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Last updated:  08 October 2011


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THESE  PHOTOS
Cliff Olds.


Author of the book,
"Wouldn't Have Missed It For Quids"

What's below on this page

Goto:  NARROW  GAUGE  PETERBOROUGH

Goto:  NARROW  GAUGE  PORT  LINCOLN

Goto:  BROAD  GAUGE

        Goto:  EARLY  STANDARD  GAUGE

Goto:  MERILDIN  once  MINTARO

Goto:  NAROW  GAUGE  AUTO  COUPLER

Goto:  Port Wakefield  HOYLETON  Railways

Goto:  C.R.  TEA  and  SUGAR  TRAIN



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NARROW  GAUGE

Peterborough Division 

These taken Saturday 25th September 1965 when I was stationed at Cockburn as a Station Clerk in the S.A.R.

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Left is of W22 on arrival at Burns in the cutting at the eastern end of the yard. Right taken after the loco had turned on the triangle and provides a reasonable view of the Burns yard. Both have been published some years ago and are far better quality here. 


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What appears to be a headboard is actually an empty "On" bogie ore wagon (9t tare, 31t capacity). As you can see that it accommodated tape recording equipment and operators used en route from Peterborough. The microphone was hanging on the end of a pivoting telescopic boom. I have often wondered what happened to the tapes produced, they should be worth hearing.


It is of interest that Lew Roberts' book "Rails to Wealth" pages 272 & 273 notes that W22 was last in service on 9/12/1960 whilst W25 was last in service on 18/7/1961 after having run 235,928 miles with the interesting addendum "+ 415 since on specials". No such addendum exists for W22. 

Re the W22 / W25 story above, that happened between 1961 and 1969 whereas W22 didn't arrive in Quorn from Menzies Creek until sometime after 2000. Pichi Richi has only one ex S.T.Co. loco and that is W22 which on examination was found to be beyond economic repair, so its cosmetic differences were transferred to ex W.A.G.R. W916 (streamlined skyline cowling etc.) and that is the loco that now runs under the guise of W22. W25 resides in the National Railway Museum, Port Dock.

The "original" W22 went from Broken Hill to Puffing Billy (Menzies Creek), then after some years sitting there it was eventually purchased by PRR & moved to Quorn. The Silverton W you see running at Quorn now is ex WAGR W916 dressed up as W22, as W22 is in very poor condition. The original W22 currently resides in a shed at the back of the loco complex.


 

Beyer Garratt 409 at Nantabibbie 
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Taken in the 1950's as the Garratt still has hook couplings. Certainly some memories here. I wonder how long those placards under station sign lasted out in the weather exposed like that.

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(these 4 Garratt 409 photos by late George Bishop)

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The watering spot at right is Nackara, at the Nantabibbie end of the yard. 
They had another hose type water point at the Paratoo end of the Nackara yard.

 


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Garratt 400 departing Gladstone towards Caltowie and Peterborough in mid 1969. 
In the foreground is the new and as then unopened standard gauge track. >>

<<
Beyond the train on the far right of the photo can be seen the loco depot water tower, arched roof of the loco shed, the 200 ton (from memory) coal gantry (they were never known as "coal stages" no matter what current "experts" write) and the lower quadrant "down" home signal. 
In earlier years it was usual to turn the Garratts on the 85 ft turntable at Gladstone on the "down" because the narrow gauge turntable at Port Pirie couldn't accommodate a Garratt but that had not occurred here. I believe that a few Garratts were stationed in Port Pirie in that late hour of the narrow gauge and worked cross jobs which included loco changes with the 830 class diesels from Peterborough - hence it was pointless to turn them. I worked in Gladstone Loco from 1961 to 1964, so there are many pleasant memories for me here.



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400 on arrival at Cockburn on the "down" 
Broken Hill Express 787
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408 at Peterborough Loco on the arrival road


Next three pictures were taken on Easter Sunday in 1965

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This photo shows T 251, Garratt 407 and other stored T class locos. These were stored on the roads between the oil store and Yongala Road. Also evident are X type trucks which came in a variety of options. The one with the white diagonal stripe has no doors and was used for ore transport exclusively. Others had one door per side, others two. They were known colloquially to railwaymen as "large". 
The reason proffered to me was that they were larger than their predecessors, the C type, and a C can be seen between the X's. C's still existed in the 60's but were only for departmental use (ash transport etc.). Between T 251 and the X's seems to be a small steel sided 4 wheeler, can't remember their classification and they also were not in regular service.

