Bad day at the 'Marsh

[Yuri J Sos/Melbourne AUS <steam4me@enternet.com.au>]

As I reported earlier in the week, Seymour Rail Heritage Centre took
over running a Maryborough/St Arnaud charter today.  

I was looking forward to the spectacle of a J climbing Ingliston bank
(it's been a while since that happened!).

It didn't start well; J515 on ca. 330 tonnes (full goods load for J is
365 tonnes on Ingliston bank) was about 15 minutes late leaving
Spencer Street, and 20 minutes late leaving Sunshine.  Having lost its
path, it was put away at Rockbank to be run through by a down
Sprinter.

The train passed Bacchus Marsh at 1021 (Sched 0933) and attacked the
rising grade out of the 'Marsh with gusto.  Surprisingly few gunzels
were out to record the event as J515 swung over the Anakie Road bridge
and  purposefully marched up the grade........ until just before the
Armco bridge when a series of slips brought the train to a stand
immediately under the bridge.

The blocked sanding pipes were cleared, a fresh fire was put on to
boil the kettle and numerous attempts were made to start the train,
but it moved forward only a loco length or two.  Tensions were raised
by the fact that the loco was under the bridge and in a "radio shadow"
which meant the driver couldn't hear or be heard by Centrol or Bacchus
Marsh box.  The conductor at the other end of the train was used to
relay messages from Bacchus Marsh box to the driver and vice versa.
The support crew even hand sanded the track in front of the steamer
to no avail.

The controller on duty didn't exactly cover himself in glory either,
refusing to grant the train an authority to set back into Bacchus
Marsh station "because I don't have enough information on what he's
doing up there" and "the driver won't talk to me" (never mind that
Bacchus Marsh box had already been told by the conductor what they
wanted to do).   Centrol ordered the driver to ring in on his mobile,
but didn't leave a line free for the driver to call in.  

Finally, with an up double sprinter sitting in Bank Box Loop and
another sprinter in Bacchus Marsh station (the passengers of which
were then busified to Ballarat) and the refusal of the controller to
allow the steam train to set back, it was decided to use the down now
empty sprinter to push the train into Bank Box loop.  The loco driver
expressed a lack of confidence in the ability of the train to proceed
beyond Bank Box so finally the train was declared disabled in section.
The sprinter driver, using a good deal of coolheadedness and
practicality, then started up one of the Ps stabled at Bacchus Marsh
(P12) and proceeded up to the Armco, coupled onto the train (at 1223)
and piloted it back down into no. 2 road at Bacchus Marsh, arriving
there at 1240.

The J cut off, P12 ran round (amazing how quickly these manoeuvres can
be performed at Bacchus Marsh with a signal box compared to say
Bendigo and its panel).  The relief steam crew who'd been travelling
to Ballarat on the down sprinter, signed on the P and departed at
1300.

A P on heritage cars up Ingliston is not common either, so I went back
to the Armco to video him going past, which he did at a slow pace, the
P screaming in full thrash as it ascended the bank.  I was able to
easily pace it between the Armco and Dog Trap Gully Road on the access
track, and clocked it at a steady 30km/h, slowing slightly as it
ascended the grade towards the top of the cutting near Bank Box: it
finally passed through Bank Box Loop 30 minutes after leaving Bacchus
Marsh (mind you, the S circular allowed 16 minutes for the J).

Meanwhile back at the Marsh, the J was turned, watered and filled with
sand, awaiting the return of the train some time tonight.

Oh well, at least the kids had lots of time to play today.

Regards

Yuri
-- 
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Yuri J Sos
Melbourne VIC AUS

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