I thought I should round out my photographic recollections of DEB sets with a series of shots taken in the late 1980s and early 1990s while they wore the 'candy stripe' livery in their last days of regular service. Even going to through a couple of video clips in... Let's start with the coldest DEB set I ever traveled in - at Cooma on 14 June 1988.
Another NSW location which I have found to be invariably cold or damp is Wallerawang. Here is a four car set stretching out in front of the power station at that location.
Continuing with the damp theme, it is time for a few from the Southern Highlands. First, a wet Menangle on 3 October 1993...
And a foggy Maldon on 20 November 1993...
And just a dreary Goulburn...
Probably should move to sunnier climes and times. Here are two shots from the Southern Highlands - first Picton and then Moss Vegas.
Moving onto the Coast, on 9 October 1994 a few of us ascended Farmborough Heights to catch this DEB set descending the Hill.
On the flats approaching Coniston, this shot contains the only non-candy car in this blog. It is off to Bomaderry with seven of its mates in the mid-1980s.
DEB sets did millions of miles but they did have a tendency to break down a fair bit - in my memory anyway. Here is one that disgraced itself at platform 1 in Sydney Terminal on 29 February 1992.
Time to finish with a few links to short videos of these beasts from my Youtube channel. First, an up service on the Southern Highlands on 6 September 1993.
Next, a month later a similar service at Maldon - 16 October 1993...
And finally, on the same day a down service arrives at a packed Picton yard (better do a blog on this Saturday morning at some stage!).
The 900 class diesel train. Not the most handsome beast on rails but they sure did get around. I have found enough half decent or half interesting photos of DEB sets around NSW to do a couple of posts, so this one concentrates on the pre-candy era.
Lets get straight into the 1970s, starting as the Northern Tablelands Expresses were crossing at Ardglen one fine day.
Staying in the New England, here is the Northern Tablelands Express rolling across the Peel River viaduct at Tamworth in May 1976. All up, the photographer (not me, I was standing next to him) did a fine job of avoiding the poles.
I'll wind back the clock to the late 1960s to a place called Eumungerie, on the Coonamble line. Coonamble was visited by the Far West Express twice weekly from its introduction in 1957 through to the demise of passenger services in 1975. Here's a couple of shots, the second highlighting the dinky guardsvan attached to this service.
This next one is from Cootamundra, showing the Riverina Express. Again, a timely shot between the poles. From memory this was around 1977 or 1978.
Now to the 1980s. And to Central.... Looks like the 'Riv'...
This is definitely the Riv, on its way to Sydney on a particularly hot evening in January 1981 at Bundanoon.
The following year I snapped this one from the top of an embankment a near Wilton. We were waiting for the northbound overnight expresses so it must have been early when this one tried to sneak by, headed south.
Time to finish up this installment, back up the north west. The first is a three car DEB set so I am guessing it is somewhere north of Werris Creek.
And to wrap up, just south of Werris Creek, with the DEB revving up on its return to Sydney/
My trips to Broadmeadow loco depot were few, being a Wollongong boy. However we did drop by a few times in the 1980s. Sadly I never recorded the dates of those visits, except that I do remember that they coincided with trips to the Newcastle model railway show at the basketball stadium nearby. That sure narrows it down! Anyway, over to taking a peak at a few of the photos that we snapped (I think) on two separate visits.
Before going further I also better note that whenever I visited a loco depot I sought and obtained permission to be on the premises. Never had a problem with the staff here or anywhere, just needed to be respectful and understanding that these people had a job to do. First of all, lets start with a shot from the train travelling through the yard. It was always 'eyes left'! I think this one and the next two photos were from 1987ish...
This is a slightly out-of-focus shot, included just for its most excellent demonstration of work, health and safety (80s-style) happening on 4463.
And for a better shot of 48101 and 4518 (I think) in fine repair...
The remainder of the photos in this blog date from a slightly earlier time. Lets start with no fewer than seven 48s lined up around the turntable. Almost sad that 4814 appears in this otherwise-candy line-up.
And for the rest of the line-up that day... a slightly more eclectic collection...
Will finish up with a few close-ups... up first, 4715 and 4472 of the same location shot from different locations. Just love this shot.
Moving away a bit I caught the same two locos in the background to 4470 and 8047...
Then a photo from across the turntable of a loco actually moving, and it was no less than a 47 class - 4718 to be precise.
