Due to the quite surprising popularity of our recently introduced locomotive fleetlists, it has has been decided to rack them off to a site of their own.
 This decision came about primarily due to their not being an easy fit with the style of our main blog site here, plus the immense size of each posting given our desire to include as many images of each class as possible.
We truly hope these changes will allow us to deliver you a more world class gunzelling experience and that the less confusing direction will be understood by even the most railfan of our railfan readers.

Australian Locomotive Rosters
Website!

BOTANY NIGHTS

90s NOCTURNAL GOODS LINE ACTION

 Way, way, back in the 90s, back when it was not a crime to be a railfan and common sense meant there was no need for self appointed railfan police officers, our Sunday evenings were often spent down Botany railway yard in Sydney.
  Having lived along this goods line for most of my life, we had become well know to the staff (for all the right reasons mind you) who spent many years of their life working there.
  At the time, it was normal practice for the last train of the week to leave Botany late Saturday afternoon, usually with that weeks shunter up front, and the daylight hours of Sunday totally devoid of any movement. Well, other than a local railfan or two clearing up overgrown vegetation in more popular photo locations. 
  Sunday night, however, the yard reopen for business. That weeks shunting unit would show up, as would a freight from Brissie, the later usually hauled by a collection of ALCo powered units.
  Having little that resembled a life at the time, we often found ourselves down there in the yard, hanging out with the guys and taking shots of everything that stood still long enough for us to set up a tripod.
  Here is a small selection from those great times.

4904 has turned up at Botany for a weeks worth of shunting duties.
The 49 class would soon be considered inadequate for the task and be replaced by the 442 class.

44204 44209 on the Patricks branch.

8015 and 8014 have just arrived at the new yard in Botany with the Sunday night container train from Brisbane.

A 90s Botany Highlight

4401 had recently been restored for heritage use and spent a short amount of time around Sydney on trip train working. I was in Bomaderry when I first heard of this and had to race back to Sydney for some shots the same afternoon.

Despite the panic, further chances to get her came forth. One of these being a trip train late on one of those Sunday nights.
If you have been paying any remote sort of attention, you would also notice she was there on another night and seen in a shot up above ^^^. 

Hope this was at least marginally enjoyable.

Don't mention it.

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Botany Line SIG
A Facebook group for those interested in Sydney's

'Premier Goods Line'.

It has been a while since our last delicious random selection of random train shots.
This group are probably not quite so random, all being for a selection of Jumbo shots to place on Farcebook (my former location of choice for my shots).
Join us as we have a look at a few of these great ALCo beasties, the numbers of which have declined over the years since.

While rail traffic still passes this location, it is more likely to be a light rail vehicle.
The entire goods line from here to Ultimo has been gradually converted into a popular modern new light rail system.

The above shots are of NR1's first trial and the two Jumbos that accompanied her.
This was quite possibly the biggest weekend of my former railfan career. The night prior I had finished work at 10am and driven up to Newcastle. About four hours sleep was had before we were up to get NR1 leaving the Goninan plant (where she was built) and out on the mainline.
That evening we had to be in Goulburn, then Junee the next day.
Heck - I whinge about driving to Newcastle after a sleep in now days. :-)

Botany line Jumbos.
Having lived most of my life along this line, these become quite boring after a while.
44211 has been a lucky survivor, preserved at Thirlmere.
44212, however, was built into the ghastly GL112.

A ride out to Rozelle was a rare and much appreciated event. I can recall at least four times that I have had the privilege. Three were cab rides, while at least one was a single deck intercity set on one of Bruce Cook's ET Tours.
These tours themselves were something else. Probably the last of the great old style type tours, where the train would stop everywhere and people would pile out for photos. None of the rules, or even worse, the self appointed gunzel police, of today.
Yes, they were truly fun days.

Stay tuned for another thrilling roller coaster ride of photos shortly.

Streeewth, am running out of month, but far from running out of 44 class.

4403 42220 8168 are passing Hope Street on their way to Rozelle yard to work the Griffith Speedfreight. The final weeks of the 44 class saw us here on many an evening in an effort to grab our last glimpses of these magnificent beasts in action.

4403 has since been preserved and just recently painted back into indian red (because there isn't already enough in that livery), 42220 is now CFCLA's FL220 and I suspect 8168 is running around the start in either Freightrail blue or the more attractive PN one.

4480 at Broadmeadow.

Distinguished from her similarly painted sister, 4480, by the lack of number on the nose door.

4403 at Port Botany

4471 and 42220 on a down limestone approaching Moss Vale station.

4474 idles at Taree on a southbound container service.

4489 has just arrived at the former Beachamp Road level crossing in Matraville and proceeds to run around before pushing back into the port.

44221 44211 4451 on a container rake up in the Hunter Valley.

4438s days are number as she awaits to be purchased in the Cardiff auction.

4483 on works train passing Concord West.

4492 at Delec

Steven Karas inspecting the awesome power that is a 44 class.

That beautiful ALCo nose. 4431 awaits scrapping at Junee, while 4486 had just been restored at Cowra.

This time it is the nose of 4446.

The final Goulburn passenger has arrived at Sydney Terminal and the locomotives will soon run around.

Howdee all, While I realise that the massive helping of 44 class photos this month has quite possibly already lead to a personal accident of epic (one of those modern day wank words) proportions, I am going to push the enveliope even further with an extra large helping of old 44 class shots from within the archive.

The quality of some may be as questionable as the mental health of many a young modern day railfan, however this will be due to eith bodgy old cameras that I could aford, or the fact I have been to lazy to use a proper scanner. Please enjoy none the less.

SIGH!!!!! Sydney Terminal was once such a great place to visit.

While I acknowledge that there is a place for people who get their jollies over Tangaras, Oscars and, god forbid, Millenium sets, the old days of loco hauled Nowra and Goulburn line trains was really where it was at.

4428 is seen here soon after arrival from Goulburn.

Can't for the life of me remember where this is, but think it be Broadmeadow, Seems 4426 has had a bit of cheap repair work done.

Once a regular in my viewfinder, the long extinct 4427 is seen here chugging her life away at Central.

4424 at Cootumundra in the days prior to this location becoming somewhat of a second home.

We were on our way home from Melbourne when we stopped for a few photos of Culcairn station. Twas with much surprise that a headlight lead to 4423 and 4465 screaming by on their northbound train.

The days were numbered for 4421 as she sat at Chullora. She was never to see the open road again.

4424 again, this time in Sydney Terminal.

4422 sits at Sims Metal on a siding that had previously seen many of her sisters, and even more of the steamers which her and the sisters replaced.

This was the end of the road for many a 44. Twas also a good place for souveniers.

4423 at Hope Street.

This was not a good road at Delec. Locomotives sitting here were not usually long for this world.

Twas no different for 4419 who went to god not much later.

4409, seen here at Hope Street (Enfield) had one last journey to make, that being the short one to Sims Metal at Mascot.

I had two favourite 44 class, these being 4406 and 4460. Both have now gone to god, and the above photo was the only time I ever saw them together. The location being the ever popular Delec turntable.

4405 leads a freight past CPH 1 and 7 at Broadmeadow. The CPH railmotors were running the last even passenger trips (railfan, not regular) to operate the former Belmont line. These only able to go to Jewels platform.

4405 at Delec depot.

4403, now preserved in Canberra (again in the original indian red due to a lack of imagination), is seen here arriving at Sydney Terminal from Goulburn.