An afternoon's constitutional

About 30 years ago I lived adjacent to North Wollongong station for about six months. Despite nearly getting rattled out of bed every time something bigger than a CPH came through it was fine. It was in the last days of pre-electrification and everything was on the coast - 44s, 421s, 45s, 422s and 442s. Even the odd 80 and a myriad of 48s.  And the rolling stock - past condemnation. Squeaky, leaky and decrepit.

And I took nearly no photographs.

Except one afternoon when I should have been studying. And here are some of them.  It was probably early to mid 1985 and it was a dull, cloudy day. And the earthworks for the poles was complete so you knew everything was about to change.

I started my 'break' from study by hanging around the southern end of the down platform. Nipped off a few photos of a two car diesel headed north.

Keen eyed viewers will notice that the overhead pedestrian bridge has been lifted to accommodate the catenerary and that the poles have reached the station from the north.. 

Next through was 48101, a former Dubbo loco, with a four car suburban set.

I won't post two photos of every train, but I will post as many photos of that signal that I can. Its a ripper.

 
The final from this location was 4899 rolling with empty BHP BLXAs and Government CHs. It was probably headed off to Corrimal Colliery, from the look of the consist, The Gipps Road level crossing is still in operation, with a car scooting over the lines in the distance.

 
Then I took myself off to Victoria Street - after 30 years I can probably confess that I walked a direct line (if I could remember). It didn't seem like trespassing in those days. 

I had plonked myself on a bit of an embankment on the western side of the line near the old Federal Cokeworks but didn't get much passing traffic.  So after taking my life in my hands (by walking through the narrow Victoria Street road underpass) I ended up on the eastern side which had the original alignment for the Mount Keira coal mine tramway and the Shell fuel siding.  There was still an old water column still in evidence and the alignment can be made out, just.

Then it was back to photographing trains.  I didn't record the order and the negatives are gone, so here is just a selection. First, another two cr diesel set headed into Wollongong.

Candy 4808 on an up local passenger service. Its marker lights show how gloomy it really was.

4456 on a passenger service from Sydney. I love this shot as much for the semaphore signals as the train itself.

Another one of the signals, this time with 4860 on a local passenger.

Now for the last train - 4859 with a very short ballast.

 
I'll wrap things up with a final shot of the signals.

All in all, a very good walk.

Ciao for now!
Don

46s at rest

Just thought I'd start the week with a few shots of 46 class electrics stowed at Port Kembla from 1989 to 1994. Not for any reason in particular except that they were rather interesting looking beasts that ended up wearing distinctive liveries under their common hue of coal.

To start, three shots of 46s in Indian Red. Throught the wire and under the wire here are 4604 and 4605

Then 4619, carrying a memorial to Valley Heights loco depot.

Then the custard pot 4606.

Next up, 4626 and 4630 at the same spot on 6 February 1993.

Going to duck over to the nearby coal loader for this next one. 4606 had lost its custard pot scheme by this time, but it still retained its coal dust overlay. The date was 29 October 1994.

 And to wrap up, Boxing Day was usually a day to find a bounty of locos in every depot. In 1994 4613 was to found peaking out from behind a Tangara set.

House cleaning is calling. Better wind this up here.

Ciao for now!
Don

This morning's capture

Just love the boredom of the commute to work being interrupted by these sorts of workings.

Alcos at Central

Work has to wait. Paced these three in from Redfern. Not sure what it's all about, but it's a good omen for the week.

More on a little green mogul

About three and a half years ago I posted a solitary shot of 2535 in its guise as shunter at Bulli Colliery.

For a vintage steam loco that operated well into the 1970s we have very few shots but I did manage to scrape a few more together from the virtual family album.  One of these shots dates from the early to mid-60s owing to the youthful parlance of on of my uncles, captured in the cab.  The remainder are definitely close to the end of its working life.

So, if you want to read more, go to:
http://nswrailrambler.blogspot.com.au/2012/02/2535-celerates-anniversary.html

If you want to just relive a few more memories, just scroll down...

Ciao for now
Don

A short word about tenders

Never really thought much about how many steam-era items of rolling stock survived in one guise or another.  Perhaps one of the most inglorious re-uses was taking the tenders from glorious and powerful freight locomotive and using them as storage tanks. I probably walked past more than I photographed for this very reason, but a few were captured.

Taree had5707's tender hoisted up onto concrete plinths when we popped by in January 1980.

In 1982 revered father and I did a 'there and back in a day' XPT trip to Dubbo. We saw this next one on the way into Dubbo and snapped it on the way out, through the carriage window. This one has always had me stumped - the tank has been butchered but I think its a turret tender. The painted number suggests 5340 or 5440, but underneath this is a fainter series of numbers ending possibly with a 3.  In official terms, it was L454. 

One that lasted well into the 21st century and may still be there is the tender of 5808 - at least I remember reading this somewhere as being the tender of 5808.

For the hell of it, this is what they were supposed to be... 5711's tender at Enfield in the early 1970s, sans loco.
  

And that's about it from 'the collection' - there may be others in there but I never coded them as such so they'll remain in obscurity for a while longer.  Thought I would finish with a couple of shots of Dubbo's semi-famous 57 class boiler, come sanding tower. 

Ciao for now - from the home of the mundane!
Don

Back to the (Blue) 80s

Just fiddling around with photos on a lazy Saturday afternoon, looking back at what once rolled along the Metro Goods line in Sydney.  In the early 2000s I spent a fair amount of time on Canterbury station platform - these were 'days out' with the young fella or 'lunchtimes' taken while commuting between offices for work. 

I was there to get photos of DLs and GMs and even Austrac's 1872 and 1873. Instead I seemed to get a lot of 80s, blue 80s, and I am fairly glad I did now. So here is a selection of 13 blue 80s in ascending number order from 2001 - all bar two of them are at Canterbury.

8005 - light engine, 16 August 2001. 

8011, mill wheat, 22 January 2001.

8015, mill wheat, 23 April 2001.

8017, mill wheat, 11 April 2001.

8021, empty trip container train, 15 November 2001.

Intermission from Canterbury - 8025 in town on the suburban ramp up to Central, 5 August 2001.

8031, Cooks River, 16 November 2001.

Back to Canterbury - 8033, 5 October 2001.

8039, up mill wheat, 15 November 2001.

8040, spoil train, 16 August 2001. being led by 48116).

8045 on a trip container train on 22 January 2001.

8047, light engine, 9 October 2001.

And to finish with the baby of the class, 8050, on containers on 2 October 2001.

Ciao for now!
Don