Regional Rail Link

Yes, more Regional Rail Link this month! First off, a V/Line train headed over the newly upgraded North Melbourne flyover bound for Southern Cross, avoiding the suburban trains down below.

The sharp curves catching V/Line unaware a few years later, when almost the entire VLocity train fleet was withdrawn from service due to wheel wear issues.

At Footscray the upgraded station was open to passengers, with the forecourt to Irving Street nicely landscaped.

And restoration work underway on the heritage listed station buildings.

There were also works happening in the background – a new traction power substation was under construction, so that extra suburban services could use the track capacity freed up by giving V/Line trains their own route into the city.

But despite the infrastructure upgrades, little use was made of the extra capacity – by 2018 only half of the extra capacity was being used.

And still on the trains

I photographed a slice of the past out at Beaconsfield, where the 1950s-era overhead wiring and traction power tie station was still in place. It’s all since been replaced by a modern power supply as part of the work to support the rollout of High Capacity Metro Trains to the Pakenham line.

At Flagstaff station I found a set of defective myki gates under repair – presumably from being smashed open by a fare evader.

While over at Southern Cross were Authorised Officers in their new military-style vests, looking out for the next person trying the same trick.

On the trams

A decade ago City Circle trams were still in the maroon and gold livery, and the ‘shard’ at Federation Square had yet to be demolished for the Metro Tunnel entrance.

The original Z1 class trams were also still running down Swanston Street, with only two doors per side and dinky little sliding windows.

East Preston Depot was still open to serve the high floor B2 class trams used on route 11 and 86 – all since replaced by the low floor E class trams based out of ‘New’ Preston Depot.

While testing of the new E class trams was still continuing – I found one at the route 57 terminus in West Maribyrnong on a late night test run.

Meanwhile on Collins Street, things were going backwards – passengers having to step up to trams from street level.

The platform stops closed so they could be dug up and raised to current standards, despite only being a decade old.

Buses

Transdev had taken over from National Bus, but the transition into the new PTV colour scheme was going in fits and starts.

While route 286 through the back streets of Blackburn was removed, but then a few months later, reintroduced as route 271.

Another changed bus stop can be found at Melbourne Airport – the route 901 service to Broadmeadows and eventually Frankston once stopped outside Qantas terminal T1.

But these days it’s hidden at the far end of the ‘Ground Transport Hub’, a long walk from terminal 4.

And something different

My next stop at Melbourne Airport a decade ago was Brisbane.

Catching a train from Brisbane Airport into the city.

To Roma Street – the Brisbane Transit Centre since demolished for the Cross River Rail project.

While I was in town, I photographed some of their first generation EMU trains.

The Merivale Bridge.

And buses on the network of Brisbane City Council operated busways.

Which include underground bus stations.

Passengers boarding buses from air conditioned platforms.

But the reason for my visit was a trip on The Sunlander.

A locomotive hauled sleeping train that ran from Brisbane to Cairns until December 2014.

When I woke up the next day, we were well into cane country.

But the trip north is a long one – not arriving into Cairns until that evening.

While in Cairns I rode the Skyrail Rainforest Cableway up to Kuranda, and with some lucky timing spotted a Kuranda-bound train stopped at Barron Falls.

After lunch, it was time to head to Kuranda station, where I found a signal box still in service.

And caught the Kuranda Scenic Railway back down the range to Cairns.

Unfortunately I didn’t have time for the four day journey on the Savannahlander, but I did see it arrive back into Cairns.

But it was time to fly home via Sydney – my plane passing over the Hawkesbury River railway bridge on our descent.

The Inner West Light Rail

And a Pacific National container train shunting the freight yard at Cooks River.

Time to change planes, and soon enough I was back in Melbourne – greeted at the airport luggage claim by propaganda for the Napthine Government’s East West Link, CityLink Tulla Widening, and an unfunded Melbourne Airport Rail Link.

A decade on we’ve gotten the west half of the East West Link, the Tullamarine Freeway has been widening, and airport rail – still talking.

Footnote

Here you can find the rest of my ‘photos from ten years ago‘ series.

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The original

The first locomotive numbered #6029 is a New South Wales AD60 class Beyer-Garratt 4-8-4+4-8-4 heavy goods steam locomotive, which entered service in 1954 and is now preserved by Transport Heritage NSW.

The young one

The next locomotive numbered #6029 is a UGL Rail C44aci diesel electric locomotive, operated by Aurizon on freight services across Australia since delivery in 2012.

And the ring in

And the electric version of #6029 is actually a tram – a Melbourne E-class which entered service in 2015.

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Welcome to the New South Wales EPA

In the state of New South Wales rail operators are required to hold an Environment Protection Licence issued by the NSW Environment Protection Authority. The licence for interstate rail freight is held by the Australian Rail Track Corporation, in their role as track access provider.

But the licence includes restrictions on the classes of locomotive allowed to operate on the ARTC network in New South Wales.

L2 Noise limits

Note: It is an objective of this Licence to progressively reduce noise impacts from railways systems activities to the noise level goals of 65 dB(A)Leq, (day and evening time from 7am – 10pm), 60 dB(A)Leq, (night time from 10pm – 7am) and 85dB(A) (24 hr) max pass-by noise, at one metre from the facade of affected residential properties.

The licensee must obtain approval from the EPA prior to permitting operation on the “premises” of:

1. a class or type/model of locomotive, whether new or existing, that is not included in Condition E2; or
2. a locomotive that has been substantially modified since it was last used on the licenses premises.

A new class of locomotive type/model previously approved under Condition L2 may be brought onto the rail network without further approval provided that it is consistent with that type/model and EPA is notified at least 7 days in advance. Condition E2 will then be updated at the next opportunity.

Note: EPA approval for a new locomotive will be granted on the basis of compliance with the locomotive noise limits in Condition L2.5, L2.6 and L2.7 and will require submission of noise test results from a representative number of locomotives from that class or type/model.

A schedule of approved locomotives also appears, their inclusion via different approval paths:

• Locomotives which operated into New South Wales before the 1980s are permitted as they were “introduced prior to approval process”,
• Locomotives introduced during the 1990s were “approved under previous legislation”,
• Newer locomotives from the 2000s have underwent a EPA class approval process,
• And the modern plague of Downer EDI Rail GT46C ACe and UGL Rail C44aci locomotives are type approved, so their different class designations don’t matter from an EPA perspective.

But for rail freight operators there is still a stumbling block – encountered by interstate locomotives that never operated into New South Wales before the EPA rail noise regulations were introduced.

Enter the Queensland Railways 2800 class

The Queensland Railways 2800 class are diesel locomotives introduced in 1995 to run freight trains on the narrow gauge network in Queensland.

