Fremantle.
Perth.
Darwin.
Sydney.
New Zealand K class 4-8-4.
I think this is the museum in Auckland. I also went to the Ferrymead museum in Christchurch.
Pictures from long ago, and far away. I'm sure it has changed.
Great times, very friendly and kind people that I met. A highlight in my life.
Postwar Paul
I'm impressed by the range of your photographs, from Perth to Cairns.
I thought I'd comment on this one.
The train is departing platform 16 at Sydney Central and heading northbound through the city underground toward the Sydney Harbour Bridge. It is most likely heading for Hornsby.
The leading power car is of the original design, dating to the mid 1920s.
The leading trailer car, partly in view is very interesting. It was built in the late 1950s as a power car fitted with power operated doors. Only forty cars of this type were built along with forty trailer cars in the late 1950s, but they had incompatible control equipment, using 120 volt control voltage rather than 32 volts in the older cars. By the 1970s spares were becoming difficult to obtain and some of these cars were stripped to provide spares gfor the remainder. They were converted to operate as trailer cars and the doors reverted to manual operation. I remember riding in one of these, but I never got a photo of one in service. You can just make out the blanked out side cab window near the front of the car, and the panel separating the two sliding passenger doors which was a feature of these cars.
I grew up near a station on that line, and rode those trains to high school and to university and later to work.
Sadly, the little garden has been fenced off as a security measure and is no longer looked after. The roadway just to the left of the photo was originally built for tramcars and it is again used for trams to Darling Harbour and Dulwich Hill.
Peter
Peter,
I spent a lot of time in Australia, and was able to see a lot as well. On the 1980 trip, I had a 6 month visa, and stayed two days over because of my departing flight ( which was Pan Am). I had such a great time, I went back in '82. The Australian Consulate issued 2 three month visas for this trip, so I spent 3 weeks in New Zealand in between. I flew Qantas,with a " circle 8" fare that allowed me to make several stops. I was a budget traveler. I had a book that talked about cheap places to stay, and I remember that hotel in Sydney was $55 for a week- restroom down the hall. Never mind it was in King's Cross ! How would I know ? The place I stayed in Melbourne was a railway hotel, right across from Spencer Street Station. Again, weekly rate. I just stayed until I felt satisfied that I had seen everything. I was there a month, and rode those beautiful vintage trams everyday. I spent the most time in Brisbane, and Queensland, hanging out with my mate. Those beaches up the coast from Brisbane are great !
Thank you for info on the Sydney cars. A lot of interesting facts I did not know. Sometimes we don't know what we're looking at, and the significance it has. Like the coach driver that mentioned the " Pendennis Castle". I have since taken the time to educate myself, and to realize how truly special it was to have in Australia.
It is interesting to follow up on things now. My notes:
Puffing Billy. Still going strong. I think they have extended the line since I rode it.
Kingston Flyer. Out of service since 2012. When I saw it in '82, it was just returning to service. Ran for 30 years .
Kuranda train. Going strong.
Melbourne Trams, 1 in S.F., you mentioned a few running in Melbourne.
I am sure there will never again be a hotel for $55 a week !
Paul
Postwar Paul Sydney.
I spent a fair amount of time in Sydney. When I first arrived in Australia in '80, I spent a week sightseeing, and to decompress from the long flight, and the time change. I left LAX January first 1980, and landed Sydney January 3rd, because of the time change, I lost a day. Did the usual things : Bondi beach, and Manly. Saw a presentation in the Opera House. But then I went back to Sydney a few times, and through Sydney and Central station. One time I took a train just over the Harbour Bridge and back, just to check it out. I don't recall when I took this picture, but it was most likely in July 1980, when I returned to Sydney for a few days before flying home. Sydney was my door to Australia in 1980, coming and going. And it was a fun place to explore !
I recall Central Station's clock tower, I have it in one of my pictures. It was great to see again in the NFSA videos. I passed through there several times.
