Looking Back... Tas 1974 - Part 2

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

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

Part 2:   Tuesday 5th February - Launceston.

My arrival at the Roundhouse was late morning due to some shopping (yes Virginia, there are other things in life...).  
I had 'checked in' with the Loco Foreman the previous afternoon so was OK to come and go for the week - try that now!

Around the shed itself, things were pretty quiet.  Red 4-8-2's H2 and H5 sat in the two bay repair section.  H2 had repairs done to its internal steam pipe and was awaiting transfer back to Hobart.  H5 was stored 'pending instructions'. Work on boiler reconditioning and full retube had started in mid-1971 with the tubes being removed.  The two 'H' class were to be 'insurance' in case of loco shortages if the new 'Z' class didn't arrive in time for the start up of log train services.  When they did, H5's boiler work took a back seat and was never completed.

Red pacific M3 and mogul CCS23 were in the steam 'Running Shed' section.  M3 had received boiler repairs and retubed in early 1972 and had only recently received a 'tone up' and new piston rings.  CCS23 was in for yet another patch-up but work on H2 and M3 had taken precedence.  Red MA2 was also stored in this section of the shed.

Outside, around the open 'bull-ring' section (where half the roundhouse had been demolished in late 1968), were black moguls C22 (stored for the Tas. Transport Museum Society) and CCS25 (stored as spares for CCS23 and pending possible preservation).  75% of the 4-8-2 'H' class were here:  long-term inmates green H1 and 4 had been joined in the late 1960's by red H3, H6 (tender-less), green H7 and 8.  Faded and rusty green M4 was stored in late 1970 pending a partial retube and other minor repairs which robbed it of a role in the February 1971 Centenary Celebrations.  Long term derelict resident 'red' MA3 was in company with a 'T' class tender (ex-SAR) and a 'DS' boiler (ex-NZR 'Wf') that had once been the steam cleaning plant - MA4 was doing the job again today.

Disposal of post-war steam had commenced with green M1 (ex-M7), M2 (ex-M10 but really a Heinz 57) and red MA1 (ex-M8) given away for stuffing and mounting on plinths as had 4-6-0 E1 of 1907.  Red M6 (ex-M9) had been sold to Bob Butrims but was still stored in Hobart awaiting a lift to the mainland.

At 11:13 ZA4 & Z2 (back to back) came round from Launceston yard after having arrived with a log train (possibly a very late #254 from the N.W. Coast - due at 08:52!).  At this time, the direct access to the Bell Bay and North-East Lines via East Tamar Jcn. wasn't completed so log trains for Longreach had to reverse in Launceston station yard.  Z2 (named 'Bell Bay Pioneer') was uncoupled from ZA4, turned, re-crewed and eventually went back to couple onto the log train.

At 12:08, Tulloch 0-6-0DH W2 (yellow) wandered down the North-East line with a string of empty flats, returning from its shunting trip to Mowbray and Rocherlea.  W2's arrival cleared the line for Z2 to depart (No.1 end leading) for Longreach 10 minutes down at 12:18.  Two minutes later, the long hood of Z3 poked around the North East Junction curve heading for the sheds, coming from I know not where!

Yellow V12, the last Tasmanian-built 'V' (finally in service 1968 after a prolonged construction) was the yard shunter, coupled to shunter's flat SF3 (converted from bogie open CC48 three months previously) for transition couplings and greater braking power.  At 12:24, W2 returned to the roundhouse for lunchbreak.

Nosing around the back of the workshops, new bogie flat FJ7, in raw metal finish, was awaiting transfer to the roundhouse where two (or three) of the long shed roads (extended for ASG garratts) had been partitioned into a wagon paintshop.

In the Diesel shop, at 12:40, X6 was lifted off its bogies and Y6's motor was lifted out at 13:30.  Red X21 was doing the workshops shunt and at 13:52, transferred the 'Y' motor on a 'KG' flat to the Motor Repair Bay.  At 14:10, X21 pulled red X11 out of the Load Tank Shed across to the re-fuelling point to top up for the next test.  Up at the roundhouse, red X5 was riding the turntable at 15:16 whilst X21 parked, awaiting its next assignment - crew to refs!

I drove down to Kings Wharf and found W2 doing the wharf branch shunt at 16:10.  After a quick inspection of the withdrawn wagons stored here (including 5 'DB' guards vans), I followed W2, waddling its way on the rough trackwork back to Launceston yard, at 16:22.

Z2 was spotted on the 'Black Bridge' at 16:30, backing down onto an empty logger for a 16:40 departure as #83(?) to Fingal.  At 17:34, W2 was across the North Esk River doing the last of its 'around the suburbs' crawls - shunting the cattle truck wash-out roads and Cimitere Street Goods yard (the original Tas. Main Line Railway station).

Last action sighted for the day was the 17:44 departure of red X13 + X5 on #3 goods to Hobart.  Other commitments then took precedence - in retrospect, Virginia, I wish I'd had more time, more film and taken more notes.

Melanie Dennis
Australian Steam Group


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