Coal and Intermodal trains at Maitland, Hunter Valley.
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- Опубліковано 6 жов 2024
- Maitland is a regional City in the Hunter Valley, New South Wales. The Hunter is home to many Wineries and is also close to large coal deposits, which sees many trains passing through on their way to Newcastle Port. Maitland also sees plenty of passenger traffic as locals catch trains to Newcastle and Sydney.
I was born in Maitland and the pool in the background of your establishing shots is where I trained and became a state championship swimmer!! I went to Maitland Primary which is about 200m from this station and I think I still hold the record, since it was founded in 1874 as holding the championship for swimming in grades 3,4,5 &6 in a row!! I often remember counting the coal trains with my mates as they were so ridiculously long!! Funny thing is my Dad was working in the mines in Singleton where they were coming from. He was a well known explosives Engineer in the open cuts then became an open cut pit boss. I remember hearing the detonators going off when there was track works happening to warn the men to get off the tracks!! I remember having rail people do safety briefing's at our school to warn us not to touch the detonators on the tracks and not to go onto the tracks at all. The showed us some pretty gruesome photo's of hands blown off by the detonators.
Great video mate , would make a great addition to the Birdwood sub having a Coalie running around the Layout , I always enjoy your videos I hope you post alot more cheers Greg
Thank you Greg! There's no coal on the Sub, but there are unit Ethanol and grain trains which will be coming up in videos soon. Glad you like the videos and I appreciate the support.
Cheers Gregg.
Awesome video, and awesome commentary too!😉
Thank you ! I appreciate the positive feedback.
Cheers Gregg
Awesome stuff, Gregg. Really love seeing those coal trains, and of course your Aussie locos! If I ever get to go railfanning down there, my first stop will be to NSW for sure. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Trav! NSW and Victoria are the go, and you can always pop into Mt Lofty if you get to South Australia. Come on down and I'll give you a tour.
Cheers Gregg.
THANK YOU...for sharing.
You're welcome Sir.
Gregg.
Great video.looks like a fun place to train watch .. thanks for sharing
Thanks Jim! It is very busy and always something going on.
Gregg .
Nice vid Gregg! That's a busy place and they move through there at a pretty good clip.
Thank you Fuzz! It's one of the busiest rail lines in the country and never short of action...pretty the trains suck...LOL
Gregg :-)
Hi Gregg! A good mix of trains mate! Good to see the 90's still going and I'm guessing the 82's as well. Very noticeable super elevation on the curves, probably more than what we put on our layouts. Mr. Holland did a nice job removing all the grime of the rails! Haha I'm sure Lord Stan was at one if not ALL of the wineries while you were shooting video.
Thanks for sharing!
Cheers!
Stew.
Hi Stew! I like Maitland , but the new loco's are soooo' boring and quiet, the should paint rainbows on them ..LOL .....Too soon?? The 82's have been moved on to pusher services at Ardglen and on interstate trains like to Adelaide...I have seen a few on trains at Lofty! They go quick through here so the curves are on a nice cant and you notice it with the tall hoppers.
I'm not a fan of Hunter wines, and Stan prefers the cooler clime's in SA. More of Maitland on the way and thanks for taking a look.
Cheers Gregg.
Excellent video Gregg. Tell Lord Stan we here in Canada say hello.
Thank you Sir, and I'll pass on your regards to Lord Stan!
Cheers Gregg.
Yes these coal wagons are bigger than those in the states , The Hunter Valley , ( of which I spent most of my life ) , I have seen coal trains from old wooden wagons , ( which had s capacity of 15 tons ) to the modern Stainless Steel wagons ( known as , "Batwings", which have a capacity of 120 tones ) , plus the transition from steam engines to Diesel Electrics !
Hi Danny , you've seen a big change for sure! I like Maitland and have visited several times including Steamfest a few years ago. The new footbridge is not a pinch on the old one, as it had much better views for rail fans!