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401 was stabled outside the roundhouse on what  looks like the departure road run around.



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404 and its mate are on one of the storage sidings with the steam grab used for removal of ashes from the pond is stabled behind it. The pond may have been filled in by then. Behind is the boiler house with its tall chimney (locos had funnels according to my loco instructor Bill Girdler, buildings had chimneys)

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Photo above was taken with a very cheap 35 mm camera that I used when I had B & W film in the Pentax camera. I think that the camera was free if you bought 6 rolls of slide film, and that was well before "Made in China" was heard of!  It was 1969, the W was in exchange for T 181 and had come down from Broken Hill on the "Farewell to Narrow Gauge" ARHS trip and I think was cut up at Terowie. 
The T is 257 and its tender is fitted with an auto coupler which was not common. No T class loco front ends were fitted with auto couplers, only about 4 tenders were, which of course could be swapped from loco to loco. The reason was that all bogie ore trucks and many others had been fitted with auto couplers by 1969 and there was a 600 ton limit behind a hook/auto adaptor coupler which robbed the T's of their full potential if fitted with a hook coupler. 
Also evident in the photo is the coal gantry and the Port Pirie lower quadrant home signal and note that the ash pond that should have been in the foreground, has been filled in.

Another point of clarification, the S.A.R. did have coal stages and that is exactly what they were - elevated horizontal platforms on which coal was stored, then shoveled into loco tenders by some unfortunate soul. These were situated at stations with minor loco facilities or were anachronisms of the pre gantry days (Minnipa and Cummins still had them after the gantries were erected, but they were not used) and were for emergency use only. The regular coaling locations had gantries of one sort or another, the concrete version held 200 tons I think and were at the major depots whereas the smaller steel coal stages (e.g. Naracoorte, Bordertown, Mt. Gambier, Cockburn) or timber gantries (e.g. Cummins, Minnipa) sufficed for smaller depots.


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Brill railcar 102 and trailer 302 having just arrived at Gladstone on Psgr 448 which was the school train from Port Pirie. It ran because there is no high school at Crystal Brook, then went on to Gladstone to stow the trailer, refuel the railcar, turn, then return to Port Pirie. Girls in the railcar, boys in the trailer to try to control shennanigans! The regular driver was Max Lambert, whom I (cliff) still catch up with at railway reunions. Spring 1963.

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T 253 in the vicinity of Yangya (between Gladstone and Caltowie) on an "up" Peterborough in the Spring of 1963. The loco is a coal burner, so it was probably time to change the Port Pirie wharf shunt loco, that being usually the only coal burner in Port Pirie. Main line Tclass out of Port Pirie were either all oil, or oil and coal.
The crew are Engineman Doug Boucher and Fireman Brian Chapman of Port Pirie. I had raced them from Gladstone on my push bike! Brian was a top coal loco fireman and had no trouble here.


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T 257 in Peterborough Loco, sporting an automatic coupler on the tender, which is why I (Cliff) took the photo.


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Oulnina (between Mannahill and Yunta) 1950's,
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Mannahill 1950's


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T 183 Stone Hut. 1963
T 183 in Stone Hut (Wilmington line) one Saturday morning in late 1963. I (Cliff) was the fireman on this "up" working from Wilmington and this train usually arrived in Gladstone before daybreak. I had intended catching the Bluebird railcar from Gladstone to Adelaide for a day in the big smoke however things got later and later. Eventually our train was put away at Stone Hut to allow the railcar to pass, not the most efficient train controlling manoeuvre that I experienced and all hope of catching the Bluebird was gone. However, it was a fine sunny morning so my driver (Arno Ramp) and I decided that a couple of photos were in order. Why I didn't photograph the actual railcar pass is lost in the mists of time.


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T 44 is working the final leg of the "Farewell to Narrow Gauge Tour" and is ascending the Gumbowie bank from Peterborough on 13/10/1969 (a Sunday from memory). The driver (the big bloke looking out) is one of the Kennedy twins (either Bill or Bob), neither of whom were slouches with the regulator, I have no idea who the fireman was. 
I was the Station Master at Georgetown at the time, so was able to fit in some train photography in between work, cricket etc. in the Gladstone - Peterborough area.


