Michelago Station

[faulcon1]

Michelago Station is on the disused Bombala Railway line which ran from Queanbeyan down into southern NSW all the way to Bombala. The station opened in December 1887. It was closed in 1988 and reopened again from Queanbeyan to Michelago in 1993 only to be closed once again in 2007. As can be seen everything has been left to be reclaimed by nature. All the trackwork and signaling is still in place. Michelago is just a settlement and not big enough to be a village but the station is in the heart of the settlement. The station masters house is now in private ownership.

The photos top to bottom are, the main station buildings, the line looking north towards Queanbeyan, the line looking south towards Cooma and the resident 50ft manual turntable. Here's some video of two English designed steam locos at work on the line on a rail tour not long after the line had been reopened.

 

Edited December 3, 2019 by faulcon1

[faulcon1]

The video starts in Canberra Australia's national capital which is served by a glorified long single siding leaving the mainline at Goulburn. I don't know of any country in the western world where their capital city's rail is just one single long siding. It just goes to show how road focused Australia is.

The Canberra line has four station on it Tarago, Bungendore, Queanbeyan and Canberra. The Captains Flat branch left the Canberra branch at Bundendore. The line to Michelago left the Canberra branch line at Queanbeyan. 

 

4-4-0 1210 was built in 1878 and was at her introduction to traffic an express passenger loco. She was built by Beyer Peacock Builders no. 1767. She was later relegated to country branch line work due to more modern and powerful types of loco taking over express passenger workings. She was withdrawn in January 1962 and placed on a plinth at Canberra Railway Station. In September 1984 she was removed from the plinth and placed in the care of the Australian Railways Historical Society Canberra division who restored her to full working order in time for Australia's Bi Centenary in 1988. She is credited with having worked the very first train into Canberra. Three 12 class locos survive from the original 68 locos. 1210, 1219 and 1243. Only 1210 and 1243 have worked in preservation. 1243 worked on the Captains Flat branch line in 1969 where she was given a huge kerosene headlamp for the railway scenes in the Mick Jagger film "Ned Kelly" which was a flop. Oddly enough the Captains Flat line closed in 1968 having only opened in 1940 and like many other closed branch lines in NSW the rails are still there to this day with the grasses and weeds kept short by grazing livestock. 

 

4-6-0 3016 was also built by Beyer Peacock in 1903 Builders No. 4459. But she was built as a 4-6-4 side tank loco for working commuter trains on the Sydney Metropolitan System. When that system was electrified in the 1920's with the 1,500 volt DC system (which it retains to this day) 3016 she was rebuilt as a 4-6-0 tender engine to replace many older types of locos like 1210 on country branch lines. She was rebuilt in the 1930's, super heated in the 1940's and in 1965 she had more miles behind her than any of her 145 sisters nearly 2 million miles. She was withdrawn in February 1972 and originally retained for the Rotary Club in Parramatta in November 1974 but sold to the ARHS Canberra Division in January 1979. Like 1210 they gave her a thorough overhaul to return her to operational condition in the 1980's. Seen here in non authentic blue livery as only one 30T as the rebuilt 4-6-0's were known only ever carried blue livery and that was 3028 painted locally at Dubbo loco depot. Another of Dubbo's 30T's 3144 was repainted apple green with bright red lining. 30T's in their railway service days were painted all over unlined black 

Today ARHS Canberra has gone into liquidation and although 1210 remains at their site in Canberra where it's rumoured she will be re-plinthed at Canberra Station, 3016 has been transferred along with the Garratt 6029 to the New South Wales Transport Heritage site at Thirlmere.

Seven 30T's have survived into preservation 3001, 3016, 3026, 3028, 3075, 3090 and 3102. Only 3016 has been operational of late with others working in preservation being 3001, 3026 and 3102. 3028 and 3090 have never worked in preservation and neither has 3075 which is on a plinth outside the tourist information center at Parkes central western NSW     

Edited December 9, 2019 by faulcon1