Photo by Pytomelon87, via Wikimedia Commons

But from 2003 Queensland Rail expanded interstate as QR National, and decided to put one of the 2800 class onto standard gauge.

But there was a problem – the locomotive didn’t meet NSW noise standards, despite noisier locomotives already being permitted under the legacy approval path.

Aurizon (formerly QR National) initially applied to operate the 2800 class locomotives in NSW in 2006. This initial application was made for the locomotive using the original (as-supplied) transition muffler and coffin muffler. At this time, permission to operate in NSW was refused on the basis of noise emissions.

Subsequently, modifications were made to the transition muffler, improving its performance, and Aurizon again applied to the EPA for permission to operate this class in early 2012. The locomotive was again refused permission to operate by the NSW EPA on the basis of low-frequency noise emissions.

So modifications were made to the exhaust – and the test passed.

The EPA has subsequently approved this locomotive class (rebadged as the 3200 class) for use in NSW, stating that “Based on the information provided, the EPA considers that the noise performance of the 3200 class locomotive is consistent with current best practice in NSW.”

With the three modified locomotives now able to operate in NSW.

And the one-off diesel GML10

GML10 is a one-of-a-kind diesel locomotive, built in 1990 for the Goldsworthy Mining Company to operate iron ore trains in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.

J Joyce photo via Rail Heritage WA

In 1994 it was sold to Comalco to operate on their bauxite railway at Weipa in Queensland, then sold again in 2009 to Australian Locolease who resold it to Qube Logistics, who operate it on standard gauge freight trains across Australia.

But there was a problem – GML10 had never operated in New South Wales to be approved under the legacy approval path, and as a one-off locomotive, going through the onerous noise approval testing process doesn’t make financial sense.

So Qube’s solution – drag the locomotive dead attached through New South Wales.

A waiver to the published conditions in the ARTC Train Operating Conditions Manual is granted for the movement of GML10 from Broken Hill to Albury via Parkes and Junee ARTC network in NSW. GML10 to be dead hauled at all times.

Or turn off the locomotive before it crosses the border into NSW, and park it in the yard at Albury!

A tactic that bit Qube on their behind in 2017, when a failed train had to be rescued, and GML10 was the only locomotive available to assist.

As a result, Qube sought special permission from ARTC to operate the locomotive over the 2500 metres from the NSW/Victoria border into Albury yard.

A waiver to the conditions of the ARTC TOC Manual is issued for the movement of Locomotive GML10 from the Vic/NSW border into Albury yard under its own power.

Locomotive GML10 is required to be attached to a disabled grain train in Albury. There is no other practical method of movement.

Conditions of movement:

1. The engine of GML10 shall be run for the minimum practical time to SAFELY complete the relocation movement.
2. The movement shall be completed using power setting no greater than notch 2.
3. Movement shall be carried out in daylight hours, 0800 – 1800, to minimize impact on receptors.
4. Once attached to the train GML10 shall be shut down and hauled past the border prior to restarting.
5. Conditions of TOC Waiver 15113 shall re-apply after this movement is complete.

A comical situation, especially given unmodified diesel locomotives from the 1950s are allowed through New South Wales making as much noise as they please.

Footnote: the Border Railway Act

Another complexity on rail noise regulations is the broad gauge railway that crosses the Murray River at Echuca and continues north to Deniliquin in New South Wales.

The railway is operated as an extension of the Victorian rail network.

And is governed by the 1922 Border Railways Acts, with New South Wales passing control of the railway to Victoria.

Control and management of certain railways by Government of Victoria

The Government of Victoria shall, subject to the agreement, have the right to control and manage any railway in New South Wales referred to in the agreement, and the Victorian Authority may, in respect of such control and management, exercise all the powers which are by law conferred on the Victorian Authority in respect of railways in the State of Victoria.

Including what I see is authority to power to set their own rail noise regulations.

Schedule 1 The Agreement

The Government of New South Wales undertakes to vest in the Government of Victoria any authority necessary to sanction the working of any railway or railways under this Agreement in New South Wales territory, including collection and enforcement of fares and freights, and the vesting of the control and management of the lines in the State of Victoria.

So presumably a new-build broad gauge diesel locomotive could operate on the Deniliquin line without issue – assuming one was actually built!

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The story starts in 2019, when Melbourne-based bus body builder Volgren was building a prototype electric bus on an imported BYD K9 chassis.

In July 2019 Volgren completed the prototype of its first ever pure-electric bus, a product launch the company is describing as its most significant since it introduced the Optimus route bus in 2013.

The 12.2-metre vehicle is built on a BYD K9 electric bus chassis and features 324-kilowatt hours of battery capacity. It’s capable of travelling up to 300 kilometres on a single charge and will carry a total of 61 passengers; 39 seats and 22 standees, the company states.

Volgren has been investigating electric technology for more than five years and the prototype alone has involved 12 months of planning, research and engineering problem-solving, as well as partnership-building and discussion with BYD – not to mention the build itself.

There is a great deal of pride at Volgren that its first pure-electric vehicle body was not a brand new design, but a modified Optimus.

That’s not to say, however, that this project was merely a matter of Volgren placing its flagship product over BYD’s and getting the wiring right. Kearney explains that the electric vehicle body Volgren developed required a number of new parts, among them “…new moulded solutions for interior finish and fitout”, as well as “…the introduction of a roof-treatment package designed to better integrate the roof-mounted EV equipment into the vehicle”.

To understand how Volgren ensured these components – and the bus as a whole – worked precisely as it needed to, it’s best to go back to 2018.

“We began with some feasibility studies and reviews in early 2018, assessing the product layout, compliance with Australian Design Rules and other regulations, suitability for Australian customer specification and developing a preliminary understanding of the high-voltage systems and their integration,” Kearney said.

In June of that year the company sent two design engineers to China to attend ‘familiarisation training’ with BYD.

“This process also included a review of issues elicited through the feasibility study and the provision of design and product information from BYD to enable commencement of detailed design.”

Kearney says that for assistance with development of the aesthetic roof treatment they turned to Monash University’s Mobility Design Lab. It was a partnership Volgren knew it could count on, having worked with Monash University in the development of the Optimus Route Bus body earlier this decade.

A few months later the Victorian Government announcing an electric bus trial in conjunction with bus operator Transdev Melbourne.

Victoria’s first locally built, fully electric bus will soon begin carrying passengers on one of Melbourne’s busiest routes, thanks to a partnership between the Andrews Labor Government and Transdev.

The bus will run on Route 246 between Elsternwick and Clifton Hill via St Kilda before potentially being used across other inner Melbourne routes.

The body construction and fit out for the new bus was carried out in Dandenong by Volgren, supporting Victorian jobs and backing the local automotive industry to develop new capability and innovation.

