HARDEN STATION 9-4-2021

 

Harden Railway Station

Opened: March 1877 (as Murrumburrah)

Sept 1878 (renamed North Murrumburrah)

Sept 1880 (renamed Harden)

Harden station was named after the county.

It is likely that it comes from the humorously named 'Harden Moore' in West Yorkshire (United Kingdom), the name meaning 'Hare Valley'.

Above: Looking towards Melbourne.

Above: Waiting room.

Below: Down platform looking towards Sydney.

Harden station is served by two Sydney/Melbourne XPT services, in each direction, each day.

It also is served twice a week by the Griffith Explorer service (To Griffith Wed & Sat, From Griffith Thur/Sun)

Above: Waiting room.

Below: What time does this place open :-)

Above: Heritage legend Mr Brian Leedham was in town.

Below: Up platform looking towards Sydney.

Above: access to Harden station is via a subway.

Below: Harden South Box is slowly becoming more and more dilapidated. 

Though NVJF-34044 is even more dilapidated.

This van was previously used to assist in shunting the nearby Cunningar wheat silo siding. The siding being a dead end meant that the train would need to push back to Harden.

Later, using 48 class at both ends of the train removed the need for the van, which saw it dumped aside in this siding.

Its future looks bleak at best.

Those Harden birds really have it in for us humans.

Thanks to:

Brian Leedham and Harold Forsyth

nswrail.net

You can’t lose a homing pigeon.

If your homing pigeon doesn’t come back, then what you’ve lost is a pigeon.

  One of those posts I intended to do ages ago, but suffered far too much indifference towards the hobby to do so.
  Despite the lack of interesting stuff roaming the rails nowadays, a week camping on a farm near a railway is still a terrific way to spend some time, especially with mates and some quality beverages.
  Why the last one?
  In reality, this may one day prove incorrect, but having handed the group over following troublesome railfans of note, and the haters trying to destroy our attempts to raise funds for preservation, I am not in a position to actually organise them anymore.
  The future direction of the group is now in someone elses hands as I concentrate more on the good years of the hobby, along with building rail heritage in the Philippines and raising funds for kids cancer.
  I still believe a railfan social group is something that is needed, the greatest hurdle is attracting the right people and avoiding the defectives that can't fit in and refuse to let others have something positive.
  Anyway, enough bollocking on about the misery of the railfan hobby. I don't have all day and really want to get this guff up and move on.
  A huge thanks to David Xuereb for encouraging, and then taking, me along for one last hurrah.

DATE	LOCOS	TRAIN	LOCATION	NOTES
4-1-18	864 872 4497	Shunt	Harefield	Containers
	BL30 XR558 G523	Shunt	Junee West	Grain
	8181 C501 8230 48213	Stabled	Cootamundra	In Yard
	1201 1202 4911	Stabled	Cootamundra	In Yard
	8151 8129 8155	Stabled	Cootamundra	In Yard
	NR27 61 95 42	4NY2	Nubba	Steel 16:52
	NR103 AN1 NR63	4BM4	Nubba	Containers 18:23
	CSR012 005	4BM9	Nubba	Containers 19:04
	QBX001	5MS7	Nubba	Containers 19:06
	8220 48138	8932N	Nubba	Up Ore 19:26
	QBX002 CM3314	1311	Nubba	Dn Containers 19:42
	G514 4911 C507	3248	Nubba	Up Grain 19:56
	NR12 + ?	5NY5	Nubba	Dn Steel
5-10-18	NR46 15 16	6SP5	Nubba	Dn Containers 07:01
	1104 1108 1107	4361	Nubba	Dn Qube Grain 08:38
	NR21 84 9310 07 8226	6WM2	Nubba	Dn Steel 10:40
	8184 8155 8151	3422	Nubba	Up Grain 09:16 (Yes I know it is out of order)
	NR79 87 18	3PS6	Nubba	Up Containers
	NR08 93 24 9305		Nubba	Up Steel 10:50
	QBX002 CM3314		Nubba	Dn Containers 16:18
	SCT010 CSR003	5BM9	Nubba	Dn SCT Containers 17:59
	QBX001	6SM7	Nubba	Dn Containers 19:20
	NR34 36 108		Nubba	Dn Containers 20:08
	CM3314 QBX002 1108		Nubba	Up Containers 20:30
	RL309 1107		Nubba	Up Grain 21:15
	NR1 114 35	6NY3	Nubba	Dn Steel 22:28
				Notes: Brad Peadon

Photographing in the countryside is not all about the trains.
While headed out to Junee West, we came across this splendid old shop. That Bushells signage on the window was magic, but there was some great old signs in the window display areas as well.
Anyone know the history of this shop?

Shame this was not to later head north through Nubba.

It is quite (not yet definite) possible that 4497 is the last 'World Series' 

in regular traffic in the world.
If not, she would not be all that far off.

Sunday trip back from Griffith to Sydney.

FORD break down again Macca?

The South Australia contingent (Scotty and Matt) pop by to catchup.

Must be getting time for dinner.

By far the highlight of the week, any only 'JUST' got in sunlight..

Sammy displaying his award from the last SMUT Waggafest.

There be one cool numberplate.

Scotty (2nd) and Rod pop on by to say G'day.

The latest project of the 'Morrisons Hill Railway Society' is the restored foamers chair at Stockinbingal. Once completed, it is believed it will be the only functional 1992 Grace Brothers foamers chair in existence.

Trev drops in from Roto to check on proceedings.

A sight that will not be around for much longer given the XPTs are expected to be replaced. Once hated for replacing the 'Intercapital Daylight' (amongst others), they too will disappear in favour of the new.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The final action packed Nubbafest 

installment coming soon.

Semi Retired Foamer on YouTube!

Because I have little better to do than make low quality videos to inflict upon the world, I have been busy putting together quite a few extra before my usual 

Christmas break (yeah, I have one).
As always, the topics are very wide ranging, with the extremely unprofessional camera work you demand of us.

ET Tours red set tour to Emu Plains, Homebush Saleyards and Trackfast Chullora.

Ride in Mk2 Leyland Leopard from Fairfield Showground to Fairfield station during our recent 'Trains For Kids With Cancer' event in Prairiewood.
You thought I was going to say in Fairfield hey??? :-)

Shooting over to the Philippines, we have a good look at Del Gallego station on the main line south to Legaspi.

Another red set tour courtesy of Kevin Medley.
This was only the third tour that SETS ever operated. It visited Cronulla and Helensburgh, and featers run pasts, on train trills, cab rids and the vast array of interesting railfans from the era.
Two part series.

My first road trip was a circular tour of the Riverina and western regions of New South Wales in 1987. I recently found some of the footage taken on this trip and am in the process of putting it on Youtube.
The first episode takes in Goulburn yard and the roundhouse before it became a museum. Yass Town when still in use, Yass Junction, Bowning, Binalong, Cunningar and Harden. Of course there are a number of trains throughout.

4801 4896 48102 shunt condemned livestock wagons into a Harden 

siding for burning and scrapping.

Following this, the Alcos would take a rake of empty wheat hoppers to Kingvale for loading.