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T 198 on the "outward" road in Gladstone Loco, being prepared for Wilmington line service.  
Driver Reg Keatch appears to be cleaning out the ash pan whilst fireman Leo "Sheriff" Landers is in the cab, probably oiling the reversing screw.   Leo was training for his engineman's examination, which probably explains the role reversal seen here.  Taken in later 1963.   There was an Rx behind T 198 waiting to enter traffic for a shift on the broad gauge shunt.



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NARROW  GAUGE

Port Lincoln  Division 

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Port Lincoln yard in Easter 1972 when I was relieving in Train Control there.  The corrugated iron goods shed is centre picture with the two story stone station building to the right.   The Superintendent's office and train control occupied the top floor, along with the Chief Engineer's offices I think.   On the left can be seen an old red furniture box, usually used for departmental transfers.   At that stage, four wheeled cattle trucks (Cfn)
had their rooves removed and were used for transporting sleepers, of which there are plenty stockpiled.
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Port Lincoln again, from the road bridge
at the south end of the yard


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Lock station and yard looking north towards Minnipa. 
<<<  From the left, the  mouse proof bagged grain stacking shed, new silos under construction with  the goods shed just visible at the base, older silos behind, T 234 on Gds 166 (Fridays Minnipa - Port Lincoln, we had just relieved the Minnipa crew), water column, train order signal showing "station closed" as it permanently did although the station was actually attended at the time, overhead water tank in foreground with the station building behind.   An assortment of trucks are on the goods siding.   The track running off to the right is the triangle.


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Lock station.   Somehow I managed to cut off the air vent in the centre of the roof.  The end of a Yx wagon on the triangle can be seen at the right of the station building which was situated within the triangle.  Warren Solly was the Station Master at that time, Roger Evans was his Junior Porter.
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Lock station, complete with chimney and air vent






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Brill railcar 103 and trailer 303 working Psgr Motor. 76
from Thevenard to Port Lincoln at Lock
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T 234 on Gds 166 at Lock


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The 75 model railcar 103 and trailer 303 having worked the 10.10 am service from Port Lincoln and having just arrived at Minnipa on Friday 30th August 1968.   That was the last day of passenger & railcar operations on the Port Lincoln Division and this photo is of the last railcar to arrive at Minnipa. 
No, I wasn't there, I was the Station Master at Georgetown at the time however I have a thoughtful sister who is married to the Relieving Station Master at Minnipa then and she gave me the slide.
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T214  has just departed Cummins and is heading for Pillana (pronounced Pill-na) and Port Lincoln as a light engine on a Wednesday (always my day off unless extras were working) in mid 1964. 
I can't remember the reason for the movement but it was authorized by Train Notice and hence I was in position for it's passing.   It originated from Minnipa or Thevenard, once again memory is non existent after 45 years.



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T 203 at Warramboo in 1964.   

<<< We had travelled in the 75 model Minnipa railcar unofficially from Cummins to Lock, then (supposedly
 ex barracks
) officially from Lock to Warramboo where we relieved the Minnipa crew of a late running 166 gds.  The loco is running tender first because of a cracked buffer beam on the tender, which gave us a cold windy and coal dusty trip for the 105 km to Cummins (you can't throw water over the coal on  a backward moving loco unless you want a shower yourself).   The driver is Tom Street (one of the several Street brothers, all of whom were drivers), about to commence the shunt is the Guard Davey Priest and the fireman was yours truely behind the camera.  Fortunately all West Coast T class tenders  were fitted with a headlight because it was well after dark when we arrived in Cummins.


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BROAD  GAUGE

 

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Here are a couple from the past. 13th September 1969 was a wet Saturday and I had knocked off as S.M. Georgetown at lunch time then driven down to Andrews to wait for yet another Dean Harvey special. I used a slow shutter speed for these two pacing shots but nontheless, the Rx wasn't wasting any time en route to Spalding.


621 in the broad gauge loco depot at Port Pirie in 1965. 

620's were rather rare on Port Pirie passenger working in that era, 620 and 627 being the only two that I encountered. If steam was used it was usually a 520 class. The crews said that the 620's had to be worked hard to maintain the schedule whereas the 520's did it at a canter, which makes sense.