The new zero-emission bus is fitted with 324 kWH of Lithium Phosphate batteries providing 300 kilometers of travel range.

The bus will be based at Transdev’s North Fitzroy depot where a charging station has been installed.

The trial will continue until January 2021 and will be reviewed to determine the potential to roll out fully electric buses across Victoria.

However the trial was the idea of Transdev Australasia and not the Victorian Government, as part of what they called ‘Project Aurora‘

The seeds for the company’s zero-emissions ambitions ‘Down Under’ were sown in 2019, following a phone call with Transdev Australasia’s chief engineer Marc Cleave and Volgren Australia.

Dandenong-based Volgren had recently commenced manufacture of its BYD-chassis prototype electric bus – a modified version of its popular Optimus model. For Transdev and Marc Cleave, now somewhat a veteran of the bus manufacturing scene, the call helped to ignite a vision for a zero-emissions fleet in Australia and New Zealand, helping to kick-start internal ‘Project Aurora’.

Transdev had pioneered zero-emissions electric and hydrogen fleets internationally, it says, but usage in the Australian and New Zealand market was still in relative infancy. From our international learnings we knew the value that zero emissions vehicles could add to our local fleets and contracts, which is why we acted quickly in developing Project Aurora.”

Armed with insights about what worked, Transdev quickly set about gathering a group of locally based suppliers to help realise the vision and bring the company’s first electric bus – ‘Aurora 1’ – to Melbourne in November, 2019.

Under Project Aurora, Transdev took delivery of its first new Volgren BYD Optimus electric bus and BYD charging infrastructure in November, 2019, with the bus going into service on Melbourne’s streets in December of that year, as part of a trial with Victoria’s Department of Transport.

The remaining four vehicles rolled off Volgren’s Dandenong production line in March, 2021, with one commencing service in Brisbane in April and three going into service in Sydney in May. Gala events were held in Dandenong, Brisbane and Sydney, with local authorities, stakeholders and industry to celebrate the launch of the new fleet.

Tessari says the commissioning of the Transdev fleet as part of Project Aurora was significant for the company.

Transdev Australasia funded three of the five vehicles delivered under Project Aurora. Transport for NSW directly funded two vehicles for Sydney, which Transdev procured on its behalf.

“We wanted to demonstrate zero-emissions technology by investing our own cash in it. It’s here now, and it’s the future now that we want to promote to government and show that public transport can be decarbonised,” Craig added.

The trial bus was given fleet number #3000 and registration plate BS05MR, with the first stage of the trial program commencing in December 2019 on route 246, followed by stage two in October 2020 on route 250, and stage three in May 2021 on route 903.

November 2021 also saw the electric bus receive special ‘Ride with Pride’ decals on the side.

But then bad news for Transdev Melbourne – in October 2021 it was announced that their bid for an extension of their Melbourne Bus Franchise contract had failed, and that a new operator would take over – Kinetic, parent company of Melbourne’s SkyBus service.

As a result, once the electric bus trial ended in October 2021, Transdev Melbourne withdrew the bus from their fleet, and sent up to Transdev NSW to join their fleet of four other electric buses operating in Sydney.

Video by NSW Transport on YouTube

Where it also lived a short life, being withdrawn from service in July 2023 and placed into storage.

The only consolation prize for Melbourne – Transdev’s successor Kinetic has to introduce 36 electric buses to their fleet by mid-2025.

Transit Systems in Melbourne’s west also purchasing electric buses.

Along with Sunbury Bus Service.

Ventura in Melbourne’s east.

And Mitchell Transit in Seymour.

But not much of an improvement over the massive order for 50 hybrid buses CDC Melbourne made back in 2019.

CDC Melbourne photo

Footnote: the gory details

History of Transdev’s trial electric bus #3000 from Australian Bus Fleet Lists:

Chassis Type:
BYD D9RA

Chassis No:
LC04S44S4J1000003

Body Manufacturer:
Volgren Optimus

Body No:
VG4899

Body Date:
9/19

Registered BS05MR:
16/12/2021

Transferred to Transdev NSW, and registered as m/o 8190:
24/04/2022

Withdrawn by 29/7/23 and placed in storage

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I’m not joking – head off to a workwear supplier, and they’ll list ‘Victoria’ and ‘NSW’ specification high visibility vests.

The NSW version has the reflective strips forming an ‘X’ across the back.

While the Victorian one doesn’t.

The Victorian version apparently conforms to Australian Standard AS4602.1 Figure 2(c).

Australian Standard AS4602.1 Figure 2(c)

As detailed in Metro Trains Melbourne’s Management of Personal Protective Equipment Procedure.

All high visibility garments must be fitted with retro reflective strips. The strips must;

• Meet either requirements of Class R material in Australian Standard AS/NZS1906.4;
• Positioned on the garment in accordance with AS4602.1 (Refer Figure 1 below);
• Are at least 50mm wide;
• Are silver in color.
• Applied and remain in place and serviceable for the life of the garment under normal use and laundering.

Positioning of the strips on garments must be in accordance with Australian Standard AS4602.1 Figure 2(c), as follows:

• a. Two horizontal hoops of retro reflective material must encircle the waist;
• b. Strips of retro reflective material must cover each shoulder.

While the Sydney Trains Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) standards details their style.

Positioning of the strips on garments must be in accordance with AS4602.1, as follows:

• i) One horizontal hoop of retro reflective material must encircle the waist;
• ii) A second horizontal strip must be at the back, below the waist, so as the strip is still visible when the wearer is bending forward or in a stooped position. The minimum gap between the horizontal strips should be 50mm;
• iii) Two vertical 50mm strips of retro reflective material must join the upper horizontal hoop, straight over each shoulder, and forming an “X” on the back

A real dogs breakfast, isn’t it!

This being a canine working on a *Victorian* railway.

A footnote on Australian Standards

Unfortunately I can’t actually check Australian Standard AS4602.1 “High visibility safety garments” for myself, because the publisher SAI Global is a money hungry grub who refuses to make them available to the public, despite their status as an essential service in governing consumer safety.

Meanwhile in Europe…

It seems that the European Union also has it’s own high visibility vest standardisation issues – some countries use yellow, others orange.

Yellow or orange? Our eurostar hi-vis vests are reversible to take account of the requirements of the different countries we work in.
Yellow:
Orange: pic.twitter.com/Hv2rSY2F5h

— Justin on eurostar (@EurostarJustinp) January 5, 2023

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Heading up to Albury

I followed the Hume Highway up at Albury, and stopped in at Seymour, where I found the Travellers Aid ‘Connection Assistance’ service transporting passengers through the railway station underpass.

And saw the northbound Melbourne-Sydney train speed past me.

At Violet Town I visited the Southern Aurora Memorial Garden, which commemorates the crash of the Southern Aurora passenger train in February 1969.

