|
Johnny's Pages
Old S.A.R. Shunter's Memories
 |
|
|
|
MOUNT GAMBIER MARSHALLING YARDS
IN
THE 1970 and 80's
Another trip down memory lane.
...
click on the small picture to view a larger picture ... |
|
This is the Mount Gambier
Railway Station in 1983.
Taken 12 years before closure of Broad Gauge line in 12th April 1995
|
|
All
these pictures are of the 3 separate yards that went to make up the
Mount Gambier Railways in the 1980's.
They are all still there, but
getting very overgrown now.
The
3 yards were
Old
Station marshalling yard
New marshalling yard and Loco area
Mt Gambier Junction, Sheep,
Cattle, Storage yard.
|
|
Mount Gambier had two main shunt
yards, and also sheep and cattle yards past the White Avenue
Junction.
One yard was called the Station Old yard, which had an interlocked main Signal
Cabin that controlled the whole of the station yard.
The other marshalling yard called the "New yard" where
the crew barracks and loco sheds and turntable were, was situated between Bertha
Streets and White Avenue. Another Signal cabin was situated at White
Avenue called the Junction cabin. This Junction Signal cabin
controlled all train movements into the New yard and main line to Mt
Gambier station from Millicent, and from
Adelaide, also into the sheep, cattle and storage yards.
The Main line to the Mount
Gambier Station from the Mount Gambier Junction Cabin ran alongside the New
marshalling yard to the Mount Gambier station in the old yard.
The station yard, was for the passenger trains and the loading and unloading of merchandise, also for the making
up of the daily roadside trains to Mile End (in Adelaide)
and Portland (Victoria). Also the arrival and departure of Victorian trains to and
from Heywood, plus our overnight mixed express trains. The New marshalling yard was built in
the 1960's for the marshalling and breaking up the bigger, longer freight trains only.
Shunting the loading between
the New yard and Old yard was at MOST times an acrobatic feat
in itself, as this led to blocking of two main rail crossings
at the same time, Bertha Street and Wehl Streets. This was much to
the dismay of the local residents, who had to wait at times 5 -10 minutes during these
shunting movements. A lot of times
people were late for work, unless they used their head and traveled
via Bay Road, and the shunters and engine crews would cop plenty of abuse over
the years, but it could never be helped, as it was just a fact of
life. |
|
...
click on the small picture to view a larger picture ...
|
|
Mount Gambier Station Yard in 1980 looking
towards Bay Road, from Wehl street end.
Shunt
engine 838 breaking up overnight jet ex Adelaide is on B
road.
The 930 class jet loco can be seen on other end of C
road.
Some empty wagons can be seen on what was called Pole road.
Pole road mainly held spare trucks and Vic loading.
The 152 roadside train is seen on A Road, to the
right all marshalled ready to depart.
Names of tracks from left to right of platform:- Main
line, C road, B road, Pole
road, A road, Shed road.
Never knew why or how Pole road
got its name.
|
|
|
...
click on the small picture to view a larger picture ...
|
|
Gambier Station Yard
looking toward Wehl Street in 1980
Twin
Victorian "T" class locos ready for departure to Portland in Victoria. To the left is the loading yard for
timber and K&S slide-on, slide-off wagons. This
train is seen made up on C
road out onto the main line, just short of the Bay road signal and
road crossing.
|
|
|
...
click on the small picture to view a larger picture ...
|
|
|
Drawing of New marshalling yard
Loco area and Junction |
Drawings of old station
yard as at present 2003
Dotted lines rails removed late 1980's.
|
|
|
...
click on the small picture to view a larger picture ...
|
|
Mount Gambier station and car park. July 1983
|
Bluebirds at Mount Gambier
platform.
December 1989
|
|
|
...
click on the small picture to view a larger picture ...
|
|
Mount
Gambier Main line. Brake van at station for parcel
loading. Later in evening the loading was paced on
ready for night jet.
|
|
Sleeping and
Passenger cars on the mixed freight for the 8:30pm overnight train to
Adelaide in the 1980's
|
|
|
The Adelaide ( Tailem
Bend crew ) over-night passenger (Mon - Wed - Fri) and overnight freight train crews
(Tues and Thurs) would rest all day in the Crew's rest
house or barracks, then of an evening leave for Tailem Bend thence Adelaide.
