Re: QR going national?

["Richo" <richardc@tpg.com.au>]

James Brook <ajmbrook@ozemail.com.au> wrote in message
38071252.906622E2@ozemail.com.au">news:38071252.906622E2@ozemail.com.au...
>     Most of the old VR branch lines wouldn't be economical these days,
thats why
> they were pulled up. According to the contracts the new private companies
will have
> to purchase new suburban and country trains. The motive power purchased in
the 80's
> was 33 G's and 25 N's as well as the rebuilt B's and T's.

Those 1950's diesels that are still alive and well, running the crack
Warrnambool expresses
Actually I shouldn't knock them WCR have a good attitude to rail transport.
Now imagine Warrnambool at 160km/h in a modern train - I wouldn't drive in
3hours what I could catch the train in 2. Now before anyone says it can't be
done - your predecessors 30 years ago would have laughed at the idea of
doing Brisbane Rockhampton in 7 hours on that substandard 3'6" they have up
there, let alone it being wired.

>Who knows what the new
> private companies will purchase in the next few years. You must remember
that for
> the government, it wasn't worth buying new locomotives only to sell them
off in a
> couple of years. Freight Victoria is looking at introducing other freight
services.
> As for the Garratt, Victoria had no broad gauge garratts and only two
narrow gauge
> ones. G42 is currently being restored at Puffing Billy.
>
>     Now lets put all of this into perspective. Victoria is only a fraction
of the
> size of Queensland.

It sounds like we've gone from people taking cheap shots at QR (narrow,
isolated, goes nowhere) to having to defend Victoria.

>Therefore the freight opportunities for rail are less and the
> route kilometres for the rail system are going to be lower than
Queensland.
> Victoria's rail system has been through a transition period for the last
few years,
> in which there haven't been many advances.

Diplomatically put to be sure - I prefer 'neglected and run down'

>Now there are new private companies
> starting up and new privatised rail services. Along with Freight Victoria
these new
> companies will set out to make rail as profitable as it can be. We have no
idea what
> new locomotives or train operations will be created in the future, but I
think it
> looks much brighter now that what it was several years ago.

Agreed - I wish FV all the best in getting Victorian rail back on its feet -
we have nothing to thank the Kennett administration for in rail except
handing it over to people who may show an interest in it finally.
>

>     As for the 50's motive power, what do you base that on? The closest
motive power
> to the 50's on interstate trains are several GM class locos operated by
GNRS. The
> photo on my web site is GM 22 which was completed in 1962. Apart from
these, NR uses
> their latest NR class locos and the Australia Southern locos are usually
CLP's or
> CLF's which originally date from 1970 and were rebuilt several years ago.
The odd
> ALF dates from the 70's.

An exaggeration on my part - I suppose it still facinates me the number of
people in Victoria and NSW (and definitely in SA) who go looking at old
diesels on interstate freights -  but pay scant attention to the modern
achievements of narrow gauge systems. On another part of the thread someone
commented that WA is under-reported - another fascinating system where the
nature of the business and the competition is well understood and
appropriately matched.
>

> Richo wrote:
>
> > Who needs to boast about it - and why should boasting about it be
restricted
> > to Queenslanders. I live in Victoria - what do I have to boast about
about
> > this state's railways?:
> > a railway a pale shadow of itself 20 years ago, much less route
kilometres,
> > main line track speeds no higher than the 1930s (unlike Qld), less
> > electrification than 20 years ago (unlike Qld) newest suburban trains
dating
> > from 1981 (unlike Qld) system split into 2 gauges (unlike Qld, where QR
> > makes no pretence of operating on standard gauge) no new motive power
> > purchases since the 80s (unlike Qld) traffic restricted to grains, a few
low
> > value ores and the odd bit of timber (unlike Qld) no new urban rail
routes
> > since 1985 (unlike Qld) ...no working Garratt (unlike Qld) and no hope
of
> > salvation (unlike Qld)
> >
> > like some of the other threads I'd be happy for people to continue to
add
> > things to the above list - but I suspect many Victorian (and NSW)
> > contributors are unlikely to, because looking at colourful 1950s diesels
> > running the menagerie of interstate freights that pass through Melbourne
is
> > a more interesting hobby than a examining a real railway. Its like
cheese -
> > it only gets its colour and flavour from putrefaction and decay.
> >
> > By the way someone is probably ticking over whether Werribee both ways
plus
> > Cranbourne makes up in route length for Pakenham to Traralgon. I eagerly
> > await the result
>
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>
> --
> - James Brook -
>
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>




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