Closer to Albury, the near new VLocity trains were actually running a service that day.

And on the other side of town, I found V/Line’s retired fleet of carriages stored in some sidings, covered in graffiti.

Taking the back roads

Along the way I found country pubs.

Overgrown cemeteries.

Quiet railway stations.

And abandoned ones.

Repeater huts for the Sydney–Melbourne co-axial cable

The Headlie Taylor Header Museum.

The Rock Regional Observatory

And field after field of canola.

Junee, a railway town

I stopped in at the railway town of Junee.

Going for a wander around the Junee Roundhouse Railway Museum.

And took a drive out to the Bethungra Spiral.

Where northbound trains loop around the hill via a tunnel.

And then cross back over themselves, as they climb the grade towards Sydney.

Random industries along the way

At Benalla I found the largest precast concrete facility in the Southern Hemisphere.

Churning out concrete tunnel lining segments for the West Gate Tunnel project.

At Ettamogah I went past the former Norske Skog paper mill.

At the Wodonga Logistics Precinct the state government had just paid $5.5 million for a new natural gas connection.

And in the paddocks outside Uranquinty I found a gas fired power station.

Outside Wagga Wagga was industry galore – the Austrak plant was churning out concrete railway sleepers.

Enirgi Power Storage had a lead acid battery recycling facility.

And Southern Oil Refining had a lube oil recycling plant.

At Berrima I found the Boral cement works.

Maldon had the Allied Mills flour mill.

Outside Marulan I had to stop for an off-road dump truck crossing my path.

And finally, on the Hum Highway I breezed by the Marulan heavy vehicle inspection station.

Photographing freight trains

Of course I’m not going to drive all the way up to New South Wales and not photograph freight trains!

Yet I managed to find the same steel train that goes past my house every day.

Grain trains were the big thing this time of the year.

Trains run by multiple operators.

Moving the harvest in conventional hopper wagons.

As well as specialised containers.

Something different was a train transporting containerised ore to Port Kembla.

Port rail shuttles at Port Botany.

Triple headed intrastate container trains to regional terminals.

And the garbage train which transports Sydney’s waste to a giant landfill outside Canberra.

Rail in, rail out

At the Berrima cement works I found the whole supply chain moving by rail.

Lime from Marulan South.

And aggregate from the Lynwood quarry.

And finished cement despatched by rail.

Along with clinker for further processing.

Coal, coal, coal

Coal is big business up in New South Wales.

And I saw train hauling it everywhere.

Snaking through suburban railway stations.

And through the hills.

Bound for the export terminal at Port Kembla.

A weekend of heritage trains

The October long weekend in NSW was of rail heritage events – the first being Streamliners 2022 at the Goulburn Roundhouse Railway Museum.

With fireworks closing out the event.

The Lachlan Valley Railway was also running train trips from Goulburn to Tarago.

I also visited the Goulburn Crookwell Heritage Railway.

Going for a ride on their gangers trolleys.

Meanwhile Sydney had their annual Transport Heritage Expo.

Steam trains running trips throughout the weekend.

Along with Sydney’s early single-deck electric trains.

Country railcars.

And heritage double decker buses.

Trams in Sydney

I finally got to see the completed CBD and South East Light Rail.

Which uses as wire free power supply down to Circular Quay.

I also paid a visit to the Sydney Tramway Museum.

Where I ended up on a *Melbourne* tram.

And ferries

I couldn’t go to Sydney without photographing a few ferries, including the new Emerald class.

And River class.

But I’m a fan of the older First Fleet class.

And the classic double ended Manly ferries.

Along the Illawarra

I headed down towards Wollongong despite some horrible weather.

Finding trains winding their way down the escarpment.

Along a curving railway.

Following the coast.

Until they finally ended up at the tiny stations of the Port Kembla branch line.

Shipping steel at Port Kembla

I couldn’t miss visiting the Bluescope Port Kembla steelworks.

Iron ore comes in by ship.

Finished steel is shunted around the complex for processing.

And then despatched by rail.

Down the South Coast

I headed down to Kiama, where electric trains terminate.

Passengers switching to a diesel railcar for the last few stops to Bomaderry.

There I found a long grain train headed in the same direction.

Bound for the Shoalhaven Starches plant at Bomaderry, which will turn the grain into wheat starch, gluten and ethanol.

And up into the hills

I took the back roads from Bomaderry back towards the Southern Highlands, driving over the heritage listed Hampden Bridge – one of the few suspension bridges in Australia.

Headed up towards Moreton National Park.

And found Fitzroy Falls.

This scary looking spillway at Pejar Dam.

And what looked like a canal blasted through solid rock.

Which I later discovered was part of the Shoalhaven Scheme – a pumped-storage hydroelectricity facility.

The rain finally clears

After days of rain the sky finally cleared, but the roads were still closed due to flooding.

Looks like I won’t be driving this way!

But at least on one spot along my route, a new high level bridge had opened just in time, taking the road clear of the floodwaters.

Off to Canberra

I decided I’d make a detour via Canberra.

Checking out what passes for the rail service between Sydney and Canberra.

I found a V/Line coach leaving Canberra on the long drive to Bairnsdale.

And the well used first stage of the Canberra Light Rail.

About to be extended south to Woden.

I also made the trip out to the back blocks of Canberra to find their tram depot.

Found one of ACTION’s old orange high floor buses.

A bus with a bike loaded on the front rack.

And dozens of the classic Canberra concrete bus shelters.

And homeward bound

At Albury I found a familiar face – a VLocity train awaiting awaiting departure time for Melbourne.

I decided to head over to Shepparton to capture the end of locomotive hauled trains on that line.

Shunter at work coupling the locomotive up to the carriages.

By the time I got to Murchison East, I was drenched.

My next stop – Bendigo.

My target – Comeng trains awaiting scrapping.

But the weather wasn’t on my side, flood waters rising.

So I high tailed it home, narrowly beating the waters that flooded central Victorian towns like Colbinabbin.

That ended two weeks on the road, followed by two months editing the resulting photos.

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This is an incomplete list of infrastructure that has had to be modified, replaced or rebuilt due to underground mining.

A quick introduction to longwall mining

The Total Environment Centre provide us some background to longwall mining in New South Wales.

Longwall mining is a form of underground coal mining where ‘panels’ of coal are mined side by side separated by narrow ‘pillars’ of rock that act as supports.

A long wall panel can be up to 4km long, 250-400m wide and 1-2m thick. Chocks are then placed lines of up to 400m in length to support the roof.

Coal is cut by a machine called a shearer that moves along the length of the face in front of the chocks, disintegrating the coal, which is then taken by a series of conveyors to the surface.

