Model Trains and Things

Pac Nat

- cut off from it’s Brisbane terminal on Tuesday when a north bound QR freighter derailed eight wagons and left the main northern line blocked till Friday morning. You can read the news story here

- and out of the grain haulage business in Victoria. Oh the joys of privatisation where railway companies don’t provide services for for businesses that are affected by the drought. You can read that news story here.

Victoria recently bought back the railway lines from Pacific National - will we see government run freight operations reappear in that State?

On a positive note for Pacific National - they are very close to finalising some coal haulage contracts in Queensland. Expect an announcement any day now - not that it will do much good in easing the coal export problems because the choke point seems to be the ports and not the railways - although that depends on just who is trying to cover the bum at the time.

Maryborough Queensland is located about three hours drive north of Brisbane. Maryborough has almost always been a railway town, it’s the home of EDI where locomotives have been built for over 100 years, it was the home of the busiest branchline in Queensland, it was a crew change point on the north coast line and today it has lost a lot of its importance.

The main station in Maryborough never sees a passenger train anymore, crews are still changed here … but some of the crews are employed by another transport operator, and the busiest branch rarely sees a Government train these days.

But Maryborough is still worth visiting because you never know what you’re going to see in the yard.

When I took this photo just over 12 months ago there were two new Brisbane suburban carriages from EDI stored adjacent to the platform and what’s that peeking out of a shed at the end of the platform?

It’s a Queensland B15 class steam loco. It was built here in Maryborough when EDI was known as Walkers Engineering and one day it will be restored. Until that day comes it will sit under cover against the buffers at the end of the platform at Maryborough.

So if you’re heading north from Brisbane take the detour off the Bruce Highway and wander down to the station in the middle of Maryborough … you never know what might be sitting in the yard.

Premier Anna Bligh today welcomed news that a rail link between Moree and Toowoomba is progressing.

“A nation building project such as that proposed deserves careful consideration,” said the Queensland Premier.

“We will work closely with the New South Wales government in coordinating and evaluating the proposal’s assessment.”

“The Border Railway has the potential to open up new transport and mining opportunities.

“I look forward to seeing the business case behind building a high-speed standard-gauge rail link between Melbourne to Gladstone. At first glance the project looks very exciting and now the hard work of assessment and evaluation will determine its viability.

“I congratulate ATEC on having the courage to progress their idea and look forward to seeing their business case,” she said.

Siemens in Australia and New Zealand has been awarded a A$170 million contract by Queensland Rail (QR) to supply 25 Class 3800 heavy haul electric locomotives. The contract comes as an extension to an existing order placed last year for 20 new locomotives.  It is also in addition to the contract with QR to upgrade 63 Class 3700 locomotives.

The additional 25 Class 3800 heavy haul electric locomotives will be delivered over a period of 12 months commencing at the end of 2009.

The upgraded Class 3700 locomotives have commenced revenue operation in Queensland, delivering improved productivity with more coal being hauled by fewer locomotives. The first 20 locomotives already on order are now under construction in Siemens main locomotive factory in Munich and are due to be delivered and placed into service in Queensland during 2008. 

Siemens Transportation Systems Executive General Manager, Paul Bennett, said the new locomotives will expand QR’s locomotive fleet in the Goonyella Coal Systems and provide increased haulage capacity.

“The new, state of the art Siemens Class 3800 electric locomotives will provide improved performance to the upgraded Class 3700 locomotives, allowing QR to increase the payload of each train, improve cycle times and lower operating costs. All locomotives are equipped with Siemens locomotive ac traction technology, which has been proven in Queensland to exhibit high reliability in harsh operating conditions.

“Siemens is pleased to have again been entrusted to deliver this prestigious project and we are delighted to be continuing our valued relationship with QR,“ said Mr Bennett.

The Siemens locomotive factory in Munich is the centre of competence for construction and produces approximately 150 electric and diesel locomotives per year.

Last weekend Trent from RaiChase - a railway photography blog that is definitely worth seeing - suggested that the photos that appear on this blog were stunning. Obviously that’s Trent’s way of stating that he is totally delusional but just in case you need any further convincing I present these two photos.

The first will show that since coming to Queensland I’ve developed a love affair for chain-link fences

This photo was taken at Bundaberg in May 2006.

I still hadn’t lost my love for chain-link fences when I was in Rockhampton in August this year and took this photo.