I wasn't going to include this shot as it is a bit cropped, but 97% of a 45 is still probably worth looking at.
More playing with the Senior Train Hunter's videos has secured the following four videos from September 1990, at a lovely little passing loop called Kerewong. These videos look like they were shot over a couple of days, as 44209 makes two appearances. So lets start with 44209 on the North Coast Daylight Express.
And here is its slightly newer sibling - 44221 - with a lovely collection of candy passenger cars.
Time to get back to the freighters! This time 44224 and 44231 pull up into the loop. This train and the next are testaments to stuff no longer carried in great quantities by rail.
And now lets finish with 44209, but this time on a freight with 4536.
More moving and still pictures soon! Ciao for now. Don
Haven't tried to run through a class for a while, mainly because I run out o things to say. Still, its raining here in Sydney and there is ironing to do so I was thinking about running through the 48s I have known... better go with the 49s. Here's the class leader at Bathurst, sandwiched between two air-conditioned 80 class locos. Must have been summer.
In 1993 a mate of mine at work mentioned there was a green loco shunting Rozelle yard when he came to work. That evening I raced over there at dusk, to find a shiny green 4902. Then I slightly blurred the photo - and only found out that I had 3 weeks later when I got the film developed. Still a favourite.
Then its off to Dubbo for 4903 which, with GL109 and EL64, was about to travel to Sydney on 8178 containers on Dubbo 16 April 2006.
The name on the numberboard might say KL80 but underneath 4904 lurks - Braemar, March 2002.
Once more to Dubbo - 4905 is shut down in the loco depot in 1987.
I'll do a separate blog post about this outing at some stage, but here's 4906 with friends around 1980.
And again, back to Dubbo - 4907 in 1988, getting some TLC
I think I have more photos of 4908 than any other loco. Here it is at Canterbury in 2001, pressed into freight service with 3801 Ltd.
You are going to have to trust me on this one.. it is 4909 (along with 4898 and 4918) on a metro trip. By the time that this train turned up at Rozelle, I had run our of film. It was 30 August 1993.
Way out west - 4910 at Broken Hill - 17 June 1988.
4911 powering out of Eumungerie to Gilgandra.
Still in the west, but the near west. Its Lithgow in 1977 or so, and 4912 is on the front of the Central West Express.
This is another 'trust me'... I do have a close up of 4913 but this shot from the bridge at Parkes in January 1981 gives a better panorama of the Forbes Mail it was hauling that night.
4914 in the shed at DELEC Open Day in 1996.
OK, I had to do it - bot of a trade mark when calling the board.Trainorama's 4915 is a mighty fine model.
4916 made it into preservation with the RTM.
One last trip out west - to Bathurst in the early 1980s for 4917.
Finally, another to make it all the way to preservation. 4918 at Robertson. The crew was probably off getting a pie.
So that's enough. Hope you enjoyed it. Ciao for now! Don
Apologies to anyone who
watched the video of Bob climbing Farmborough Heights in my last post.
Through a version control issue I managed to post 30 seconds of
delightful birdsong, then the old boiler bursts into view.
As
recompense, may I offer a bonus? In September 1989 the RTM attempted to
run a triple header up the hill, using 3642, 5910 and 3801.
Unfortunately 3801 was failed before the event so 3001T stepped in.
Keen observers will notice the
'adjustment' to 3001T's number, alongside the headboard using Australia
Post's slogan of the time. Two years later the RTM managed to get all three mainliners on the same train. This time there was a video camera handy...
I have posted a fair few shots on this blog taken from the overhead bridge at Farmborough Heights, usually of steam working up the hill to Dombarton and onto Moss Vegas.
Having now spent a fair bit of time converting DVDs which had been originally shot on tape back into a digital format I have collected a range of locos tackling the hill in the late 1990s. And as I haven't been particularly thrilled about the results of loading videos direct onto the blog I am now trying to link to my YouTube channel. So, here goes...
Lets start with 3801 on the Cocky...
And on film...
Might as well throw in another video of 01 - this time with 7344 hitching a ride. Must have been fun for the crew inside the cab of the 73.
While we are doing 38s, might as well do 3830. Here it is so fresh from overhaul it is yet to painted.
And here is how she looked after a coat of paint.
And now it is time to finish up with SMR's 18 - Bob to the locals - on the Cocky on a wet day.
