3801 restoration

Many railfans are know that famous steam loco 3801 is being restored. The loco might be back in steam in 2011. Here is useful link where restoration progress can be viewed: www.3801.com.au

Happy railfanning!

NSWRTM Newcastle Tour

Hi All-

The NSWRTM is operating a tour to Newcastle using 3642. It looks like fantastic trip! For more info go to http://www.heritageexpress.com.au/

LVR Steam to Gosford & the Blue Mountains!!

The Lachlan Valley Railway (LVR) has just announced to the general public that they will be operating a number of exciting steam train tours to Gosford on the Central Coast and one to Valley Heights in the Blue Mountains. I currently do not know what steam loco will be hauling these tours, but it will probably be either P class 3237 or Baldwin 5917. I will update you on the loco as soon as I find out which one will be hauling the tour. LVR has also announced that they will be operating there long awaited 3 week steam train trip from Sydney to Grafton with 5917 in late May.

It has been a long time since LVR has run mainline steam tours around Sydney and it will be fantastic to see LVRs steamers, 5917 & 3237, running on mainline tracks.

Good luck LVR!

Thirlmere festival of steam 2010

I am extremely excited (and I am sure many other steam buffs are to) because the Thirlmere Festival of Steam (TFOS) is coming up on March 7. The thirlmere spectacular is on the day before the TFOS. The march 6 event will be having many loco combinations including an afternoon triple header to buxton with 2705, 3016 and 3526 and a run to picton with 2705 & 3642! 3642 will be hauling the thirlmere flyre to the festival from Sydney and 3526 will be taking the train on the way back!

R766

R766 is an ex VGR R class steam locomotive. Here's the story of R766. The locomotive is saved by Steamrail Victoria and runs many tours across Victoria. Then in the late 1990s the loco is bought by West Coast Rail (a commercial rail company) and is converted to oil burning, to run as a part of WCRs steam fleet, with class mate R711. By 2004 WCRs steam program fails and both locos go back to steamrail victoria. R711 is returned to service to run tours for Steamrail, but R766 is bought by the NSW based Hunter Valley Railway Trust. So 766 is converted to standard gauge and in 2008 gets moved to the HVRT in NSW to run tours on NSW tracks!

But nearly nothing has been heard of R766 since 2008 and there is no information on when it will return to the rails.

Does anyone have any info on 766?

Please leave a comment.

A Steam Train Passes- DVD Review.

A Steam Train Passes, is a short film made in 1974. Here's a review by me-

The film starts off with a newsreel clip from 1943. It is of 3801 being built. It is titled "Monarch of the Rails" and what a name, for a clip about a C38! We see 3801, completely grey, blasting out of Sydney on one of it's first trips! The newsreel clip finishes with 3801 pouring into the night, with two raucous, but beautiful, blows of it's whistle.

The film goes from 1943 to 1974 and it is now at the now demolished Enfield Roundhouse. A cat strolls past loco 1709 and all is silent, until the fireman of famous loco 3801 comes to light up its fire. This is done and the big green giant stirs and starts to hiss. Soon the loco is awake and the fireman feeds the furnace coal. The driver checks the engine and give a signal to the fireman that all is well. The driver then climbs aboard 3801, releases the brakes and opens the regulator. 3801 begins to move out of the roundhouse and on to the turntable. '01 is turned and drifts onto the mainline, steaming past rusted steam locomotives to collect it's train.

Now 3801 is speeding out of Sydney, with a chorus of whistles. It steam through the outer Sydney suburbs and its black smoke can be seen over the houses. The gleaming iron horse steams across the Hawksbury River Bridge and in this special scene, the camera is on the front of 3801 (looking up to the nosecone) and the engine is going so fast that the camera is slightly shaking!

3801 is soon in the country side, steaming past fields. A man is waiting at a country station, waiting for 3801, but when the 38 comes, it does not stop. It blocks the view of the man and when it passes, the man is mysteriously gone! 3801 comes to a water tower and takes on water. As this is happening the driver cooks breakfast (Bacon & eggs) on the worlds hottest stove- the furnace of a steam train. The next stop for 3801 is a station next to a pub. Some world war 2 solders are having drinks in the pub, but when the steam train comes they run off to try and catch it. But they are to late, 3801's whistle blows and it steams off. It passes a church, that is being used for a wedding.

It is getting dark and a signalman (in polona signal box) is about to have his tea. He hears the sound of 3801 and goes out to give the signal that all is clear for it to go on. 3801 screams past him into the night. It is now completely dark and people are waiting in a waiting room on another country station. They hear the whistle of 3801 and walk out onto the station. The people board the train and 3801 steams off. As it chugs into the darkness, we see the man that was waiting on the station earlier, that disappeared and the WW2 solders that missed the train, both on the train! How did they get on!?

This film is very famous. I highly recommend it to anybody (even non train enthusiasts)!