This over-night mixed goods and passenger train
was known as "The Blue Lake", had 2 passenger cars, and 2
overnight sleeping carriages normally attached on the back of the goods
train. This train would leave the Mount Gambier station at 8:30pm for
Adelaide and arrive in the Adelaide Railway Station at 8am next
morning.
It was a rather slow trip for passengers on account this train was
what was called a MIXED freight train, and had to travel at freight
train speeds, 80kph because of the freight cars. This limited goods
train would also pickup other through loading along the way, and later all
the front freight loading would be uncoupled at a place called
Mitcham (an outer suburb of Adelaide) and then the front portion of
the goods train would continue on to the Mile End freight yards.
Another locomotive would then be attached to the passenger cars and
then continue on into the Adelaide Railway Station. It was quite a
good trip, as you did not loose a day in travelling in daylight.
Many people would travel on this train, as it provided a place to
sleep overnight cheaply, as it saved a two night Hotel stay while
visiting Adelaide. You could catch this train at 8-30pm, sleep
all night on the train, arrive at 8am next morning and have a good
breakfast at the Railway Station Cafeteria (they had the best
excellent Auzzie pies, these were my favourite) do some shopping
in the very heart of Adelaide, go to your appointment(s), take in a
movie, then head off later to the Adelaide Railway Station have
another good meal again at the Cafeteria.
While at the Adelaide
Railway Station one would quite often run into people you knew, then
grab some reading matter, and catch the overnight Blue
Lake train back to Mount Gambier leaving at 8pm another mixed goods
and arrive back in Mount Gambier at 7am or there abouts next morning, go home
and have a shower, have breakfast and off to work, and all it cost
you in actual time was 1 day off. It use to be quite popular
because of this,
but as usual, old father time ruins everything. ( I mean rather
short sighted humans beans, er sorry I mean beings ).
The S.A.R. Adelaide
Railway Station and rail yards were once a very romantic type
station, had a lot of character as it did have real STYLE and it was special for anyone
arriving by train into the Adelaide Railway Station from the
country, or from interstate. Ask any elderly person who traveled by
train. The station had long dead end platforms in the open air where all Country,
Inter-capital city, and Suburban trains arrived and departed.
It was a fantastic experience for anyone to arrive or
depart from there. Now has been built over with a yucky Hotel and
the rest of the station turned into a Casino. They have absolutely
ruined a once beautiful and enjoyable station, it was an icon.
The
Country, and Inter-capital Railway station is now at Keswick, close
to the old Mile End freight yards, a good three miles or so from the
old/new Adelaide Railway Station, (no where near the city itself
now) it is like arriving in Adelaide and being dumped in a 40 acre
windy cow paddock, the only thing missing is the cattle and sheep grazing, it
is very draughty, cold and very un-inviting, definitely not a
welcoming sight, or a good invitation to visitors to come again in my
view.
|
|
|
...
click on the small picture to view a larger picture ...
|
|
Mount Gambier Station yard Signal
Cabin. June 1983.
| This Signal cabin serviced the whole of the Old Station Yard,
and was a very busy job. All shunting movements could not take place
without this cabin, as it was interlocked with all switches to the
yard,
which controlled the entrance and exit to this what was
called the Old Yard. This cabin was in total control of
all train movements in and around the Old yard at all times.
Signalman Morris Broad putting electric staff in cane hoop. July 1983
|
|
|
...
click on the small picture to view a larger picture ...
|
|
The 40 Signal levers that
controlled the Mount Gambier Station Yard.
..Red..
levers
were for pulling the signals OFF (45deg). Red levers in the
frame as above, showed ALL signals were at the STOP or ON (90
degree)
position.
..Black.. levers
were for turning the switches.
..Blue..
levers then
locked these switches through rodding that ran from the cabin
to all the interlocked switches each end of the yard.
..White..
levers were spares.