As coal is removed, the chocks are moved into the newly created cavity. As the longwall progresses through the seam, the cavity behind the longwall, known as the goaf, increases and eventually collapses under the weight of the overlying strata.

This collapsing can cause considerable surface subsidence that may damage the environment and human infrastructure.

Longwall mining in NSW began in 1962. In 1983/84 it accounted for 11% of the state’s raw coal production. This had increased to 36% by 1993/94 and stood at 29% in 2003/04.

Nearly all of the coal mined in NSW lies within the Sydney-Gunnedah Basin and in the five defined coalfields of Gunnedah, Hunter, Newcastle, Western (in the Lithgow / Mudgee area) and Southern (in the Campbelltown / Illawarra area).

Virtually all coal mining in the Southern and Western coalfields is underground.

Douglas Park Bridges, Hume Highway

The first example of modified infrastructure I found was the 285 metre long twin Douglas Park Bridges, which carry the Hume Highway 55 metres above the Nepean River.

The concrete piers having a large steel brace attached where they meet the bridge deck.

The bridge was designed in 1975 by the Department of Main Roads, and did not take land subsidence into consideration, as the Department of Mines indicated mining that they would maintain a coal mining buffer zone around the bridge.

However by the late-1990s approval was given to BHP Coal to expand longwall mining at thier Tower Colliery towards the bridge, provided an extensive monitoring program was put in place.

The impact on the bridge once mining was complete – the abutments were 10 mm closer together, piers had sunk up to 18 mm, and the piers at one end had moved 48.6 mm east.

In the years that followed, the movement in the bridge had worsened, and so in 2007 BHP funded a $9 million project to realign the bridge.

The northern Abutment had moved 57mm, the first Pier around 40mm and the second Pier around 20mm. The next piers were stable.

Because of the different movements, the deck was in a unnatural form and that’s why the bridges had to be realigned. Works had to be proceeded with a minimum of bridge closures.

On the abutments, pot bearings had to be replaced with sliding bearings, which required 4 x 200 tonne jacks to lift the deck. To be able to lift the deck at the Piers, we installed a 40 tonne steel structure to create a lifting base around each Pier.

The realignment was done using 6 x 50 tonne jacks. Once the movement was complete, the bearings had to be welded or clamped to fix the deck to the Piers.

However while this work was still underway, the NSW Government approved further mining was approved beneath the bridge, but this time with a network of 400 sensors collecting deformation data 24 hours a day, along with inclinometers linked to an early warning system.

Trackside solar powered gizmos

Alongside the Melbourne-Sydney railway outside Picton, I found an multiple sets of solar powered instruments connected to the tracks.

And a few kilometres away outside Douglas Park, I found some more complicated looking systems.

Complete with fixed structures for the installation of surveying equipment.

These systems monitor movement in the railway due to mining at the SIMEC Group Tahmoor Colliery and South32 Appin Colliery respectively.

Risk mitigation on the Hume Highway

BHP Billiton Illawarra Coal’s Appin Colliery also passes beneath the Hume Highway at Douglas Park, with land subsidence running the risk of distorting the base of the road pavement. The solution – cutting up the road.

Modelling studies concluded that cutting slots through the existing pavement would be an effective method of dissipating compressive stress in the bound sandstone subbase. As a result of these analyses, the Technical Committee adopted a management strategy where slots would be installed prior to mining.

Sixteen slots were cut in the pavement, eight in each carriageway, directly above the proposed Longwall 703. A further twenty six slots were cut above Longwall 704, for which mining has now started. The spacings of the slots were based mainly on subsidence predictions, with extra slots added within a zone of geological structure.

The Technical Committee recognised that pre-mining slots would probably not be able to accommodate all potential subsidence movements. In particular, irregular subsidence movements could develop, the locations of which could not be identified prior to mining, resulting in locally high compressive stresses in the pavement.

The Technical Committee recognised that additional slots could be installed proactively during mining based on actual monitoring data prior to compressive stresses in the pavement becoming sufficient to result in stepping. Materials, labour and equipment were available to install a new slot within a required 48 hours, with a target to install within 24 hours. This was undertaken on 5 occasions during mining.

Fibre optic sensors were also installed to monitor the movement of the road surface.

BHP Billiton’s Illawarra Coal has embedded three kilometres of fibre optic cables in the Hume Highway to track subsidence caused by a longwall mine that runs under the road.

Illawarra Coal uses fibre Bragg grating sensors to measure temperature and strain at ten-metre intervals along the road’s pavement to detect any forces that could damage the road.

Illawarra Coal’s in-pavement monitoring system is connected to a site-based bank of interrogators that analyse the raw data on a real time basis.

“All data is transferred via wireless network link and is maintained on a web server which is managed by one of the key stakeholders,” a BHP Billiton spokeswoman told iTnews.

“The captured data is compared against pre-determined triggers and has the capability to initiate mobile phone SMS-generated alarms if required for appropriate response as determined by the trigger.”

Replacing a railway tunnel

Just outside of Tahmoor was Redbank Tunnel – a 315 metre long double-track tunnel completed in 1919 as part of the duplication of the Melbourne-Sydney railway.

Google Earth, April 2010

But there was a problem – the nearby Tahmoor Colliery, established in 1975, and expanded in 1994 and 1999.

A further 4.5 million tonnes of coal was located under the tunnel, and Xstrata wanted to expand the mine yet again to extract it, which would destroy the tunnel.

Tahmoor has now undertaken modelling of subsidence impacts on Redbank Tunnel as a result of mining. This modelling has concluded that subsidence impacts would be significant (up to 1130 mm of vertical subsidence) and likely would impact on the structural integrity of the tunnel, resulting in a risk to rail safety on the Main Southern Railway Line which runs through the tunnel.

So their solution – move the railway.

On 21 December 2010, Tahmoor submitted an application to the Department seeking to modify the Minister’s consent (DA 67/98) to allow for mining impacts within Area 3, and thereby to support the proposed mining of these longwalls. In order to avoid the potential impacts on rail safety, Tahmoor proposes to build a major deviation of the Main Southern Railway line for 1.9 km around the tunnel. The modification would also involve construction of a new overbridge to facilitate landowner access to their property once the rail track has been completed.

And decommission the redundant tunnel.

If Redbank Tunnel was left open after it is bypassed, then it is likely that some sections of the Tunnel’s masonry lining would experience cracking, shearing and localised spalling and possible collapses as a result of mining subsidence. Tahmoor therefore proposes to fill the tunnel with material excavated during construction of the proposed deviation, mitigating any potential safety hazards to people who might enter the tunnel and reducing subsidence to the natural surface above the tunnel.

Reshaping the landscape.

Assessment Report: Tahmoor North Mine, Redbank Rail Tunnel Deviation Modification

Work on the deviation commenced in June 2012, with the first train using the new route in December the same year.

