Random Bollocks From A Semi-Retired Foamer!: September 2025

Railcars, Rail Motors, and Regret: A Love Story

Hey there, rail motor and railcar enthusiasts... or, as I like to call you, “rolling stock romantics” (you know who you are).

Yes, still sorting photos. Still. As in, I may actually be trapped in some sort of digital purgatory where the folders multiply faster than the most frisky of rabbits.” Despite my best efforts—which mostly involve staring blankly at a hard drive and sighing, or griping about it to Dr Cooties—I’ve managed to wrangle a few thousand images into themed posts here on the blog. Progress! Kind of. Maybe.

But let’s not get too excited (like those aforementioned rabbits). There’s still an avalanche of train-related pixels waiting for their moment in the spotlight. And because I clearly hate myself, I’m diving headfirst into yet another batch over the coming months. Expect a flood of posts so thrilling, they’ll make you question every life choice that led you here: locomotives, carriages, infrastructure, trams, buses—you know, all the sexy stuff.

This time around? It’s New South Wales’ turn, with a focus on the noble, wheezing creatures known as railcars and rail motors. Think of them as the diet version of electric trains—same charming awkwardness, but instead of overhead wires, they’ve been blessed with a diesel engine and a whole lot of "meh."

With some fleet changes coming up, I’ve even managed to remove myself from the climate-controlled safety of the office and stumble into the scary world full of the general public, an actual effort was made. Yeah, I know I probably just stunned a few of you.

So here it is—another glorious (?) collection of railcar-related guff that you’ll either mildly enjoy or passionately despise, depending on where you fall on the rail enthusiast rage scale. Honestly, I’m just here to upload stuff and quietly question my decisions.

Oh, and while I’ve got your attention...

A few people have reached out asking to use my photos in articles. If you’re one of those brave souls and need images for a magazine, book, or interpretive dance piece about transport history, feel free to contact me. Whether you want to grab something straight off the site or need a high-res rescan of the original (assuming I can actually find it), I’m always happy to help—if only to avoid sorting more folders.

Right then. Enjoy. Or don’t. Can only be one way or the other to be perfectly honest.

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721/621 on a Telarah bound passenger stopping at Maitland.

Now preserved by The Railmotor Society

Photo: Brad Peadon

Above and below.

XP2006 leads a Sydney bound XPT service out of Cootamundra.

Photo: Brad Peadon

XP2011 on a Melbourne bound XPT service flying through Illabo.

Photo: Brad Peadon

Endeavour set 2857 / 2807 at Bomaderry, the terminus of the New South Wales Illawarra line.

Photo: Brad Peadon

761 661 ? ? sit at Dungog station prior to working a service back to Newcastle.

Today 661 operates the world's first solar powered train up at Byron Bay, while 761 would go on to be destroyed in a fire at the State Mine Museum.

Its probably also worth noting that 761 / 661 provided services for the last day of Toronto branch operations.

See three photos below.

Photo: Brad Peadon

Unidentified XP at an unidentified location on the North Coast that was taken on an unidentified date.

Photo: Brad Peadon

How the XPT sets are supposed to look.

Taken between Menangle and Douglas Park on the Short South.

Ohhhh how I hope to see a preserved one like this one day.

Photo: Brad Peadon

XP2013 (with XP2015 up the rear) are approaching the Cootamundra South signal box as they prepare to stop at the local station.

Photo: Brad Peadon

729 / 629 stop briefly at Maitland station.

Now owned by 'The Railmotor Society' and under restoration at Paterson.

Photo: Brad Peadon

626 / 726 sitting at Dungog station before racking on back to Newcastle.

726 is now the other car in the Byron Bay solar train set.

626 was at Coolac in the Riverina, but is nopw a cafe somewhere in the Hunter Valley winery region.

Photo: Brad Peadon

629 / 729 again, this time Newcastle bound passing through Georgetown.

Photo: Brad Peadon

623 / 723 on a tour along the now closed Tubemakers branchline at Kembla Grange.

