Penance.

Somehow or other my Bumper Issue posting escaped from my computer...the usual operator error, so as an act of penance here a some photos I took in May of Albury's very handsome railway station.........please note NOT train station. Go forth and spread the Word.

PB.

Monday Morning Photo. Mid Winter Bumper Issue. Saturday 25/06/2010.

G'day all, will be away for next weeks MMP so I decided to delay this weeks posting.

But I didn't want to conflict too much with either John Phillips's Wednesday Photos or Bob Wilson's Friday Afternoon Photos so I've held off 'til Saturday.

Most of us then youthful Victorians got our first sight of a foreign railway when we stepped onto the long platform at Albury. My own first sight was early 1962 when I changed trains in the last days of the border break of gauge. I travelled from Melbourne to Albury aboard the airconditioned steel cars of "The Spirit of Progress" and crossed the platform to ride the next 400 odd miles in the timber bodied, non-airconditioned cars of No.4. I sat in the open doorway all night.

Two trains connected with "The Spirit" back then, No.2, was the "Limited Express" and No.4 merely "The Express" which departed 20 minutes later. By the time I rode them they were usually fronted by 44 class diesels, Alco World Series units but I think that occasionally No.4 got a 38 class Pacific. Not so on my first trip to Sydney.

So I've decided to stay in Albury for this edition of Monday Morning Photo...... except for one picture.

5099 and 5188 always seemed to be the yard pilots at Albury and for many of us they were our first sight of NSW steam locomotion, our introduction to "That State with Those Engines" in the words of Mick Saunders.

S309 is in the Victorian broad gauge dock while 5099 is making ready to shift the long rake of the aforesaid timber bodied NSWGR cars. The train engine can be seen disappearing in the distance.

5188 is knocking freight wagons around Albury yard.

3607 I'm guessing is running a railmotor replacement up to Junee to connect with "The South Mail" or maybe "The Riverina Express" and 3813 is at Sydney Central Station having cut off it's cars and run forward to the buffer stop. Shortly it will back up past the train along the centre loco release road and make for Eveleigh Loco Depot.

So now we are at the heart of the New South Wales Government Railways and finding out that it was indeed a "foreign railway".

I'm hoping that the photos appear in the intended order.

I had some comments about the extended correspondence re my last posting........if you only want to look at the pictures and aren't interested in the finer points of railway enthusiasm just regard anything but my original postings as rated M.......or even R and don't open them. You know what I mean, don't you Denys Williams!! It's the opposite of "Playboy", you're only opening it for the pictures.

Back in a little while,

Best regards,

Peter Bruce.

---

Monday Morning Photo. 14/06/2010.

G'day all, this is the last installment, maybe I should say the "at last" installment of the demise of the Camden Tram. I can't remember how many trips were done between Campbelltown and Camden, at least two, maybe three but the crowd at Camden is definitely for the last departure. The engines are a long way from the station platform which usually only saw a single passenger car for each service and Canden station probably hadn't seen a crowd like this since the opening day back in March 1882.

I couldn't swear that I took the photo at Kenny's Hill on the very last trip but I don't suppose it really matters, the scene was much the same all day, people came from all over Sydney to be part of the day's events and to farewell something was was by this time unique in any Australian metropolitan hinterland.....if that's the right term.

I travelled back to Central on regular services but must have hung around Campbelltown long enough to watch the 6.01 to 6.04pm station stop of the southbound "Southern Highlands Express" and I submit the attached somewhat blurry departure shot of 3809 [I think!!] and it's train of rather elegant wooden bodied 12 wheel cars as evidence. Despite it being mid-summer the light had been pretty dull all day and my longish exposure didn't quite stop the train as it accelerated out of Campbelltown.

Now that the Camden project is behind me I'll have to decide where to next. Maybe western New South Wales.

'Til then,

Regards to all,

Peter Bruce.

Back numbers at http://teenagerailfan.blogspot.com

Monday Morning Photo. 7/06/2010.

G'day all, got distracted last night and before I knew it it was late and I was too tired to put MMP together.

We're on our way to Camden with the last day special train, 2016 and 2010 are leading with 2029 shoving on the rear car near Narellan and then at Kenny's Hill cutting, and finally coming into Camden yard past the Butter Factory. There must have been at least one other trip as some other photos show 2016 leading 2029.

I'll stretch this series out for at least another week with some photos of the return and one of the last train about to leave Camden.

There were hundreds of people along the line all day to watch the train go by one last time and much as one regretted Pansy's passing it was really a miracle that she lasted as long as she did.

The 1960s was a great time to be a teenager, you didn't need much money to travel by rail, there were plenty of trains going to all sorts of places that they don't go to anymore and you were pretty free to trespass on railway property provided you used a bit of common sense.

Australia had been held back by the two wars and the Great Depression but change was starting to gather pace and by the time the 1970s came around much of railway interest had gone forever.

Regards,

Peter Bruce.

P.S. Thanks to all who responded to my query about the appearance of the photos, most seem to think that they are about right with the odd exception. I checked the calibration of my monitor and it was fine for black and white images so any images that were too light or dark were my doing.

All my previous postings can be found at:

http://teenagerailfan.blogspot.com