My Image Gallery
These are all my own pics, so if you would like better versions of them, feel free to contact me through the Contact Me page here
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Carnival of Flowers
(NEW 7/11/06) The ARHS Queensland Division ran their regular excursion up to Toowoomba for the Carnival of Flowers on 16th September 2006. Several years ago, they instituted double heading with a diesel up the Main Range into Toowoomba to ensure an on-time arrival into the City in order that passengers could arrive in time to watch the street parade. Well, this year, diesel or not, other matters were to intervene to prevent an on-time arrival in the form of a derailment at Laidley. The train was held at Grandchester station for nearly 1 hour as gangers checked the line where the derailed bogey on a ballast wagon had been dragged nearly all the way up the Little Liverpool Range. Approval to travel over the line was finally given, at a maximum 25km/h, so we eventually were able to catch BB18 1/4 1079 close to Victoria Tunnel, near the summit of the climb from Grandchester.
We soon saw the damage caused by the derailment when we arrived at Laidley, with the derailed wagon making a nice job of reprofiling the station coping!
Just beyond the station, we could see why the driver eventually stopped...
Later that day, we returned to the Laidley area to get a recording of the returning train. Alas it was running very late, so we only managed to see an export coal train working hard up the hill before having to depart to be home for dinner.
The next day, a second steam-hauled train ran up the hill to Toowoomba, so we chased it again from Rosewood onwards. Here we see the train rolling down the hill into Laidley, where the cleanup of the derailment of the previous day was nearing completion.Steam Returns
NEW 5/11/06 Now that steam has returned to the mainline, I've been out and about pursuing various trains.
Below are a few shots from my recent outings chasing steam on QR metals
First we have AC16 221A working Sunsteam's annual Laidley Chelsea Flower Festival excursion on the 9th of September 2006. Here she is rounding the horseshoe just before Victoria Tunnel.
She then worked a shuttle back from Laidley to Grandchester and return,
so I caught her returning up the other side of the Little Liverpool
Range.
While waiting for 221A to run up the hill, a regular frieght working ran down the hill with dynamics whirring.
I managed to sneak one more shot in before having head home. Once again 221A is caught working upwards to Victoria Tunnel, a little closer to the summit than the first shot.
Below are a few shots from my recent outings chasing steam on QR metals
First we have AC16 221A working Sunsteam's annual Laidley Chelsea Flower Festival excursion on the 9th of September 2006. Here she is rounding the horseshoe just before Victoria Tunnel.
She then worked a shuttle back from Laidley to Grandchester and return,
so I caught her returning up the other side of the Little Liverpool
Range.
While waiting for 221A to run up the hill, a regular frieght working ran down the hill with dynamics whirring.
I managed to sneak one more shot in before having head home. Once again 221A is caught working upwards to Victoria Tunnel, a little closer to the summit than the first shot.A Southern Steam Odyssey
One of the biggest engineering feats of the 19th Century was the
creation of the Great Lithgow Zig Zag near Lithgow in New South Wales.
Built to descend the western escarpment of the Blue Mountains, the Zig
Zag was used from 1869 to 1910, when bypassed by the 10 tunnels, or Rat
Holes as the drivers called them. In the mid 70s, the Zig Zag Railway
Cooperative once again had trains running over the Zig Zag, but now on
3' 6" gauge rather than the 4' 8 1/2" it was originally laid with, as
the only locos they could obtain at the time were from Queensland and
South Australia. This photo, from out of a train on the top road of
the Z, shows the top road and middle road of the preserved railway, and
the bottom road, which is still the mainline west of Sydney.
While we riding the train, there were only limited opportunity for pics at each of the run arounds at Top and Bottom Points. Even then, it began to rain, I was limited to this shot of our trusty steed, BB18 1/4 1072 at Top Points.After four enjoyable days at the Australian Association of Live Steamers Convention in Sydney over Easter, plus a very pleasant run on the Illawarra Live Steamers track at Wollongong, we visited Kiama, a nice town on the ocean south of Wollongong, before heading up to Newcastle.
After a pleasant couple of hours there, we motored north to Newcastle, primarily to visit the Steamfest at Maitland. We had been a couple times before, so knew what to expect, but if you have never been, it is a huge event, with somewhere over 50 different excursions available over the three days. If you had a look on the steam sounds page, you would have heard the trip we had behind 3801, but also running were 3830 and 3112, plus late on Sunday, we had a special visit from South Maitland Railways 10 Class No. 10 (which we had visited earlier at the Hunter Valley Training Centre) running on the mainline through Maitland station. Below are a few photos from the event.