Thanks for watching.
Gregg.
Nice one Gregg 👍🏻🇬🇧
Thank you ! Glad you enjoyed it.
Cheers Gregg.
Super interesting fil-um Gregg. Railroading is alive and well north of 'Mexico" it seems!
Thank you Sir! Tis' a busy place , but go much further north and things slow done a bit..LO
Cheers Gregg.
First view and comment. Keep up the great videos
Verified first! Thank you for watching.
Cheers Gregg.
Hi Gregg,once again great footage of the area , got some good idears on how to weather the track on my dyrama
Thanks Shaun! Weathering track is a science in itself..LOL Something I have to tackle as well.
Cheers Gregg.
Hi Gregg , just finished doing Ballasting , I used Matts Ballast Allandale HO fine .
I got this from the exhibition at Rose Hill in Sydney, I can say is its *%$#@^_) hard I nearly lost my sense of humour, I can recommend Bennett H RR: on How to ballast track .
Its the only sight that shows you technique his work is very and near to perfection and set me straight on how to put it down properly with out making to much mess, put it this way get used to using a plastic tea spoon.
This site will be invaluable once the time comes.
Happy modelling
Shaun
Thanks Shaun, I'll check out the channel. I actually like ballasting, but only done a little a long while ago..LOL
Gregg .
THANK YOU FOR DETAIL VIDEO SHOWING LONG COAL TRAINS AS GOT QLD RAILWAY IN NSW RIGHT HOW
You're welcome Robert! QR national no longer exist and Aurizon only do coal now, so a few changes since this video.
Cheers Gregg.
Hi Gregg, that was interesting, a terrific video. What was the track maintenance vehicle doing in the first shot?
That was a great spot to watch trains.
Thank you, take care, regards Gary 👍🏻😊
Thanks Gary! The first track machine is a tamper and the next one lifts and aligns the track , then there is a ballast regulator. Maitland is always busy and a nice town as well.
Cheers Gregg.
FishplateFilms thanks for your reply Gregg, regards Gary 😊
Cool vid
Thanks Glynn! I quite like Maitland and I have more to come from here.
Cheers Gregg.
Very interesting information Gregg! That whine of the freshly ground rails sounds like fingernails on a chalkboard to me. Kind of drowns out the loco sounds. I guess it's necessary from time to time though. Nice coverage!Winter is winding down for you about now I guess. Are you feeling spring in the air yet? We have been burning up here in Florida recently. No hurricanes yet this year though. Cheers, Dan
Thanks Danny! The noise of the ground track is pleasant for me...isn't it funny how we hear things differently? Grinding is very important to get the best wear out of wheels and rails and the "wheel-rail" interface is a "black art"which I find interesting. Still cool here and cold on track at night getting down to almost freezing....lots fo fun trying to service switch machines! I see you are having a rough time up there,,keep safe.
Cheers Gregg.
Is this controlled by the tower or a central point somewhere.
Hi Art. the tower is long gone, all of this is controlled by CTC at Broad Meadows if I remember correctly. But just past the station is a little junction called Gretta, and it still has a small cabin and token system for the branch line out to a mine.
Cheers Gregg.
Those coal cars have tall side,they seam to be bigger than are coal cars here in the States.looks like you a fun rail fanning.
The tall side are to help with coal dust escaping. They are about 130 tonnes gross.
Thanks for watching.
Gregg.
Nice
Thank you!
Gregg :-)
Geez, someone got heavy handed with the airbrush on a few of those loco's!
yes John, those loco's go through a long tunnel and get covered in soot.
Gregg.
Actually how long are these coal trains, I heard that those working out of the Ulan power station have a total weight of 13.000 tons is this correct.
They are about 90 cars Terry , give or take as it's a while since I've been down there? So at 130 tonnes a car, you would be getting close on the longer trains.
Gregg .