Rebuilding a bridge

While chasing trains around Picton, a strange looking bridge caught my eye.

The expansion gap looking far too big for the size of the bridge.

It turns out coal mining at Tahmoor Colliery was also the driver here.

Tahmoor Coal Pty Ltd is currently replacing an existing bridge over the Main Southern Railway Line near Picton in NSW, due to proposed mining works. The new bridge is located immediately to the west of an existing brick arch bridge. The rail overbridge is an asset of Transport for New South Wales with Wollondilly Shire Council owning the connecting road.

The new overbridge is required because of potential subsidence impacts from scheduled longwall mining activities in the area in late 2015 which would compromise the safety of the existing bridge structure. The project also involves realignment of the road approaches and the demolition of the existing bridge.

A key issue in the design was the articulation of the bridge which had to cater for large opening/closure movements and large differential vertical and horizontal movements between the two ends of the bridge. A large movement modular deck joint and large movement sliding spherical bearings were adopted to accommodate these potentially large mine subsidence displacements.

Construction commenced in June 2015 and was completed by November the same year.

Landbridges on the Hume

This pair of bridges on the Hume Highway outside Mittagong don’t look at unusual from above.

Google Maps

Or from the road.

Google Street View

But they don’t actually span a watercourse.

Google Street View

But were built in 2000s to bridge a section of land affected by mine subsidence.

Plan to bridge the Hume Highway at Mittagong
5 June 2001

Working with the Federal Department of Transport and Regional Services (DOTARS), the Roads and Traffic Authority (RTA) has commenced preliminary work on the upgrading of the Hume Highway on the Mittagong Bypass.

The south and northbound lanes will be re-built and two new three-lane bridges constructed on this major interstate road corridor as a result of geological changes that have damaged the road surface and surrounding region over time.

To maintain travel conditions for the 16,000 vehicles using this section of the highway every day, the RTA will receive an initial $6 million from the Federal Government to complete planning and to construct median cross-over lanes. These will allow traffic to switch between the north and southbound carriageways once construction of the bridges has commenced.

The crossovers will be located near the Nattai River and Gibbergunyah Creek bridges and are expected to take two months to build.

During construction, lane restrictions will be in place in the area from 7am to 6pm Mondays to Fridays and from 8am to 1pm on Saturdays.

“In recent years, engineers have detected a subsidence in the road caused by the unique geology of the area. However, the current rate of ground movement is extremely slow and presents no short-term risk,” an RTA spokesperson said.

“The area has a very complex geological history, including mining activity at the adjacent Mount Alexandra Coal Mine from the 1950s to the 1970s.

“To ensure the highway continues to provide high standard travel conditions, work on the crossovers has commenced, with construction of the bridges expected to begin later in the year for completion by the end of 2002.”

The RTA expects to let a contract for the bridge works in October. The twin three-lane bridges will be supported by concrete pylons sunk 10 metres into the bedrock and protected from possible future earth movement by steel casings.

The southbound bridge will be built first and then operate temporarily as a single carriageway road carrying traffic in both directions during construction of the second bridge.

“The Hume Highway is Australia’s most important interstate road artery, with funding for improvements and maintenance a Federal Government responsibility,” a Department of Transport and Regional Services spokesperson said.

“Accordingly, the cost of the new bridges will be fully funded by the Federal Government.

“Both the Federal Department and the RTA are working to ensure this essential road route is upgraded quickly and with minimal inconvenience to the travelling public.

Telephone trouble at Tahmoor

Even the Telstra network wasn’t safe from mine subsidence at Tahmoor.

As part of the planning for mining longwall LW32, Tahmoor Coking Coal Operations has identified surface assets which may be affected by the mining operation in Tahmoor north area. Some of these assets belong to Telstra and are part of Telstra’s infrastructure in the area.

Telstra’s major assets in the area are: Tahmoor telephone exchange which is located on the north east corner of Thirlmere Way and Denmead Streets and Picton telephone exchange which is Menangle Street.

As mining has continued north of the telephone exchange the potential for impacts on the major network cable infrastructure has changed as now the longwalls are commencing to impact on the Picton telephone exchange area and the optical fibre cables and copper network to the south of Picton.

The planned longwall mining covering the area.

Management Plan – Longwall Mining beneath Telstra plant at Tahmoor and Picton NSW

With the critical parts of the network being:

a. Optical Fibre Cable – this is predominantly due to the nature of the cable in that it is only able to sustain relatively low ground compressive and tensile strains before the external sheath transfers the strain to the individual fibres within the cable. When this occurs the individual fibres have limited capacity to tolerate tensile or compressive strains before they cause interruption to or failure of transmission systems.

b. Aerial Cable – Aerial cable anchored at adjacent poles or from pole to building can be impacted by ground tilt. Where poles are affected by ground tilt the top of the pole can move such that there is a change in the cable catenery with the potential to either stretch the cable or reduce the ground clearance on the particular cable.

And somehow the legacy copper network got off lightly.

Generally the more extensive Main and Local copper cable network is more robust and able to tolerate reasonable levels of mining induced ground strain. The interaction is complex since the network comprises of very small cable of 5mm diameter up to heavily armoured 60mm diameter cables spread diversely across the entire mining area.

Footnote: and the environment

Water being lost to reservoirs.

NSW’s top water agency has called for curbs on two big coal mines in Sydney’s catchment, saying millions of litres of water are being lost daily and that environmental impacts are likely breaching approval conditions.

Cracks in creeks.

The ground is bulging and cracks are reaching from the surface to the coal seam in a section of Sydney’s drinking water catchment that sits above a mine, according to an independent study commissioned by the state government.

Creeks turning orange.

Flows from a “significant” water source for one of Sydney’s dams are turning orange and disappearing beneath the surface because of an underground coal mine that is slated to expand to beneath the reservoir itself.

180 tonnes of concrete pumped into a creek.

It was meant to be a remediation program to repair extensive mine subsidence damage to Sugarloaf State Conservation Area in the Lower Hunter. Instead it turned one environmental disaster into another. Contractors working for coal giant Glencore Xstrata pumped more than 180 tonnes of concrete into a tributary of Cockle Creek at Lake Macquarie.

And yet new mines are approved beneath reservoirs.

The Berejiklian government has given the nod for the extension of coal mining under one of Greater Sydney’s reservoirs, the first such approval in two decades.

The Planning Department earlier this month told Peabody Energy it could proceed with the extraction of coal from three new longwalls, two of which will go beneath Woronora reservoir.

All of this makes a few damaged bridges and cracked highways pale in comparison.

