Hi @Terrier55Stepney! I was the volunteer at Zig Zag who showed you around the depot. My god, I've been seeing your videos on UA-cam for years and never put two-and-two together, what a small world!! You'll be pleased to know that the run from Clarence (the station by the main road) down to Bottom Points was opened to the public last month. Next time you are in Australia, it will be great pleasure to have you on board our train! The section of the line you were walking down was an extension back down to meet the main line near the colliery, following as far as possible the alignment from the 1890s. It was started some years ago, but never completed. A significant amount of earthworks is required to finish the last half mile. Needless to say, it's well and truly on the back-burner for now, while we've been focusing on rehabilitating the line in the other direction. Any other questions, please feel free to DM me. Will be great to hear from you, and I look forward to catching up again sometime!
Hi Mattie! Certainly is a small world. Thank you again for showing us around when we turned up so unexpectedly, we hadn't much hope that we'd even find the depot in the first place! Having someone who knew what they were talking about was so helpful. Really want to go back and see the line in full, it's fantastic news that you're running trains again. Best of luck for the season ahead. Thanks for explaining about the extension, that makes more sense now. With the sharp drop down to the road beyond where the track ends I'm not surprised there's a lot of work to go, but perhaps one day!
It's called the Blue Mountains because from a distance it looks blue because of all the eucalyptus oil steadily rising into the atmosphere. The four wheel coal tubs used to carry passengers who were weary walkers for the scenic railway went right to the bottom of the valley and they'd put some chaff bags in the coal tubs for people to sit on for the ride to the top. Later the "Mountain Devil" was built and in due course it was found that taking tourists into and out of the valley was more profitable than the haulage of coal so the mining was discontinued and tourists have reigned supreme ever since. All the trees in the valley were planted after the mining ceased for both sides of the valley were completely bare of any vegetation. I can remember the old Skyway where the operator would stop over the valley saying to the people if you're not enjoying the ride you can leave now. But don't worry about the long drop to the valley floor because you'll stop falling when you hit the bottom. Nobody left the ride.
A little explaining of Rail Gauges in Australia.... NSW is almost all 4'8½" standard, Victoria and South Australia (the bottom corner at least) is 5'3" Irish, Queensland, Tasmania, Western Australia and South Australia are 3'6" Cape, throw in the 2' Industrial for the Cane trains, and the 2'6" Iberian for Puffing Billy & Walhalla.... just to confuse the Zig-Zag was converted to Cape because NSWGR wouldn't sell rolling stock, but Tasmania and Queensland would. The Belarine Penninsula Railway is similarly endowed with ex-Tasmanian and Queensland stock.
The bit of the zig zag that goes through the massive cuting is an extension that they were rebuilding. But with all the problems they've had it was paused years ago.
You shoulda gone to the Puffing Billy Railway. They're sister/partner railways with the Talyllyn railway iirc :) It's a beautiful railway. I go up there at least once a month lol. You shoulda also check out Steamrail Victoria. They're based at Newport Workshops with a few other rail organisations such as DERMPAV and 707 Operations. Might even see me at Steamrail one day since I volunteer there.
Awesome stuff!! If you come down to Melbourne definitely jump on a Steamrail Victoria mainline tour, see our Railway musuem and for sure ride puffing Billy! All with an hour of each other !
@@harrisonallen651Fire is a way of life for us Aussies although the media likes to make out that each fire season is always hotter than the last one. After the big fire came the big rain and since then every summer the Bureau of Meteorology has said that the whole country is once again going to go up in flames and each summer since the fires it's rained. There have been fires but they've been isolated but still that won't stop the BoM forecasting doom and gloom. I remember the 1993-94 bush fires and the rural fire service told us to listen to the local radio for updates. One update on the radio was that our entire street had been evacuated due to the fires and me and everyone else in the street came out of our houses to see if we were the only ones left. We had a chat and then went back inside and turned the radio off for we're not going to listen to false reporting. The reporters are wonderful photographers for they love to enlarge everything to make it sound more dire than it actually is. In the big bush fire of 2019-2020 the radio media reported that the whole of Wentworth Falls was on fire because local kids had lit a camp fire that got away and the RFS put the fire out real quick. A bit of burnt grass but not the whole village on fire. But that was the theme for the media with their "The whole of Australia is on fire!" but the whole of Australia was NOT on fire. Large parts of it yes but not the whole lot.
