Looking Back... Tasmain 1974: Part 5

["Melanie J. Dennis" <meld.asg@netspeed.com.au>]

Aus loco discussion mailing list

Looking Back:   A week's travelling around Tasmania  1st - 8th Feb. 1974. 

Part 5:   Friday 8th February - Hobart and Launceston.

The overcast weather continued so I decided to give Hobart yard a miss and began the trek back north.  First stop was Derwent Park Junction at 10:39 where red XA2 was doing the shunting; there being no sign of the 'V' class.

On to Granton where northbound yellow Y2 was in the loop at 11:01 with what I think was freight #44.  The consist was made up of mainly tarp-covered bogie open wagons carrying superphosphate from the Risdon Zinc works to farmers around the state.  I decided to wait to see what had halted #44's progress, and sure enough, at 11:08, articulated railcar DP29 passed through the station heading towards Hobart.  

This recalled the previous day's sighting at 11:18 of set DP23 + PT6 + DP21 at Derwent Park Junction, Hobart-bound.  Surely the Parattah Motor didn't run everyday?  Perhaps this was, instead, a New Norfolk service off the Derwent Valley line.  That would explain the use of a 3-car set.  (I quietly made a mental note to kick myself for not taking more comprehensive notes from South Burnie station's copy of the current WTT before setting out...).

Before crossing the causeway and lifting bridge over the Derwent River, I stopped at the roadside rest area, surrounded by high rock walls like an amphitheatre.  There, in the middle, sat forlorn pacific MA1 (ex-M8; R.S.&H. 7428 of 1951) in a garish approximation of its red livery and missing many fitiings.  This was the prototype 'M' to 'MA' conversion, released to traffic back in late 1957.  The re-wheeling was judged sufficiently successful for three more to be done the following year: (M1 > MA2; M6 > MA3; M2 > MA4).  

MA1 had last been working in Hobart from April 1968 to December 1969, then towed back to Launceston with boiler troubles.  I saw her late January 1970 in Launceston Roundhouse repair section undergoing mechanical tone-up and firebox repairs - alas, the work was in vain as subsequent removal of a small piece of inner firebox revealed the extent of the wastage and cracking.  The next move was across the turntable to the open storage roads until given to a southern Rotary Club in 1973 for mounting on the plinth at Granton.

After crossing the river to Bridgewater Junction, from 11:39, I watched recently out-shopped yellow X16 and red XA1 shunting on the Derwent Valley side of the island platform (train number not known).  X16's "Festival of Britain" nameplates appeared to now be painted silver and were quite prominent on the cabsides.

Nothing was noted or photographed on the trip north until arriving at Western Junction at 14:05 where the three-way meet was well underway.  On the Wynyard-bound "Tasman Ltd." (#223), red X17 had swapped partners and now had red XA3:  the two locos had uncoupled from the consist (DZ2 + DA2 + ACS4 + ACS2) and run forward to refuel.  Red X26 and consist EEP21 (mail van) + BBL10 + BBL12 + DZ1 were on the Launceston Feeder (#67- #226), departing at 14:11.  The Hobart-bound service (#40) must have already departed as I made no notes re its consist.

A quick trip into launceston Loco revealed little change from earlier in the week.  About the only excitement was yellow W1 (Tulloch 0-6-0DH) trying to get back to the roundhouse for afternoon refs at 15:23, only to find its path blocked by shut-down ZA4 - the crew were not pleased!

I wandered around to the goods yard to watch V12 shunting and noticed, for the first time, bogie tank wagon CTT1.  This 9,500 gallon one-off monster (by Tasmanian standards) was constructed in the Launceston Workshops in 1965 and was the largest tanker in the state.  It was one of very few items transferred from Tasmania to the mainland (ANR Central Region), in the mid-1980's

If readers remember, at the start of the week, I had watched yellow X6 undergoing repairs in the diesel shops after its tantrums at South Burnie.  At 16:10, a blast on the horn announced X6 had arrived at the Home signal guarding access from the North-East line through North-East Junction to Launceston yard.  V12 cleared the station throat and at 16:17, X6 was allowed to proceed into the yard, pulling a rake of earlier vintage log wagons ('FB' or 'FFL') with 'KG' grover bogie flats as runner trucks between each bogie log wagon.  The train was empty so although I put it down as #290 off the North East line, it may well have even come off the Bell Bay line.  It was possibly a trial trip for X6 after release from the works - the North-East line daily service was popular for trialling repaired locos.

This was the end of the week's activities - the weekend was already 'booked out' with other non-rail plans.  In retrospect, I could have seen so much more had my planning been more organised and I still kick myself for hesitating to press the shutter in order to save film.  I had ignored the Far North-West, North-East, Bell Bay, Fingal and Derwent Valley branches.  Why didn't I forget the car (and relatives) and just buy an all-day ticket to explore the suburban network in Hobart.  Why spend so much time poking around the loco sheds and yards when there was a whole system waiting to be explored?  I take my hat off to those whose explorations and photography was more organised and comprehensive than mine!

The early 1970's were exciting times for any train-watcher in Tasmania - progress and re-development of the rail system left one with the impression that great things would continue to happen through the decade.  But we did not figure on the State Government 'selling out' to the Commonwealth in 1975 and the subsequent A.N.R. 'rationalisation' that fulfilled not one of its promises and so quickly stripped away virtually all of the infrastructure that had characterised Tasmania's Government Railways.  Vale T.G.R.

Melanie Dennis
Australian Steam Group


______________________________________________________________________
To unsubscribe, write to Ausloco-unsubscribe@listbot.com
______________________________________________________________________
Start Your Own FREE Email List at http://www.listbot.com