The 621 (2 pics above) and 521 (2 pics below) were taken when I was an engine cleaner/fireman there in 1965.
No, I didn't fire the big steam locos there, only cleaned them.


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521 at Port Pirie Broad Gauge Loco.
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521 at Port Pirie Broad Gauge Loco.


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523 in Ellen Street Port Pirie in 1964 at the head of Passenger. 434, (9.05 am Mon. to Fri.) to Adelaide, after having connected with the Brill railcar from Peterborough which had also connected with the Bluebird from Gladstone to Adelaide.

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521 being prepared in Port Pirie broad gauge loco in 1965.   The chargeman is checking the injector overflow pipe



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526 in Ellen Street, Port Pirie in 1963. The lights on the bollards were removed not long afterward, just leaving the base of the bollard as shown in the  photo below of 902

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621 in the broad gauge loco depot at Port Pirie in 1965,



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520 and NG Brill railcar Ellen Street

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Bluebird 281 Ellen Street


The narrow gauge morning railcar from Peterborough connected with the broad gauge passenger train to Adelaide in Ellen Street and the train change was performed in the middle of the street. 

I received a tongue in cheek query "Re that 521 pic with the passenger train, did it stop at every second street? 
As in Hail train here? It amazes me to see shots of full size trains in the main street of sizeable towns." 
"Hail train here" is a good concept but no, its ONLY stop was outside the Ellen Street station which fronted the street just like the shops, although the Narrow Gauge railcar also stopped adjacent to Mary Elie Street morning and afternoon to allow the high school kids from Crystal Brook to alight or join. The Roman Catholic kids got on and off at Ellen Street station as it was closer to the convent there. 

It was dual gauge miniature electric staff working for the 1 mile 22 chain section between Ellen Street and Port Pirie Junction although the 3 ft 6 in rollingstock could also access Ellen Street as a shunt movement from the Pirie South yard. Wharf access was via a different track from the yard and was a shunt movement for both broad and narrow gauge.
902 in Ellen Street Port Pirie at the head of the "up" morning passenger to Adelaide in 1964.   
Six carriages (three Centenary and three steel) and "long Tom" passenger GB make up the train, which was unusually long for that era. 


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747 Ellen Street 1963


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526 and T253 Terowie.
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526 and 3813 Port Pirie.  1970


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J555 departing Mount Gambier on No.90 goods to Heywood in 1968. I was a parcels clerk at Naracoorte at the time and by the time that I returned to Mount Gambier in 1973, the T class diesels were well and truly entrenched.

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GM 27 and mate stabled in the Commonwealth Railways loco depot at Port Pirie in 1963. In the background one of the two broad gauge shunters, an 830 class with a four wheeled cool car waits for the signal to shunt over the Three Chain Road level crossing and head out to the "sub" ( Port Pirie Subsidiary Sidings in official parlance).. The C.R. policy in those days was that two GM's was all the power needed on any train, hence no m.u. fittings on the nose end.  Pre English Electric 500 class diesel days and pre the Three Chain Road overpass.


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This one is of a 900 class on the morning passenger from the Mount to Adelaide during school holidays in 1969.   Memory tells me that the train no. is 588 which has just departed Naracoorte en route to Hynam. 

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588 again on a different day with a 930 at the lead 
approaching Naracoorte from Struan.  It was quite
usual to use head end power during school holidays
 because the Bluebird were used elsewhere to build
 up consists (Moonta, Gladstone etc.)


702 on an Adelaide - Melbourne boys scout special at Wolseley on Monday 7th January 1974.   
Train no. 555.  I think.

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909 at Goodwood on an "up" Victor Harbor morning train in 1972. Loco weight;- 126 tons, train weight:- about 70 tons. Can't have been a railcar available the day before.


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Goods 458 climbing the grade from Gladstone to Georgetown in 1969. Lead loco is one of the Goodwin-Alco 930 class (Co-Co 1760/1600 h.p. 12 cylinder 251B engine) with 830 class (Co-Co 1000/900 h.p. 6 cylinder 251C engine) trailing.