Ok, first..! Way cool video! Few questions here. The signal mast to the left of where you were standing had three heads. The middle head had six lights. Red was in the middle top. What do the other lights indicate on that head? Second.. The two MOW trains that stoped. Was the second set just equipment coupled together or was that one long piece of equipment? And third.. Is that a-derail at the far end of the station? Again.. way cool video. Keep it up!
Hi,
The lights you see on the middle head are for diverging. The 5 lamps will light up like / to indicate travelling right, and will light up \ for travelling left. The top light indicates whether or not you are travelling straight on.
This particular signal indicates 3 directions, left, straight on and right. Many signals will only show 2 directions, either:
Left and Straight on
or Right and Straight on
Hope this helps.
Matt
Interesting coal hoppers. I am surprised the Railroads don’t use DPU’s on the heavy trains. So where does the coal go? To Australia power plants or to ships? It’s amazing that over 100 trains use this junction. Love the yellow locomotives paint schemes. Very nice video, how’s the layout doing? Cheers from hot Nebraska. Terry
Thank you Terry! The coal cars are close at the top to help prevent coal dust , which is a big issue since the trains go through residential areas. The line is pretty flat so no DPU's needed and trains are only about 100 cars. Most of the coal is for export and this is dropping as the world moves away from coal for power generation. To me , the loco's are boring compared to US designs, can't beat a Dash 9 or SD40 -2 in my opinion..LOL. I'm working on the layout today actually, more videos on the way sir.
Cheers Gregg.
All the coal goes to the Port of Newcastle for export, mainly to China. There are 3 coal loaders, with a 4th one being built, approximately 130,000,000 tonnes (1,000 kg = 1 tonne) are exported per year through the port. The power stations are near the mines themselves and coal for the power stations is transported to the power stations by conveyor belt systems. The coal used for power generation is in addition to the coal exported.
newcastlensw I guess America coal is expensive versus Australia coal.
FishplateFilms I agree about the locomotives. How’s the coloring of the landscaping going? I hope to have most of my benchwork finished before the first snow falls. Uggh
Thank you for the info! Is Pelton still running trains?
Gregg :-)
Did you stop at Cafe Loco for coffee?
If you mean the one at the station, yes I did a few times! And I replaced the front tail shaft of the Disco' in the station carpark...was nice new bitumen and clean!
Gregg.
Hi gregg
Great video, but you should have a word with the narrator. CFCLA has nothing to do with California!
Keep up the good work.
Thank you ! Can't believe I said that.....I mean Chicago!!! LOL. I blame Lord Stan..
Cheers Gregg.
Glencore and QR National and Aurizon and QR national Coal 1:17
QR National Freight Bound for Acacia Ridge 2:16
With 6006 And Aurizon 6023 6:04
With SCT Cars 6:48
Gregg, not too much straight track through Maitland, all S-curves by the looks.
No Coxy, not through the station! The two coal main lines came long after the station , and had to go around!
Cheers Gregg.
How close are you to the port? I would like to see how they unload the coal trains?
The port is at Newcastle, about 60km / 30 miles from Maitland. No public access is allowed and the unloading facility can't be seen . Maitland is about 800km from my home in Brisbane.
Thanks for watching.
Gregg:-)
That was Cool Gregg, I really enjoy watching it. Those coal unit look like snakes. Is any of that part of your Railroad you work at? Bob, Longshadowsmodeltrees.com
Thanks Bob! They do look cool going through the station. This is about 750 km /450 miles from home and not the toy narrow gauge stuff I work on ..LOL.
All the best buddy.
Gregg :-)
Oh...I forget you work on a N scale Railroad......hehehe.
LMAO....now thats funny right there!! Feels more like Lego some times!!
Really well done Gregg, thanks always nice to railroading in a non Trump world. LOL
Thank you Joe! Glad you liked it and lets hope the Don hasn't killed off Amtrak by my next visit?? All the best.
Gregg .