>markbau1@aol.com (MarkBau1) wrote:
>>Actually VR did have VC at the time, trouble was it did not apply the brakes if
>>it went off! (About as much use as speed proving for trains with train stops!)
>>Did any of the other states have any type of VC in the late 60's?
Victoria had this stuff on electric trains, of course, but also on
some railmotors, like the DERMS. On one memorable night, a solenoid
in this device blew up in the rear cab of the DERM running No13 6.20
p.m. to Bacchus Marsh, between Melton and Parwan. The driver
recruited a passenger (me) to drive the motor from the rear cab, while
he knelt on the floor under me and held down the relevant bit of the
device by pressing on it with a ball-peen hammer. And so we trundled
home to the Marsh that way, with him applying the brakes by releasing
the pressure on the hammer.
Now that needed vigilance!
Geoff Lambert