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901 stabled outside the broad gauge loco shed at Port Pirie in 1964




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Brill rail car No. 44 having just arrived at Brinkworth as train no. 273. It departed Moonta at 7.05 am as Psgr Motor 344 to Snowtown (Saturdays only, week days it was Psge Mtr 414 working to a slightly different timetable). It arrived at Snowtown as an "up" movement, but then became "down" movement 273 to Brinkworth. Somewhat confusuing as it was the same train. 
Note
the Ford Consul parked behind the signal.

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524 at Port Pirie broad gauge loco depot being prepared to work Psgr 890 5.45 pm to Adelaide. The carriage seen in the background in front of 524 is one of the narrow gauge Gloucester railcars, having been converted to standard gauge. The Commonwealth Railways loco and carriage sheds were adjacent to the broad gauge depot.



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Loco 520 hauling Psgr 370, the 8 am Saturday train to Adelaide heading for Nurom, having just crossed over the narrow gauge main line at the eastern end of the Port Pirie Subsidiary Sidings. The consist includes two 700 class and two 500 class steel non-airconditioned cars, the dining car "Adelaide" and a 12 wheeled "long Tom" passenger brake van. The dining car was built by the Pullman Car Co. in the U.S.A. and reputedly had a concrete floor which gave it a tare weight of near 80 tons and had six wheel bogies. 

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Psgr Mtr 434 comprising of 280 class Bluebird "power baggage car" (official S.A.R. nomenclature) leading, 100 class "non-power rail car" and 250 class "rail car" (passenger/baggage) trailing, between Ellen Street and Port Pirie Junction.







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A scene at Port Pirie Junction in 1964. A T class 3'6" steam loco and guard's brake is headed for the Mobil oil siding, the G.B. was for the shunters' convenience as it was about a 2 mile hike from the Port Pirie South shunt yard. Adjacent to the platform is a rather new maroon carriage of either the AD (first class) or BD (second class) series and also the cafeteria car (green) . There was also an ABD classification for a composite first/second carriage, but it had a slightly different window configuration.






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504 in the loco shed at Gladstone in 1969. This loco was built in the S.A.R. Islington workshops and released to traffic on 17/2/1965. 
It was the first diesel to replace a steam shunt loco at Tailem Bend. Power wise they proved O.K. for that job but were deficient in braking when shunting long strings without air. Two of the Mikado tenders (713 - 747) were therefore cut down, fitted with a concrete slab and became "brake tenders" for the two Tailem Bend 500 class shunters. 
These locos were powered by an English Electric 500 h.p. 4SRKT 4 cylinder diesel engine and is on broad gauge (5'3"). Worth mentioning because some 500's were on the standard gauge. A nocturnal photo that I have always liked, probably because I worked too many night shifts in that shed as a loco cleaner in1961-62 cleaning T and Rx class steam locos.


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A 900 class (A1A-A1A English Electric 1700/1570 h.p. 16 cylinder 16SVT engine) working Psgr 511 ("down" East West Express) past the Redhill oval which was doubling as a picnic ground on that day. The first vehicle is a V.R. / S.A.R. joint stock D class mail van which conveyed the mail from Melbourne to connect with the Perth train at Port Pirie.

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523 having just arrived at Port Pirie Junction with Psgr 255 from Adelaide in 1964. It is seen detaching express goods loading from the carriages which will then go on to Ellen Street. Note the brand new Ford Falcon ute, also the wig-wag protecting the Three Chain Road level crossing.


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Psgr 434 with loco 523 in charge working from Ellen Street to Port Pirie Junction, a distance of 1 mile 12 chains but nonetheless, a miniature electric staff section and dual gauge track (5'3" and 3'6"). 


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Gds 113 is a bit of a ring-in however it did originate at Snowtown. Taken at Georgetown in 1969 when I was the station master there. Note the train order signal being correctly set in the "station open, no Orders" position.The grain must have been running to require the 830 class as well as the 930.


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Goodwin-Alco loco 941 arriving at Gladstone on goods 113 from Snowtown in 1963.