Here is 3112 waiting in the sidings east of Maitland Station. We first saw 3112 on Saturday running shuttles to Newcastle after failing on Friday and having 3830 substitute.
Next we have the twin CPH railmotors from the Railmotor Society at Patterson waiting at Maitland Station to take a load of happy passengers on a short shuttle up to Patterson. These trips were very well patronised and no wonder, with a pair of very well restored RMs like these.
An interesting contrast to the CPHs were the Endeavours which were providing the regular CityRail service to Newcastle. Replacing the 620/720 railmotors, which themselves replaced the CPHs, the Endeavours may be replaced by newer high speed railcars in the near future according to newspaper reports while we were there.
My eldest son, Lachlan, has a very soft spot for 3801, referring to it as "his baby", since it was the first mainline steam loco he ever had a ride behind when he was 18 months old (at a previous Steamfest). Here is the object of his affection, pulling into Maitland Station to take us on a ride up to Singleton (as featured on the steam page here!)
And here is Lachlan (the little bloke standing in front, not the steam loco!) with South Maitland Railways 10 class No.10. These locos were the last steam locomotives running in Australia, with the last run in September 1987 at the Richmond Vale Railway at Hexham. Fortunately, several examples of these hefty 2-8-2 tank engineshave been preserved.
The other steam loco in use over the weekend was 3830. Here she is getting water (through a nifty hydrant connection under the front buffer beam) in the company of 3112.
On the Sunday, the biggest highlight (at least for us) was "The Great Train Race". This is run at every Steamfest and is usually a race between a steam hauled train (this year hauled by 3830) and a Tiger Moth. This year, as per the last couple of years I believe, we also had the pleasure of a parallel run with 3801 which had run a shuttle to Newcastle and was on it's return run back to Maitland. If the truth be known, I think the drivers were having more fun see-sawing the trains (one running hard past the other then slowing down to let the opposite one past) than racing the Tiger Moth (which would have won about 5 times over). 
Here is another shot of the "Grey Nurse" as the 38s were called in this colour scheme, named after the Grey Nurse or Port Jackson shark which had an undeserved reputation as a man-eater.
And finally, we have 3801 pulling into Maitland Station with the last local train of the Steamfest. Later that night, some 3 hours late, triple header 3112, 3801 and 3830 returned home to Sydney. It was an excellent event, and one we will be sure to visit again.A trip up the North Coast Line
On Saturday 4th February, Pacific 1089 led the first steam trip of the year heading to Palmwoods and Yandina. It was fortunate that the train was able to run as a snap 24 hour strike called from Midnight on Thursday 2nd meant that the loco may not have been transferred from Ipswich to Mayne in time for Saturday's tour. Organised by the Queensland Division of the Australian Railway Historical Society (see their webpage here), the trip was well patronised.
I first caught up with 1089 at Northgate, where it was near impossible to get a photo due to the wire fence in the car park, however I did get a recording (see the steam page here)
Here is the first good pic of the day, near Beerburrum. Even though I was behind the fence, I was able to poke the digital camera through a hole in the chainlink. This was the site of one of my recordings also. (Click thumbnail to enlarge)
At Palmwoods, the Brisbane passengers alighted and participated in several coach tours that were on offer. 1089 was placed in the loop and it meant that one could get right up to the loco for photos. (Click thumbnail to enlarge)
A little further on, 2355+1736 led the Sundlander out of Nambour. For a recording of this train, see the diesel page here.
Finally, here is a shot of a second series Suburban Multiple Unit working a return service from Nambour. This was the same unit heard in the recording of 1089 leaving Northgate earlier in the day.
I first caught up with 1089 at Northgate, where it was near impossible to get a photo due to the wire fence in the car park, however I did get a recording (see the steam page here)
Here is the first good pic of the day, near Beerburrum. Even though I was behind the fence, I was able to poke the digital camera through a hole in the chainlink. This was the site of one of my recordings also. (Click thumbnail to enlarge)
At Palmwoods, the Brisbane passengers alighted and participated in several coach tours that were on offer. 1089 was placed in the loop and it meant that one could get right up to the loco for photos. (Click thumbnail to enlarge)
A little further on, 2355+1736 led the Sundlander out of Nambour. For a recording of this train, see the diesel page here.
