34   CARRIAGES ON "FOREIGN TURF"

From Trevor Gibbs (Melbourne)
Back in 1975, I was a travelling electrician/technician on the Indian Pacific between Pt Pirie in South Australia and Sydney. On one trip out of Sydney, our Baggage car developed a Bogie problem so a Southern Aurora Baggage Car was substituted which went to my knowledge right through to Perth. Another trip had our diner replaced with an Aurora dining car. This car was very good but only had enough provisioning for a night and a breakfast and had a totally different key system to other “Indian Cars” and would not have lasted 4 meal sittings anyway. It was changed out to my knowledge at Pt Pirie and returned dead in consist during the week.

35.   Odd Workings
From Paul Reilly
I recall reading in magazines of the time that 'Coronation' pacific 46248 (City of Leeds) worked a Callander-Glasgow turn from Callander….It apparently came to Stirling on the legendary Sutton Coldfield car carrier train and was used by Stirling during its layover. The same entry refers to earlier use of both 'Coronations' and 'Royal Scots' on this turn but, when I finally managed to obtain the relevant copy, it mentioned only their having been seen at Buchanan St. on arrival from Callander, so it's always possible they were substituted at Stirling for another engine that brought the train in from Callander - that's pretty unlikely though.
The City of Leeds report specified that it was seen at Callander, though. In addition, the recent DVD of Caledonian Routes (volume 4 I think) has footage of Brush Type 4 D1856 (subsequently Class 47 number 47206) running round a local train at Callander… Interesting (and illegal) workings.

36  ODD  WORKINGS
From Bill Dodd

Rose Grove (24B) had a large allocation of LMS and Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway classes amongst which was a single London, Tilsbury and Southend 0-6-2T (41987) formally of Plaistow. It was used as a stand-in to the more usual 0-6-0T 'Jinty's' for shunting heavy coal trains over the 'hump' in the loop to the sidings!

37  Truro Delights
by John Cherry
On 22 July 1960, WR 2-6-2T No.4549 was photographed taking water at the country end of Truro station. Whilst initially nothing unusual, the loco still sported an 83G shed code plate, but had lost its smokebox door number plate. An enthusiastic fireman at Launceston had very neatly painted 4549 on the front buffer beam in true GW style. A nice modelling moment for the Bachmann 45xx.

38. Details that Bend or are in the wrong place
From Brian Macdermott (UK)
I’m sure I’m not alone in accidentally knocking fragile parts that abound on today’s highly-detailed model steam locos. But, as with many things, there is a prototype!

In his article in the December 2009 issue of BRILL, David Percival recounts a photograph he took of A4 4-6-2 No.60021 ‘Wild Swan’ in the spring of 1960. Her whistle was leaning forward at an angle of 45 degrees.

39. Details that are not quite correct


From Trevor Gibbs
An operating Queensland Railway PB15 class no 454 is on the Bellarine Peninsula Railway here in Victoria. Its stove pipe funnel last I looked is not quite 90 degrees to the perpendicular

40. Parallel Standard and Narrow Gauges operating
From Trevor Gibbs
When the Australian National standard gauging took place between Port Pirie in South Australia and Broken Hill in New South Wales, the Standard Gauge track did not follow the alignment of the narrow gauge apart from a few areas where there was dual gauge. The full sized narrow gauge ore trains and goods trains still operated the length of the line hauled by Garratts and venerable 4-8-0's particularly while diesels were being converted to Standard Gauge.
In the mean time, test trains consisting of SG locos, wheat cars and ore cars and anything that was available were run to familiarise the crews with the new track and for all the world looked like regular trains save that some were hauled by shunter locos. This was to bed and settle track into place and get the crews used to the new track. I saw a few of these go past from the cab of a 400  class Garratt on one of my two experiences riding them.

41. Tandem 20 class…

From John Cherry
We have all become accustomed to Class 20s working in pairs with the cabs at the outer ends - which still occurs even today. However, in the early days of these locomotives, this was not the case. Nose-end (chimney first) working on passenger trains was commonplace.


On 28 July 1962, D8112 and D8078 were at the head of the 4.35pm Glasgow Queen Street to Mallaig service, both working nose-end first. A nice modelling moment.

42 Train Races or Parallel Running
From John Davison
'Train Racing' has been done several times within Australia most famously with the Flying Scotsman visit to Australia in 1988-89. The book A Vintage Year for Steam by the Australian Railway Historical Society, now at a special clearance price, documents some of what took place :
http://www.arhsvic.org.au/catalogue/books/vintage-year-steam
While the term 'train racing' evokes more interest, what is correctly taking place is parallel running. If I recall rightly, there was one memorable fortnight in October 1988, when, for just about each day, there was parallel running of steam specials on the triple tracks from Melbourne to Seymour and back. This was over a distance of about 100 km each way. As per the cover of this book, this culminated in specially arranged triple track parallel running as the Melbourne farewell to 4472.
This can be reproduced in model form with the Victorian Railways R Class Hudsons of the Model Dockyard-Kumata, PSM-Samhongsa or Steam Era Models-DJH or a Eureka R Class to the options list. There are lots of 4472 options including the HO scale PSM-Samhongsa version.
Searching YouTube provides amongst others :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PP01Ci2E5Y
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZaeT7wtzVY

43.   Parallel Train Running or Train Races
From Bill Dodd
Back in steam days, especially during the summer excursions season, it was far from unusual to see trains racing each other along the straight lines between Preston and Kirkham on their way to Blackpool. Numerous reasons abound, not least of which were trains from Lancashire and Yorkshire making up lost time after negotiating the bottleneck of Preston together with inter-region rivalry. Highlights included the rare opportunity of seeing rival Stanier Black 5's and Thompson B1's 'duking' it out for supremacy. There was of course, the added bonus that the first crew to hit the water troughs got to give their opponents a thorough shower-bath, something which occasionally came close to 'fisty-cuffs' on arrival at Blackpool Central shed!