Pulling these levers during a eight hour shift was a back
breaking job and very busy with two or three engines shunting at
once. The buttons above the Black and Blue levers are the Push
Buttons that had to be pressed and held in before operating any
of the switch levers. If there was a train on the circuit anywhere,
there was no way the cabin operator could operate the switches,
everything was interlocked. The button was pushed or held in, then
the switches had to be set, and then locked before a signal could be
pulled OFF to allow a train or engine to exit or be admitted to
the yard or station. All this is for safety reasons. So the
signalman had to know exactly in what sequence the cabin levers had
to be placed, before any train movements could begin. The Signalman's job was also incurred train working duties. Electric
staffs, Train orders, and Victorian staff & ticket working.
|
|
|
...
click on the small picture to view a larger picture ...
|
|
Looking out of Signal Cabin door
towards Mount Gambier Station and the Bay Road railway crossing
which is the entrance to this yard from Heywood Victoria.
The Victorian Border is about 7 miles from here. January 1990
|
|
|
...
click on the small picture to view a larger picture ...
|
|
Looking east towards Victorian border from
station cabin. July 1983.
|
|
Looking West towards Wehl Street crossing from
station cabin. November 1983. Note the Vicy Y class engine and Dynometer car
and sleeping
car stabled on far right.
|
|
|
|
...
click on the small picture to view a larger picture ...
|
830
reversing passengers cars for Blue Lake.
October 1983.
|
Shunter
entering old yard from New yard.
January 1990.
|
|
|
...
click on the small picture to view a larger picture ...
|
|
Bowmans passenger car and Finniss sleeping car at Mt
Gambier October 1985
|
|
Finniss sleeper car in October 1983
|
|
|
|
...
click on the small picture to view a larger picture ...
|
|
K & S slide-on-off trays loading in old
yard, near
Penold Road. July 1983
|
|
...
click on the small picture to view a larger picture ...
|
|
|
Left:
Mount Gambier goods shed....Right:
Freight office. July 1983
(All now demolished, only platform left)
|
A.N.
in mid to late 1980's started chasing clients away who used
LCL (Less than Car Load) consignments,
A.N. only wanted full truck loads. This was a godsend to
road transport as after that all intermediate stations
started to die and roadside wagons became less and less and
stations closed down. This was the down turn of railways as
we all knew it. A.N. was only interested in Mt Gambier to
Adelaide and beyond as one consignment. (especially only
inter-capital city traffic) So shunting became less and
it was then A.N. started playing the employees against each
other, till the line was closed down in 1995. Same
thing happened to the Bluebird passenger service, A.N. just
ran them down, no maintenance on them was done, the
Bluebirds became unreliable, then was a part good excuse to
stop the passenger service for good. The old railways that
put the regional areas on the map, were now all dying. I
guess it's called progress, but which way, in my own personal
view regress is more like it. For those who experience
those older railway days, is at least pleasant memories.
|
|
|
...
click on the small picture to view a larger picture ...
|
|
|
This
is the Old Station yard from the Wehl Street crossing,
looking towards the Bay Road crossing in the 1980's.
The gauge is 5' 3" broad gauge track. Standardisation
4' 8½' forced the closure of the Wolseley to Mt
Gambier line. The passenger railway station and Station
Signal Cabin on the left, and the goods shed and
loading yard on the right. The Middle part was for breaking up
and marshalling of trains.
Note:
in picture "taken
2006" the Goods shed
and Goods offices have been completely removed, only
platform remains now. Also a couple of tracks have been
removed. On right Plumber & Painters sheds also gone.
|
NOTE:
ALL
THIS RAIL LAND IN OLD
STATION YARD ABOVE HAS
BEEN GIVEN OVER
TO THE MOUNT GAMBIER
CITY COUNCIL FOR CITY
RE-DEVELOPMENT.
A 10 metre RAIL CORRIDOR
THROUGH THIS LAND MUST
BE KEPT
FOR FUTURE FREIGHT TRAINS
WHEN TRACK GET'S STANDARDISED.
|
|
|
|
...
click on the small picture to view a larger picture ...
|
|
|
835 shunt engine
between New Yard (Bertha St)
and old yard (Wehl Street). July 1983. |
Shunter
Brian Murdock with 942 coming over Wehl Street entering old
yard. Oct 1983 |
Two crossings separated the two marshalling yards, Bertha Street and Wehl Streets,
was a worry shunting over these crossings, as it is downhill and all
loading was pushed from new yard to old yard and its a down grade.
|
|
|
...
click on the small picture to view a larger picture ...
|
|
Old yard December 1989. Note removal of 2 the
roads in old yard. A and Pole Road.
|
|
Looking down into the New yard towards
the Junction Cabin, with Main line on the right. Oct 1990.
