The railway thread

[HIPO]

Some interesting rail transport we used with ANR was Section Cars. Sure most have seen them in some form. Light mostly open vehicles, easily removed off the tracks. Various trailers for them as well.... work passengers - gear etc.
We had a few different types over time. Drive trains included VW 4 speed, GMH 186 4 speed & a GMH 179 t-bar.

A company called Comeng i think made some, but there were other makers as well!

A few times when i was in charge of flags & detonators for rail traffic, i'd save a few Dets & lay a trap for the Section car boys coming home to camp. I've been in their shoes & it scares the crap out of you! lol

https://www.maryvalleyrattler.com.au...r-1024x768.jpg

[66FAIRLANE]

Originally Posted by HIPO

Worked for ANR on the Trans line in W.A. back in the late 70's. Was operating heavy track machinery with Special Gang RECON 1..... pretty wild!

I worked for ANR out of Islington workshops in Adelaide. Used to fix the track machines the gangs broke.

[Citroënbender]

Couldn’t do that now - you’d surely be done for workplace bullying and mishandling explosives. And probably for causing intergenerational trauma.

Originally Posted by HIPO

A few times when i was in charge of flags & detonators for rail traffic, i'd save a few Dets & lay a trap for the Section car boys coming home to camp. I've been in their shoes & it scares the crap out of you!

[HIPO]

Flags & Dets were put on the track to stop any trains coming through during track maintenance.
You would plant the metal flag 1km ( if memory serves me) from the work site & 3 Dets 100mts apart on the work side to alert us & driver.

Communication for us to get approx train time etc was via a box type phone, that could be hooked onto the overhead wires .... pretty crude! this allowed communication between Parkston W.A. & Pt. Augusta S.A..... anyone hooked up between there was privy to anyone using it.

[roKWiz]

Originally Posted by HIPO

Some interesting rail transport we used with ANR was Section Cars. Sure most have seen them in some form. Light mostly open vehicles, easily removed off the tracks. Various trailers for them as well.... work passengers - gear etc.
We had a few different types over time. Drive trains included VW 4 speed, GMH 186 4 speed & a GMH 179 t-bar.

A few times when i was in charge of flags & detonators for rail traffic, i'd save a few Dets & lay a trap for the Section car boys coming home to camp. I've been in their shoes & it scares the crap out of you! lol

https://www.maryvalleyrattler.com.au...r-1024x768.jpg

Those little lift off inspection trolley's are great.

Funny story when we arrived in Maldon Vic. for the first time. My partner wandered into town while I went up to check out the Historic station and railway.
Wanting to know about local mountainbiking rides, I asked a worker there if he knew anything about the forest trails the line past through to Muckleford.

He said you're in luck, I'm about to go and inspect the line. So starts up the little 2 seat, 4 wheeler (similar to below pics) and tootle off down the track stopping in several places on banks to check if the line is shifting off course. Had a great chat about all things bikes and trains.
We get down to Muckleford (where the line originally finished now goes to all the way to Castlemaine) get out, and I ask how do you turn around, within an instant a single hydraulic piston raises to whole deal off the ground and we spin it around for the trip back up.
We get back into town and there's my girl looking at me, as much to say how did you manage that.
Been riding through the forests there ever since. Great Steam train journey as well.


Snapped these at the Wang fly-in and truckshow earlier this year.

[66FAIRLANE]

Originally Posted by HIPO

... anyone hooked up between there was privy to anyone using it.

Ahh....the old 'partylines'

[HIPO]

Good stuff Rockwiz! even the huge maintenance machinery used that hyd piston set-up. We would have to set the stands next to track.... had rails to swing under the machine push the machine around & ease onto the stand.

If you didnt set the stand correct you'd be gone.

[roKWiz]

Originally Posted by 66FAIRLANE

Ahh....the old 'partylines'

Bang, Bang, Bang was a common sound on the Newcastle line down around Hawkesbury river station. Passengers would say oh detonators, must be working on the line ahead.

Now days you hear them making announcements, explaining about track signalling devices are about to sound, please don't be alarmed.

Times have changed.

[HIPO]

Originally Posted by 66FAIRLANE

Ahh....the old 'partylines'

Yep, would leave it hooked up & sit back & listen..... got that job quite a few times when the Ganger was busy..... drinking or "fence jumping" at the home gang! lol

[roKWiz]

Thought of this one I watched a few days ago. 1958 Emergency Procedures.

[Citroënbender]

It’s tangential, but the Kiwi woodsman Barry Crump apparently once used rail detonators hidden inside potatoes, to cull feral pigs.

