Steam returns to revenue earning mainline service

[LisaP4]

For 3 days... still, better than nothing, and part of the route is at the end of my street.

 

http://www.media.qr.com.au/News/MediaRelease/10-04-16/Steam_train_suburban_services_to_make_first_appearance_since_1968.aspx?News=CntItem

[PhilH]

Some photos soon then......??

[LisaP4]

Hopefully, missed it today - heard the whistle though!

[skipepsi]

EEEH I remember steam trains at the end of our street! 8F's and 16t minerals to the local pit. Does anyone else remember the pit closures in 1966 because oil was going to last for ever and was so cheap. Short sighted politicians and accountants are nothing new.

[LisaP4]

Did a bit of train chasing this afternoon, with camera of course. To give some idea of the journey here's the QR citytrain route map, the red X's mark the terminus' (terminii?) if the route, Ipswich (bottom left) to Shorncliffe (top right), and return.

40 stations each way, stopping all stations, in the wet, on a standard timetabled service (a bit over 2 hours, not a special, the service is usually operated by an EMU), she pulled into Ipswich a little under 4 minutes late... which is pretty amazing IMO, some of the EMU's do worse in the wet!

 

So on to the pictures, BB18 1/4 1089, with water wagon and 5 car 'tin set' suburban train.

Arriving/standing at Ebbw Vale station:

 

Departing Ebbw Vale (stamping her feet as she pulled away too!):

 

Chasing between Ebbw Vale and Bundamba:

 

Between Booval and East Ipswich, uphill here:

 

At this point traffic was piling up, so by the time I caught up all I could see was the tail end of the last carriage in Ipswich station (which is underneath the city)... a few minutes later though I caught up with her on the other side of the station. Here she's reversing the train back into the yard:

 

A shot of the drivers bum... and the works plate:

 

In the yard:

 

On the turntable:

 

And finally, back at the workshops till tomorrow:

[DavidB-AU]

A tin set? Surely they could have done it properly with a string of Evans cars.

 

Cheers

David

[LisaP4]

A tin set? Surely they could have done it properly with a string of Evans cars.

Complete with having to run along the train to shut all the doors at every station.

[The Stationmaster]

Definitely looked better with this tho' (Karrabin September 2004), and a close-up of one of the cabside plates (Grandchester, same day). Very impressive little loco.