DARLING ISLAND SHUNTERS

Found an interesting clip from 1977, which won the AFI Awards , Bronze award for best documentery in1979 for film maker Tim Woolmer .It must of been funded by the Experimental Film andTelevision Fund / State Rail Authority of New South Wales.Produced by Tim Woolmer.
There was part 1 on Youtube but this has been removed .
Does anyone know of any DVD,s of the entire doco that are available? The entire film runs for 15 minutes.

Things to look out for !

FMW Walkers Aberdeen Grain Fed Beef Wagons

A single EVC carriage from a Technical Education set .These carriages where made from the underframes of LHG,s and painted in Deep Cream with a Silver roof,before being painted into TAFE colours at a latter date.

Also the interesting comment that the Safety Officer was complaining about someone standing on a flat truck while the train was in motion.He must obviously be very selective in his concerns ,or everything else is just fine.

                                             SIT BACK AND ENJOY THE 70,S   MAN !

44101

One of the more interesting locos that operated on the NSW rail ,if only for a very short time came about from the tragic accident  that occurred west of Parkes at Mellelea on the 26th October 1974 .
2  locos  where involved in a head on with the up freight headed by 4476 coming in to cross the stationary down freight headed by 4478.Both locos where No 1 end leading and the forces involved ensured that both locos where write off 's.
On removal from the accident site the locos were sent to Cardiff workshops where the they could be assessed and stored safely from the public's gaze, from what was an embarrassing incident for the Railways.
After inspecting the damaged locos the plan was to cannibalize the damaged locos for any usable parts from what where 2 relatively new locos with 4476 entering service on 18-11-66 and 4478 on 23-1-67 .
Then the staff decided it would be better to use the locos as the basis for a hybrid loco which would combining the two undamaged No 2 ends to create a box cab loco similar to the newly introduced 422 and 442 class of locos.
As the loco's had already been written off the project was undertaken as a fill in with work taking place only when time allowed.And also as no official permission had been granted for the project the work was a closely guarded secret in the Cardiff workshops.
The loco eventually became a reality and it was a very proud staff that saw the loco completed and numbered 44101 to represent a new class of loco if only one strong.
The loco shared all the same equipment and specifications of the 44 class from which it came from.
The trials for the loco had to be keep secret until its existence could be made official.So under the cover of darkness the loco ventured out of the workshops onto NSW rails for the first and what would be the last time .
Arrangement's had been made to trial the loco on the neighboring Richmond Vale Railway system .
The loco performed faultlessly reaching Minmi Junction. Before after some minor adjustments the loco set out for the return journey.Unfortunately the higher than normal axle load of the new loco had caused damage to the track on the outbound leg which had gone unnoticed in the darkness and as it retraced its path tragedy struck with the track spreading under the weight of the loco and sending it toppling off the embankment and into the waters on the Hexam Swamp.

                                                            Location of 44101

Luckily no serious injuries occurred (Apart from the results of serious attacks from the Hexam Greys ) and as the crew and Cardiff workshop staff on board the loco scrambled to safety,the engine began to settle into the  soft mud of the swamp ,finally coming to rest parallel to the tracks and laying on its side nearly fully submerged.
By next morning accident crews where on site where plans could be made to retrieve 44101 from its resting place.
Due to the narrow embankment ,lightly layed line and inaccessibility of the site, the heavy lifting cranes required could not be used .And as investigations of how to extract the loco became more complicated the 110 ton loco settled further into the mud becoming fully submerged and firmly stuck in the muddy bottom making any hope of retrieval impossible.
On a field trip to the site in Dec 2011 no trace could be seen of 44101 but small traces of oil or diesel could be seen rising to the surface marking its resting place very much like the USS ARIZONA at PEARL HARBOUR.During the drought the loco may have been visible but this chance is lost for the moment.


With this information I set about making a model of this unique loco.I haven't been able to uncover any drawing or photos so the model is based on what I think it would of looked like.
Using 2 Lima 44's cut and joined, detailed, painted an numbered then mated to a dummy version of the Lima chassis using the 2 unpowered bogies.

