Ararat BG connections

[steam4me@enternet.com.au (Yuri J Sos)]

dbromage@fang.omni.com.au (David Bromage) wrote, and I selectively
quote:

>. Getting a bg track over to the
>turntable is not going to be easy either, you'd need a set of mainline
>points on the Ballarat line and have to cross the Maryborough line.

The TT lead will need a set of mainline points, but doesn't need to
cross the SG line to connect to the BG.

Switch to fixed pitch font to view map.

                                                       SG Maryborough
                   --------------------\              /       
                  /                     \------------/  /TT lead (BG)
                 /                       \             /
                /  ====================   \          
Dimboola  -----/---------------------------\     ====== BG to Ballarat
                 Ararat Sta.                \
                                             \------------- Maroona SG

Back to normal font

Ararat looks like this:(hyphen is SG; equals is BG)  The SG line from
Maryborough joins with the Ararat siding.  There is a remnant of the
former (BG) No. 2 road adjacent to the platform, but not connected to
anything.  BG to Ballarat is baulked halfway between the old distant
and the up home signal gantry.  The TT lead peters out near the
roadbed for the old BG line.

To reconnect to Ararat station would mean crossing the siding lead b/w
the Maroona line and the Maryborough line, then joining and dual
gauging the station road; a set of BG points at the down end would be
required (or swing the BG line away from the SG (ie fixed points) and
place BG points for a runaround track on the BG line away from the
mainline.  Up end points could be placed on the BG section (still long
enough for a good length passenger train.  There's plenty of room for
a number 3 or 4 road if required.   

The TT lead could be reconnected on the up side of the Maryborough SG.
I'll dig out my photos taken on 25/01/99 on the way to Leigh Creek and
post them on my home page this weekend.

Would ARTC and/or FV pay for dualgauging TT and TT lead?  
Doesn't FV now control the line from Ararat to Maryborough?  What
benefit is there to dualgauging the TT? (Convenience and "might be
useful" are not adequate benefits).  

ARTC has a TT at Dimboola.  

FV would probably better off paying for construction of the third arm
of a triangle at Maroona to enable trains to move directly from
Gheringhap to Portland without a reversing move.  This gives an
obvious productivity benefit as well as the bonus of a turning
triangle (also would mean that track machines being sent from Adelaide
to work on the SG wouldn't have to go back to Adelaide to be turned
because they'd been sent over the wrong way round <g!>).

       
Regards

Yuri
-- 
==================================
Yuri J Sos
Melbourne VIC AUS

Reply to: steam4me@enternet.com.au

Web site at http://people.enternet.com.au/~steam4me
Steam Media Productions: http://people.connect.net.au/~steam
==================================