Bertha Street railway crossing in foreground. Shunt track was being
re-sleepered here.
|
|
|
|
...
click on the small picture to view a larger picture ...
|
|
Mount Gambier New
Marshalling Yard
Bertha Street crossing gongs.
|
Entrance from Bertha Street railway
crossing, showing New Marshalling Yard and Loco Depot.
Train crew barracks at left of picture.
|
|
New yard weighbridge and overhead wagon clearance bar.
Loco sheds on left. A.N. had already been altering the
yard where cement tank is.
February 1992. |
Looking towards Mount Gambier Loco sheds in the mid
1950's.
|
|
Here
one can still see remnants of the old Narrow Gauge after Broad
Gauge widening in early 1950's. The coal loader for steam
engines is still standing, as was the water tower. Both
removed later. Minor note: There is a dog in the
picture, can you see it?
Photo
courtesy of: Allan Lownsborough |
|
|
|
...
click on the small picture to view a larger picture ...
|
|
Gang
and Electrical fitter's sheds alongside Bertha Street.
July 1983.
|
MRP
Accident van and Y open wagon.
November 1983.
|
|
|
...
click on the small picture to view a larger picture ...
|
|
Drawing of New
yard and Junction in 1980
|
|
...
click on the small picture to view a larger picture ...
|
|
Mount Gambier
Loco
|
Loco
turntable.
Behind: Loco foreman's office and booking on room.
To right: Crib room
and showers. July 1983
|
Mt Gambier Loco sheds and turntable. July 1983
|
|
|
...
click on the small picture to view a larger picture ...
|
|
Mount Gambier
Junction
Looking from New yard toward the Junction
Cabin and White Avenue crossing. Sept 1988.
|
Junction
Cabin looking east towards the New Yard September 1989.
White Avenue
railway crossing in the foreground. This signal Cabin is
also interlocked with all switches and signals into and out
of the New Yard, Sheep and Cattle and
Storage yard, also for the Junction of the Adelaide and
Millicent lines.
Note.
I also worked both the Junction and station signal
cabins, and I was to be the last employee to work in and
shut down both the Station Cabin and the Junction Cabins in
1990, two years before I took voluntary redundancy. These
lower quadrant signals were lit up by night with kerosene lamps that had to be filled
and cleaned twice a week. The signal with no arm was an
old Train Order signal, which had not been in use for years.
Once the Junction and Station cabins were closed down in
1990, all lower quadrant signalling and rodding were all
pulled out and all interlocking was removed from the
switches and was replaced with manually operated
switchstands. All movements over the White Avenue Junction
crossing needed a qualified employee who had to operate the
crossing gongs, and then to pilot the train into and out of
both yards. Electric Staff was removed and Train Order
working was instituted. Trains ex New yard the Train Orders
for Adelaide and Millicent were from this cabin, by shunter
or his assistant. Train Order for Bluebirds was given from
Station which used the main line.
|
Yours truly
last working Junction cabin May 1990.
Not long after this pic all the rodding and signals were removed,
only levers left in cabin.
Inside Mount Gambier Junction cabin. Sept 1989
|
Junction Cabin April 1995.
At time of closure of Broad gauge track.
|
|
|
...
click on the small picture to view a larger picture ...
|
|
|
September 1988.
Above
Left:- Here
goods train 547 being admitted from (ex Mile End) Adelaide
for the New Marshalling Yard.
Above Right-
Showing the BlueBird
rail passenger cars had passed the Junction and heading
towards Adelaide.
Note in right picture:-
The right side signal is off,
showing the track is setup for the Adelaide line and it is
okay to proceed.
