A history making journey Part II

Well, this gap has been a bit longer than anticipated, work, and a fair bit of travel sort of got in the way!

Anyway, picking things back up in Cootamundra….

Friday morning was a fairly leisurely start, with time for a sit down breakfast in the railway station refreshment rooms which has a great cafe - well worth a visit if you're passing through.

Discussions over breakfast turned to transport arrangements later in the day, the six Victorians travelling on the train were all intending to Melbourne later that afternoon, which required a few things to fall into place. Stuart, our expat Victorian mate was also in need of a lift into Albury as we were staying the night, but that was somewhat less of an issue.

Scenario one required the XPT to get to Albury well after the special arrived at Ettamogah  where it was being stabled. Permission was also  required for them to get off the train there so I could drive them into town, and, there had to be seat availability.

The fallback plan was to get a special letdown stop to disembark at Gerogery, and I shuttle them into Albury - a lot longer road trip, for me,  with a higher window of risk of missing connections.

With all things heritage, there was absolutely no guarantees it would be anywhere near on time, the only thing for certain was I had my seat locked in no matter how it played out!

I left that with the troops to sort out during the course of the day, and started thinking about what I was going to shoot.

Back across at the train, the volunteers were hard at work replacing one of the turbo generators on R 766, a steam driven generator used to supply lighting on the loco.

The train was marshalled with 42101 leading former South Australian Railways 852, with now north facing R 766 bringing up the rear of the train.

Any steam loco travelling tender first in NSW is restricted to 60kmh, regardless of where it's positioned on the train, so it was going to be an easy, if at times tedious chase.

I decided to only head a short distance out of town and get the roundhouse in the background of the train. It ended up being fairly uninspiring, but ticked the 'record shot' box, not worthy of sharing.

There was a north bound empty grain on the way from Wagga, so the special didn't get far before being put in the loop at Harefield to allow it to pass. I was able to get a shot of both trains passing with locos featuring the distinctive GM bulldog nose, one in preservation, the other, CLF 2 still working full time 50 plus years after it was built.

Crawling up the loop at Harefield for the first of several crosses of the day.

CLF2 and friends notch up to get a run past the special at Harefield.

Next spot was a nice curve with the silos of Shepherds as a backdrop, before the 'inland port' of Bomen.

In the passing lane at Bomen.

The train was held here again for the Port Kembla to Melbourne steel train to get a run, giving me plenty of time to get down to the long Murrumbidgee floodplain bridge for both the steely and then the special.

The heavy coiled steel train from Port Kembla to north Dynon rumbles across the Murrumbidgee flood plain bridge.

Followed shortly after by 42101 and 852 at the head of the patchwork assortment of cars.

Kapooka on the south side of Wagga  was reached with plenty of time to spare, the old highway gives access to a decent spot at the top of the climb out of the town. It's a spot I'd been to a couple of times before, we spent a pleasant morning there a few years ago cooking a BBQ breakfast while 3801 ran past us on shuttles!

Cresting the steepest part of the climb out of Wagga Wagga at Kapooka. All three locos were working hard!

Pressing on toward Uranquinty, I was keen to get a shot of the R with The Rock (no not Dwayne, the prominent geographic feature) rising up from the undulating country to the south.

I had a couple of attempts, and kept going, but not far, as the train slowed for another cross, the third in 50km. This time it was the north bound steel train to Port Kembla, and, following it, the Sydney bound XPT.

I shot the steel at the up end of the loop passing the two diesels, then decided to get the XPT passing the R at the back of the train.

I couldn't get a decent angle particularly easily, so decided against my better judgement to wade through chest deep grass beside a small creek to get a better view, and hoping I didn't disturb anything wriggly with sharp teeth!

The steel train was really on the move as it roared past the special sitting in the passing lane.

The long serving XPT also came through at a good pace.

Once both trains passed, the train had a short run as far as The Rock, a mere 15 km further south.

I finally got a shot of the R with The Rock in the background south of Uranquinty.

Here, the train pulled into the platform which allowed the R to take water, and the handful of passengers to hop off the train.

I decided to grab some lunch and water at this point, and catch up with the rest of the group. Like most towns in the area, the Main Street is wide with interesting old buildings to admire.

The old shed dates back to the era when grain was conveyed in bags, both it, and the bulk silo behind no longer serving the use they were built for.

The Rock, and more relics from the past as the train drew clear of the platform into the down loop.

The train shunted out into the down loop, to allow the next train through which was the Melbourne bound XPT.

There was no way at this rate my six co conspirators were going to get back to Albury in time for the V Line service, and, had confirmed there was no possibility of a set down at Gerogery - the platform was long demolished.

So they decided to take their chances, and try and purchase a ticket on board the XPT which, according to the on line booking system was full.

We had a bit of a joke while they were on the platform about the likelihood of them getting on the train, and, a bit like a pantomime, the train came in with them on the platform, and, like magic, when it left after what I thought was a bit too long of a pause, left, and they were gone. Apart from Stuart, our expat who was heading back north the next day from Albury.

The southbound XPT accelerates away from The Rock, fortunately with my friends onboard!

So, once again, I ended up with unplanned, but certainly not unwelcome company!

The final 83 km was stop free, for the train at least, while we, and many more people then the day before played leap frog trying to get phots of the train. Close line side growth limited things, apart from at crossings, so we decided to mix it up a bit by heading down some dirt roads and tracks to see if there was some different cross paddock shots to be had. Not a lot of luck, but worth a try.

Gerogery was decent, with the former Station Masters house setting the scene, and then closer to Table Top, driving past the crossing to get a wider view across the paddock was a bit nicer than jostling elbows for a tight 3/4 shot.

The elegant former station masters house at Gerogery has had many trains past it, but never previously an R class.

The 42101 showing off its classic shape as it leads the way through Gerogery.

Out amongst the sheep and cattle at Table Top.

From there, we were almost out of spots - I sighted a farmhouse that would have made a nice backdrop, but by the time we were able to double back on the freeway, were too late.

That was it for the day, aside from scoping a shot for the next morning, then heading into Albury to check in to our accommodation and out for a couple of beers and dinner.

Saturday morning it was downstairs for breakfast, before venturing out into the drizzly morning to catch a shot of the R on the train, ready to depart north for the first time.

What's left of the Albury railway precinct will soon be undergoing another change, with the existing foot bridges removed and replaced with higher ones to allow double stacked trains.

The signal box that once controlled all train movements to the north is in a sad state, a shame as the station building itself is extremely well presented.

Framed in the wire of the not long for this world Albury station footbridge.

We then headed back out past Table Top to where the railway crosses Bownna Creek, almost halfway back to Gerogery.

We had plenty of time to sort ourselves out before the whistle, and then sound of the exhaust could be heard as the R dragged the train up the steady climb.

Crossing Bownna creek on the first shuttle of the day, and first time an R had departed Albury heading north.

A couple of shots, and listening to the train fade off into the distance, then it was back into the car to drop Stuart in Albury, and continue home to Melbourne, I had a birthday party to go to!

It had been a great couple of days chasing the train over its 420km journey, and catching up with friends new and old.

After now having done a similar trek to photograph the 59 (See The Picnic Train heads south) I think next time there's an opportunity to travel on a longer positioning trip like this one, I'll enjoy the experience from the train.

Thanks for reading and following A Railway Life!