Further reading

• Mine Subsidence Community Guide (Mine Subsidence Board)
• Impacts of longwall coal mining on the environment in New South Wales (Total Environment Centre, 2007)
• Impacts of underground coal mining on natural features in the Southern Coalfield (NSW Government, 2008)

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Heading east from Melbourne

I took the Monash Freeway out of Melbourne, passing the site of the future Lynbrook station on the Cranbourne line.

And Cardina Road station on the Pakenham line.

I detoured via the Hazelwood Power Station, since demolished.

And followed the railway east to the end of the line, where trucks had taken over the transport of logs from Bairnsdale.

The Raymond Island Ferry was another non-railway detour.

As was Lakes Entrance.

The Princes Highway continued on, where I found a disused railway bridge over the Nicholson River.

And a timber trestle over Stony Creek, outside Nowa Nowa.

The Princes Highway outside Orbost was burnt out following bushfires.

I turned off the highway at Cann River, where I found a retired Hitachi suburban train turned into a house.

And followed the Monaro Highway towards the Snowy Mountains.

Passing through Bombala.

And arriving in Cooma as night fell.

Across the Snowy Mountains

The next day I headed up into the mountains, where I found the Skitube railway.

A rack railway that serves the Thredbo and Perisher Valley skifields.

At Thredbo I found a fleet of shuttle buses parked during the off season.

Before I attacked 65 kilometres of winding road across the Great Dividing Range.

Reaching an elevation of 1580 metres.

With a dusting of snow.

I headed through Kosciuszko National Park.

Passing alpine huts.

And Australia’s highest town at Cabramurra.

But the thing I was really looking for was power stations.

I found high voltage power lines and pressure pipelines.

High voltage electrical switchyards.

And I went on a tour of the Murray 1 hydroelectric power station.

Into the Riverina

Every visit NSW ends up with me passing through Gundagai, and this time was no exception.

But this time I made a side trip off the Hume Highway to the Temora Aviation Museum.

They park their cars a little differently here.

I then doubled back to the Melbourne-Sydney railway at Harden.

Where I was surrounded by a flock of sheep.

Grain trains also use the railway.

Cootamundra and Junee being the hub for grain movements.

Disused grain silos are found all along the railway.

But have been redundant by modern bulk grain facilities.

Small towns like Gunning still had a railway station.

The Melbourne-Sydney XPT is the only public transport to towns like The Rock.

But towns like Binalong have trains pass by without stopping.

Relying on road coach connections.

And finally the Southern Highlands

At Bowral I found a CityRail interurban service stopping for passengers.

But the NSW Rail Museum at Thirlmere was my destination.

Exhibits filling the display hall.

And steam train trips outside.

And a last pit stop

The sun was setting, but I had one more stop to make before Sydney.

The ‘bridge to nowhere’ over the Cordeaux River outside Maldon.

I found the bridge just before night fell – achievement unlocked!

Footnote: new and old at Wodonga

In 2008 Wodonga railway station closed as part of the Wodonga Rail Bypass project.

Replaced by a new station at Wodonga West in 2011.

And my usual bits

Southern Cross Station management blocking the main entrance to the station is nothing new – May 2011 I found a skateboarding display there.

Unfortunately it’s still a problem today.

Meanwhile queues at the Myki gates were only just emerging as a problem – it wasn’t until March 2012 that I first start taking notice of them.

As an interim fix additional overflow gates were added at stations, but it took until 2014 for the first faster ticket gates to be rolled out.

And finally we end on something positive – X’Trapolis trains rolling out of the factory at Alstom Ballarat.

The plant shut down in 2020 following the delivery of the final train, but is due to reopen following a 2021 budget commitment to build 25 X’Trapolis 2.0 trains at the site.

Footnote

Here you can find the rest of my ‘photos from ten years ago‘ series.

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Photo by Webaware, via Wikimedia Commons

The story starts with the construction of Liddell Power Station in the Hunter Valley by the Electricity Commission of New South Wales (Elcom). The first of four 500 megawatt generators was completed in 1971, followed by two more in 1972, and the fourth in 1973. The complex was the first major power station in New South Wales to be built inland, and at the time of its completion was the most powerful generating station in Australia.

However a few years later all was not well at Elcom – maintenance on the generating system was being deferred, and the massive scale of new power stations left the system without reserve capacity should any of the units go off line.

This came to a head when in March 1981, when a stator winding fault at Liddell took one of the units out of service. Initially the Snowy Mountain Scheme was used to supply peak electricity load, but an ongoing drought had reduced the amount of water available, which led to the introduction of power restrictions in late June.

In November 1981 the situation worsened, when two more generators at Liddell suffered identical stator winding faults, with further power restrictions imposed for twenty days in December 1981, and twenty-six days in March-April 1982.

Canberra Times – 1 April 1982

Leaving both industry and households in the dark.

In one day of power rationing to industry it was estimated that 253,000 workers were stood down after 7,000 factories closed at a cost of $25 million to NSW industry.

Householders were restricted to half the normal lights on in a house, no air-conditioning, no radiators and, despite possible health risks, only two hours a day for filtering swimming pools.

To fill the gap, 300 MW of gas turbine generators was hurriedly acquired.

Twelve 25MW gas turbines were purchased by the Electricity Commission of New South Wales in 1982 to assist in meeting demand during the electrical energy crisis in that year resulting from the failure of alternator windings in three generating units at Liddell Power Station.

The units were connected to the State network in April, May and June, 1982. Total capital cost was $89 million. Two units are located at Bunnerong, two at Port Kembla, four at Eraring and four at Koolkhan near Grafton.

All gas turbines were used during the energy crisis in the period April to September, 1982. Operating times totalled approximately 5,000 unit hours, 85 per cent of the energy being generated using natural gas at Bunnerong and Port Kembla.

That were expensive to run.

For statistical and costing purposes a fuel consumption of 8.3 tonnes of distillate per hour is an average value recorded for each gas turbine when operating at full load.

The gas turbines at Bunnerong and Port Kembla use natural gas as fuel and for these units the gas consumption is 15.0 MJ/GWh.

In 1982 the cost of distillate was $267 to $3 10 per tonne. These values have been used to calculate a distillate fuel cost of $88 per MWh.

Under the current gas contract, fuel cost when burning natural gas is $84 per MWh for units at Bunnerong and Port Kembla.

The cost of running a gas turbine at full load (25 MW) for one hour is:
(a) natural gas fuel – $2,100 on current gas price.
(b) distillate fuel – $2,200 on 1982 fuel price. $3,875 on 1986 replacement fuel price.

With power restrictions finally averted by the commissioning of the first 660 MW unit at the coal fired Eraring Power Station in March 1982.

Photo by Nick Pitsas, CSIRO, via Wikimedia Commons

So what happened to the gas turbines?

After the power crisis had ended, some in parliament thought they should be sold off.

