44 Class Month-a-thon!

G'day fellow ALCo fetishists,

The life of a foamer is not an easy one, so many things competing for ones free time.
Ahhh free, haven't had much of that the last few weeks. Between Darling Harbour and Canberra, my man parts have really been tied up in somewhat of a knot when it comes to work. That is not that I am suggesting I work in the adult entertainment industry, something I feel I should point out for my more depraved readers.
Then if work isn't enough, there is the evils of drink and woman to remove to again separate one from the more intense pleasures that come with being a gunzel line side, notebook in one hand and tissue in the other, just ready to capture any errant dribble that sprays forth.
Alas it is now that I sit at the computer screen, trying to come up with some 44 class guff while eating some awesome Caldarita (Filipino food) and sipping on prime quality Bundy Rum with Coke.

Oh what to add this time!!!

What better place to start than in the decaying bowels of ones mold attracting photo albums from the 80s. After blowing the dust off, the following gems were found for your pleasure.

CHULLORA: Remember when it was a bustling hive of activity? One would shed a few jocks in anticipation of a visit to this most prized of all gunzel locations. Lordy me, one could be assured of filling some of the crevices in the 44 album while ferreting around this location. Below is a new cactused 4435 waiting to be violated by the oxy torch by some uncaring vermin. The shot was taken on my first camera, a Kodak Instimatic camera which used those weird 126 films.

The second instamatic camera was used here at the old Campsie footbridge. It shows light engines 4456 and 4454 heading back towards Delec.


Twas pissing down cats and dogs in Sydney this night. While everyone else was at home cuddled up with something (or someone) nice warm and fluffy, the intrepid gunzel would be proceeding forthwith to rail instillations to risk flu. Tonight it was Delec, the locomotive in question, 4456.



Frig me twig, how sad it is to go through all these albums and see so many classic locomotives that have all become Korean cars or flick knives for societies scum. Again it was the last time I was to see a member of this awesome class. 4457 is sitting at Parkes loco during her final months prior to being raped of her dignity and cut up into to small little pieces. Not sure if she was scrapped here, or if she was moved elsewhere to suffer this destructive vandalism.

So all this bollocks may lead one to wonder which of this much beloved class has indeed survived.
Well it just so happens I am feeling generous, and more than a little bit tipsy after a party, so here be a listing for the very few who possibly don't know this already.
Shows ownership only, many are leased out or used on tours and won't necessarily be seen at the owners base.

4401 - 3801 Ltd
4403 - Junee Roundhouse
4420 - Dorrigo
4445 - Cab only in Werris Creek
4458 - Rothbury
4461 - Rothbury
4463 - Rothbury
4464 - Lachlan ALCo group
4465 - Werris Creek, John Currey
4468 - CFCLA
4471 - CFCLA
4472 - Rothbury
4477 - CFCLA
4473 - Lachlan ALCo Group
4483 - CFCLA
4486 - Lachlan ALCo Group
4488 - Rothbury
4490 - Rail Transport Museum, Thirlmere
4497 - Rothbury
4498 - Rothbury

Many other smaller parts of these locomotives have been saved from destruction. However having a life prevents me from starting to catalogue this sort of list for the next 20 years.

44 Class Week-a-thon!

*** MEMORY LANE ***

If there is one thing I love about these week-a-thons it is the need to travel down memory lane looking through all the oldest stuff in the collection.
Sadly 'Memory Lane' is deteriorating nowdays and many a pothole is forming, it was never a part of the governments Bicentenial road funding scheme.
With ones head all filled with things female I do ask to be excused for not including massive amounts of information. Those who wish to add stuff can feel free to do so, even via email. I would be happy to add it.

The next couple of entries will cover some of my earliest shots, we will then go on to cover the survivors, look at a selection of workings over the years and their sister types. If you have any interesting 44 class facts or stories you would like to include please email them to me at alcogoodwin @ yahoo. com .au (remove spaces)I remember this shot vividly. It was to be the first day I was introduced to the pervert side of the hobby. A railfan, who called himself BB (Bloody Bob) who went on a 2 month stalking mission to obtain some young railfan bott bott.

Unlike poor old 4419, seen here at Delec during the 80s, my back virginity remained intact.
Sadly, unlike old BB the railfan pervert, this was the last time I would see 4419.
The hobby can be a treacherous place for newcomers, especially those of the young male variety. Always stay aware.

