A Tale Of Two Networks (1)

Long Distance Luxury???

But first, some geography! The States or territories of Australia have a significant amount of self governance, somewhat like the "nations" of the UK. The slight anomaly is ACT ...

... totally surrounded by New South Wales.

Most of the population of Queensland lives on or near the coast.

Brisbane, the state capital, is big and fght at the sou.thern border ..

... whereas the northernmost big city is Cairns ...

... at the eastern base of the triangular sticky-up bit. Distances are huge. From Brisbane to Cairns is 1250 miles. That is TWICE the straight line distance between Lands End and John'o'Groats.

You could almost fit FOUR mainland Britain's into Queensland - Hmmm - perhaps nearer three and a half,

Off the coast of Queensland you will find the Great Barrier Reef ...

... in desperate need of greater protection from the warming sea and dying coral.

The two Q R "networks" are, therefore, the "local' rail system centred on Brisbane and the longer distance passenger trains elsewhere.

Here we see the busiest section of the interurban routes  ...

... between Brizzy and Rockhampton, where sat the gorgeous chocolate coloured Beyer-Garratt in yesterday's  blog.

Note the blue line on the nap.

From the capital, the brown line to the west ...

... carries the appropriately named 'Westlander' train ...

... which runs for a modest 460 miles. It takes 17 hours!

From Rockhampton we might take 'The Spirit of the Outback' ...

... an 823 mile jaunt bit that includesb through running from Brisbane. This short jaunt will take you just 26 hours.

From Townsville we have the Inlander ...

.... chugging along for 607 miles ...

.... but taking 21 hours to do the trip. This is how one YouTubet describes the experience.

Hmmm??

Don't  expect Poirot style luxury on any of these.

But the daddy if them all is 'The Spirit of Queensland' at 1045 mikes and a high speed  (?) 25 hours ...

... which we will experience in more detail tomorrow.

But, dear reader, do not go away with the idea that these are anything like the UKs intercity routes, e.g. every 20 min to Manchester, even 30 to York etc.

Here is the Tilt Train schedule north from Brizzy.

P

And the Westlander from the capital.

Then the Spirit of the Outback from Brisbane via Rockhampton.

The Inlander from Townsville.

As far as fbb can discern, the most you get in the way if passenger comforts is a Buflet car and, possibly, reclining seats in First Class.

You have to be a brave and determined rail passenger to cope with a full length trip. And possibly take a well -stocked picnic hamper?

CORRECTION : fbb has just fund a picture of the dining car on 'Thei Spirit of the Outback'. The car is called "The Tuckerbox" but the meal looks a little better than outlined in Waltzing Matilda.

The "Outback" tra7in also has sleeping cars.

Best check before you go!

Is it any better on 'The Spirit of Queensland'?

  Next 'Two Networks' blog : Tues 3rd March 

Sunday Variety

Go-Op Gone? Not Yet!!

NOT Co-Op but Go-Op

Remember the name?

The company was hot news a while back as it had won access rights to run trains between Weston-super-Mud ...

... Taunton and Swindon.

The plan is that Go-Op would be a Co-Op with "members" providing the cash and reaping the profits in the form of a huge "divi".

But it looks as if the profitable potential of the proposal has not propelled people into proffering sufficient pennies!

Here is what the company web site has to say.

Go-Op is not saying how much the company still needs.

Wikipedia reports a long list of proposals which might contribute to the unease of potential investors.

It would be sad to see this scheme die because it represents true innovation; the service would be the first bit of 'open access" that did not form a variant on existing inter-city operation.

But that is exactly why people do not want to risk their cash. But if you do have the odd million to spare, Go-Op would just love to hear from you.

Who Are Q R?

And does it make these?

Actually no. The letters stand for ...

... which, surprisingly, operates trains in Queensland, Australia. It once operated that gorgeous Beyer-Garratt steam loco illustrated  at the head of this article.

The steam loco is pictured at ...

... Rockhampton station, which now looks like this ...

... but once looked like this. 

Here is a full map of the current QR long distance network.

Brisbane is bottom right. Also of interest is the label "Tilt Train" which represents a service of, surprise, surprise, tilting trains.

They can go as fast as 100mph!

Wowsers!

In 1906 ...

... trains were somewhat slower.

A chum of Mrs fbb emigrated, with hubby, from the Isle of Wight to Cairns, at the northern extremity of the QR network.

The map provokes a further investigation into Q R - so a few more thoughts in tomorrow's  blog.

A1A A1A Eh?

Some of the model railway developments which fbb experienced in his youth were, for their time, exciting. In 1965, the Triang catalogue had this front cover painting.

It featured the first Triang "Rocket", later reintroduced and retooled in Hornby days. But up on the viaduct was Triang's first UK diesel.

The full sized version, later designated Class 31, was used for passenger and goods trains and appeared in a standard BR green, but with white stripes.

Locos we're built between 1957 and 1962.

The stripes did not stay white for very long.

One loco (here in model form) appeared in an experimental ochre livery ...

... an experiment not pursued. Equally experimental was a blue shade with stripes (also a model) ...

