The year is 1963 somewhere in Victoria, Australia

The trackbed for the mine loop





After a holiday away from Wombat Creek I have worked on the trackbed for the final part of Wombat Creek Tramways – the big loop around the Big Nugget Mine. The sloping trackbed to the left of the loop leads down to the Explosives Factory in the background. I will need to test the trams on the slope to determine, how steep it will be. Because part of the  'mine line' (see Wombat Creek Consolidated Mines Pty Ltd) will pass under the tramway, track laying will commence after tracks for the before mentioned line are in place.

Hi Claus,

I don't think the slope is going to be the issue, it's the sharp transition from level to slope that may give you some problems. You might want to see if there is sufficient clearance under the stock, especially the trams.


Nigel

As Nigel said Claus, a sudden change from level to slope could cause problems although, if your trams are all 4 wheelers with a fairly small wheelbase, you could get away with it.

An option might be a "transitional slope" where for a short length, you drop a section of trackbed half your designed angle and then drop again at the ful angle - i.e. 2 half gradients instead of just 1 big one ………………. :hmm


Will the explosives factory be a working model ?  :roll:

[user=6]Petermac[/user] wrote:

As Nigel said Claus, a sudden change from level to slope could cause problems although, if your trams are all 4 wheelers with a fairly small wheelbase, you could get away with it.

An option might be a "transitional slope" where for a short length, you drop a section of trackbed half your designed angle and then drop again at the ful angle - i.e. 2 half gradients instead of just 1 big one ………………. :hmm


Will the explosives factory be a working model ?  :roll:

Thank you for your comments, Nigel and Petermac. I have had the same thoughts about a 'transitional' slope. At the moment the trackbed is not fixed to the baseboard and I can make a change to the slope. I don't expect the trams will cope with a slope all the way down to the baseboard. The main trams serving the explosives factory will be 4 wheelers, but it would be nice if a bogie tram could do the slope in case of a high demand. Perhaps the factory will have an 'open day'! Explosives factory as a working model? I will think about it! It is placed on the outskirts of Wombat Creek just in case something should go wrong.

In the shadows

You will always try not to cast any shadows on you background panel, but they can be rather dramatic. Just look at the shadows created by my work lamp.

Shouldn't they be upside down?

Nigel

[user=2172]Claus Ellef[/user] wrote:

In the shadows

You will always try not to cast any shadows on you background panel, but they can be rather dramatic. Just look at the shadows created by my work lamp.

I like it. I look forwards to seeing some trams cris-crossing in front of the station!

[user=1632]BCDR[/user] wrote:

Shouldn't they be upside down?

Nigel

[user=1632]BCDR[/user] wrote:

Shouldn't they be upside down?

Nigel

They are … you are just looking at it all wrong! 

;-) ;-)

[user=321]SRman[/user] wrote:

[user=1632]BCDR[/user] wrote:

Shouldn't they be upside down?

Nigel

They are … you are just looking at it all wrong! 

;-) ;-)

Jeff is right. This is Australia. Everything is upside down. I just turn the photos before uploading!

[user=2057]TeaselBay[/user] wrote:

[user=2172]Claus Ellef[/user] wrote:

In the shadows

You will always try not to cast any shadows on you background panel, but they can be rather dramatic. Just look at the shadows created by my work lamp.

I like it. I look forwards to seeing some trams cris-crossing in front of the station!

Hi Chris,
The track-laying gang is currently working hard to get the track down to the left of the crossing.

[user=2172]Claus Ellef[/user] wrote:

Jeff is right. This is Australia. Everything is upside down. I just turn the photos before uploading!

To be fair, half the photos I upload to the forum are upside down! I have to crop them and re-upload!

[user=2057]TeaselBay[/user] wrote:

[user=2172]Claus Ellef[/user] wrote:

Jeff is right. This is Australia. Everything is upside down. I just turn the photos before uploading!

To be fair, half the photos I upload to the forum are upside down! I have to crop them and re-upload!

 That's a problem I have only struck recently, after buying a new Samsung phone. The orientation of the camera is embedded in the photo details (metadata), and trying to get rid of that information is a pain. I have an app on my phone now, but it doesn't seem very intuitive, so I still have to tweak the photos in software on my computer. It is annoying!

The last points





The photo shows the latest track work at the Tramways. The two parallel points are the turnouts towards the loop around the Big Nugget Mine. The points at the front connects to the track towards the Explosives Factory. This track will be on an decline/incline, which will be rather steep. The greatest gradient on the tramways in Melbourne is 1:8 (some resources state 1:6). At Wombat Creek it will probably be around 1:10 or a bit less. A trial run with three trams showed no issues going up-hill.

Planning further work on the Tramways is rather complicated. The loop can't be finished before part of the track for the mining train is done. This can't be done before the creek is in place. Nothing can be tested before the control panel is extended. Where to start?

[user=2172]Claus Ellef[/user] wrote:

The last points





The photo shows the latest track work at the Tramways. The two parallel points are the turnouts towards the loop around the Big Nugget Mine. The points at the front connects to the track towards the Explosives Factory. This track will be on an decline/incline, which will be rather steep. The greatest gradient on the tramways in Melbourne is 1:8 (some resources state 1:6). At Wombat Creek it will probably be around 1:10 or a bit less. A trial run with three trams showed no issues going up-hill.

Planning further work on the Tramways is rather complicated. The loop can't be finished before part of the track for the mining train is done. This can't be done before the creek is in place. Nothing can be tested before the control panel is extended. Where to start?

Made up my mind! Started extending the control panel.

Down to the Explosives Factory

The track down the slope towards the Explosives Factory has been laid. It is not yet wired up, so the trams aren't running yet. The track is not embedded in a road and will need to be ballasted.

The tram connection to the Explosives Factory is inspired by the trams at the once isolated Footscray system in Melbourne. As seen on the photo from Melbourne Tram Museum, the T class No 180 is showing Explosives Factory in the destination box.



In the Maribyrnong/Footscray area there used to be a factory complex consisting of the Explosives, Ammunition, Ordnance and Pyrotechnic Factories. They were involved in productions for the Australian Defence Forces. During WW2 the factories operated around the clock 365 days a year.
Of the 8000 strong workforce 52 % were women and many of them lived locally. They used the trams to and from work. With trams every 7 minutes day and night they didn't have to wait long for the next tram.

Originally the destinations for the trams were listed as the factory names, Explosives Factory, Ammunition Factory, Ordnance Factory and Pyrotechnic Factory, but after the Japanese bombing of Darwin 12 February 1942 the Commonwealth Authorities ordered the signs changed by the end of the month. Apparently to make it less obvious for spies where to find the factories. The destinations would be 'Special A', 'Special B' and 'Special E'. To make life even harder for an eventual spy 'Special A' went to the Explosives Factory and 'Special E' went to the Ammunition Factory. How the Pyrotechnic Factory was signed is unknown.

The products from the Explosives Factory in Wombat Creek are of course destined for the mining industry and the trams will not arrive at the factory every seven minutes 24 hours a day.

How to control the tramways





Three days work and the control panel for the tramways is almost finished. Only the loop around the Big Nugget Mine is missing. The final position of the tracks has to be determined depending on the design of the bridge over the narrow gauge railway.

Obviously the black lines are the tracks. The red push buttons control the points. Some points are still not connected. The black push buttons control the power to the tram-stops. The tracks are under constant power and the trams will come to a stop, unless the black buttons are activated. The slide switches are normally on, but they make it possible to stop a tram between stops. 

Gulp !!!    :shock:

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