Twas my first drive to Victoria in search of trains, previous trips being all train based.
We were due to stay in Albury overnight and despite running late decided to check out Culcairn station and the junctions for Holbrook and Corowa (such as they were.
These were the days of little railfan contact and certainly nothing called the internet. When travelling you had to rely on things called railway staff and/or bloody good luck.
At Culcairn it was the later. 10 minutes later and we would have been walking part of the Holbrook line.
As it was a horn was heard in the distance, resulting in the usual foamer scurrying to find a spot to try to capture a piccie or two. Time was short at the speed it was moving, so nothing spectacular was going to be achievable.
Slowly that bright light depleted in its intensity and revealed 4426 leading 4438 on a freighter heading north. Twas the last day of 1987 and was a more than fitting way to see it out.

Delec - twas a second home. The place was always railfan friendly and no weekend would pass without a good look around and a snapshot of anything that was of interest.
44 class were always of interest and this night shot of 4423 awaiting attention was way to hard to pass up.

This is certainly an oldie.
Back on the 19th of August 1986 I was still using a Kodak Instamatic 126 camera. While the results were always less than outstanding, its now a case of content being more important than overall quality.
I remember being more than a little bit wrapped to get a shot of 4421 before she was scrapped. It was the first shot I ever got and, as it turned out, the last.
Visits into Chullora were a VERY rare treat and probably the one thing I looked forward to more than anything else in the hobby. You just never knew what treats laid within this busy place.
Today so much of the area is a ghost town, such a sad outcome for a once so vitally busy location.

44 Class Week-a-thon!

*** WELCOME TO THE 44 CLASS WEEK-A-THON ***

Its been some while since the last time we did this. Work and party life has been getting in the way of all the best intentions. :-)

The 44 class, if any loco type is bound to cause pantal movement it is these (oh yeah, and those ugly Bulldog things). I had an obsession for these creatures, way back in the days before it become fashionable to froth over the ALCo 'World Series'.
It lead to a urgent desire to gather information on their sisters around the various parts of the globe. It was a fun search, but not an easy one being back in the days before most railfans used the internet for their train research and unusual sheep fetishes.

While is called a 'Week-A-Thon', it will likely run quite a bit longer and while I call it the '44 Class Week-A-Thon' I am already entertaining the prospect of looking at the World Series in general.
So why haven't I changed the name to reflect this?
"None of your business! I don't have to explain my every decision do I?????????" :-)

Anyway for those with a soft spot for the 'World Series', please sit back and enjoy. I invite everyone to use the comments sections to share their 44 class memories and experiences with readers.
For those into Bulldogs, there is an interesting article on knitting scarfs on KimsKnittingBlog.com.

OK we all have favourite locomotives. My two were 4460 and 4406, both of which have since been used as parts for your new Toyota Echo.
Her special claim to fame was as the last of the Mk1 version of the class.
She is seen here at Sydney Terminal on the 30th of December 1987. Shot was obviously taken back in the days before partying between Xmas and NYD.

This is believed to have been 4433s last run. Working a weekend Sydney-Gong-Moss Vale return passenger service (back when there was one) she is seen heading back through Bulli.
A couple of days later she was seen at Delec, enquiries were made and we were told she was withdrawn. She was later cut up at Cardiff. 01-04-1988

The late 80s and early 90s saw me semi-living down around Cootamundra. Much of ones life was spent there living in the now closed North Box and chasing trains on the lines radiating out from this important yard.
The major train of choice at this time was the Griffith Speedfreight on its afternoon run back to Sydney. It was a guarantee of great ALCo combinations, occasionally stained with some EMD involvement.
Today we drove all the way to Griffith to chase it back to Coota.
4458 4427 4474 are seen on arrival at Barrelan. Safeworking duties would be conducted before a cloud of yummy ozone depleting black ALCo smoke is emitted skywards marking the departure from the rural town and our hasty retreat back to the old VK Commodore.

DEDICATION: This Week-A-Thon is dedicated to my mates Jamie Fisher and Bernie Baker, whos dedication and love of all things ALCo has been an inspiration :-)

MORE 44 CLASS EXCITMENT TOMORROW!