Re: Steam and Olympic Park

[matthew@mail.usyd.edu.au (Matthew Geier)]

In article <9DDk3.9448$yD2.21554@newsfeeds.bigpond.com>,
Daniel Nightingale <dnightingale@bigpond.nospam.com> wrote:
>Isn't there a 48 class modifed to haul electric sets from the Olympic Loop?
>I am pretty sure I read/heard at work that they could do the older sets, as
>well as Tangara's with thier ?Schefenberg? couplings.

 A few 48 class have 'scrubbers' on their exhaust stacks for operation on
work trains in the underground. The 'scrubber' 48s are probably what you
are thinking of.
 They have been around a lot longer than the Olympic Park loop.

 Tangaras are supposed to be all carrying a transition coupler to allow them
to be coupled up to other electric sets or a locomotive in emergencies. 
It is apparently not uncommon when the occasion arises to need to use the
transition coupler that the end they are trying to couple is missing the
adapter and some one has to carry the adapter from the other end of the train,
often not easy due to track or prevailing weather conditions. Im sure the
lurking spark drivers would all have a few war stories about transition
couplers. :-)