Re: standardising Victoria

[usenet.spam@gunzel.net (Michael)]

Arthur Marsh <mars0177@flinders.edu.au> wrote in article
<39f9702f_2@news.chariot.net.au>: 

>Tailem Bend to Loxton and Tailem Bend to Pinaroo was converted to SG.
>Pinaroo to the first grain siding on the Victorian side of the border
>has been closed but not pulled up AFAIK.

How far west can Victorian trains venture on the Pinaroo branch these days?  
9137 ventures as far as Cowangie as far as I knew.

Would make sense to SG the Mildura line & Pinaroo branch, to provide 
another route for trains. You would then be required to standardise as far 
as Dunolly, then standardise Maryborough to Geelong via Ballarat (DG 
Ballarat - Warrenheip). This would also mean reguaging a lot of Geelong - 
something that is also overdue. 

Unfortunately, this may also see (temporary?) closure of Maryborough-
Castlemaine. Once you standardise the Bendigo area, the line can be 
reinstated as an SG line for the same reason it's open now. Question now 
is, how much freight sees that branch, and can it run via Brooklyn anyway 
assuming it's going to Geelong?

With standard guage seeing Ballarat, would there be any sense in 
standardising Ballarat-Ararat and reopening that as well? Would much grain 
traffic see that branch? etc.

On a completely separate note, I was having a discussion with someone 
recently over guage conversion of passenger rollingstock. I believe with 
all Victorian BG locos, all is required for guage conversion is to replace 
the wheelsets from the bogies and relocate the brakes to a separate set of 
hangers that have been pre-cast on the bogie. Is this capable of being done 
with ALL country passenger rollingstock? Suburban?

M.

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