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Gwiwer
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Always interested thank you. Images from the Pilbara are uncommon simply because the area is so remote. You really only have two reasons to be there namely working in the iron ore industry or driving around Australia.

 

Of interest from the above selection is the Sydney monorail which is now expected to close and be dismantled and among the Melbourne trams 939 (Restaurant 03) would have been newly converted back then and 842 on the City Circle which became the first to be re-introduced with a pantograph instead of a pole and the first such conversion to be withdrawn following a collision with a truck causing bent frames.

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Here we go, batch 2 of 3...The Pilbara museum, and Indian Pacific at Cook (SA) to follow in a couple of hours.

 

All shots were taken on a 35mm Olympus point and shoot camera and the scans here are just quick and simple efforts with no enhancements made, hopefully they look alright though.

I have tried to provide some background but am no expert here, it was usually a case of seeing things by the side of the road and screeching to a halt for a quick explore.

 

A bit of imformation for the shots below in order, please point out any mistakes I may have made....it was a long time ago and I was rather partial to Emu Export!

 

1 - Alco C636 No 5497 at Port Headland, I'm afraid the others are a mystery to me.

2 - No 5497 alongside our trusty Falcon XE which did us proud for 10 months, by far the best way to explore such a big country.

3 - Someone with great hair!

4 to 7 - One of the BHP iron ore trains from Newman to Port Headland, the entire train just visible in the first shot with 6 Alco's in 3 pairs throughout.

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The final few...

Firstly a visit to the Pilbara railway museum at Karratha/Dampier, it wasn't strictly open but the fence was rather threadbare and this was a once in a lifetime opportunity, unfortunately I never took as many photos as I should have done for various reasons including lack of film...if only cheap digital photography had come 5 years earlier!

At the time of our visit Pendennis Castle was still on site though clearly long out of use, it was the only loco locked away in a shed with chicken wire doors making photography a bit of a waste of time...If I'd known it would be repatriated to Didcot soon(ish) after I may have grabbed a shot for posterity though.

 

Secondly are a few shots of the Indian Pacific that took us from Perth to Adelaide across the Nullarbour plain after our cars "rego" expired in Perth, trying to renew it raised some laughs as it by now had the tailgate welded shut and only 2 doors opened amongst other problems, so that went to the scrappy and we got on the train....

Must have been mid February 1999 as we were in Adelaide for a couple of weeks before getting a bus to Melbourne for the Grand Prix in March.

 

Notes for pics:

1 - Alco M636 No 5502 in BHP colours at Karratha, not sure on the yellow one behind...notice the Hammersley Iron depot in the distance!

2 - No 5502 again, I think this was built in 1976 and was in working order when I visited.

3 - Interior shot of what may have been an EMD F7A, No 5440 of 1951 vintage, I never got an exterior shot as it was hemmed in by carriages etc.

4 - Ex Hammersley Iron Alco C636 No 3017, I was properly impressed by this I must admit.

Built in 1970 in a style similar to 5502 above it was rebuilt as a prototype (1984?) with a blunt nosed "Pilbara cab" which reduced glare and heat in the cab and enabled a proper full height "dunny" to be installed which looked better than the facilities in many of the youth hostels I was staying in...very roomy cab compared to British locos of the era with a lot of thought put into crew comfort including water coolers on the rear bulkhead.

Although donated by H.I to the preservation society in 1996 I gather that a motive power shortage caused them to requesition it again in 2005 for shunting at Cape Lambert...imformation on the web is vague but it appears to have suffered an engine failure in 2009?

 

5-7 A few snaps of the Indian Pacific at Cook (SA border, population 2) for refuelling, one of the few chances to leave the train on its 2 day trundle through the desert, basically everyone piles off to take photos of the train and buy a souvenir stubby cooler...having been warned beforehand "To return to the train when the horn is first sounded, and not to wander off or you WILL die before the next train arrives" A nice touch I thought at the time.

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  • 4 weeks later...
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GM3, EDI Rail's former shunter at Kelso, has been bought by Southern Shorthaul. It was moved from Kelso to Lithgow on Monday. It will be overhauled and returned to main line service, but instead of SSR livery it will get a fresh coat of Commonwealth Railways maroon and silver.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_2Liw0CqSg

 

Cheers

David

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Made a flying visit to New South Wales last week and managed an afternoon and a morning in the Hunter Valley where there is always guaranteed action.

 

I've uploaded some pics to flickr that cane be found in my recent uploads and also in my Hunter Valley set which highlights some of the changes in operations over the last few years.

