Re: RIP ASW?

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

Exnarc wrote:

> What about the stupid curves at: Sunshine, Melton, Parwin, The Marsh, Ballan
> and Ballarat, and the slow climb with a full load (if you got a run) from
> the Marsh to Bank Box etc. or the climb on the up out of Ballarat, all that
> has to be taken into account.
>
> The Ballarat line was always the prefered route by VR because of: (a) the
> political (both Local MP's & ARU) pressure to keep work in Ballarat, & (b)
> the slow safeworking across the plains ie. Automatic Electric Staff
> (Gheringhap-Maroona). In reality (I speak from personal experience) the
> Ballarat Line was a pain if you lost your path trying to fit between all the
> passes. As I said before the problems with the present route could be fixed
> with money: Spent on track upgrading and CTC. With regards to the political
> pressure, I can remember the Ballarat ARU members walking out of a seminar
> held in Melbourne (in about 1988) because a senior AFULE official dared to
> suggest that any proposed SG route to Adelaide should go via Cressy.

If the money that was spent on the Newport to Ararat via Cressy line was spent
on Sunshine to Ararat and include the money spent on the Ballarat line
signalling anyway, you would end up with a better railway than todays alignment.
You wouldn't for a start go down through Bacchus Marsh, a loop line could easily
be built between ParwAn and the Rowsley bridge. No one is suggesting that the
grades are going to be flattened but the railway is more direct and I still rest
my case regarding the Cressy line.

Anyway as Eddie pointed out earlier it's all academic anyway. The die has been
cast and the railway is the poorer for it.

David.