... which predated all over rail blue. It was, however, a brighter shade of blue.

Triang's model ...

... was considered the bees knees in 1965! fbb has such a model, given to him by Buffers model shop because "it wasn't working". But he bought new brushes for the motor and undertook a good clean of the commutator and it now runs well.

But its wheels are to Triang's old coarse scale and it doesn't run well on modern track. One day fbb will replace the wheels. (Really?)

Modern day modellers have a more detailed version from Accurascale ...

... at a much more detailed price.

From a distance you could not see the difference, but close up you can see why a simple-looking box shaped model is now expensive.

It's All On-Line No 257

Apparently, according to Wales On-line ...

The sign means "Pass Either Side" with the caveat that whichever side you "pass", you get to the same place. 

As is usual, the author of the article could not be brothered to do his/her research properly. The sign is WRONG. In the UK the arrows are not that shape.

They look like this:

Pedantic old codgers unite!!

Furthermore, (Grumpy, grumpy!), some local authorities install it incorrectly, meaning "traffic splits and goes in two different directions". WRONG!!

Here is the sign misused.

The right hand arrow points to a lane which will carry right hand turn traffic controlled by a traffic light phase. 

The left arrow is for straight ahead and left turning traffic.

There could be a very nasty accident if you ploughed straight on after following the right hand arrow. 

In such cases the correct display is a white blank.

  Next QR blog : Monday 2nd March 

Saturday Variety

Helping Hornby’s  Horrors

Model Railway lovers were aghast at those losses. But in the corporate world dealings often involve sums of money that will scare the average bloke or bloke-ess beyond measure.

But if, domestically, you are a bit short of the readies, you can always sell something!

So Hornby have sold something.

£20 million should help a bit!

Easy peasy.

The snag comes when you have nothing left to sell and those who are bankrolling your struggling business want their money back!

There may be a few directorial fingers crossed in the Hornby boardroom! 

Hornby bought Scalextric in 1968; although Hornby then and Hornby now are very different beasts, corporately speaking.

Here, for the old people, are the Scalextric racing cars of 1957.

And today, things have changed somewhat.

Elderly Man Remembers

But not quite everything below!

Sheffield's last tram can on 8th October 1960 and fbb arrived in the city to pursue his studies just three years later. By then there was little to seen of the trams. A short section of reserved trackbed still lay unadopted on Abbeydale Road between Millhouses and Beauchief but, generally, the city was very quick to expunge tracked urban transport from history.

Here is the Harley Hotel at the bottom of Hounsfield Road.

It is still there today, but now trendy and called "The Harley",

In the old picture above you can just see the overhead which powered the trams up the hill to the University. Here you see it better.

,

Well actually you don't, because in the above shot track is still in situ but overhead has been 'recovered'. We will meet the premises on the right again in a jiffy.

Today's view is unrecognisable.

At the top of Hounsfield Road was a junction. Trams to Walkley went straight across Western Bank as below ...

... whilst trams for Crookes turned left. Because the pointwork in the overhead (called a 'frog' in tram-speak) was actuated for a left turn by the tram driver's notching up the power, trams would never be able to fork right to go to Walkley.

They needed all the power to climb the hill.

That's  why that man on the left has a little hut.  The frog had to be worked manually!

Here is the junction today, now with no exit to Western Bank.

Back to the old. 

fbb attended lectures in those terraced houses. By the time the picture below was taken, trams to Walkley had been withdrawn (see bollards far right) ...

... as the University had annexed Winter Street for its expansion. Here is a similar shot today. 

Following the former tracks to Walkley (right) ...

... we see what blocked the route for ever! fbb was part of the first cadre of students to "study" in that tower, now largely bereft of Uni teaching departments and replete with burgeoning admin offices.

If we cross the road and turn through 180 degrees we look back to the top of Hounsfieild Road.

Over there is the University bookshop, visited just once by fbb in his keen first year; and a greasy spoon caff (possibly known as Violet May's), cheaper than the Uni eateries and coffee emporia, thus very popular with the lucky few who could bag a seat.

Oddly, although there is now a wide walkway under the road, a crossing has re-appeared in recent years ...

... because those confounded students often crossed the busy Western Bank 'at grade', eschewing the diversion via ramps and colonised underpass, for the quick but death defying dash across four lanes of speeding traffic!

The bookshop and caff are long gone, but buses to Crookes still pass by whilst much diverted buses to Walkley now stop far beyond that tower.

Open Street Map shows the route today ...

... from the Harley (Hotel) bottom right to the (Arts) Tower top left, a microcosm ot the removal of trams and the domination of the ever expanding University over the last sixty years.

But as Welsh entrtainer Max Boyce was wont to say ...

... and fbb loudly echoes,

I Was There!

The Lego Play Area ...

... is already taking shape.

The "hut" will be repainted.

The wheels have been removed as has the black Lego underframe "plank". This now allows the bus to sit flat on the ground. Wheel arches are panelled over and cosmetic wheels will replace thise that came with the kit.

 Next Variety blog : Sunday 1st March