Railway_Digest__February_2018

8S: The Great Survivor
Re: Rod Milne’s article in the
December RD (P38); it was a
good article for most of the read
except where its mentioned
that Control ‘doesn’t bother’
with the Platform 10 stop and
terminates the Westlander at the
suburban platforms at Roma
Street. This is totally incorrect.
The Train always ends up on
Platform 10, EXCEPT if there is
a SCAS Closure that takes out
Platform 10, when the Westy
will then terminate on either
platform 2 or 3 at Roma Street.
Occasionally, the Westy will
terminate at Corinda if there
is a SCAS closure east/south
of Corinda. Also, referring
to the Empty running east
of Toowoomba with 3987
terminating at Toowoomba, this
does occur if there is a SCAS
closure on the Western line
and Range, and in this case the
Train normally returns to Mayne
early on the Monday morning
as 4009 to the car shed. On a
normal run there are always
passengers travelling on 3987
east of Toowoomba to Brisbane.
Certainly I agree with Rod –
do it while you can!!
Ian Wacker,
Train Controller
via email
8S: The Great Survivor
I read with interest the article
in the December 2017 edition
concerning the Westlander train
in Queensland.
In June 2013, my wife and I
undertook a Queensland Railways
package tour of Charleville
entitled Bilbies, Stars and Secrets
Taxi Tour. This comprised a return
train journey from Brisbane to
Charleville on the Westlander
benefiting from the sleeping
berths and excellent cuisine of
the dining car. On arrival it was
evident that the local business
people had combined to offer a
fascinating itinerary showcasing
many attractions of the area
including the Cosmos Centre,
bilby preservation, the iconic
Corones Hotel, former World War
2 Army Base, the historic museum
and viewing workings of a local
property. The whole tour went
without incident, was unique
and highly enjoyable.
It is hard to understand why
the Queensland Railways have
ceased the sleeping car service
as tourists would quite properly
deserve this facility for a long
journey and it is evident that
modern sleeping cars were
initially available for passengers
as well as crew. The potential
for developing a local tourist
industry, bringing much
economic input to the area and
perhaps rivalling Longreach
was very apparent and deserves
serious attention.
William J. Fraser
Holder, ACT
NSW Transport Policy,
I wish to make a few comments
about matters that appeared
in the RD December 2017,
regarding the future directions
of the State’s transport policy.
In relation to the issues that
were raised by Max Mitchell
and Philip Laird, in their article,
‘Shorter South Coast Transit
Times’, travel times between
Sydney and Albury and
Wallerawang and Bathurst
could be reduced if the Southern
and Western Lines were
rerouting along their original
alignments. For instance, the
distance from Sydney to Albury
was incredibly 21 kilometres
shorter pre-duplication, than
it is today. Therefore, reusing
the original alignments should
be investigated as a method of
improving travel times.
As for the investigations
into electrification to Bathurst,
Goulburn and Nowra as
discussed in the news item
‘Transport for NSW releases
draft 40-year plan for Regional
NSW Transport’, on page 7, it is
essential that the issue of track
alignments is addressed before
any plans to electrify these routes.
Currently, there is a golden
opportunity to introduce 25kV
AC into the network. Coinciding
with the introduction of new
intercity cars is the need to
replace the stanchions on the
Blue Mountains line. In the
event that these stanchions
are replaced, will the 1500
Volt DC system be retained.
If so, would it also be used
between Lithgow and Bathurst
in the event that electrification
of that route materialises as
mentioned in RD December
2017, p7. If so, up to twenty
substations would be required
for the entire route from Emu
Plains to Bathurst. As it is with
the NBN fiasco, it would be the
equivalent of installing copper
wiring instead of optical fibre.
In contrast, if 25kV AC catenary
was installed, a maximum of
four feeder stations would
be required, which would be
similar to the quantity needed
to electrify from Macarthur
to Goulburn. Though the
Maldon-Dombarton project
was primarily intended to carry
freight only, if construction
of the line was recommenced
(including electrification as
planned) it would provide the
opportunity to operate services
directly from Wollongong to
Parramatta/Badgerys’s Creek.
Recently a proposal
appeared on Facebook
suggesting that a direct route
should be constructed from
Gosford to Maitland, via
Cessnock, which would utilise
the former South Maitland
Railway. In my opinion, it was
a brilliant concept that would
breathe life into the former
coalfields and provide a more
direct route for North Coast
trains. On a similar vein, it is
inevitable that Hunter Valley
coal traffic will face extinction
in the next fifty years. This
provides an opportunity for the
development of a sophisticated
transport network across the
Hunter Valley as the region’s
population grows. Already,
Maitland’s population has
exceeded 90,000 and housing
estates are opening up at
Lochinvar, Branxton, Huntlee,
Kurri Kurri and Oakhampton.
It is possible that the Hunter
Valley could require a transport
network the size of a small
capital city in the future. Being
a relatively clean slate, it is
important that they do not
repeat past mistakes like the
choice to use 1500Volt DC for
the Newcastle/Port Kembla
electrification projects. The
investigation into these matters
need to be incorporated into
any long-term planning for NSW.
Stephen Miller
Rutherford, NSW
Elevated rail technology
There is a bit of interesting
technological development
evident in the January Digest,
albeit spread across two articles
so it is not all that apparent.
John Hoyle’s article
‘Melbourne Rail Works Upsurge
Under Way’ has two pictures
clearly showing the “T” girder
construction used for the
elevated grade separation
that will remove all existing
level crossings out as far as
Dandenong (see pages 37 and
39). I would assume that this
form of construction is a fairly
conventional concrete girder
form. Rails will be attached to
specially designed longitudinal
beams while separate sound
walls will also be added during
finishing.
If, however, you move on
to David Campbell’s article on
‘The Mernda Rail Extension’
and look closely at the pictures
on page 44 and bottom right
on page 45 you will note that
a totally different girder form
has been used - a sort of long
bathtub shape. In this case
the depth of the structure
immediately below rail is much
reduced as compared to the
Dandenong line type, while the
railway will be normal ballasted
track contained within the
integral walls (which are also
sound barriers).
It is my understanding that
this latter design is likely to
be the new standard for any
future rail over road works in
the foreseeable future. While
the differences in design are
quite evident in civilian pictures
it would be interesting to get a
more technical description and
commentary on the evolution
in concrete girder design over
such a short period. How
about a page or two setting
out the basics you Civils? There
must be someone out there
who is justly proud of such
development and would like to
tell us ordinary humans more
about it.
Max Michell
via email
Standard Gauge in
Queensland
I was interested to read Robert
Duncombe’s comment in his
letter in the December 2017
issue of RD “It is about time
the Queensland Government’s
thinking changed ... why ... so
reluctant to gauge-convert?”
Readers Write
FEBRUARY 2018
57