Finally, here is a shot of a second series Suburban Multiple Unit working a return service from Nambour. This was the same unit heard in the recording of 1089 leaving Northgate earlier in the day.A visit to the Brisbane Tramway Museum Society
NEW 11/2/06 On Australia Day, a group of us were fortunate to have a private visit to the Brisbane Tramway Museum Society at Ferny Grove. Being a private visit, we were able to view and ride all of the operational trams and with pleasant weather, they made excellent photo subjects. Brisbane's trams finished in 1969, so the Society was very fortunate to receive 20 trams from Brisbane City Council just prior to the end.
Here we have baby centre aisle car No.99. This car was built in 1943 to handle lines with sharp vertical curvature that the bogey trams could not run on.
One thing I really liked is that they have restored their trams very professionally, even down to the authentic advertising.
Next we see the front ends of both No.99 and Four Motor car no.429. Amazingly, both were built at approximately the same time, but No.99 was actually a rebuild of an older toast rack type of car.
One of the most numerous trams on the Brisbane system was the Drop Centre type. Well suited to Brisbane's sub tropical climate with open sides, they were also popular with the travelling public, but sometimes the ladies objected when the wind blew up their skirts. It would have been a bit of a trial in the summer storms we get here, but at least they had roll down blinds. No.341 has just finished restoration and is seen in it's original colour scheme of silver and blue.
Next out of the car barn was No. 65, a toast rack car.
The oldest tram in the collection is the venerable No. 47, a California combination car that was nearly a direct copy of those running in San Francisco back in 1899. This lovely lady was fully restored by Brisbane City Council's workshops.
One thing that was interesting in No.47 was that it's electrics were supplied by the General Electric Company. It's incredible to think that this company is still around making railway related infrastructure over 100 years later!
Resting in the shed side were Phoenix car No.554 next to No.65.
Finally, we have my favourite, No.554, one of the few Phoenix cars, so called because they were rebuilt out of the remains of Four Motor cars damaged in the disasterous Paddington Tram Depot fire of the early 60s. They were very modern cars, with resilient wheels and leather upholstery and have the distinction of being the last all Australian trams, newer Melbourne having various imported items.
Here we have baby centre aisle car No.99. This car was built in 1943 to handle lines with sharp vertical curvature that the bogey trams could not run on.
One thing I really liked is that they have restored their trams very professionally, even down to the authentic advertising.
Next we see the front ends of both No.99 and Four Motor car no.429. Amazingly, both were built at approximately the same time, but No.99 was actually a rebuild of an older toast rack type of car.
One of the most numerous trams on the Brisbane system was the Drop Centre type. Well suited to Brisbane's sub tropical climate with open sides, they were also popular with the travelling public, but sometimes the ladies objected when the wind blew up their skirts. It would have been a bit of a trial in the summer storms we get here, but at least they had roll down blinds. No.341 has just finished restoration and is seen in it's original colour scheme of silver and blue.
Next out of the car barn was No. 65, a toast rack car.
The oldest tram in the collection is the venerable No. 47, a California combination car that was nearly a direct copy of those running in San Francisco back in 1899. This lovely lady was fully restored by Brisbane City Council's workshops.
One thing that was interesting in No.47 was that it's electrics were supplied by the General Electric Company. It's incredible to think that this company is still around making railway related infrastructure over 100 years later!
Resting in the shed side were Phoenix car No.554 next to No.65.
Finally, we have my favourite, No.554, one of the few Phoenix cars, so called because they were rebuilt out of the remains of Four Motor cars damaged in the disasterous Paddington Tram Depot fire of the early 60s. They were very modern cars, with resilient wheels and leather upholstery and have the distinction of being the last all Australian trams, newer Melbourne having various imported items.The Valley Rattler
Christmas Holidays this year took us up to the Sunshine Coast, so while we were there, the opportunity was taken to ride the Valley Rattler, or Mary Valley Heritage Railway at Gympie, about 140km north of Brisbane. I had never visited the railway and I must say I was mightily impressed. It is a very professional outfit and well run. The coaches used on the train were very well looked after, the station was freshly painted and everything had a professional look about it very similar to Puffing Billy in Melbourne. If you are looking for a great day out, I'd strongly suggest a ride on it. We caught the Saturday morning train on 31/12/05, which was to Amamoor, about 1/2 way down the Mary Valley Branch. On the return run, we stopped at Dagun, where there was free wine and cheese tasting (very pleasant, especially the garlic and cracked pepper cheese which I took home with me!). One thing I was quite impressed with was the way they have integrated a turntable into the passing loop at Amamoor. Very smart that, as you can turn the train while running around. The turntable looked relatively new too, so I'm not sure of it's heritage.