Also sheep vans can be seen at old cattle and sheep yards.
|
|
|
...
click on the small picture to view a larger picture ...
|
|
Junction Storage
yard, also sheep and cattle yards. Sept 1989
Looking towards Millicent line straight ahead and the Adelaide line
turns to right.
|
|
...
click on the small picture to view a larger picture ...
|
|
Last
Broad Gauge train leaves Mount Gambier for Tailem Bend.
Sad time again, as progress catches up
again.
Gm43 and 852 hauling last train leaving Mount Gambier old yard
12th April 1995.
Train examiner here is talking to driver. Number nicker is taking train load
further down.
|
Gm43 and 852 hauling last freight train
heading past Junction cabin White Avenue 12th April 1995.
When this train went through Wolseley the dogs were pulled and broad
gauge track was closed.
|
|
|
The
Broad Gauge track from Mt Gambier to Kalangadoo and to
Tantanoola (Millicent line) is used by the "Limestone Coast
Railway" volunteers using ex Adelaide 400 class Red Hens
for
tourist rail trips.
|
|
|
...
click on the small picture to view a larger picture ...
|
|
Picture above is yours
truly, John at aged 51 in my Shunters gear the week before I
took voluntary redundancy in April 1992 with 30 years of
S.A.R, A.N.R, A.N. Railway service. I could well see the
writing on the wall that this line would cease, just 3 years
later on 12th April 1995 the broad gauge line finally
closed. Rail as
I knew it was fast disappearing forever.
Behind me in
this picture is a Victorian X class Loco that came in
early in that morning, and would leave Mt Gambier for Heywood - Hamilton
- Arrarat in
Victoria that evening at 6pm on its way to Melbourne. The Hamilton
crew would rest all day in the Crew's rest house or barracks
near Bertha
Street. A day time Victorian crew was stationed here in
the Mount and lived here in the town, and would work to the cross of the Portland crew. Was a nice good day job for the older Vicy
engineman in their twilight years.
Note the radio I am carrying on my hip, as they were only
introduced for shunters to use some 4 years previously.
Before that all shunting was done through and by hand
signals, quite often relayed by extra 1 or 2 persons besides
the shunters with long strings or around corners. Shunters always operated in pairs in S.A., a Supervising shunter and an Assistant shunter
who most times chased the wagons and applying hand brakes
and coupling up air hoses. Goods trains would be bled of
their air on arrival. Then the strings of wagons would be
pulled to top of yard, as slope of the yard ran towards the
Junction and then each wagon(s) kicked off (this
is where it was nice using 930 class engines, plenty of
grunt and stopping power) onto the various roads for
marshalling other trains and separating local loading to
place in old yard for unloading, or in super siding and
sheep and cattle vans for placement at the Junction
stockyards. Was a
very busy and time consuming job, kept you fit and on the
ball. We had two sets of shunters on each shift, a set for
each yard. There was two shifts, Monday to Saturday, a
morning shift that started at 4:30am (State Mill shunt
first job before arrival of trains) and an afternoon
shift finishing about 10:30pm. One good thing was no night
shift, so no round the clock shift work like it was at Jamestown.
On heavy rainy or foggy days we often had 2 extra employees to relay the hand signals to the engine
driver for us when shunting long strings of trucks (wagons) during
shunting and marshalling operations. This use to get quite dangerous at
times, especially when some of the fellows (mostly junior
porters new to the job) who were relaying
your hand signals for you to the engine driver, were a
little slack, OR, slow in relaying the hand signals in time. That use
to really upset me, as it was sometimes very hard to get
into the heads of these youngsters to truly understand just how
dangerous their inattentive actions were, and they MUST keep their eyes
on you ALL the time.
I always took my shunting very
seriously, as I've always loved shunting. 30 years of train
working and only one minor derailment on a miserable rainy
cold dark winter's morning at 5am at State Mill siding when
local children had jammed stones in the spring lever points. The
930 found it hard to stop sliding on the Mill's greasy rails
and dropped the 930's bogie off the track. Fortunately no
damage to 930 engine when the Vicy engine pulled it back onto the
rails and little damage to the points, just my pride hurt.
Is a laugh now, but not at the time. One mistake
could be your last in the shunting business. AS a
shunter it was best job in the world now gone forever.
|
|
|
|