                                                A triple unit lash up American style A+B+A
                                This combo ran at the Canberra and Hobsons Bay Exhibition when
                                 BOLIVIA was displayed with no comment !
                       

                                          The loco used as a conventional loco on its own

                                      44101 makes an interesting addition to the loco fleet and as
                                      an ALCO would of found its way to Bolivia.

I would be pleased to hear from anyone who has any additional information and hopefuly some photos of this very unique loco.

CSX WAGON PART 2

Well I have done version 3 , No end plates or tarp supports using the same methods outlined in my previous post.With the help of some photos from Mark Bau's website .Which shows a wagon of coils using  3 different tarps  to cover the load.And an empty wagon with 2 or 3 rolled up tarps in the coil wells and 1 coil restraint per side taken off with the other still in position.        

               http://www.victorianrailways.net/freight/freight%20pages/csx/csx.html

 

I used a piece of  16mm  electrical conduit cut to 4 ft long to represent the coils and glue in place ,before covering with the tarps which I cut at 15 ft x 20 ft then colored with different dilutions of Tamiya Field Gray XF-65 and Khaki Drab XF-51 plus a yellow which was an artist tube to represent a VR tarp. 

                     For the unloaded wagon the tarp supports need to be cut off just above the side where the pipe shape starts leaving the square base in place.Place the coil restraints in position and roll up you tarps , colour then add to the wagon.

 

Once again it only takes 1 hour per wagon to change these wagons from toy world to the real world.

CSX WAGON

`Having a 4 pack of the the Auscion CSX coil steel wagons I of coarse took them out of the pack and marveled at the detail, smooth running and just thought how lucky we are now to have such good wagons available.
The one thing that did worry me was how terrible they look being so clean and stark.

                                               Fresh from the pack an almost surgical appearance
                                Note how unweathered wagon refuses to sit correctly on my layout


Not ever seeing these wagons in real life I set about researching the prototype and over time came up with some general idea of how the wagon looked  in real life.

Unloaded wagons with rolled up tarp in coil well and removed coil restraint dropped into each well.It appears only one restraint was removed to unload the coils and the coil restraints where wooden.with steel ends

                                All Black and White images from the ROB OREGAN COLLECTION
                           

 Note damaged tarp support this would have been a common problem and also common look for the wagon

                                                            The tarped wagon with one piece tarp.

The problem with the model is you must buy each pack to get each different version
And the tarps available look terrible.

 No 1 Tarped
 No 2  Empty
 No 3 No ends or tarp supports

But if you get the empty wagon pack with ends and tarp supports you can make the 3 differant versions above.
You can simply brake the ends and tarp supports off to make the No 3 version .

For the other 2 versions.I started by making the tarps. I used a section of cotton sheet "Ask your wife for some as cutting a piece out of the bed sheets will cause trouble".They notice stuff like that.
I made the piece 34' x 21'
 Shown is the piece ready for painting with TAMIYA FIELD GREY XF 65           And a rolled up one with a dot of superglue on the end to keep it rolled up.Both can be painted now and left to dry.

                                            A quick coat of FLOQUIL RUST on the wheel discs

Next remove all the pieces used to restrain the coils from the wagon .These will just pull off with no trouble

Next weather the wagon to suit your style.I used a light dry brushing with FLOQUIL GRIMY BLACK and RUST and paint all the timber supports in the wagon cradles and the coil restraints with RAILROAD TIE BROWN .If your doing the tarped version dont worry about the inside painting as you wont see it on the finished model
.

                                 The wagons weathered for the tarped and untarped versions

For the unloaded and untarped version.  Position your rolled up tarp and glue down and then glue each coil restraint into position.Its about this time I decided to deform some of the tarp supports with some heat from a lighter "You only need a little bit or you will end up with no support"

 

 For the tarped version position the painted tarp on a bead of superglue run along the edge of the wagon with equal amounts at both ends.