Useless fact: a steam loco looking like the green engine at 14:03 No.1072 derailed in 1996 here is a video: ua-cam.com/video/AiRQh2YyOak/v-deo.html 14:37 and also this engine was dressed up as Thomas sometimes
Would you believe that 5711 was designed by an ex Great Western Railway man even though it looks like nothing from the GWR. At the time railway people went to the USA and Canada receiving a bad reception in Canada for they said they were sick of people getting car loads of information taking it home and then doing nothing with it. In the USA the received a much warmer reception riding on a Union Pacific 9000 class for 5711 like the UP 9000 class is a three cylinder engine. There were 25 built and later the 58 class were built adding an extra 13 locos. But the 58's were often used on the wrong type of train for they were more suited to fruit expresses rather than slow plodding coal trains that the 57's excelled at. No 58 class has been preserved. When the 57's first entered service they were so much more powerful than other goods engines and they used to pull the hook draw gear out of wagons. They were never allocated to Valley Heights loco depot as the turntable is too short at only 60' and the 57's required a 75' turntable such as they still have at Lithgow. The also worked down the main southern line to Junee but never worked the northern line to Newcastle. They were all withdrawn in the early 1960's and engines like 5461 which were older than the 57's and 58's outlived them.Withdrawals of the 57's and 58's started when the line over the Blue Mountains was electrified in the mid 1950's. The abandoned railway you walked on was to go to Newnes Junction which was the junction for another long abandoned standard gauge railway which ran down into the Wolgan Valley and used shay locos due to tight curves and 1 in 25 grades. It ran to the Commonwealth Oil Corporation which had a large refinery in the middle of all the bush land. They mined oil bearing shale which was refined on site and shipped out of the valley on the Wolgan Valley Railway. The railway stopped running in 1932. One of the major financiers of the venture was Sir George Newnes who had is own private large house at Lynton where he also financed the impractical Lynton and Barnstaple railway. Small world isn't it.
Hi @Terrier55Stepney! I was the volunteer at Zig Zag who showed you around the depot. My god, I've been seeing your videos on UA-cam for years and never put two-and-two together, what a small world!!
You'll be pleased to know that the run from Clarence (the station by the main road) down to Bottom Points was opened to the public last month. Next time you are in Australia, it will be great pleasure to have you on board our train!
The section of the line you were walking down was an extension back down to meet the main line near the colliery, following as far as possible the alignment from the 1890s. It was started some years ago, but never completed. A significant amount of earthworks is required to finish the last half mile. Needless to say, it's well and truly on the back-burner for now, while we've been focusing on rehabilitating the line in the other direction.
Any other questions, please feel free to DM me. Will be great to hear from you, and I look forward to catching up again sometime!
Hi Mattie! Certainly is a small world. Thank you again for showing us around when we turned up so unexpectedly, we hadn't much hope that we'd even find the depot in the first place! Having someone who knew what they were talking about was so helpful. Really want to go back and see the line in full, it's fantastic news that you're running trains again. Best of luck for the season ahead.
Thanks for explaining about the extension, that makes more sense now. With the sharp drop down to the road beyond where the track ends I'm not surprised there's a lot of work to go, but perhaps one day!
Month 2 of asking terrier55stephny to do a appeal for the doon valley railway
It's called the Blue Mountains because from a distance it looks blue because of all the eucalyptus oil steadily rising into the atmosphere.
The four wheel coal tubs used to carry passengers who were weary walkers for the scenic railway went right to the bottom of the valley and they'd put some chaff bags in the coal tubs for people to sit on for the ride to the top. Later the "Mountain Devil" was built and in due course it was found that taking tourists into and out of the valley was more profitable than the haulage of coal so the mining was discontinued and tourists have reigned supreme ever since. All the trees in the valley were planted after the mining ceased for both sides of the valley were completely bare of any vegetation. I can remember the old Skyway where the operator would stop over the valley saying to the people if you're not enjoying the ride you can leave now. But don't worry about the long drop to the valley floor because you'll stop falling when you hit the bottom. Nobody left the ride.
A little explaining of Rail Gauges in Australia.... NSW is almost all 4'8½" standard, Victoria and South Australia (the bottom corner at least) is 5'3" Irish, Queensland, Tasmania, Western Australia and South Australia are 3'6" Cape, throw in the 2' Industrial for the Cane trains, and the 2'6" Iberian for Puffing Billy & Walhalla.... just to confuse the Zig-Zag was converted to Cape because NSWGR wouldn't sell rolling stock, but Tasmania and Queensland would. The Belarine Penninsula Railway is similarly endowed with ex-Tasmanian and Queensland stock.
3:00 those remind me of those old mineshaft transports from the turn of the century
Zig Zag railway has opened now may 23rd I think and track is 3' 6"
Really? Same here on my country.