Photo: Carl Millington

Brad Peadon Collection

621 /721 on another Newcastle bound service stopping at Warabrook station.

Photo: Brad Peadon

Warabrook again, now Hunter railcar set 2702 / 2752.

Photo: Brad Peadon

Obviously spent a lot of time at Warabrook station before trees ruined the spot.

Same Newcastle bound operation as the two above, but this time with 729 / 629.

Photo: Brad Peadon

Endeavour set 2802 / 2852 stopping at Maitland enroute before completing the final stretch to Telarah.

Photo: Brad Peadon

729 / 629 pausing at Hamilton station on a service from the former Newcastle station.

Photo: Brad Peadon

2807 / 2857 leaving Bomaderry station for points north.

Photo: Brad Peadon

Endeavour set 2856 / 2806 at Berry station in the Illawarra proving that I am not 'always' in the Hunter region.

Photo: Brad Peadon

Yawn - Warabrook again.

721 / 621

Photo: Brad Peadon

631 / 731 departing Hexham station.

Photo: Brad Peadon

2753 / 2703 approaches Newcastle station on this now abandoned section into Newcastle City.

Yeah, yeah ..... I know.

Photo: Brad Peadon

Endeavour 2859 / 2809 on a down passenger at East Maitland.

Photo: Brad Peadon

2753 / 2703 Up passenger departing East Maitland with the new 'John Hourigan Bridge' in the background.

Photo: Brad Peadon

2751 / 2701 departing High Street for Maitland and Telarah.

Photo: Brad Peadon

Unidentified 2 car set passing over the Stony Creek bridge just out of Toronto prior to the lines closure.

Photo: Brad Peadon

731 / 631 stop at Hamilton before heading westwards.

Photo: Brad Peadon

2502 heads a Exploder set headed to Moree and Armidale.

Taken from 'John Hourigan Bridge' (Pitnacree) at East Maitland.

Photo: Brad Peadon

623 / 723 on a tour seen passing the old smelter at Port Kembla. All the structures behind have since been obliterated.

Photo: Carl Millington

Brad Peadon Collection

623 / 723 on a tour at the end of the Metropolitan Colliery branch south of Sydney.

Photo: Carl Millington

Brad Peadon Collection

More two car diesels at Hamilton.

729 / 629 above.

731 / 631 below.

Photo: Brad Peadon

Hunter railcar 2703 2753 approaching High Street station at Maitland.

Photo: Brad Peadon

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Bradly Coulter and Kevin Medley.

Semi-Retired Foamer

NSW Railways Past & Present

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#semiretiredfoamer

Not a day for brass monkeys.

The third freezing instalment.

Ah yes, welcome back to our ongoing saga of frostbite and questionable life choices—chapter three of this bone-chilling escapade through the Blue Mountains. This time, we flee the soul-sapping chill of Katoomba (a place clearly designed by someone who thought Siberia was a bit too tropical) and board yet another air-conditioned V set—because nothing says "comfort" like being refrigerated on wheels.

But wait, the universe wasn't done torturing us yet. As if Katoomba wasn’t bleak enough, we arrived at a place where even the sun had given up. Seriously, it called in sick and left us with temperatures that would have penguins filing HR complaints.

Enter Mr Chris Lithgow—local railfan legend, apparent masochist, and the saint who drove us around in his blessedly warm car, giving us a grand tour of places so cold they’ll be featured in future therapy sessions. Eventually, he deposited us at Bell station (a name that somehow fails to warn you it’s actually a portal to Antarctica) so we could film more V sets while trying not to lose fingers to frostbite.

But I digress. Anyway, come along for the ride between Katoomba and Lithgow, and behold the station where warmth goes to die.

Please visit our YouTube Channel.

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Above and two below.

Having had more than enough of the delicious Katoomba winter weather, we were greatly overjoyed at the sight of V44 arriving at the station and the promise of some thawing out time as we moved on to a little better Lithgow.

Photos: Brad Peadon