[roKWiz]

Originally Posted by Citroënbender

It’s tangential, but the Kiwi woodsman Barry Crump apparently once used rail detonators hidden inside potatoes, to cull feral pigs.

Hope he remembered which ones he used before baking potatoes.

[HIPO]

Hey Rok! Facebook has an "ANR past employees" page with some interesting stuff.... mostly the images.

[roKWiz]

Originally Posted by HIPO

Hey Rok! Facebook has an "ANR past employees" page with some interesting stuff.... mostly the images.

If its public I can view. ta. but not a FBooker.

[Sar4890]

Nice pics of the Fairmont rail motors Rockwiz . I have been fortunate to have done a few miles on them the noise and flame shooting is unbelievable. Hi-rails a much better solution if less dramatic

[HIPO]

Ballast Regulator..... Plow up front & wings either side, to grade the ballast into place. Large revolving drum style brush on the rear to clean up after.

Nasty dusty to operate!

[HIPO]

I operated an earlier version of this Plasma ?? was called the Electromatic, would grab the rails & move them plumb while a number of vibrating tools would push in under the sleepers to compact the ballast & correct the level.
Had a swing down trailer off the back & tethered self propelled buggy out front.
Both had sensor - camera's facing each other to determine alignment.

The Ballast Regulator would follow that up & behind that would be the Tamper, which had vibrating side wings & pads to compress the ballast on the outsides & in between the sleepers.

[Sar4890]

All the mechanisation definitely beats kango hammers,shovel,picks and brute force.at least for all the work that doesnt involve turn outs and points.

[HIPO]

A bushy tailed 18yo me on the "Scarifier".

This would be a few k's in front of that other machinery ... 1st the Extractor which would pull-chop out the failed wood sleepers & then the Scarifier would simply clean up for the new sleeper to go in..... Mean while the Concrete sleeper gangs were starting to come across from Pt Augusta.

Think the Extractor was made by Comeng & the Scarifier by Fairmont.

[HIPO]

Originally Posted by Sar4890

All the mechanisation definitely beats kango hammers,shovel,picks and brute force.at least for all the work that doesnt involve turn outs and points.

For sure mate, although none of our machines had aircon.... Even our rail carriage living quarters were without 240v, so no aircon or heating!

Even our earlier Ballast regulator.... was the povo model. lol

Summer nights, you'd be praying for the "Doctor" to blow in from the coast & winter could see ice on the sleepers..........

[Sar4890]

The perway cars still were 32volts with gas cooking and wood chip heaters for hotwater almost to the end of their use. Atco humpies would have been palaces in comparison

[gmw67]

Originally Posted by roKWiz

See this track inspection train, just about everywhere.
Usually made up with 3 modified old Southern Aurora carriages and lately been running a couple of Vintage 44 class streamliner diesels, I've yet to click.

image

Spotted this one around $ydney a few times.

image

Top photo is the AK car, measures track geometry, dips, camber etc. Different motive power operators haul it, sometimes PN, SSR, formerly GWA here in SA-not sure if Aurizon will be hauling it.

[roKWiz]

Originally Posted by Sar4890

All the mechanisation definitely beats kango hammers,shovel,picks and brute force.at least for all the work that doesnt involve turn outs and points.

Accept when its in the hands of ARTC.

[Sar4890]

Hey Al I reckon the brand of perway equipment you were thinking of was Plasser. I think they were more modern units after Fairmont,Matissa,Tutt-bryant and comeng.

[HIPO]

Originally Posted by Sar4890

Hey Al I reckon the brand of perway equipment you were thinking of was Plasser. I think they were more modern units after Fairmont,Matissa,Tutt-bryant and comeng.

Yep that sounds right fella!.... loooong time ago! searched a while back for the old version we called an Electromatic, but without luck.....shoulda taken a lot more pics than i did!

[HIPO]

Electromatic ..Found it..packed up in travel mode. Crustier design than i remember! Although probably pretty fresh, whenever that pic was taken.

[Sar4890]

Was that a tamper/ Aligner or just a straight out tamper with 8 work heads 4 fore and 4 aft.

[HIPO]

Originally Posted by Sar4890

Was that a tamper/ Aligner or just a straight out tamper with 8 work heads 4 fore and 4 aft.

Aligned as well! buggy with sensors this end that runs ahead under its own steam, but tethered by cable.

[Sar4890]

Wow that bad boy is more advanced than it appears

[HIPO]

Originally Posted by Sar4890

Wow that bad boy is more advanced than it appears

Automatically It would get the level fine, but the operator would take hand signals from someone about 30mt ahead to manually finesse straightness.... you were perched down inside the front with the tamping tool motors either side...noisy, ****ty & dusty.