August, 2000. - Newsletter
402 RETURNS
Rail Access Corporation has returned Railmotor 402 back to The Rail Motor Society after having completed most of its radio recption testing work throughout New South Wales.
A TRIP TO BE REMEMBERED! - Weekend to CowraThe Rail Motor Society in conjuction with the Australian Rail Historical Society conducted a Rail Tour to Cowra over the weekend of the 10th - 12th June, 2000.
| The tour travelled over the following lines : |
| Paterson |
to |
Nth Strathfield (Sydney) |
| Nth Strathfield |
to |
Bathurst |
| Bathurst |
to |
Cowra |
| Cowra |
to |
GreenThorpe branch and return |
| Cowra |
to |
Demondrille |
| Demondrille |
to |
Harden |
| Harden |
to |
Goulbourn |
| Goulbourn |
to |
Nth Strathfield (Sydney) |
| Nth Strathfield |
to |
Paterson |
The eargerness of the crew for this journey was evident as they slept over night at The Depot for the early departure.
Saturday, 10th June, 2000. -
On very cold and frosty Saturday morning Railmotors No. 1 and No. 7 departed The Depot sidings at 3.50 am and were held in the Paterson Loop to cross and follow an Up Coal Train causing a 12 minute late departure from Paterson. On arrival at Mindaribba the Motors were again delayed 3 minutes waiting Line Clear and then received a through run to Broadmeadow arriving at 5.02 am.
The first passengers joined the Railmotors now standing in platform 3. Driver Arthur Burgess now in control of our tour train NR70 eased the motors out of the platform on time at 5.23 am (as tabled in Special Train Notice No. 584-2000) for the first leg of the journey to Sydney to pick up passengers at Fassifern, Wyong, Gosford, Mt. Colah, Hornsby, West Ryde and North Strathfield. Many familiar faces from previous Australian Railway Historical Society trips, such as our trip to Parkes via Cootamundra in April 1999, awaited our arrival.
As the Motors journeyed on we passed through Hawkesbury River and started the ascent of Cowan Bank where the temperature appeared to be falling as the weather was getting colder by the minute. Complimentary comments were made about the excellent work carried out by Keith Angel in sealing the sliding doors of the Rail Motor with rubber to keep the cold wind and draughts out of the vehicle's compartment.
Station Assistant Ms Z. Jackson at Hornsby assisted our passengers to board the tour train and then displayed a white flag to give the All-Right for the train to depart. The RailMotors experienced a good run and arrived at North Strathfield at 7.53 am, 4 minutes ahead of time.
Barry Angel our new driver took over the controls of the Motors and after consultation with the Signaller at Homebush Complex departed North Strathfield as WR71 at 8.02 am, 5 minutes early. As we were leaving the platform two CityRail employees who were descending the stairs and carrying cleaning equipment became very vocal and one of them stated loudly "you are not due to depart until 8.07 am". ....Did they desire to hitch a ride?
Travelling via Flemington Junction and Lidcombe our train arrived at Granville at 8.25 am, 8 minutes early. On arrival at Granville the Station Master informed us that we were too early and would be held until a our due departure time at 8.35 am, as there was no early path for our train to Parramatta.
At 8.35 am we departed Granville as tabled and our next stop was Penrith were we picked up additional passengers. After departing Penrith the Motors started the climb of the Great Dividing Range where magnificent views of mountains and valleys can be seen. The Motors in both units were working perfectly and did not faulter on the steep climb between Valley Heights and Katoomba. As we continued climbing we reached Mt. Victoria where more passengers joined the train. After departing Mt. Victoria, we pass through Bell which is the highest elevation on the Western Line.
Emerging from the ten tunnels at Zig-Zag we noticed that the Zig-Zag Tourist Railway were operating their Rail Motors on the old Great Zig-Zag Formation of Via-Ducts. This Engineering Feat was closed in 1910 when the new Main Western Line by-passed this location through a series of tunnels which eased the grade. The formation which once carried a standard gauge railway was re-opened in 1975 as a narrow gauge tourist railway. After passing the Zig-Zag our train descends into the valley and arrived at Lithgow station on time at 11.14 am.
Here we had a ten minute break to walk around and stretch our legs while the cameras buffs to took photographs of the RailMotors at the Platform. Departing Lithgow on time at 11.24 am we passed through Bowenfels and ran through the Marrangaroo Tunnel, arriving at Wallerawang where we stopped for 7 minutes. Departing Wallerawang we enter the new single line section and headed for Bathurst were we arrived at 12.53 pm, one minute early. The Rail Motors which had performed to expectation earned a welcome rest while the passengers and crew enjoyed an excellent country style lunch provided by local caters at the railway station. Following lunch the passengers strolled around the Historic Station which has been restored to its former glory. The station now has a bus interchange and a modern Country link Booking Office.
The RailMotors departed Bathurst at 2.07 pm and ran to Newbridge Station where a short time was allocated for a quick inspection and photographs of this location. When the train was ready to depart the driver drew the RailMotors forward to the Newbridge Staff Hut at the country end of the yard for safeworking purposes. All Safeworking locations between here and Demondrille are un-attended. The safeworking procedures at these locations must be carried by the driver and/or the safeworking Supervisor, after consultation and instructions from the Orange and Junee Train Controllers. After carrying out the necessary safeworking procedures we are on our way again and reach Blaney at 3.10 pm. A total of 13 minutes is allowed at this location to carry out the safeworking procedures and to shunt our train from the Main Western Line to the Cowra Branch Line.
