>Hi all,
>
>I've just been informed that there is a rail recovery train to Webb Dock
>this Sunday the 2nd of August.
>
>9501 dep West Tower 06:50
>9502 dep Webb Dock 16:00
>
>The locomotive rostered (at this stage) is T409.
This is going to be a *very* short trip! I've just driven the full
length of this line this afternoon (Sat). The track is intact from
Webb Dock (and in beautiful shape) to about where Graham Street used
to be, where the City Link bridge over the Yarra is being built. The
track ends there. As reported by Les Brown in aus.rail, there is no
track, no sleepers, just ballast from that point to within a couple of
hundred meters of the Docklands Stadium site. The concrete sleepers
on the bridge parallel to the Charles Grimes bridge are still there
and the track is intact from there up to the Piggott Street/Footscray
Road intersection. The removed rail has been piled up beside the
track north of the Yarra. This recovery train will cross Footscray
Road and run about 300-400 meters before running out of track.
The gates were locked at the point where the track crosses the road,
but a new piece of track has been laid from Footscray Road, up a ramp
of dirt and onto the level of track leading to the MFT. I can't be
sure, but from the road it looks as if one of the tracks from West
Tower to MFT has been slewed to connect to this track rather than a
set of points being installed (if so, does this mean the end of the
paper train ex MFT?). There appears to be a rather alarming tilt in
the track as it changes from the upper level to the temporary track
which to my untrained eye looks as if it might be a tad "interesting"
for a loco to traverse.
Any way, we'll see tomorrow.
>Apparently some track work has to be undertaken to allow
>the train to get to Webb Dock.
This has to be the understatement of the year <g!> About 2km of track
work to be precise!
See you there tomorrow.
Regards
Yuri