Re: RIP ASW?

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

Maurie Daly wrote:

> Grade crossings where one organizations line crosses someone elses are never
> trivial.
> The two most obvious examples are the SG crossings at Goodwood and Y junction
> in Adelaide where STA trains always get priority over SG , irrespective of the
> rights and wrongs of whose train it is,

That's because of the stupid system of having your control and my control. The tracks should
remain with the state and the one organisation would have control and would arrange
priorities at grade crossings with due regard for the bigger picture. If you are going to
sell the tracks then sell the road as well. Then let's see which is the most efficient and
cost effective means. By the tone of your other posts you seem to think that it's OK for the
taxpayer to foot the bill for the road but not for the rail tracks. Well I suggest that the
way to reduce dangerous practices on the road would be to enforce the truckies to build their
own road and give the freeway back to the private motorists.

> If the concern about the Cressy Route is the loss of pass services to Ararat
> and beyond , there is no reason why the new owners of VLP cant run a SG pass
> service to Dimboola as used to be the case .
> I used to travel on this train quite a bit , and as Rod pointed out the number
> of passengers getting on at Ballarat for points west was normally stuff all.
> The majority of passengers on this train either went from Melb to Ballarat, ie
> used the train as simply a Ballarat Train or went from Melb onto either
> Stawell or Horsham,

Horsham is almost the end anyway, Dimboola was the terminus for operational reasons and I
would guess considering the population of Dimboola, would always be lightly loaded. Even at
Easter when the trains were very heavily used the passengers beyond Horsham were few. I
recall the people of Nhill and Kaniva regularly used the Overland but probably were not
treated very kindly and disappeared.

> with a handful going to Ararat or Dimboola.
> The most popular trains were the friday night down and the up Sunday
> evening excursion.
> Obviously VLP would need a couple of SG car sets to run such
> a train but theres a heap of spare carriages sitting at Keswick owned by GSR
> doing nothingwhich Im sure they would lease to VLP. (guage converting
> sprinters would be the other option.)

If sg passenger trains were operated to Horsham, the only town (of the remaining stops prior
to cessation of the bg passes) not served would be Beaufort, however, as the railway is
destined to be a slow goods track only (can't wait to be proved wrong but ...) VLP probably
won't want to.

David.