In 1982, in a panic move after the blackouts of 1981 the commission, at the Government’s insistence, purchased twelve gas turbines at a cost of $130 million. These turbines are not in use, have never been used and have no use, because they are too costly to operate.

The turbines should be sold to recoup the $130 million paid for them. The excuse that the turbines are to be used for a black start is not acceptable. It is absolute nonsense to give that excuse, and the Minister well knows it.

But Elcom did make use of the gas turbines in times of peak demand.

During autumn 1983 the natural gas turbines at Bunnerong and Port Kembla were operated due to reduced water storages in the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme as a result of a prolonged drought. Operating hours totalled approximately 1,700 unit hours.

In addition, gas turbines have been operated for brief periods, as follows:

• Koolkhan to assist with a local supply problem in April 1984.
• Bunnerong and Port Kembla to assist the State Electricity Commission of Victoria following plant failures in that State.
• At all locations on one day in March 1983, as a result of loss of thermal generating plant due to switchboard flashovers.
• At all locations for three days during February 1986, during the coalminers’ strike.
• For one hour each month as a test on performance.

The units installed at Koolkhan have allowed deferment of some 330 kV transmission line projects in the area north of Armidale, with resultant cost savings of about $2 million.

Capable of generating at full load within 12 minutes of start-up, the turbines were seen as ideal emergency backup despite average annual maintenance costs of $3,200 per unit, which saw Elcom redeploy them to other parts of the network.

A review has been undertaken of the need to retain the gas turbine units.

Present forecasts of load growth indicate that there could be a need for the installation of additional combustion turbines towards the middle of the 1990’s and at this stage it has been decided not to sell any of the gas turbine units.

The benefit to the Commission of relocating gas turbines on the State grid would far outweigh the return obtained by selling this plant.

Action is in hand to relocate the Bunnerong units to the Upper Hunter district to provide “black start” capability for Liddell and Bayswater Power Stations, and it is proposed to relocate the Port Kembla units to Broken Hill as emergency standby supply in case of any failure in the transmission system.

The two units at Bunnerong Power Station were removed by 1984, and recommissioned between the Bayswater and Liddell Power Stations in 1988. They passed to Macquarie Generation as part of the breakup of Elcom, and remain in service today as the ‘Hunter Valley Gas Turbines’ owned by AGL Macquarie.

Google Earth 2020

The two units at Port Kembla were also relocated as planned to Broken Hill, being recommissioned in 1989.

Today it serves as a backup electricity supply to the isolated city of Broken Hill, should the single 220 kV transmission line be down for maintenance or an unplanned outage.

Google Earth 2020

Four gas turbines at Koolkhan fill a similar role, supplying to the far north coast of NSW should there be an outage on the 330 kV line from down south. Around 2000 Elcom successor Pacific Power decommissioned the gas turbines, which were sold off and exported to the USA. The site now lays empty.

Google Earth 2004

And finally, the four turbines at Eraring. They were passed to Elcom successor Eraring Energy, which operated two units as the ‘Northern Gas Turbines’ until they were decommissioned in 2001.

The site is now empty, but Eraring Energy did commissioned a 40 MW rated ‘Emergency Black Start Gas Turbine‘ in 2007 to meet the same role.

Google Earth 2020

Footnote: modern day equivalents

During the 2017-18 summer the Australian Energy Market Operator hired 105 diesel-powered generators that were setup at the Energy Brix Power Station site in Morwell, to supply up to 110 MW of electricity to Victoria in an emergency. They were never used, and did not return.

Aggreko Australia photo

In 2017 the South Australian government did something similar, purchasing nine new aero-derivative turbines to supply up to 276 MW of electricity to the state. After laying idle during the 2017-18 summer, they saw first use in January 2019, only be be sold to the private sector later that year.

South Australian government photo

Footnote: how did I get here?

The genesis of this post was a simple train photo, captioned “8119 and 8131 unloading at Eraring Power Station Coal Loop. 29 January 1994“.

To which someone replied:

Four 25mw diesel turbines just right of centre. I worked on some electrical modifications to these in about 1981.

And so I went this rabbit hole.

Sources

• Electricity Commission Gas Turbines Legislative Council Questions on Notice (1 February 1987)
• N.S.W. Power and the on/off Resources Boom Jim Falk and Graham Larcombe, Journal of Australian Political Economy (1983)
• Development of a Comprehensive Decision Making Framework for Power Projects in New South Wales Ayse Topal (2014)
• Inquiry concerning alleged inadequate maintenance procedures by the Electricity Commission at Liddell Power Station New South Wales Ombudsman (1983)
• The Electricity Commission of New South Wales and its place in the rise of centralised coordination of bulk electricity generation and transmission 1888 – 2003 Kenneth David Thornton (2015)
• Lifting power rationing does little to relieve the gloom Canberra Times (1 April 1982)

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The sugar is refined at the Harwood sugar mill in northern New South Wales, near Grafton, in a plant established in 1989 by the Manildra Group and New South Wales Sugar Milling Cooperative.

Google Maps

It is then transported by road to South Grafton and stored in silos, ready to be loaded into rail hopper wagons.

Google Street View

Pacific National shunts the wagons using a 48 class locomotive, attaches them to a southbound freight train bound for Newscatle, and then onto the tail end of a southbound steel train for the trip to Melbourne.

On arrival in Melbourne the sugar hoppers are collected by the South Dynon shunter.

And taken over to the Manildra siding at the back of South Kensington station.

The empty wagons are taken away.

And the loaded wagons shunted in.

With the Manildra staff using their own shunting tractor to move the wagons into their unloading shed.

The empty wagons are then returned to South Dynon.

Then attached on the next northbound steel train for the trip back to Grafton.

But it has come to an end

In late 2018 Manildra Group listed their site in West Melbourne for sale.

Commercial Real Estate.com.au photo

The plant has since been shut down, with the site being cleared.

Manildra operate a second Melbourne plant at Altona North, around the corner from the paused Port Rail Shuttle terminal, so the sugar train is no more.

Some history

The Manildra Group complex dates back to 1907, when James Minifie & Co opened the ‘Victoria Roller Flour Mill’ on the site, with the adjacent concrete silos were designed by Edward Giles Stone were built beside the mill in 1910-11. The mill produced ‘O-So-Lite’ packaged flour and cake mixes, until it closed in 1969.

Photo by Graeme Butler, Flemington & Kensington Conservation Study 1985

More photos

• Shunting sugar wagons at Grafton
• Grafton sugar loading facility
• Sugar wagon outside the Grafton sugar loading facility
• Inside the Harwood sugar refinery
• 48 class diesel locomotive shunting at Grafton
• Combined sugar and cement train on the North Coast Line
• 1971 track diagram of South Kensington

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