Great days on the VRs West Line.

[David Langley <del@ancc.com.au>]

I am wondering whether my post regarding Overland divisions was lost in
the thread about Mr. B. So here it is again.

Geoff Lambert wrote:

> I asserted here last week that the Overland did occasionally run to 3
> divisions and cited both memory and documentary evidence to support
> this.  [I think David may have been the person who recently mentioned
> in a e-mail to me that even three divisions probably never ran
> (David?].  Rod mentioned in a post that 3 Divisions were not scheduled

> until the early to mid 1970s Easter services.
>
> Anyway, I have reviewed all my Easter and Christmas WTT books from
> about 1955 to about 1973 and I cannot find a single instance of 3
> Overlands.  My "observations" notebooks from the 1960s contain no
> such evidence either despite my memory to the contrary.  But these
> books are not complete.

Have just found my notebook for 1973. On 19 April 1973 I travelled on
the 1955 (Train
No A11) Adelaide which consisted of S309, BE10, BE7, BE27, AE9, AE10,
AE40, BE49
(airconditioned), AS3, SCD3. We left Spencer Street at 1956 and arrived
Ballarat at
2157. Here we detached BE27 a/c hot box and attached ABU41 & ABU29, and
finally
departed at 2239. We crossed No 36 up Fast Goods (B65) at Ararat
(2338/2341), No 88
up Fast Goods (B80, S310, T352) at Great Western (2355/2357), D64 up
empty cars to
Ballarat (S311) at Dimboola (0129/0140) and 140 Express Goods arr @ 0138
S301, S300,
No 10 1st division of Overland (S307, S315 thro at 0232) at Diapur
(0224/0238) and
arr Serviceton platform @ 0322 following 5' stop at the home arrival
whilst the 2nd
division of the Overland changed locos and reversed out to the up home
arrival.

The up 2nd division had S313, S303 and was hauled by 942 & 948 ex
Adelaide. No 10 had
932 & 950 ex Adelaide and All had 938 for the run to Adelaide. Both
reliefs to
Adelaide were getting refereshment vehicles - All had the Cafeteria car
and No 71 had
an RBJ. Both cars were attached at Tailem Bend and had come from
Adelaide on the
relief Overland.

We departed Serviceton @ 0338 and went ot Kaniva (0355/0408) to cross No
69 (S306,
S305 and arr 0402 but departed after we did. We arrived Dimboola home
signal at 0502
and found No 71 on the branch line with S312 being reversed into No 2
road prior to
departure. We were at the platform 0515/0518. Sleep then overcame us and
the next I
knew we were at Murtoa 0605, Stawell 0638/0644 whilst No 159 jet went
thro behind
S304, T320, T388. We over took 192 goods at Buangor and crossed No 9
paper train at
Burrumbeet and Ballarat arr was at 0814. The load of No 14 was S313,
S303, BE6, AE41,
AE6, 606, 602, 607, 605, 600, BD1, AS16, 603, 604, BE42, SCD2. Now that
is what I
call a magnificent relief train consist. We left Ballarat at 0852 (hot
breakfast
served in the refresh room), crossed No 25 pass at Bank Box (X43) and
changed crews
and finally arr Spencer Street at 1047.

My considered opinion was that we had a great night of railfanning the
Overlands. This
is what I call the good old days.

David.