The Farrells

Mick from church let me know a while back that Pacific National (the mob owned by Toll Holdings and which is a merged and privatised National Rail Corporation and FreightCorp [ex-NSWGR!]) need to increase the size of their trains in the Southern Coal operations, that is, the coal trains running from the Lithgow/Mudgee area to Port Kembla near Wollongong.

Originally, 4 of the brand-new 92 class (4,500 hp/3,370kW) from the Hunter Valley coal workings were to be trialled hauling 60 100-tonne coal hoppers (up from the standardrake of 40 hoppers) but the 92s failed in testing in the Sydney area.

So, it was decided to run the test with 6 82 class (3,250 hp/2,425kW) instead. The 6 82 class lead the empty train from Port Kembla Inner Harbour to Lithgow, where two of the locos are cut off and shunted to the locomotive depot. The remaining 4 82s are recoupled to the train and it continues to the mine, in the case of the test, Baal Bone colliery.

The loaded train returns to Lithgow and the extra 2 82 class are attached at the rear of the train. The reason 2 extra locos are required from Lithgow to Port Kembla is due to the gradients (hills) the train will encounter between these points being steeper. 6 locos are required to lift the train up the 1:40 gradient from Lithgow to the bottom of the Zig Zag railway, and again from the Georges River crossing at Como up to Sutherland. Furthermore, the downgrade from Katoomba to Valley Heights is 1:33, which needs lots of braking capacity.

So (as is pictured left) Mick steered the train out west. He returned about 22:00 (10pm). The return was quite interesting, especially as the daughter was not sleeping so I took her for a pyjama drive:

• Arrived at Lithgow station about 21:55 and saw the 4-car interurban passenger train was in Platform 2 (the westbound platform). As I watched, it shunted westward ready to shunt across to the Up (eastbound) track, which is the track that Mick's train would be coming in on.
• Drove to Bowenfels to see if the coal train was being held there or further west, as I have been told that heavy trains are often held on the far side of Farmer's Creek when passenger trains are 'blocking' the line at the station.
• Got to Bowenfels at 21:57 just as train BB88, Mick's train, crossed. Zoe and I then drove back to Lithgow yard to see Mick's train arrive.
• Lithgow yard was bare--save for a couple of stabled (ie parked) interurban trains and the three broken wheat hoppers that have been there as long as we have been in Lithgow.
• We sauntered back to the station... the interurban was waiting outside platform 2 for its chance to cross to platform 1 and BB88 was crawling through the station. So slow, in fact, that we beat it to the yard without any 'fancy' or illegal driving.
• Heading west, but waiting for the line through the station to be clear of interurbans, we saw 8050+8004+48110 on the Westons train that had been reported out of Sydney (Chullora) at 19:17. We saw it wander past Coal Stage Box at 22:06. 
• As 8204 caught up with us opposite Coal Stage Signal Box, Mick gave me a friendly toot and the train pulled up to allow a the relief crew to board.He rang me to say he was pulling further up into the yard to clear the main for the passenger train, due out at 22:27.
• We drove to Bridge St, which is adjacent to the old Eskbank station, and saw the 2 82s sitting in Platform 2 of Lithgow station (200m west of Eskbank), awaiting their opportunity to attach to the rear of BB88, as well as the interurban sitting in Platform 1, having finally gained access.
• The Westons train (1835) managed to slip through between the interurban clearing platform 2 and the 82s taking up position there.
• We continued down Main St as I promised Zoe some McDonalds Cookies and I wanted to get today's Lithgow Mercury only to see train 8178 led by 8137 and 48111 waiting at the Up (eastbound) Home signal, just outside Lithgow station. They were waiting for the interurban to depart and they followed very quickly afterwards, as by the time I returned to the yard to have a look and returned to where they were waiting, it was 22;36 and the interurban was well-and-truly gone and this train was hot on its heels.

So after such a successful mission I got my paper, Zoe had fallen asleep finally, and we came home.

It's such a shame all the interesting trains run at night! But at least there are a few to see.

Link to my Lithgow sightings: www.michelleandglenn.com/l-trains

Plenty of images at my fotopic site: http://coastalrev.fotopic.net/c1692973.html

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