The "T" was waiting at station to cross down 275 freight due about 11:00 - 11:30am. Here you can just see the tall Home signal governing the entrance to the down main.

The window under the Jamestown station sign was start of our residence and that room was our bedroom, (one cannot sleep much closer to 1,750 ton down trains than that). The next window was my model railway room, later sold it when I later on shifted to Mt Gambier in late May 1970. My wife and I were the last railway people to live in Station Master's residence, as SM had his own home in the town. The station later became a museum when Narrow Gauge was closed down Jan 1970.

Here the "T" is sitting on the UP main, the track nearest station was known as the DOWN main. Both these roads had interlocked switches and signals governing the entrance to these roads (tracks). Switches to yard was a cheeseknob, with 2 interlocked signal levers to pull the Distant permissive off, then the Home absolute.

No signal cabin to pull these levers off, or put them back, only a pushbike to tear from one end of yard to other end. Get 2 long trains lob at Jamestown and most times both were often too long for yard with the railcar crossing and passing both split trains and you had one very hectic night .

Oh just remembered, also the Road bus from Adelaide arrived same time as Railcar 10:05pm. Yes you had to sell tickets and do parcels as well. Also the odd cranky Train Controller at Peterborough bellowing in your ear (getting one upset) wanting trains out before they get to Jamestown, certainly did not help the situation at times. But all this was a great teacher, as one had to be on the ball, think things out carefully beforehand and be very well organised and hopefully watch it all come together.  Plenty of challenges.

Oh yes, you did all this on your own, as you were only one on duty after boss went home at 5pm till 8am next morning. "You were chief cook and bottle washer" an old saying for you did everything on your own.

Most trains ran during the night, only 2 to 4 train traffic during the day. Oh yes, also the whole yard at night there was bugger all lighting, a small floodlight at each end of yard, my kerosene wick hand lamp was better than them. At least I suppose one could just make out where things were, better than nothing at all. 

Next to DOWN main was the long sheep road (huge sheep sales held at Jamestown) then a cattle loading road, and the turntable which was just long enough to turn a "T" or "Y" class engine. Also seen is the overhead water tank to service the steamers with water that came from two big dams other side of main Adelaide road Caltowie end of yard.

Next track (road) to right was the 3rd road which was for all reducing loading because of the limited tonnage over Belalie North. Till the 830's stuck their noses in.  Only joking, but this road was at times near full with reduced loading, mostly only empty bogie ore wagons or "Y" (2 door) 4 wheel pyrites wagons.

Every 2 or 3 days an engine "T" or "Garratt" and GB would come from Peterborough. We would marshall up the ore wagons with auto couplings to the front with the "Y" pyrite's wagon on the rear next to GB, account they were hook couplings. A heavy auto-adapter was used to couple auto wagons to the hook wagons. When reducing trains, the loading was dumped off quickly. Was always, "get that train in and out as quick as possible", was the immediate order of the day. So the 3rd road often ended up with a lot of mixed wagons, reason for the remarshalling of autos and hooks.

Next road was the 4th road also used to load grain from silo, can see couple of grain trucks at silo. Further up is the Milk cool car for Broken Hill that was loaded at Jamestown Mon, Wed and Fri by Golden North dairies from Clare. That cool car was just shunted there by the "T" in picture ready for 274 (day train about 1:30pm) to quickly pick it up a little later.

Over further was the Shed Road with weighbridge and crane, a Superphosphate unloading road, a bagged wheat shed Road and a Vacuum oil company siding further up past the bagged wheat sheds.

You can see this kept one pretty fit, those days railways were labour intensive, no wonder most of us were all skinny.

Normally triple diesels never worked from Pirie. What would happen, is twin diesels would work Peterborough to Jamestown to get loading over the Belalie bank. That train when it got to the cross which could be Jamestown, Caltowie or Gladstone (most times at Caltowie) The twins off the down train would be removed and the single diesel off the up train put onto the down train, then the twins put onto the up train so it could take all the loading back over Belalie North to Peterborough and not reduce loading at Jamestown. When the narrow gauge was near its end ( late 1968) it then became virtually full steam traffic again and some reducing loading came about again. Diesels made the job too easy and a way of railway life slowly disappeared.

At times twins would work through to Port Pirie and then on the return from Pirie when reaching the cross, a single diesel would be removed off the down train onto the up train thus having the triple 830 diesels. With 3 engines on, man those up trains really took off out of Jamestown yard like a rocket. Did looked rather strange as normally to get the train going straight off the ash pit at Jamestown it was a slow slog out the yard and all the way up over Belalie North, but 3 diesels, the train would do it easy.

By the way a Garratt and an 830 would pull about same tonnage, but a Garratt on its own, could do it better, but a Garratt was no match for twin 830's.

Note: the signal lamp only third way up signal. Was very hairy to climb to top to trim wicks and fill with kero
Look carefully one can see the guide wires supporting the signal post. 
Where silo is, the station is near opposite it.
Here is the distant (permissive) signal further out. This signal was very tall as the track coming down from Belalie North was very steep and engineman needed to see the signals when engine came around curve further up. If stick was at stop position, the driver had to be quick to stop his train at that signal for 1 minute and then proceed at low speed up to the home absolute signal.
If train was going to be admitted to another road beside the normal Down main which the signals were interlocked for to do shunting, or maybe a double cross and passing movement, (3 trains in yard) the signals were left at the stop position and as train slowly approached the Home signal, then the station assistant to admit that train would used a green flag by day, or green light at night (Oh, the green light was a kerosene wick lamp with a green and red shades).