                                           When dry attach to sides of supports and end plate

                       Repeat for all sides untill you get back to the other side and glue along edge to finish

                                    The ends are folded in and glued in position with the sides first.

                                                                 

                                                                  And then the top

 I gave the finished tarp a coat of diluted Aquadere in water to try to depress it between the supports and weathered it at the same time with some weathering powders.

THE FINISHED WAGONS

2 wagons being sent back for more loading

                                                       2 wagons loaded and on there way

Some other things to do would be the tie down ropes, Stenciling on the tarps, Different coloured patches on the tarps .The work turned the wagons into really good looking models and only took about 1 hour per wagon.Next to do is the No 3 version with and without coils .But I ran out of wagons.

PX WAGON

The PX wagon fleet which totaled 20, was built by the Chullora workshops during 1975-76.Numbered 30307-30326.The wagons where probably one of the last flat wagons for general freight built before the container wagon revolution  took over in importance.

                                                                        PX  30308


Originally coded PX then with the four letter coding changed to NFPX, the wagons today can still be seen as RKPF steel plate wagons with Pacific National.


The dimensions for the wagon are.

Over Headstocks           17678 mm
Over Coupling Faces     18542 mm
Width Of Deck              2815 mm
Deck Height                  1240 mm
Bogie Centres                14326 mm
Tare                              22 Tonnes
Capacity                        51 Tonnes

Constructed from steel with a wooden deck for the conveyance of steel,pipes long loads,machinery ect.These wagons where also used extensively for Military loading of APC,s and army construction equipment but not tanks.
 A lashing bar is provided on each side of the wagon ( In the image it appears the lashing bar is also on the ends of the wagon ? ) and chaining points are located at 1 067mm centers and at the head stock.
An under deck storage box ,open to the side is fitted at diagonally opposite ends of the wagon for the storage of stanchions and chains.
The wagon is also suitable for bogie exchange so could be fitted with any of the exchange bogie types.             .
The wagon is painted PTC Blue all over , I presume the deck was left unpainted wood.

The wagon would make an important addition to most modelers wagon fleets being used from 1975 right through to today,also being bogie and not to long with the ability to lash any of the machinery ,trucks or agricultural machinery available now to its deck or with the stanchions a load of pipes or steel beams.It would make a nice addition to a general mixed goods.

           PX 30310 at Albury 11/78 Showing a typical load  Photo from the Rob ORegan Collection


The wagon is available in model form from IDR RAILWAY CASTINGS  available at Micro Model Hobbyland at Hornsby  02 94762588

  http://www.hobbylandaustralia.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=14&Itemid=6


 The kit comes as one piece deck and under frame casting with all necessarily parts except paint to complete the model.
The castings are all very clean and sharp with the underframe section being very strong with no flex or bend in its length so one would expect no sagging over time or in hot weather.
The castings where cleaned up with the side tie rail being cast onto the side of the deck, the tedious job of cleaning between the deck and rail takes a while .I did this with a craft knife but one the next one I will try drilling along between the parts with  a suitably sized number drill.
The top deck needs to be attached to the under frame, I chose to line up both pieces upside down on a flat surface and weight them down once happy with the positioning and fit I used the capillary action of the super glue to join both sections together.As opposed to the method in the instructions.
Every thing goes together nicely until you get to the underfloor piping which runs all over the place and with the pictures in the instructions it very hard to work out where the pipes should go or end up.I persevered and it looks alright to me .Being on who dosnt believe in modelling stuff you cant actually see it was a good effort on my part, but it wont happen next time.
Once finished the modeled was painted PTC Blue as in the photo but the instructions suggested dark grey all over.
Overall a very good kit apart from the piping.
And basically a one night project..

