4918 visit to Canberra 25/11

[Peter Ware <pwware@ozemail.com.au>]

At 6:10am on Saturday 25/11, locomotive 4918 with four carriages and a
complement of 3801 volunteers and supporters, pulled out of the Large
Erecting Shed at Eveleigh and headed for Canberra. Brief stops at
Sydenham, Kingsgrove, Glenfield and Campbelltown picked up additional
travellers.

The trip was appropriately named "Operation AB91" and its purpose was to
bring dining car AB91 back to Sydney for final restoration and eventual
operation as part of the 3801 First Class fleet. On board, the coffee
and tea were free and most travellers had bought generous eskies. A very
friendly party atmosphere ensured for the trip, both down and back.

We were tabled to arrive at Canberra at 12:46pm, but delays caused by a
late running CountryLink service at Moss Vale, being put away to let an
XPT pass at Goulburn (that movement was not tabled despite arriving at
Goulburn on time) plus the slowness of the safe working required to
cross a Sydney bound service at Queanbeyan. All but about 20 minutes of
the total delay was made up during the journey.

On arrival at Canberra, the carriages stood at the platform while 4918
went to the ARHS Canberra yard to retrieve AB91. When they rejoined the
train, AB91 was marshalled behind the locomotive - as required by the
STN.

While 4918 did its chores, a few travellers wandered off the the ARHS
Museum but the bulk of us opted to visit the Eastlakes Football Club for
lunch. According to our pre-trip instructions, the club was "just a
short distance" from the station. Wiser local knowledge revealed that it
was much further than that. Fortunately, while we were wondering who to
blame for the "short memory", a local ACT public bus pulled up on its
regular run to the city. A brief discussion with the driver resulted in
all 70+ travellers piling on board (free of charge) while the driver
took us straight to the club front door (not part of the regular route
for that service). It would easily have been the most crowded ACT bus
service that weekend. An identical service was arranged for the return
trip back to the station!! Full marks to the Canberra Bus Service and
its drivers.

On return to the station, we all had the opportunity to inspect AB91.
Inside, it seems to be in good condition - apart from the blinds and the
laminex on the tables. Outside, the condition did not seem as good.
However, we were told that the Canberra ARHS staff had performed a lot
of sanding back and other preparation work on the exterior ready for
restoration to begin.

AB91 was built in 1917/18 as a mainline seating car, coded MCX 2110. It
was converted to a 36 seat dining car in 1934. The conversion gave it a
full kitchen and two dining areas. As a dining car it saw service on the
Melbourne Express between Goulburn and Sydney, the Wagga day train and
on the Brisbane Limited between Coff's Harbour and Brisbane. During WWII
it was converted to a buffet car and used on ambulance trains and the
Riverina Express. After the War it saw little use but was rebuilt as a
dining car in 1963. It was eventually retired from service in 1988 when
it became part of the 3801 fleet. It was then loaned to the Canberra
branch of the ARHS where it has remained ever since.

We departed Canberra at 3:15pm, on time. We crossed a late running
Canberra bound CountryLink service at Queanbeyan where the intricacies
of the safe working delayed us even further. The return trip was tabled
at just under 7 hours with some additional time allowed at Bungendore
and Tarago for the on board mechanic to inspect the running condition of
AB91. The car ran perfectly.

We arrived at Goulburn a few minutes early, hoping that we would be let
go and not spend the tabled 44 minutes sitting at the platform, but this
was not to be. In the end we left Goulburn a few minutes ahead of
schedule at maintained on time running upto Glenfield where I left the
train.

In all, an extremely enjoyable trip.

Peter Ware


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