The main reason for the visit was to ride behind AC16 2-8-2 No.221A (for a listen, check out the recording page here!)
Anyway, enough rambling, here are some pics (click to enlarge):
First we see 221A coming off the snazzy turntable on the passing loop at Amamoor, after being turned for the return working to Gympie
Next is a view of the trusty steed back on the train prior to departure at Amamoor.
OK, I'll admit it, they do run through some nice scenery too (no I didn't just look at the loco the whole time), so here is what I commonly term an MPS or Mother Pleasing Shot, always a necessity when railfanning (you know the question, "Is that all you took photos off, trains...". This is the Mary River Valley that lends it name to the branch.
One thing that has been on my to do list for a while is to get a photo of a train on the Deep Gully bridge, just out of Gympie. So, after returning to Gympie after a run on the morning train, then paying homage to the Golden Arches gods to appease the children, we caught 221A with the afternoon train to Amamoor, crossing the lovely trestle and plate girder bridge.A quick trip to New Zealand
(NEW 14/1/06)
Prior to Christmas 2005, I had to travel to New Zealand for work. On the last day I was there, I managed to get to MoTaT, the Musuem of Transport and Technology, in the suburbs of Auckland. The museum is well set up and has some interesting things to see including railways and tram exhibits. If you are a bit of a plane buff, MoTaT 2, located about 1 km away from the main musuem, has one of the best collections of aircraft I have seen in recent years, including a Solent Flying Boat (the passenger version of the Sunderland), a Lancaster and even a V1 flying bomb. If you would like to see pictures of the aircraft, drop me a line on the contact page here and I will post some up for you. Below are some rail related pics from the day.
(Click on each image to enlarge)
First we have Auckland tram No. 248 being prepared for a day hauling passengers on the Western Springs Tramway, which runs between MoTaT and the Auckland Zoo.
Next we have Wellington Tram No. 257, which is an unusual 4 foot gauge.
Steam and diesel side by side. 4-8-4 K class No. 900 sits beside Da 1400. Similar to Queensland Railways 1400 class, the Da was a stalwart performer until recent years. The K was probably the pinnacle (or close to) of steam locomotive development in NZ. There is an interesting link here: http://www.k900club.com/k900/k900_pre_65.htm (opens in new window) that has some excellent in service photos of the K.
The K is a mighty impressive looking loco and I would love to see one in full flight. Perhaps one day, though I have a nice picture of one climbing to Arthur's Pass in my office at work, courtesy of the 2006 New Zealand Railfan Calendar I bought at MoTaT.
The final rail related exhibit I saw at MoTaT was Ww 4-6-4T No. 491. Obviously, such a venerable lady such as this presents her best side to the photographer, however walking around the other side revealed that she had been cut away to reveal the inner workings of the boiler, so it is unlikely that she will ever grace the rails again (but never say never in railway preservation!).
If you do get the chance, I strongly recommend visiting MoTaT, especially on one of their Railway operating days. At MoTaT2, where the plane exhibits are, there is also an extensive working railway collection which unfortunately I didn't get to see. I believe they have a couple of tank locos which run regularly and several unique items of rollingstock.
Finally, just to prove that I didn't ignore the current railway scene over there, here is a photo of DCR 1295 at Ohaupo, just south of Hamilton. I had searched high and low for some diesel action while there, and all I came up with was one light engine (oh, and a railcar, but that doesn't count as I didn't have my camera...). Slim pickings, but I'm sure it's normally better than that.
Prior to Christmas 2005, I had to travel to New Zealand for work. On the last day I was there, I managed to get to MoTaT, the Musuem of Transport and Technology, in the suburbs of Auckland. The museum is well set up and has some interesting things to see including railways and tram exhibits. If you are a bit of a plane buff, MoTaT 2, located about 1 km away from the main musuem, has one of the best collections of aircraft I have seen in recent years, including a Solent Flying Boat (the passenger version of the Sunderland), a Lancaster and even a V1 flying bomb. If you would like to see pictures of the aircraft, drop me a line on the contact page here and I will post some up for you. Below are some rail related pics from the day.
