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John Phillips Photos

2011

August Thornton Station - Then and Now

July Victoria - The Altona Line

June 38s

March New South Wales 32 class

August 2011 – Thornton Station - Then and Now

This time for our then and now shots it's the turn of Thornton Station situated on the four track mainline between Newcastle and Maitland in New South Wales. The before shots were all taken in January 1968 the new shots only a few weeks ago.

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5901 on a local train picks up passengers at Thornton before heading off to Newcastle.	Thornton has been modernised and the locals are now railmotors but I know which one I prefer.
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5125 heads through Thornton on a Newcastle bound coal train while in the background a similar empty train heads back to the mines.	Same location 43 years later a Queensland National hauled coal train whines down the grade under dynamic brakes.
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6008 comes out from under the road bridge and heads towards Maitland with an empty wheat train.	8238 and a couple of similar units heads in the same direction but this time on an empty coal train.

5375 has it's rake of non braked four wheeled hoppers nicely under control as it heads towards Thornton.	Same location but other side of the tracks, I have included this shot to show how coal haulage has changed over the years right down to coal companies running their own trains as this Xstrata train demonstrates.

July 2011 – Victoria - The Altona Line

For well on sixty years the Melbourne electrified suburban system was served by wooden-bodied Tait trains, any Melburnian old enough will well remember their daily commute home in these sliding door cars, for me the noise of their spur gear motors as they ground their way through the points into Camberwell Station, the sound echoing off the brick walled cutting will always live in my memory.

The Altona line, in Melbourne's south west was for many years served by a single track electrified spur line that branched of the main Geelong line just past Newport and in 1970 I ventured down there on a very wet day to take a few shots.

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The trains were stabled in a yard on the Melbourne side of Newport Station and the first shot shows a 3 car Tait set arriving into the platform just after the Williamstown train had left.	Having picked up its passengers the Tait heads out under the road bridge and will diverge right just past the bridge and head down the Geelong line before turning left at Altona Junction.
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Just after the junction the line crosses the Koroit Creek Road.	It then heads over the Altona wetlands heading to the next station at Seaholme.
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The second last shot shows a Newport bound train near Seaholme Station.	The last shot is at the then terminus at Altona.
A few years later the track was extended to Werribee and the Altona shuttles were no more, however with a timetable change in May this year I believe some of these shuttles have been reinstated, unfortunately not with Tait trains.

June 2011

Back in the 1960s if you were travelling by train to Sydney from Melbourne on the Spirit of Progress most of the time you would get off at Goulburn, the reason, to travel behind steam on the Southern Highlands Express. This is exactly what I did back in August 1967 and to my delight the 38 for that day was green 3813, here are a few shots taken on that day.

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The Spirit has just left Goulburn and 3813 heads down to the points before backing back onto the Southern Highlands.	Having attached to the train the big Pacific's air-compressor works hard to pump up the train prior to departure.
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A shot from the overbridge at Goulburn.	A small bird inspects the coal piled high in the tender as 3813 waits for the departure stick before leaving Goulburn bound for Sydney.
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Water is taken at Moss Vale, giving the fans on board a chance to photograph the train from both directions.	Watering at Moss Vale.

A quick walk back through the train from my position in the front compartment of the first carriage enabled me to get this shot of the train climbing through the Southern Highlands, the 38s exhaust echoing off the surrounding hills, an experience never forgotten.

March 2011

We present some images from John Phillips.

This week we feature the New South Wales 32 class, 191 of these 4-6-0s were built from 1892, the class was spread over a number of builders, Beyer Peacock built 106, Baldwin 20, Clyde Engineering 45 and Everleigh Workshops built 20, they were one of N.S.W.G.R's most successful designs and some lasted till the end of steam in that state.

Back on the 27th of January 1968 the 32s were still used on several regular passenger trains and two of these were the Newcastle to Singleton and Sydney Central to Richmond trains.

3237 is seen working No.713 Maitland Pass., 7.38 a.m. from Newcastle, its regular "job" at that date at Newcastle Station, then at Maitland Station and then crossing 3531 just past Maitland.

3325 has just arrived at Richmond and is seen shunting the passenger cars out of the platform, the next shot is at the loco and the 32 is seen with a 30 class tank, the last shot is of 3325 on the table at Richmond .

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3237 at Maitland – 27 January 1968	3237 at Newcastle Station – 27 January 1968	3325 at Richmond – 27 January 1968
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3237 crossing 3531 on No.720 Singleton pass. at Beresfield, where both trains were due at 8.12 am.	3325 at Richmond – 27 January 1968.	3325 at Richmond – 27 January 1968
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