 

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Xstrata coal by Bingley Hall, on Flickr

 

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5007 & 2702 @ East Maitland by Bingley Hall, on Flickr

 

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Countrylink @ Minimbah by Bingley Hall, on Flickr

 

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Ribbons of steel by Bingley Hall, on Flickr

Edited by bingley hall
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  • 3 weeks later...

Haven't heard anything about the new boiler.

 

Meanwhile here's last week's Snow Train run by Steamrail Victoria. Apart from the livery on R711, some of these scenes could be straight out of the 1950s.

 

 

Cheers

David

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For those not used to the Victorian railways, note the lack of fences at most locations ... then they wonder why they get people and animals straying on the lines!!

 

Some great footage there, David. One of these days I'll remember to book on a Steamrail excursion.

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Bevan Wall has digitised some of his video of the double headed 38s on the same trip as above. Bear in mind the climb from Unanderra to Summit Tank is 20 km (12 miles) of solid 1 in 30.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KW1JH5ktpPE

 

Same locos, same location, better weather, 4 months later after 3801 was back in green.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsUypO_z1t4

 

Cheers

David

Edited by DavidB-AU
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  • 2 weeks later...

Bevan Wall has digitised some of his video of the double headed 38s on the same trip as above. Bear in mind the climb from Unanderra to Summit Tank is 20 km (12 miles) of solid 1 in 30.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KW1JH5ktpPE

 

Same locos, same location, better weather, 4 months later after 3801 was back in green.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsUypO_z1t4

 

Cheers

David

 

Thought that initial station looked familiar in the first, that's my ex-local! They used to come flying up the hill into the station, creating a ton of steam and an absolutely smashing sound that would reverberate through the valley as she passed, and sounded even better in the cutting just past the station.

 

The second video is 18 minutes of pure NSWGR Pacific heaven. 3801 (and 3830) are a sight that I am sorely missing out on the mainline, as they are the only two steam-able 38ers left. It will most likely be 3830 that steams first, as when I was last down at Thirlmere, work seemed to be going at a reasonable pace towards getting her complete.

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  • 4 weeks later...
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  • 4 weeks later...

Diggers Rest on the Bendigo line north of Melbourne with only 10 days left until the end of V/Line diesel commuter services to Sunbury. The wires have just been commissioned and electric Metro services commence on 18 November. The loco-hauled Sunbury trains are not top and tailed, the coaches have multiple unit cables throughout and the locos are running in multiple, like a poor man's HST. :)

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCD-oYeC4yc

 

Cheers

David

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The locomotive in the background behind the Alco M636 No. 5502 in BHP livery, (8th photo down from top on this page) is an ex NSWGR 40 Class. The 40 Class was the first diesel main line loco to enter service in New South Wales on 30th November 1951. The class was obtained from Canada, where it ran as a switcher with a Bo-Bo configuration, but here they ran as Co-Co. Originally they replaced steam runnings between Sydney and Newcastle, often coupled in pairs. Here is a pic of class leader 4001, taken at Sydney Central during the Great Train Expo.

 

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This livery was used on the Royal Train. The orignal livery when it entered service was green with chrome yellow lining.

 

Cheers, Gary.

Edited by gazmanjack
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The locomotive in the background behind the Alco M636 No. 5502 in BHP livery, (8th photo down from top on this page) is an ex NSWGR 40 Class. The 40 Class was the first diesel main line loco to enter service in New South Wales on 30th November 1951. The class was obtained from Canada, where it ran as a switcher with a Bo-Bo configuration, but here they ran as Co-Co. Originally they replaced steam runnings between Sydney and Newcastle, often coupled in pairs. Here is a pic of class leader 4001, taken at Sydney Central during the Great Train Expo.

 

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This livery was used on the Royal Train. The orignal livery when it entered service was green with chrome yellow lining.

 

Cheers, Gary.

 

Just to further add to this, 4002 and 4006 had their center idler axles removed when sold to Cliffs Robe River Iron Associates in WA. 4002 (seen in the picture) was converted back to original A1A-A1A configuration using bogie parts from withdrawn ALCO C626 locomotives, whereas sister 4006 is still a BO-BO (I believe), and survives in a park in Wickham (near Cape Lambert). She was stripped of all useable parts, and has all her body openings welded shut.

 

The cab doors on the 40 Class are a bit of a nightmare if you're tall. At the Great Train Expo this year, I was invited into the cab of 4001. Being 6' 6", it certainly made for a tight squeeze, and whilst taking some photos inside the cab, I accidentally hit the handle on the other door (diagonal to the front one), and nearly fell out onto the tracks!

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