Hawkemount

My first record was a seven inch recording of steam engines ascending Hawkemount, which means that I never had much of a chance.

Hawkemount is located between Dora Creek and Awaba, on the NSWGR's mainline, otherwise known as the Short North.   It is a brutal and lengthy grade, the sort of stretch of permanent way that limits loadings on this State's rail infrastructure.

I was too young to camp out at Hawkemount in those final days of steam, though I was lucky enough to be taken there for a few hours one family holiday.  My mother and sister must have been the luckiest women in NSW that day.  However they were a bit unlucky, as nothing came by during our sojourn.

Enough of these reminiscences,  time for some photos.  Lets start with a green 3813 in a black and white photo...

Film was also wasted on diesels, thankfully... here's a 44 headed down the hill with a short wheatie.

Now for some colourful steam... here, 6022 trundles a collection of 4 wheelers along the mainline.

The epitome of steam power... 3822 in full flight on an evening Flyer

3820 leads a quiet life these days at Thirlmere.  Hopefully one day it can be put back to work like it is seen here.

Now, here is a big photo of a big train... 6001 leads another Garratt to Newcastle.

Synomous with the short north were 59s.  Here 5902 leads a Garratt around the bend.

Once 35s had been withdrawn, 36 class locos became more frequent visitors to Hawkemount.

And finally, to the digs which provided comfort and amenity to many - Hotel Hawkemount. Looks inviting!

Ciao for now!

In Central, tonight!

When I was a kid Central on the Friday of  a long weekend was a very special place, full of trains made up by locos and carriages got from every corner of the system. Tonight you could swing the proverbial cat along most platforms, as the following photograph shows...

Central is still a special place, or it is tonight.  Out of the gloom its possible to find a purple P, a green pig and LVR's mikado.  Enjoy!

Looks like a good long weekend will be had!

Through runnin'

According to my incomplete and inaccurate memory, 32 years ago this week ‘through running' of Southern Aurora and the Spirit of Progress commenced, with X54 and 42219 doing the honours northward on the first trip...  7 June 1982 to be precise.  Can't miss this milestone without a little commemoration.

Through running simply meant that each system's locomotives weren't swapped at Albury, but worked the entire journey on these two named trains. For just over four years until these trains were 'amalgamated' in August 1986, Sydneysiders like myself could find exotic blue Victorian locos at Central.  Of course, most of the times I bothered to get to platform 1 in time to see either train, there were only ever brown boxes on the front end.

Anyway, one day in 1982 just after through running started, I did capture 44225 and X51 coming off Southern Aurora.

A little while later X46 arrived on the up Spirit of Progress.

 

Ciao for now!

 

Weird stuff from Wollongong

Time to return to North Wollongong and this time a look at freights - or goods trains for us oldies. 

I am going to start and end with the ordinary - what the Coast was known for - 48s.  In the middle its time to take a look at a few out of the ordinary consists. As usual, the quality of some of the slides is less than desirable but the content is too compelling to pass over.

So, starting with the usual... triple 48s on a steelie from the late 1960s. 4881 led 4862 and another on what would have been a very slow trip to Waterfall.

A faster trip was more likely to be had behind a flying 48120 on the afternoon milko, off to Darling Harbour during the 1970s.

Its time to delve into the unusual, starting with 4540 heading a diverted interstate freight - again from the 1970s.

The Illawarra was Alco heaven in the 60s and 70s.  Trialling of locos undergoing overhaul at Delec brought strangers, like this immaculate 4206 in the early 1960s. The K wagon is a nice touch and dates the photo to an earlier period.

Next is a hurredily shot 4511.  Don't really blame the photographer for this one.  After watching 48s trawl up and down the line for months a growlier Alco engine may have gone unnoticed until the last moment.

Thankfully the photographer was more alert on this occasion.  Yet another Alco engine but this time it was a Canadian import. 

Time to complete the first generation Alco collection. This time 4303 and 4485 sandwich 42103 on a down goods.

And just when it couldn't get any weirder, it did. Through the gloom you may be able to see a WAGR L class trialling on an up goods around 1967.  Of course, 40 years and several liveries later, this loco probably plied the same rails, routinely.

Enough - time to return to the normal.  In 1993 4807, 4829 and 4821 head south on a ballast.  Maybe not the finest way to end, but 48s were always going to need to be the first and the last word in such a blog post.

Ciao!

Rail posters at Central.

Hi, this is just a quick heads up to anyone going through Central station this Easter. On the main concourse near platforms 1 to 4 there is a small green exhibition paying tribute to rail posters. Well worth checking out; here's a few snaps to give you an idea of what its about...

The exhibition implicitly and explicitly makes a case for recognising Reg Winsor as one of the best rail administrators this country ever produced.

Enfield's staging roads

Last month I started a short series on Enfield's loco depot, from the 1960s through to its demise around 1975.  In collating the photographs from this location I gathered a small bunch which dont really fit with other collections, because in these snaps you actually get to see a working depot!

Not sure if they were actually called the staging roads, but the area to the western side of the roundhouses at Enfield was where the steam locos were fuelled and received light maintenance.  Loco transfers journeyed through this part of the yard.  In the first photograph, depot shunter 3127T hauls a dead 36 class through the area, possibly headed to drop the mainliner off for scrapping.

This next photograph is from 1969 and has 3651 and 5224 being readied for a shift.

 

Around the same year, 5413 sits at the northern-most end of the loco line up, which also includes two 30s and two 60s.

Finally, possibly as late as 1970s, this area was still quite busy. Here 3055T sits rather alone.

Ciao for now!

Sunday afternoon special

Came across one of my favourite all time photographs earlier this afternoon when looking for something else.  There is a bit of a back story so I'll keep most of this trip for another time but in October 1991 the Senior Train Hunter and I were in the New England, hoping to get as many 44s and 45s as still existed to wander past the lens.

We really did get lucky at Willow Tree one afternoon, when we found 3505, 3515 and 3527 about to commence banking duties.

And this brings me to the moment of one of my favourite photographs - with setting sun and an approaching wheatie with 8106 and 8130 in need of banking. 

 

Enjoy!