Our departure from Blaney was delayed 55 minutes as the Ordinary Train Staff for the Blaney - Cowra section was at Cowra. As no authority was available for our train to enter and occupy the single line section between Blaney and Cowra the Safeworking Supervisor contacted the Train Controller at Orange and it was agreed that our train would travel to Cowra under Special Authority Order Working. (Special Authority Order Working known as a SAO is an emergency authority used for train working when a failure of the signalling equipment or other irregularity occurs.) The SAO could not be issued until all relevant assurances and contitions had been meet.
Kevin Robison (Freight Corp driver Mudgee depot) used an old Style Train Control Telephone located on the inside wall of the building to contact Orange Train Control to request the issue of a SAO for the Blaney - Cowra section. The Train Control Telephone is operated by pressing a button to talk and releasing the same button to listen. Kevin used his expertise with this type of equipment to copy down the information from the train controller Orange onto a Special Authority Order Form. As the telephone was not located directly over the writing desk, Kevin had to demonstrate a greater skill by having to stretch arms length to operate the phone and then write down the information supplied. As the station is un-attended a push-button slow release switch is used to operate the internal lighting and had to be reset every few minutes to allow Kevin to receive his authority for the Cowra Branch. (Well Done Kevin!)
Kevin Robison at the controls of the RailMotor and in possession of the Special Authority Order now departs Blaney at 4.15 pm and proceeds towards Cowra. Kevin maintains a maximum speed of 20 kilomtres per hour as stated in the W5.300 form (Warning to Driver) issued to him by the signaller at Bathurst. Some passengers were disappointed that we were ending day one in darkness. This disappointment was overcome by the occasional thrill of a tree branch brushing along the outside of our train as it travelled along this in-frequently used Pioneer Branch Line. The imposed speed restriction of 20 kph caused a late arrival at Cowra at 6.30 pm instead of 5.10 pm as tabled. On arrival at Cowra the passengers and most of the crew were transported to the motel by Road Coach were they enjoyed a hearty meal and a good nights rest.
Kurt Schubert (retired driver) kindly assisted the crew to stable the RailMotors within the Lachlan Valley Railway Compound which is situated at the Cowra locomotive depot. After stabling the Motors for the night Kurt then drove the crew to the motel for well deserved rest.
Sunday, 11th June, 2000. -
As the second day dawned on our tour the passengers awakened and redied themselves for a hearty breakfast in readiness for the adventures that lay ahead.
As the Ordinary Train Staff for the Cowra - Koorawootha section was not available at Cowra it had to be transferred to this end of the section. Our friend Kurt Schubert together with Cec Jones (Safeworking Supervisor) drove to Koorawatha and back by car, a round trip of 60 kilometres, to avoid delay to the RailMotors departure to Koorawatha for the trip on GrenFell Branch Line.
The first part of the days activities was a bus trip to see the various scenic attractions in and around Cowra. After completing this tour we were returned to Cowra Station where we boarded the RailMotors for the journey to GreenThorpe. When everybody was aboard our driver now in possession of the Ordinary Train Staff for the Cowra - Koorawatha section, eased the Motors out out Cowra platform at 11.10 am and proceeded to Koorawatha.
On arrival at Koorawatha the Motors were shunted from the Main Line on to the Grenfell Branch Line. The driver maintained a leisurely pace along this branch and we arrived at Greenthorpe at 12.50 pm. We then adjorned to the Greenthorpe Hotel for lunch which is situated near the train line. This hotel is known a popular venue for local groups. The menu for today was T-bone steaks and everybody was surprised at the size of the serving placed before us. The steaks filled the dinner plate and after eating this meal everybody agreeded that this hotel certainly lived up to its reputation for serving fine meals.
The afternoon's activities of hot air ballooning and a visit to the local castle had to be curtailed. The Grenfell line now terminates a short distance beyond the Greenthorpe Hotel and before departure a photo shoot was taken at the Stop-Block where the line has been terminated.
Everybody returned to the RailMotors for an on time departure from Greenthorpe for the run back to Koorawatha. On arrival at Koorawatha the Motors are shunted from the branch to the Main Line. While this was taking place our camera buffs seized the opportunity to take more photographs. The driver after exchanging the tokens and now in possession of the Koorawatha - Cowra Ordinary Train Staff departs for Cowra. On arrival at Cowra the driver and Safeworking Supervisor carry out the safeworking duties while the passengers stretch their legs and take photographs. After the tokens have been exchanged the driver is now possession of the Cowra - Blaney Ordinary Train Staff. The Motors now enter the section and run for about 15 minutes to arrive at Holmwood.
Holmwood is the home of a Railway Theme Park situated a short distance from the station. After detraining the passengers were transported to the theme park on board old fire-engines with sirens screaming. The passengers were greeted by 4203 standing guard at the entrance to this War-Rail-Rural-Model Train-Museum and Caravan Park. After viewing and enjoying the various exbihits it was time to leave and everybody relunctly left the theme park with thoughts of a return visit to once again relive the atmosphere created by all that incredible memorabilia in this park.
With everybody now seated in the train and relaxed with their thoughts and memories of the day the engines begin to rev up and slowly the Rail Motors increase speed as we head back to Cowra for our evening meal. After the RailMotors arived at Cowra there was still plenty of time before the evening meal and some of our crew managed to see a few of the Lachlan Valley Railway's displays in the former New South Wales Government Railways Locomotive depot. There was not much activity in the vicinity of the loco depot as most of their members were enjoying the week-end on a River Boat Cruise. The Lachlan Valley Railway allowed The Rail Motor Society to stow their CPH units inside the secured area of the Lachlan Valley Railway Museum.
Many Thanks and Appreciation goes to the staff of the Town House Hotel/Motel for the courtesy and professional approach extended to our tour members.
The Train Controllers at Orange and Junee must also receive our thanks and gratitude for the co-operation and courtesy shown to help make this journey successful and memorable.
TRMS News August, 2000.
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