(Click on each image to enlarge)
First we have Auckland tram No. 248 being prepared for a day hauling passengers on the Western Springs Tramway, which runs between MoTaT and the Auckland Zoo.
Next we have Wellington Tram No. 257, which is an unusual 4 foot gauge.
Steam and diesel side by side. 4-8-4 K class No. 900 sits beside Da 1400. Similar to Queensland Railways 1400 class, the Da was a stalwart performer until recent years. The K was probably the pinnacle (or close to) of steam locomotive development in NZ. There is an interesting link here: http://www.k900club.com/k900/k900_pre_65.htm (opens in new window) that has some excellent in service photos of the K.
The K is a mighty impressive looking loco and I would love to see one in full flight. Perhaps one day, though I have a nice picture of one climbing to Arthur's Pass in my office at work, courtesy of the 2006 New Zealand Railfan Calendar I bought at MoTaT.
The final rail related exhibit I saw at MoTaT was Ww 4-6-4T No. 491. Obviously, such a venerable lady such as this presents her best side to the photographer, however walking around the other side revealed that she had been cut away to reveal the inner workings of the boiler, so it is unlikely that she will ever grace the rails again (but never say never in railway preservation!).If you do get the chance, I strongly recommend visiting MoTaT, especially on one of their Railway operating days. At MoTaT2, where the plane exhibits are, there is also an extensive working railway collection which unfortunately I didn't get to see. I believe they have a couple of tank locos which run regularly and several unique items of rollingstock.
Finally, just to prove that I didn't ignore the current railway scene over there, here is a photo of DCR 1295 at Ohaupo, just south of Hamilton. I had searched high and low for some diesel action while there, and all I came up with was one light engine (oh, and a railcar, but that doesn't count as I didn't have my camera...). Slim pickings, but I'm sure it's normally better than that.A Korean Interlude
In October 2004, I was lucky enough to be sent to Korea for work. While
we were very busy for most of the time over there, I managed to con the
group I was with to take a ride on the KTX, the Korean TGV.
Pretty much identical to the French TGV, and built by the same
manufacturers, it was a great opportunity to travel on one of the
fastest trains in the world (average top speed 320 km/h).
Also while there, we managed to have one day off and this was spent visiting one of the big electronic markets to buy geek gadgets galore! We had a competition to see who could buy the geekiest item under $20. The winning item was a vacuum cleaner powered off the USB port of a computer. The excuse the buyer made was that he eats toast over his laptop in the mornings, so he needed the vacuum cleaner to suck up the crumbs out of his keyboard...
I also managed a couple of shots of Korean diesel services.
First we have the KTX
Next is one of the new stations built specifically for the KTX on the dedicated KTX rail line
One of the former high speed diesel railcars, now relegated to secondary services
Finally a shot of two Korean diesels
Also while there, we managed to have one day off and this was spent visiting one of the big electronic markets to buy geek gadgets galore! We had a competition to see who could buy the geekiest item under $20. The winning item was a vacuum cleaner powered off the USB port of a computer. The excuse the buyer made was that he eats toast over his laptop in the mornings, so he needed the vacuum cleaner to suck up the crumbs out of his keyboard...
I also managed a couple of shots of Korean diesel services.
First we have the KTX
Next is one of the new stations built specifically for the KTX on the dedicated KTX rail line
One of the former high speed diesel railcars, now relegated to secondary services
Finally a shot of two Korean diesels
Shots of QR
First we have my favourite loco, BB18 1/4 1089 at Grandchester as
part of Queensland Rail's 140th Celebrations at the end of July 2005.
Next we see her climbing the Little Liverpool Range returning part of the train back to Grandchester after a short trip to Laidley on the same day
OK, we'll let one diesel get in on the act. Lucky it's a four stroke that's all I can say (well actually two). 2811 + 2601 are sitting at the loop just west of Stuart awaiting entry to the yard.
Finally, we have AC16 221A climbing between Gowrie and Pengarry on her return from Meandarra on 15/10/05
Next we see her climbing the Little Liverpool Range returning part of the train back to Grandchester after a short trip to Laidley on the same day
OK, we'll let one diesel get in on the act. Lucky it's a four stroke that's all I can say (well actually two). 2811 + 2601 are sitting at the loop just west of Stuart awaiting entry to the yard.
Finally, we have AC16 221A climbing between Gowrie and Pengarry on her return from Meandarra on 15/10/05