sleeper by 8:35pm to join this compact W58 West Mail consist to return to Sydney. 

A branch liner, 4822, worked the train through to Lithgow.  It was then the turn of electric loco 8635 to return we very few passengers to the metropolis.

Arrival in Sydney occurred on time at 5:50am on Thursday 16 June, enabling the Senior Train Hunter to return to the Illawarra on the 6:03am 6 car V set.  He had the barest of time there, returning on the up 12:25 express out of Wollongong hauled by 42218 towing a Tulloch set.

By 3:15pm on the same day we were headed west once more, this time to Broken Hill.  From car 14 of W1 Indian Pacific we had a good view of 8605 and 8635 taking us through to Lithgow, then being replaced by double 80s at that location.  From Parkes (at around midnight), it was a single 80 class.

Friday 17 June 1988 brought us to Broken Hill at 8:38am.  I was immediately entranced by the exoticism of seeing double back-to-back GMs being coupled to the train.  Well, it was something for a boy from the Coast!

To return one to Indian Red normalcy, 4910 was the burbling shunter.

Enough of them locos!  It was time to explore the numerous art galleries in this bohemian city… err, no... actually, it was off to the loco depot.  And as these were the days where a polite request almost always guaranteed a ‘yeah mate, just be careful and don’t drive them’ from the local-powers-that-be, such inspections could be wonderful events.  And so it was…

Inside the loco shed, 8007 and 8042 lingered at rest.

Alongside these Alcos, another vintage GM sat.  

GM18 even had its door open, giving full view to the Spartan accommodations provided to crews.  It was even lacking a 5-stack CD player!

Outside the shed was no different.  Here sisters 606 and 607 were at rest, sporting quite different liveries.

 

Later that day we did actually see a few things move, like this east bound freight headed by 8007.

And Silverton’s shunting loco – 29 – was captured shuffling around the yard.

But perhaps the most out of place item was this lonely little S wagon, its days plying rails well and truly over.

That evening we withdrew to the nearby Crystal Motel, as the following morning involved a 5:00am departure on W46 Silver City Comet.  From seats 39 and 40 on car 3, we heard DP103 lead our consist at great rate of knots.   

There are a few indelible memories of that morning.  The cold and dark leaving the Hill, the red ball in the east at dawn, the roos and emus making great hast near the line and the humungous plate of baked beans served for breakfast, laying across four slices of white toast.  No pesto in sight.  I also remember valiantly trying to study for a contracts law exam, which I ended up getting 51% for so every rail joint was worth it.  I did take a break at Parkes to snap the Comet resting in the platform.

Another was taken at journey’s end, around 4:30pm at Orange.

From there it was once more into the modern but utilitarian comforts of W28 up Central West XPT, for a 9:30pm arrival in Sydney that Saturday night.  The Senior Train Hunter then departed on a 4 car interurban V set to the coast to arrive just prior to midnight.

And that is where Part 1 ends!  Stay tuned for travels to the north, north west and back to the south in part 2.

Redfern

Instead of a locomotive or a train, this time a location.  Having done a little spiel on Sydney's major railway station, its time to move down the line to little old Redfern.

Redfern station is a much unappreciated piece of railway and urban architecture.  Sure, the 'improvements' of the past two decades have done little to improve its aesthetics, but there is an underlying character almost impossible to rub out.

Instead of posting numerous shots of suburban and interurban electric trains, the following collection come from basically just one afternoon in November 1982.

The first is a snap of 3214, when it was the leading P class offering of the NSW Rail Transport Museum.  Here it is working a shuttle in honour of the re-opening of Central Railway Station, just a kilometre away.

If the loco or the stylish Pullman carriages is not your style, just revel in the advertising hoardings on the building in the background.  Some of these painted signs can still be seen 30 years later! 

The Southern Aurora passenger car in the western dock was a favourite place to park carriages which had received attention at the nearby Elstons sheds.  Sadly, I deemed it too unimportant to photograph these exhibits, though a DR carriage off the Silver City Comet caught the Senior Train Hunter's attention when it lay there around 1980.

While we are on the Senior Train Hunter, he is the suspect for the following classic, showing 3830 working its train towards Central.  This train probably emanated from Macdonaldtown

carriage sheds

To quote a phrase I hate... 'moving forward' its time to return to the 1980s and indeed the same day that 3214 had been photographed.  The first is 48160 trundling a milk pot and a louvre van towards Darling Harbour.

Shortly after, 4509 surprised yours truly by appearing from the north.  Surprised, because by this time Darling Harbour was basically dormant on weekends, and this was a Saturday from memory.  Check out the 80s fashions on the style-master on the stairs - this would still be acceptable in these parts today!

By the 1990s Darling Harbour railway yards had disappeared, so Redfern lost its supply of goods trains... almost.  The odd spoil train (well, its technically a goods train) still sneaks through, such as the one headed by 8007 in 1992.

Still, the 1990s were full of interesting trains passing through Redfern's platforms, even if they didn't stop.  Here a DEB rail car set sets off for the South Coast.

Freight locos still get the odd trip through Redfern, usually at the head of one of the few remaining locomotive-hauled passenger trains such as the Indian Pacific.  In 2004 NR70 and DL43 almost managed to nip by one Saturday afternoon.

As noted above, spoil trains are semi-regular visitors to and through Redfern.  In 2003 44206, then monickered as JL402, sat at the southern end of Redfern station for most of one weekend.

However, 99.9 per cent of the time, its sparks, sparks and more sparks...  here's just one from last year.  Pretty things, aren't they?