Tasrail and Recollections of Loonies

[bscanlon@dist.gov.au (Ben Scanlon)]

     1.Under a headline "130 years on and Tasrail in profit" ATN\Tasrail 
     chief Ed Burkhardt was reported in the Saturday Mercury as saying that 
     Tasrail would end the financial year "in the black".  He went on to 
     say "we're confronted with more business opportunities than we have 
     equipment for".  Ken Bacon, head of the Transport Workers Union said 
     the small profit was at the expense of the road transport industry, 
     with 20 owner-drivers going bankrupt and 30 leaving the state.  
     
     (Pretty frank admission there !)  
     
     Burkhardt said the 20% increase in business had been won from road.  
     He said Tasrail was looking to haul more forest products and to break 
     into the fertiliser and bulk milk transport markets.  
     
     (Rail used to haul bulk fertiliser but lost its contracts when Pivot 
     took over the fertiliser business from Pasminco\EZ. Older readers who 
     remember milk traffic may be surprised that a railway sees milk as a 
     viable traffic.) 
     
     Tasrail are also looking into railing concentrates from the West Coast 
     to the Pasminco\EZ smelter in Hobart.  
     
     (Presently the concentrate is railed to Burnie and shipped round the 
     coast to Hobart. The revival of fertiliser traffic and new 
     concentrates traffic will necessitate the upgrading of the overgrown 
     and disused branch line from Derwent Park to West Risdon in Hobart's 
     northern suburbs.)
     
     Burkhardt also mentioned wood pulp for paper manufacture and magnesite 
     from a proposed mine in NW Tasmania as new traffic sources.  
     
     He also flagged the "tagging" of $12.5 million for replacement of the 
     25 strong loco fleet in the next 2 years.  
     
     (This probably refers to the transfer of Tranzrail DQ (ex QR 1460s) 
     which is all that Tasrail are planning at the moment on the motive 
     power front.  Experts may be able to comment - How many modern narrow 
     gauge locos -say Westrail P or S type - would $12.5 million buy you ?) 
      
     
     General comment : Doesn't this show how bad AN was ?  In South 
     Australia, a state with far more traffic sources than Tas, and far 
     greater distances, all they could manage to haul intrastate was grain, 
     Leigh Creek coal and stone. Tasrail, too, was dying before ATN took 
     over. The change in philosophy and perspective with the new owner is 
     astonishing, especially when you consider Tasrail is basically a 
     steeply graded winding track with average speeds of 35mph.
     
     2.Re the fond recollections of aggressive and rude railfans : A couple 
     of years ago I wandered over to Platform 1 at Central to look at a 38 
     on a tour.  Hustling through the crowd there was a fairly nondescript 
     bloke in a baseball cap and tinted glasses, about mid 40s, I'd guess, 
     with a film camera. He shoved his way through a few elderly gents 
     (passengers on the tour and WW2 veterans to boot) and then demanded 
     they move back so he could get his 3/4 shot.  He then marched over to 
     me, turned round and started shoving me back so he could get a distant 
     shot.  Having seen his conduct, I (pretty beefy for my height- 5'10", 
     180lbs from Parts Unknown) decided to stand my ground and he tripped 
     and dropped some of his apparatus.  I called in at Goulburn on the way 
     back from Canberra the next day, was looking at an 81 and he was there 
     and to my amazement tried the shove routine again - then he saw my 
     face and I said "I don't advise it pal, you've already damaged one 
     camera". He backed off, started telling me he knew the Goulburn SM and 
     would have me thrown off the premises. I laughed. Jog any memories ?
     
     3. I agree with Ben Staples' comments - I love narrow gauge but even I 
     can see that any new track should be standard gauge or at least built 
     to be easily gauge convertible. Narrow gauge is for the isolated Eyre 
     Peninsula and Tasrail networks and for specialist industrial short 
     lines like BHP Whyalla, and that's it.
     
     Cheers
     
     Ben Scanlon
     
        





----------------- Cleared by MIMEsweeper ----------------