FRAZERS CREEK

Just an update on progress or probably lack of on the layout side of things.
Yesterday I  decided to put my Tanks and APC's down for a while and maybe , that I should do something on the layout for a change .Looking around at the 1000 different things that needed doing .I thought it might be nice to have a go at some rocks for the Frazers Creek crossing which I have high hopes for as a good spot to do some train spotting once operations commence.
Not much has changed from the pics of this area of the layout in the 2010 Christmas Report, until today that is. Which give a good overall view of the area in question.
Being a while since I have done some rocks and wanting to have a go at making a mold. I got all the gear together and went over the edge of the bank near home, found a suitable rock and used Mr Simple Glues latex rock mold stuff with some kitchen wipes as reinforcing and once dry used a tube of Silicone to build up the thickness .Which worked well with no problems when I went back and removed it from the rock.
The mold finished up about 200 mm square and works well.
As per usual all the thinking and wondering about how it would work took far more time than the actual doing !
While I was waiting for the mold to dry I started on the rocks around the crossing which form a rather steep and narrow gorge for the creek to exit the scene with the creek curving behind the rock face to hide the backboard .
I like to give the rocks a quick spray with some black diluted paint in a squirty bottle to bring out the detail to see how I'm going and so far its not to bad .
I intend to have a lot of trees ,bushes and black boys in the valley so I can hide some of the rocks that don't look that flash.
I used the mold on the rock cut that leads up to the tunnel entrance and its a good way to do large areas in a hurry.Ill have to get some more Latex and make some more molds to change the strata around a bit.

   Also found a good book full of pictures of good old fashion servos.A great resource to find a design that suits your time period .After looking at this it looks like the residents of Ashford will be able to put a Tiger in their tank.

AMIENS GUN " LITTLE BERTHA "

While researching Army rail movements , equipment and such (remember the post Military Might ) I got side tracked .How easy is that to happen !
So I thought I would share it with you .
Back in 1918 the Germans where using the Little Bertha a 28 centimetre (11 inch ) standard gauge rail mounted gun to shell the Amiens rail marshalling yard on the Villers-Bretonneux front in July August of that year.
This rail gun was 72 ft long and weighed 185 tons when fully operational the barrel alone weighed 45 tons.With the shells 704 lbs each.
Built by the Krupps works using a 1904 naval gun and modified into the purpose built rail carriage .Used for transport and also as an operation platform .
The gun was captured  in a large advance on 8th August 1918.When sappers from the 8th field Company  Engineers along with the 31st battalion advanced to secure the new front line .The train was discovered intact but with the rear portion on fire .
Sapper Les Strahan who was a driver for the W A Railways , raised steam and the train was brought back from the new  front line complete with ammunition  ready to fire .

                                               Gun with German crew before capture


  The gun was exhibited in Paris then shipped to England where it was examined at the Woolwich arsenal .Then shipped to Australia being offloaded at Jones Bay , Darling Harbour by the floating crane Titan direct onto the rails .

                                                              A section being offloaded

Then hauled to Eveleigh Workshops before being moved by a super heated T class to Station East Box ,where it was pushed forward onto prepared track at Eddy Avenue via a ramp. The axle load 18.5 tons caused several problems with the temporary track and the bogies derailing .
The gun was floodlit at night and moved to Canberra in 1923

                                                       
                                                           The activites at Eddy Avenue

No details of the movement to Canberra are known but the gun would of had to be partially dismantled for the journey.
In 1927 the gun was moved from near the Kingston Power Station to the Canberra Station using a 100 yard long temporary spur line.
The gun remained there until 1942 when the Department of Munitions claimed  the gun mounting for the war effort for testing at the Artillery test range at Port Wakefield SA.The gun mount was sent by rail and the bogies went to Bandiana VIC for storage with the Barrel staying in Canberra.
By 1954 the mount was no longer required , but the Australian War Memorial decided the costs involved to move all the parts and reassemble the gun were to much ,Deciding to keep the barrel only.
The bogies were sold off as scrap in 1961 with the gun mountings scraped in 1963.
So for anyone with a scale model of Central Station a WW 1 German Rail Gun wouldn't go astray.


                                              And so ends the sagger of LITTLE BERTHA.

           For further reading see

           http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Amiens_Gun

           http://www.ctie.monash.edu.au/hargrave/duigan_3squadron_04.html