Operation Hurricane 

2001

A bit of a story goes with this shot.

The aim of 'Operation Hurricane' was to see how many cane locomotives we could photograph in a two week period. The aim was to get at least 300 locos either in service, preserved, or in a state of advanced dereliction in yards.

This did result in a couple of questionable practices during the Mossman to Moreton journey.

On September 15th we were around Mourilyan Mill and not having a very good time of getting the mill fleet.

Eventually we got to the mill itself. 

Suddenly one of us, probably me, decided to just drive in. It was a Sunday, which may be why little in the way of rail action was occuring, and the mill looked rather quiet.

The next few minutes, in an act that would likely have us arrested today, we drove through the centre of the mill and found the loco shed.

Quickly, we jumped out for a few minutes to grab some shots, but were discovered almost instantly.

An employee approached us quickly from the loco shed, demanding to know what we were doing and telling us photography is banned.

Turned out they were having issues with the local media up there and he thought we were there to grab shots for them.

Upon explaining our two week aim, his mood changed entirely and he welcomed us to take all the shots we wished too. Thanks to his help we were able to score much of the Mourilyan fleet in the one go.

Would I do it today?

Probably not........

Photo: Clyde 15 and 11, with a Comeng in the background.

The now closed and demolished Mourilyan Mill

5-9-2001 (Operation Hurricane)

A second helping of DL531 goodness.

Above two shots are of the same train. Having come off the Berrima branch, the whole train would turn on the Moss Vale triangle before heading on back towards Sydney.

48105 Delec (Enfield Sydney)

48106 Chullora Junction (light engine back to Delec)

48106 (back in her candy days) on the long since closed Chullora industrial sidings. Photo taken from behind the former Elcar spark workshops.

48107 gleaming in her new freightrail livery at Lithgow locomotive depot.

Now it is 48107 back when she was candy, awaiting at Delec for whatever job will be next allocated to her.

48108 leads bigger ALCo 8015 past the well known Flame Tree at East Botany.
Today the Flame Tree is gone, while the pedestrian crossing, just visible under the second wagon, has been replaced by a ridiculously huge overbridge.


Want to see 48 class with movement and sound?
Check out our video of the busy little things around Cootamundra.

 

The first of a multi-part series covering the area in 1989.

Cootamundra 1989/1990

All the rail action around the north, south, west and central areas of 

Cootamundra yard.

Lots of 48 class action, mixed in with the lesser types of manufacture.

Excitement a plenty in this riveting footage.

Victoria In The 90s.

T410 T408 Spencer Street

T385 T361 A62 Dynon

T370 Ballarat

T412 Ballarat

T403

T402

T386

T382 T404 T403 Ballarat

T388 Wodonga

T413 Geelong

P21

ET TOURS

Lavender Bay - Sandown - Richmond

Some old VHS video of the Zoo Train visiting different parts of the Sydney electrified network. One was just newly electrified, one does not see normal passenger services and the other does not see trains anymore.

Many more videos still to come.
Subscribe in the box at right for all updates. >>

_________________________________________________________

Lavender Bay

Sandown (Now Closed)

Richmond

Welcome to '48er Fest', huge celebration of Australia's best branchline locomotive.
Over coming months we shall be featuring these locomotives, often considered the backbone of the NSW railways, mostly in photos taken during the 80s and 90s.
While I would like to share every shot I have taken of these great looking/sounding little beasts, the internet only has so much room to spare

48102 in Red Terror livery arriving at Cooks River.

48102 again, this time in the far south of the state.

48102, now wereing Freightrail Blue, way out in the back blocks of New South Wales, shunting a
cotton train at Warren.
It is believed this last bit of the branch is no longer used following damage to a bridge between the cotton loading point and main yard.

48103 between shunting duties at Sydney Terminal.

48103 had not long been painted blue when we managed a night shot of her in Botany Goods Yard. In the background can be seen 4401 and 44211 awaiting departure.

48104 has just arrived at Cooks River Staff Hut from Botany. It will soon
cross over and into Cooks River yard.

FARCEBOOK IS DOWN

Seems to be a worldwide issue with Facebook, Instagram, and to a small extent Whatsapp, all not being accessible planet wide.
  People are experiencing problems commenting, sharing and even just leaving a thumbs up.

Comments and updates can be seen HERE.
So if you are having issues getting on to any SRF, or other groups for that matter, you are not alone.
Would also seem that they have suspended their support section, which was completely laughable anyway.

Goondi Sugar Mill Site

15-9-2002

Photos taken during a site visit as part of 'Operation Hurricane'.
The object of the trip was to get photos of as many cane locos as possible within a two week period. While the number we were able to achieve has escaped
my memory, it was a few hundred.
Unexpected catches, like Goondi #1 (seen here), certainly helped boost the numbers along the way.
Goondi Mill operated from 1883 until 1987.

Goondi #1 travelled south for her retirement, now being preserved operational at the
ILRMS in Albion Park.

Railfan Daven Walters caught in his natural habitat.

Up Among The 2fts

It has been a long time since we have featured any 2ft gauge goodness on the blog.
As part of a new project, I have spent the last three days scanning nearly 2000 photos of locomotives around Australia. Part of this finally saw some cane shots attended to.
During the next few months we will be looking at the NSW 48 class, but following this we shall move on the a selection of Queensland's industrial finest.

ISIS #1 and #4 are on the large sweeping curve that descends down to Isis Mill (to the south of Bundaberg).

Interested in the railways of Australia (outside New South Wales)?
Locomotives - Trains - Historic Infrastructure

Memorabilia

Sister group to the popular NSW Railways Past & Present

Join in the discussions, share your stuff and enjoy the regular contributions of many people from around Australia.

Australia Railways

Past and Present.

If you love a well run group with a yard full of great railway entertainment, we invite you to join us. Best of all, it is free ;-)

HELP KEEP FOWLER 14

ON TRACK

The 'Walhalla Goldfields Railway' Fowler workhorse needs an extensive amount of TLC for it to be returned to service on this popular tourist railway.
A crowd funding page has been set up HERE with an extensive amount of information on the project, as well as offers being made based on the size of the donation.
The museum had a bit of a scare recently with massive bushfires in the region. If you can find your way to helping them get their Fowler back up and running, I am sure they would be greatly appreciative.

Detail of required work appears below.

Photos: Courtesy of the 'Walhalla Goldfields Railway' Fowler 14 fundraising page.

From the fundraising page.

What your generous tax-deductible donations will help us to do-

The Walhalla Goldfields Railway volunteer maintenance crew are adept at being able to source parts from various businesses in the local region, and where required from interstate to ensure repairs are completed efficiently using the right components.

To complete repairs, Fowler Locomotive No.14 needs the following items installed to get it back on track:-

Cooling System $5500

Transmission Torque Converter $2000

Transmission Oil pump $1800

Transmission oil $200

Hydraulic hoses- $550

Water hoses $200

If your generous donations exceed our target of $10,000, the WGR will gratefully contribute additional funds towards further much needed work on this locomotive including:-

Installing wheel flange lubricators $400

Installing 24V Cabin ventilation system $3000

Repainting the locomotive $20,000

Help Repair Fowler 14 Fundraiser

Website.

Proudly Supported By The Semi Retired Foamer.