44.   Parallel Train Running or Train Races
From Trevor Gibbs

I have been on several excursions where Parallel running has taken place, notably in South Australia in late 1970 when Rx class 207 and 224 paced each other between Goodwood and Adelaide, although that could have taken place many times in steams heydey.
 In 1973, 3801/3820 and R707 paralleled from Benalla to Melbourne and also ran a special trip. 3820 and R707 did a parallel run from Albury to Wodonga later that year or in 74. In 1981 Garratt 6029 came down from Canberra and ran parallel to a K class from Victoria from Albury also to Wangaratta and gave me a chance to study the motion of the Garratt as the two trains swapped places. 

While I was not there, 621 and 4472 and 621 and 3801 have had “races” ( the fans of 3801 would have said “rigged” in the event of a real race) along where the Broad Gauge and Standard Gauge run from North Adelaide but not sure as to how far down the line they “raced”.
The most famous of these events was as John outlined in late 1988 and early 1989 and I felt privileged to be trackside for these runs.

45.   Parallel Train Running or Train RacesFrom Trevor Gibbs

Norfolk Southern also “ran a race” between their J class No 611 and their A class loco 1218 in the late 80's I believe.
Also I was once arriving from Adelaide in late 1973 on the Overland when we paralleled the Southern Aurora also arriving on a parallel (different gauge) track from North Melbourne into Spencer St. Purely a coincidence as it did not occur that often that I am aware of.

46  Cycling lion? No…cycling Signalman!

By Brian Macdermott

Most of these ‘snippets’ deal with unusual train workings. I thought you might like the following as an ‘unusual scenic item’.
In a Norman Lockett photo taken on 29 August 1945 near Whiteball Siding signal box, the fireman of a westbound freight is giving a broad, wry smile to the photographer.
The reason? In the 6ft way between the Down Main and Relief, a man is cycling eastwards towards the box! From the angle of the bike, he looks none too steady! Was it a signalman on his way to the box? Or was it someone a little worse for wear after a liquid lunch?
Another one of those ‘we modelled it because it actually happened’ moments!
(Source: The Norman Lockett Collection. Great Western Steam, 1934-1949. By Mike Arlett and David Lockett. Pub: Lightmoor Press)

47  Cycling Signalmen
By Trevor Gibbs
Back in the days of the old broad gauge line to Port Pirie from Adelaide, the station at Nantawarra which was at the top of the bank from Bowmans was an attended siding for most of the day. The station master /signalman was issued with a bicycle from which to greet any crossing trains and set the points at either end of the yard. The trains were, by the standards of the day, long being up to 140 four wheelers equivalent which the siding could handle.

48  Disguising whats under the “layout”
By Trevor Gibbs
There really is a prototype for everything. During The Second World War, Lockheed in Burbank and Boeing in Seattle used Disney artists to lay chicken wire over their factories and the tops were covered in plywood buildings, painted like rural orchards and plywood cars moved in various sequences so that an aerial reconnaissance plane from Japan would not pick the activity of building aircraft going on underneath!

50  Restriction lifted
By Brian Macdermott

Modified 'West Country' and 'Battle of Britain' Pacifics were permitted to run between Okehampton and Plymouth from the summer of 1959. No.34062 17 Squadron is believed to have been the first across – on 28 July – working the 8.41am Exeter Central-Plymouth.
(Source: Railway Observer.)

51  Restriction Lifted
By Trevor Gibbs
For years the Cambrai and Loxton lines  in South Australia was captive to the lightest motive power, Rx class in steam days and 830 class (900 HP 6 cylinder Alcos) in diesel days. The Cambrai line was “shrunk” to Apamurra (wheat silo location) but laid with slightly heavier rail which enabled bigger power in the forms of 600 class Alco diesels when they were still in South Australia as well as 422/22 class diesels after 1996. The Loxton line was also relaid and truncated to Tookyerta and took the biggest power available in the form of 3000 HP CL type locos.

52  Pacifics on Bolster Trains
By Brian Macdermott

In late 1959 and early 1960, 'pacifics' were noted on empty bolster trains from Healey Mills to the north east. On 30 December 1959, it was A2 No.60522 Straight Deal; on 1 January 1960 it was A4 No.60008 Dwight D Eisenhower; and on 2 January it was A1 No.60158 Aberdonian.

53 Mixing Liveries

By Brian Macdermott

Ivatt 2-6-2Ts Nos.41223/4 were taken out of store during the week ending 24 October 1959, and transferred to Bedford, after having been at Watford for over a year. 41224 was probably (on the LMR at any rate) the last engine in service still lettered ‘British Railways’.

54 Mixing Liveries
By Trevor Gibbs
Here in Australia there have been a few corporate changes in paint schemes on different locos particularly on interstate runs. 4 or 5 liveries on as many locos is not uncommon and makes for a colourful sight.
In the USA and Canada,  diesel locos commonly through so I have seen  Missouri Pacific locos mixed with Conrail units, Conrail and Santa Fe locos, and Southern Pacific and Burlington Northern units together. I have also seen pictures of Union Pacific, Seaboard and Santa Fe units  working in Canada so you can mix and match North American locos almost with impunity.