Come on admit it, we all have some particularly sorry looking photos from the earliest days of our foamer existence. Photos of a quality that are the absolute dogs bollocks compared to what you may be taking today.
Still these photos hold a special significance. They were your first, this is where your endless existence as a gunzel began and all hold some special memories for you.
While diving through the mess that is the 'Semi-Retired Foamers' archive I came across many of these old derelict photos, some of which I shall gradually share on the site. All are not worthy of publication, many not worthy of existence, but nowdays they are sights you cannot see outside your own dribbly wet dreams.
So grab an intoxicating beverage and some scones, sit back and, well, do whatever it is you like to do while looking at railway photos.
Our first shot is taken in the early 80s at a relatively new Port Botany and on what was then the CTAL siding. It is one of four shots I took of this train in different directions and showing the port in a time when we were able to think for ourselves when it came to personal safety.
If I was to stand in the same place today and try to get the exact same shot I may encounter a few problems.
Firstly a photographer friendly fence and line of trees stand between the tracks and the road I was on. This fence now heads down to the docks and surrounds the CTAL (now DPW) terminal. A seperate shot actually shows the wharfs totally open with no fencing near this entrance of any sort.
The train is particularly interesting. 48112, such as she is, is now sitting in Chullora hoping for an act of god to restore her to service. Of course brake vans on freight trains are certainly a thing of the past, while fixed wheelbase container wagons (I didn't even notice it was one until typing this) have also gone into the history books.
Never discard your first photographic disasters, they all become treasured records of times long gone eventually.
Brad
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