I think I mentioned my budget traveling. My book was right on some of the places I stayed. There was a railway hotel in Perth that was economical, and my window overlooked the station. Perfect for me !
This looks like a northbound empty coal train between Gladstone and Rockhampton, somewhere around Marmor in the morning.
The locomotives are model GL22C, fitted with a 12-645E engine of 1500 HP. The main line from Rockhampton to Gladstone at this time was a "Class 1" line which could only take the heavier 16 cylinder locomotives with a reduced fuel load. The coal lines further North were "Class 1X" and the heavier locomotives could be used.
These 12 cylinder units fell into two groups, those numbered from 1550 which had older electrical equipment, and others numbered from 2400 which had "Dash 2" switchgear. Most of these were rebuilt with turbochargers and larger radiators giving 2250 HP and they were renumbered as 2300 series.
I photographed a container train with two 2300s in that area last year.
The old main line is now double track, electrified at 25kV with AC traction locomotives of 6000 HP each on coal trains. There was one replacement passenger train run with one of the old blower EMD locomotives which I saw last year just south of Gladstone. You could hear it coming well before it appeared.
The other photo of the Locotrol remotes in a loaded train seems to be in the same area.
your knowledge and comments are much appreciated ! For me, it was a " grab shot", a train popped up and I shot it. Both pictures are of the same train. In those years, our focus was not on railfanning, but to getting to a camp site at Airlie Beach.
you got me ! I keep re-reading your post about those QR diesels. 645 is an EMD designation. I am curious about these engine's origin, manufacture, and so on. Were they home built with various off the shelf components ? If so, that is a fascinating story !
You mentioned in an earlier post working at the assembly plant for a time, and the name "English Electric" came up. Forgive me, but this is the very first time I have heard this name mentioned.
I am feeling there is a story to these engines, if you would like to share it, or anything else pertaining to their origin. This is all new to me !
Also, I am trying to picture in my mind a double track electrified railroad. Please tell me the cane fields are still there !
There isn't a short answer to all the questions.
There is a long answer. I wrote a book on the subject:
https://books.google.com.au/books?id=qUBXAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA22&source=gbs_toc_r&cad=3#v=onepage&q&f=false
This google entry appears to include my summary of local builders and the listing of locomotives with EMD engines.
While this counts as an advertisement, I guess, I get less than $2 for each book sold (don't give up your day job). My publisher tells me sales have been bad this year. An E-book is available from the publisher for about half the price of the paper copy and would arrive much faster.
And the google review is free, and includes a lot of the book.
And people tell me I tend to repeat what I've written when talking about locomotives anyway...
Anyone who is still reading this, feel free to check out the book on the google review.
Postwar Paul Peter, this is Townsville ?
Peter, this is Townsville ?
A similar photo could be taken in Rockhampton, but I really think that is Townsville. The big loco, 1294 is an English Electric, built in the Rocklea factory.
English Electric was, more or less, the equivalent of EMD in England. They were the third largest builder in Australia after Clyde (the EMD licencee) and Goodwin (the Alco licencee). GE were an early entrant but left the market between 1954 and 1977. I don't think English Electric and GE can be viewed in the Google review.
The small loco in the view is one of the very early (1954) GE units, intended as a branch line locomotive. It has the engine from the early GE 70 ton unit, the FWL-6T but weighs close to 60 tons. It also is a prototype that has a feature on many O gauge toy trains, the coupler and pilot beam are mounted on the truck and turn with the truck in curves.
I appreciate it ! I learned a lot today about English Electric. Don't know how this builder slipped through my radar for so long.
Don't mean to ask too many questions, but the railfan in me perks up when talking about prime movers, and such...
Also, on that '82 trip, I did not stop in Rockhampton, but I did stop in Townsville. So, by default, this should be Townsville. I remember switch rods running near my feet when I took the photo, but after 35 years, I can't swear to it. They don't show in any of the photos. The near switches all have hand throws. At least the Fremantle shot shows the switch rods...