The name of this video sounds just like bluebell
This electric loco at 9:02 one of its class 4620 had a derailment
Max, have you heard that Boxhill has been moved to the main hall? Does that mean you can finally make a guide rail on the loco?
Great video as always, Max.
The bit of the zig zag that goes through the massive cuting is an extension that they were rebuilding. But with all the problems they've had it was paused years ago.
Awesome vlog, if you do one day visit America, let me tell you, there are tons of tourist railways here in the USA.
You shoulda gone to the Puffing Billy Railway. They're sister/partner railways with the Talyllyn railway iirc :)
It's a beautiful railway. I go up there at least once a month lol.
You shoulda also check out Steamrail Victoria. They're based at Newport Workshops with a few other rail organisations such as DERMPAV and 707 Operations.
Might even see me at Steamrail one day since I volunteer there.
Awesome stuff!! If you come down to Melbourne definitely jump on a Steamrail Victoria mainline tour, see our Railway musuem and for sure ride puffing Billy! All with an hour of each other !
If there’s one thing Australia is known for, is its annual bushfires. The country was literally on fire pre pandemic.
I’m an Australian and this is accurate
@@Poplar70bodiam so am I mate
@@harrisonallen651Fire is a way of life for us Aussies although the media likes to make out that each fire season is always hotter than the last one. After the big fire came the big rain and since then every summer the Bureau of Meteorology has said that the whole country is once again going to go up in flames and each summer since the fires it's rained. There have been fires but they've been isolated but still that won't stop the BoM forecasting doom and gloom.
I remember the 1993-94 bush fires and the rural fire service told us to listen to the local radio for updates. One update on the radio was that our entire street had been evacuated due to the fires and me and everyone else in the street came out of our houses to see if we were the only ones left. We had a chat and then went back inside and turned the radio off for we're not going to listen to false reporting. The reporters are wonderful photographers for they love to enlarge everything to make it sound more dire than it actually is. In the big bush fire of 2019-2020 the radio media reported that the whole of Wentworth Falls was on fire because local kids had lit a camp fire that got away and the RFS put the fire out real quick. A bit of burnt grass but not the whole village on fire. But that was the theme for the media with their "The whole of Australia is on fire!" but the whole of Australia was NOT on fire. Large parts of it yes but not the whole lot.
17:00 I wonder if that was a runaround area and the grade at the end was a switch head
Hope you enjoy your stay in Australia
Hi
Australian railways are just if American and British railways had a baby
Did you go to WA?
A love it 😊😊
I belive a steam train derailed in the 80s and the time frame was @12:09
Useless fact: a steam loco looking like the green engine at 14:03 No.1072 derailed in 1996 here is a video:
ua-cam.com/video/AiRQh2YyOak/v-deo.html
14:37 and also this engine was dressed up as Thomas sometimes
Would you believe that 5711 was designed by an ex Great Western Railway man even though it looks like nothing from the GWR. At the time railway people went to the USA and Canada receiving a bad reception in Canada for they said they were sick of people getting car loads of information taking it home and then doing nothing with it. In the USA the received a much warmer reception riding on a Union Pacific 9000 class for 5711 like the UP 9000 class is a three cylinder engine. There were 25 built and later the 58 class were built adding an extra 13 locos. But the 58's were often used on the wrong type of train for they were more suited to fruit expresses rather than slow plodding coal trains that the 57's excelled at. No 58 class has been preserved. When the 57's first entered service they were so much more powerful than other goods engines and they used to pull the hook draw gear out of wagons. They were never allocated to Valley Heights loco depot as the turntable is too short at only 60' and the 57's required a 75' turntable such as they still have at Lithgow. The also worked down the main southern line to Junee but never worked the northern line to Newcastle.
They were all withdrawn in the early 1960's and engines like 5461 which were older than the 57's and 58's outlived them.Withdrawals of the 57's and 58's started when the line over the Blue Mountains was electrified in the mid 1950's.
The abandoned railway you walked on was to go to Newnes Junction which was the junction for another long abandoned standard gauge railway which ran down into the Wolgan Valley and used shay locos due to tight curves and 1 in 25 grades. It ran to the Commonwealth Oil Corporation which had a large refinery in the middle of all the bush land. They mined oil bearing shale which was refined on site and shipped out of the valley on the Wolgan Valley Railway. The railway stopped running in 1932. One of the major financiers of the venture was Sir George Newnes who had is own private large house at Lynton where he also financed the impractical Lynton and Barnstaple railway. Small world isn't it.
Hey Max, have you ever heard of a UA-camr called leokimvideo?
*Hmmmmmmmm*
#trains