You will also notice that I’ve developed some new ones like a passion for poor lighting and poles as well. So I guess that just goes to show I’m really about as average as everyone else

Next week I’ll take you down to Sydney to spend a Saturday afternoon at Enfield back in the late 1960s. Those are black and white photos and are among the earliest photos I took.

There’s no doubt that coal is extremely important to the Queensland economy but unfortunately Queensland railways - who currently hold a monopoly on coal transportation in Queensland - isn’t doing such a good job of getting the coal from the mines to the coast. In fact the situation is so bad that at least one of the mines is now laying off workers because the above ground stockpiles at the mine have grown too big.

There have been some half-hearted comments from the State Government about finding extra locomotives and rolling stock but it seems that Pacific National are doing more that making half-hearted comments. According to this Reuters article Pacific National are already putting in orders for more locos and coal hoppers with a view to breaking into the coal carrying business in Queensland.

Actually, when you think about it doesn’t it make you wonder why Queensland National are working in the coal carrying business in NSW when they can’t meet the demand in their own backyard?

PN010 on a up container train at Maryborough West on 28.02.06

Brisbane’s rail network could be connected by a massive underground tunnel and major new stations under proposals being looked at in a new State Government study.

Minister for Transport and Main Roads Paul Lucas said the study would help determine how the city could manage the massive growth in public transport demand.

“Queensland’s population is increasing by 1500 people a week and close to 70 per cent of that growth is in the south east,” Mr Lucas said.

“But popularity comes with a price. And we need to plan now to ensure public transport will continue to be affordable and convenient in Brisbane into the future.”

Mr Lucas said the State Government had appointed consultants Maunsell Parsons Brinkerhoff to look at options for boosting rail capacity in the city centre, including potential for an underground tunnel. The $5 million Inner City Rail Capacity Study is expected to be completed in the second half of next year. The public will have a chance to have input into the study next year.

“We already know that by around 2016 we’ll face congestion on the Merivale Bridge because of the massive number of new services we’re putting on. But rather than simply deciding to put up another rail bridge right next to it, I want to look at options that will provide smart solutions for the next 50 years and beyond.”
(more…)

Every Thursday morning a very unusual scene unfolds at a busy road  intersection in Maryborough Queensland. At first a man with a broom appears and sweeps the place where the Wharf Branch crosses the road.

At the same time the local shunter appears to flag the crossing - it seems that a man weilding a broom isn’t enough to trip the flashing lights.

And then the train appears

And finally … just when every motorist but me has had enough of waiting the loco appears pushing it’s train into the adjacent park.

Meet Maryborough’s very own operating steam locomotive, the Mary Anne. This is an operating replica of the first loco built by what became Walkers Engineering. Throughout the day on every Thursday and the last Sunday in each month it operates short trips on part of the Wharf Branch.

Yesterday in The Streets of Rockhampton I mentioned that we’d had to travel to Rockhampton on Tuesday. That trip took us through a lot of sugar cane country and it was interesting to see that the cutting season was well under way and that means that the cane trains are out and about.

So far my cane train photography has been rather limited but I hope to improve on that situation this season. Until then here’s a photo of Queensland Railways DH29 in a rather sad and sorry state as it sits outside the Bundaberg Foundry.

DH29 was part of an order for 73 diesel hydraulic shunting locos built for Queensland Railways by Walkers of Maryborough. The were fitted with a Caterpillar D355E engine that produced 347kW/465HP. The first of the class entered service in December 1966 and DH29 entered service in April 1969.

All of the class are now out of service; some were sold to Malaysia and Vietnam, some have been scrapped and some were sold to various sugar mills where they were re-gauged, rebodied and put into service hauling cane trains.

DH29 was sold to the Kalamia/Inkerman mill and this photo by Brad Peadon shows it sitting outside Bundaberg Foundry waiting its turn to be rebuilt.

We had to take a trip up to Rockhampton yesterday and had a little time to spare up there so we went train spotting and we didn’t have to go far to see them either.

Now if you’re wondering what you should be seeing here just look above the car that’s parked in front of the camera - that’s a railway signal right there in a busy Rockhampton street - and it’s really an operating signal.

The signs below the signal say “Railway Signal Only” and “Trains must not proceed until authorised by signalman”. And why do we need a signal like that in a busy street in Rockhampton?

Because the main northern line runs right down the middle of the road.

That’s PN006 bringing a rather lengthy container train into Rockhampton from the north. And just so you understand that this line really does run down the middle of the street here’s another shot of the same train.

Finding a train wandering down the middle of the street isn’t difficult either. In less than an hour we saw one up and two down trains traversing the railway line in the middle of the street.