Trip to Culcairn & return, Sat 11/9

[Craig Haber <albatross@harnessnet.com.au>]

Just for something a bit different, we journeyed to Culcairn for lunch
at the nearby pub, travelling to and from Melbourne on the daylight XPT.

Sightings of note northbound were:
All 4 bg BL's in the steel terminal
NR119, 77, 80, 25, 75, 88, 84, 10, 70, 98 and more at the provisioning
centre
NR87-up Overland in Bunbury St tunnel at 0837
X54+X53 on Shepparton (?) goods in Tottenham yard
Cross NR13+NR72-up SF Broadford loop
A78-down wheatie (stabled) Benalla
H2 and X42 at Wodonga
N473-FN1 at Albury

and of note on the southbound
NR+NR+DL (green) southbound steel, through Culcairn about 1400hrs, we
left at 1503 and overtook this train at Somerton loop
C508 in the MFT, a "rose among the thorns" (the thorns being those
horrid looking NR class)
Only 2 BL's left in the steel terminal.

The Olympic Way level crossing at Gerogery had been the scene of a very
recent accident, which had caused the flashing lights to be inoperable
(flagmen in attendance), the CTC was inoperable (travelled on something
called a SAO - the PSS went to great lengths explaining how superior it
was to a Victorian caution order....), and it appears there may have
been a gangers hut on the southbound side of the crossing, it had been
totally poleaxed in the collision, and only the concrete slab and some
wreckage remained.

Despite the PSS's mention off all things north of the border being
superior to those south, copious amounts of cold Victorian beer were
consumed by ourselves and the locals in this NSW pub, which have found
to be the norm on previous trips.

Regards,
CH.
--
Craig Haber
albatross@harnessnet.com.au
http://www.harnessnet.com.au/ch/
Proofread carefully to see if you any words out