Re: Rationalization of Goulburn Yard.

[Hunslet <hunslet@cia.com.au>]

Maurie Daly wrote:

> Noticed when travelling thru Goulburn today that a good part of the main
> shunting yard appears to have been closed.
> Three of the main sidings have been placed out of service with wooden blocks
> across the lines to prevent use.
> One of the sidings has had some of its rails removed.
> I guess that since the loco depot closed this is the obvious extension.
>

Possibly in this case, as is the case elsewhere in the State, these sidings were
not vested with Rail Access Corporation, but remained in the ownership of (the
new) State Rail Authority.   RAC apparently only acquired the "main lines" and
basic common user crossing loops.   Sidings not particularly vested in Freight
Rail Corporation were considered to be surplus and remained with SRA who then
leased them to private users for their exclusive use.   If no-one wants to pay
to use them, well, SRA considered that it should not maintain them and so booked
them out of use.

Perhaps RAC needs to look at the real needs of operating a multi-user system and
accept that operations to go wrong, requiring additional siding and storage
space, available on a casual basis by all users.

Apparently, under its charter, RAC is not able to allocate trackage for
exclusive use, hence the need for SRA to be involved.

RAC now also claims ownership of turntables and roundhouses/   Trouble ahead for
preservation groups and commercial operators such as NRR and Austrac?

Hunslet.