I am looking at your book on the Google review. wow ! Everything is there, including the "Pendennis Castle". The 38's, pb15, T, R, QR Garratts. And the diesels.
Australian diesels have great paint schemes, and different from what we would see here.
Postwar Paul I appreciate it ! I learned a lot today about English Electric. Don't know how this builder slipped through my radar for so long. Don't mean to ask too many questions, but the railfan in me perks up when talking about prime movers, and such...
This has been very informative! Thank you again. I remember mile after mile of sugar cane fields in QLD. Is it still like that ? I never got out and measured the tracks, but it looked to be 18" , or 24" gauge at most.
Hopefully those cane trams are still running.
The sugar cane lines are 24" gauge.
They are still in place (except at the most southerly mill in Nambour where trucks hauling cane in rail wagons on a trailer with rails are used - a sort of reverse piggyback)
Many of the 42" gauge diesel hydraulic locomotives, including several of the green and grey QR locomotives that you saw in Townsville, have been extensively rebuilt to operate on these 24" lines.
Because the electrification of the North Coast line ends at Rockhampton, not many views are available of double track electrified lines running through cane fields. There is a stretch of line where the Goonyella coal lines join the North coast line just south of Sarina where shots can be obtained of electric coal trains running past cane. With luck you can get photos of electric coal trains and narrow gauge cane trains together.
The big storage and inspection yard for electric coal trains at Jilalan (near Sarina) is in the middle of cane fields but you need a drone (or to shoot from a road bridge over the yard) to get the full effect.
Wow ! This gets even more interesting ! 42" gauge locomotives rebuilt for sugar cane service. Big power in the cane fields !
It's a very seasonal operation. We went up the coast in January '80. Plenty of cane fields, and tracks, but no trains. Went up again September '82, saw a cane engine working, another on a siding. I guess has to do with the cycle of harvest. I saw an engine house, I think it was in Nambour. I still remember many of those town names going up the coast, they have stuck in my mind. There was a huge mill in Bundaberg. There was even a tourist train we went on . Something like " Sunshine Coast Sugar Cane Train".
My introduction to Mangos was in QLD. And "Queensland nuts" , which are called Macadamia in Hawai'i.
One of the more obscure mental exercises is to remember the names of Queensland sugar mills and the towns closest to them....
The mill at Nambour is Moreton Central, that at Sarina is Plane Creek, south of Cairns is Mulgrave Mill, located at Gordonvale. One story I've been told is that the mills were established before the towns grew up around them.
It has always struck me that sugar growing areas have a much more "urban" appearance than the surrounding countryside.
I think the "season" for sugar is spring, from about September, although I think the harvesting starts in the warmer areas to the North and moves South.
I'm glad the cane fields are still intact. That's the way I'll always remember Queensland. Some things still feel like yesterday, it's only when I think of how much has happened since...
Perth is totally unrecogmisable from this view...
Here we are looking West on the North side of the station towards the "Horseshoe Bridge". Only the bridge is still there. Additional platforms have taken the place of the storage sidings and an overall roof has replaced the canopies. The semaphore signals are long gone, and the lines are electrified. There are two underground platforms serving the lines to the north and south which I think were not there in 1980.
The railcars have all gone, replaced by electric multiple unit trains. The older railcars on the right, classes ADG, ADH and ADX, most built in the UK, have all been scrapped. The stainless steel cars on the left classes ADL and ADC, and in the centre, classes ADK and ADB, moved to Auckland to keep the system going until the recent electrification. I saw these in Auckland in 2000 and 2003.
The original station frontage on the south (city) side has been retained which provides a link with the past.
Postwar Paul In the days of steam.
In the days of steam.
Checking the shape of the footplate around the cylinders this locomotive appears to be the older "B15 Converted" type rather than the later PB15 type. I seem to recall that the last of this type in service were in Cairns.
More great info ! Thank you again!
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