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EARLY  STANDARD  GAUGE

 

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600 (Alco 251C V-12 1800 hp) at Olary is on an eastbound standard gauge work train before the line was commissioned. Taken in 1967 when it, with English Electric loco 500 were engaged in standard gauge construction. 601 stayed in the loco shed at Cockburn from 1965 until later 1966, resting on narrow gauge idler bogies because it was not needed. 
It was hauled on the narrow gauge to Paratoo and transferred to the standard gauge there.
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A 700 class (Alco 251C V-12 2000 hp) hauling a westbound Indian- Pacific in the vicinity of the new Paratoo siding (the old narrow gauge Paratoo was a couple of miles further east at the foot of the Coolawatinnie bank towards Yunta)





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605-601 hauling an eastbound goods train between Cutana and Mingary in the early 70's. 
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Another shot of 601 on the Indian-Pacific departing Broken Hill.


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702 hauling a westbound freight at MacDonald's Hill.
In older narrow gauge days MacDonald's Hill was equipped with automatic electric staff machines for Cutana (east) and Olary (west) and the necessary passing siding.
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Indian - Pacific Broken Hill 601 hauling a westbound Indian - Pacific passenger train had just departed Broken Hill late in 1971. The track was certainly downhill at that locality, but I doubt as much as is shown in the photo.


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702 at Mac'Donald's Hill, a closer shot of the loco.

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CL12 - GM24 on Express Goods 4300
 nearing Cutana on Friday 5-9-1986.


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604 leading unidentified 930 and 700 class units departing Broken Hill for Port Pirie with 2255 ore train to Port Pirie.

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602 - GM 32 on 3213 westbound Indian - Pacific at Hillgrange on Tuesday 29-8-1989


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605 - 704 on 5100 goods (Port Pirie - Broken Hill) approaching Yunta on Thursday 13- 8-1987. 
That train appears to be mostly empty steel wagons from Whyalla, but most likely had empty ore wagons from Port Pirie to Broken Hill back in the consist.

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700-956 approaching Mingary hauling 6255 ore train to Port Pirie. Friday 5-9-1986





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944 on a "down" Broken Hill bound train at Cutana 23-8-1983. We stopped that train via the guard because of a dragging chain (which could do wonderful damage to track leads). The guard was Graham Summers

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964-944 on Express Goods 3100 at Cockburn on Tuesday 9-9-1986.  The consist has empty ore containers, maybe fuel and water tankers (the grey tanks) as well as the usual empty ore wagons for Broken Hill in the consist


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CL4 approaching Dowds Hill (Ucolta - Peterborough) on a westbound goods on Sunday 7-8-1983

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Snowtown in the '60's


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S.A.R.  STATION

 

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Merildin. (old Mintaro)  June 2008

Merildin station building still stands, but is derelict. Only one room has a floor in it. The goods shed stonework is decaying badly but the flooring is still intact although no longer level. The 5 ton capacity goods crane and goods platform are still intact. The main line rail is still in situ but both goods sidings have been removed. For those not ex S.A.R., Merildin was a staff drawer lock station in the Manoora - Farrell Flat electric staff section i.e. you could shunt there, but could not cross or pass trains there (see page 438 of the 1973 S.A.R. General Appendix if you have one). I could find no evidence of any town ever existing there, the nearest town is probably Mintaro. In "Wouldn't Have Missed it for Quids", there is a reproduction of a train order that I issued for a disabled Bluebird railcar at Merildin on 29/1/1979.

As Merildin is accessible only by dirt roads and Farrell Flat is not on an arterial road. Being off the beaten track it is the sort of location that people don't get to see much these days. There was of course a time when Merildin was an unattended crossing station. Farrell Flat and Manoora would issue orders for crosses there. The Produce (No. 515) would often cross something heading south at Merildin. The station itself had had its SM withdrawn in the late 1920's early 30's and was originally called Mintaro. People staying as house guests at near-by Martindale Hall would often come up by train - with their horses - and unload at Merildin. It's one of those delightful little secrets of SA. 

To see more pictures of Merilden station
Click HERE to view them in Wayne's Pictures

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PETERBOROUGH  DIVISION  NARROW  GAUGE
AUTOMATIC COUPLERS
South Australia

CLICK  HERE

by Cliff Olds


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PORT  WAKEFIELD - HOYLETON  TRAMWAYS

CLICK  HERE

by Cliff Olds


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The  TEA  and  SUGAR  TRAIN
of  the
COMMONWEALTH   RAILWAYS

CLICK  HERE

by Cliff Olds


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Cover of Cliff's Book


The cover to Cliff's book.
Is well worth the read.

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