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Train spotting is certainly not a new hobby. Ever since Locomotion Number 1 hauled its modest train on its circular track, boys aged one to one hundred have been fascinated by railways, and it didn't take long for the hobby of train spotting to rise. In the age of steam about half of the schoolboy population had a notebook full of engine numbers. So why do I bother writing about it now?
I think that since the coming of diesels and the decline of railways due to road competition, the schoolboy fascination for train spotting has almost died out. And now that most of the steam age schoolboys have passed on to the great railway station in the sky, nobody is telling the young ones about it, so here goes.
This is what I gathered from my notes from 13 July 2002.
To make a proper day of it, I start the previous night. I prepare a bit of lunch, plan where I want to go, buy a Daily Zone 1/2 Full Fare Metcard, and set the alarm for 6:30. This allows a generous 46 minutes for me to be up, breakfasted and have all my gear packed in time for the 7:16 bus. For the record it's Route 733, operated by Ventura, and stops nice and close to us. At this early hour it's usually a low floor air conditioned bus - very nice if there's winter drizzle about.
Usually I hop off at Mount Waverley station but today I've planned something different: stay on the bus as far as Burwood Highway and catch a tram into the city. At Camberwell Depot we got off, report to the office and ask to have a look around. The boss was very nice and gave permission, as long as we didn't go into the shed itself. Fair enough, some idiots might fall into an inspection pit and sue Yarra Trams.
After recording all visible numbers we catch the next city-bound tram. It's a Route 70 service, which is nice because we've never been on the new track past the old Jolimont yard before.
We arrive at Spencer Street Station just in time to hear the steam-hauled Westcoaster disappear into the distance - a bit if a disappointment, but then there's always plenty more to see. We catch a "spark" to Flinders Street and then catch the next Werribee train.
Changing trains at Newport for the Williamstown line is pretty easy - a three car set is stabled ready and comes in as soon as the Werribee train has cleared. The stretch from Newport to North Williamstown is great - the only problem is that we go past too fast to see everything! The Steamrail depot is worth seeing - steam engines peeking out of sheds, restored carriages, and the two yellow Harris Motors used for the Greaser train. Next door is the part of Newport Workshops operated by EDI Rail - and it's here we see the new Siemens train, just arrived from Germany for M>Train. We got off at North Williamstown, but it was pretty pointless because the next train back to Newport was our one - we might as well have stayed on it instead of waiting on a wind-swept platform.
On the way back to the city we passed the former Spotswood depot. Visible were some old cranes, a few wagons, and lots of tall grass growing in the track and on the platform.
On arrival at Flinders Street we take the next Sandringham train to Windsor for the ARHS Mailout - which is ostensibly the reason I'm having this day out. Of course the conversation flows freely, and many a useful and interesting "snippet" have I heard while collating Members' Newsletters and tour brochures. And if there's anything else I want to know, where else is there to look than in the library, which just happens (how convenient!) to be the room where we do the mailout?
Depending on how many people are there, the mailout might finish anywhere between two and four. So we're off again, this time for Dynon Loco. It's easy to spend heaps of time here, but eventually we have to head homeward.
Hereunder I reproduce my notes for the day - omitting the bad handwriting, which is partly due to myself and partly to the fact that I will write while walking!
| Trip to ARHS Mailout by PT with David, 13/7/02 p1
Home -> Burwood Hwy on Ventura 18 New buses usually on the Smart Bus routes during week - 733 gets "the rubbish" (Driver) M'borough Rd/B'wood Hwy: 2024 YT New SB 2069 Th Rado -> Camberwell 2011 2034 No SB 19 (Route 72, crosses @ C'well Junction)
Camberwell Depot: 242 232 2035 YT New SB 2032 same 2029 Th Bonds 239 2036 YT New SB 244 C'well -> City 234 2028 YT New SB 231 279 Kew Busy Corner: 56 Dot No SB 211 ST SB 164 ST SB Th 105 Dot SB 179 ST SB Th Toblerone 81 Dot SB 2126 YT New SB 157 ST Th 192 ST Th 43 Dot SB 2082 YT New SB 201 ST SB 2111 YT New SB Th Crown! 2131 YT New SB 2021 same
Sp Str: N468 VLP1 N8 VLP1 VSH26 VLP1 7022 VLP1 7010 VLP2
F Str: 336M Yellow NX 212M 1989T 237M 4M 1937T 2M -> Newport S Kensington: 5 Sprinters! inc 7008 Newport: 378M 1039T 377M -> N W'town SRV: R761 K cars Ls Harris Greasers EDI: Unpainted M>Train! Scharfenberg couplers. Grey + black paint prob ex-Workshops. 3-car set. No nums visible N Willtown: 377M 1039T 378M -> Newport
Newport: 520M 1110T 519M 457M 1079T 458M Smiley P orange-FSH24-H Set Red-P14 VLP0 Spotswood Depot: CQBYs (60' skeletal container) KMQ GOBX EQAX |
| 13/7/02 p2
N Melb: Another push/pull with P13 VLP0 trailing Sp Str: N463 VLP1 BCZ258 VLP2 N5 VLP2
F Str: 506M 1103T 505M 448M 1074T 447M Smiley MCG: 2009 YT New SB 236
Windsor: 63M 1992T 230M 52M 1926T 119M MCG: 2043 YT No SB Parliament: 311M 1006T 312M 423M 1062T 424M Smiley-Yellow
Nth Melb/GNR/Dynon: CQJY 2x20' cont 61.5t cap 14.3t tare 14.6m long inc 455E 454S 451J 456N 452A 453J SG Some loaded with tanks! Snapped 1. SG Table: B80 B74 G536 FA
BG Table: G525 FA Y147 VL N468 VLP1 P21 FA S306 VL GM36 T385 T392 FA T356 GN377 T363
Nth Melb: 7014 VLP1 7005 VLP2 7015 VLP1
Sp Str: Y161 VL WAL951 VN12 N456 VLP0 Murray Gardiner: 164 ST SB Th New Falcon MW->Home on 18 again! |
The next paragraph says: "M'borough Rd/B'wood Hwy: 2024 YT New SB 2069 Th Rado -> Camberwell". This means: At the corner of Middleborough Road and Burwood Highway (or the tram stop nearest the corner) we saw tram 2024, refurbished in Yarra Trams livery (I really should change the abbreviation but it has stuck) and fitted with Skybreaker advertising panels. Then we rode (shown by underlining) tram 2069, a Theme tram advertising Rado, to Camberwell.
The next paragraph has no location: I have found it difficult to record all my movements when riding trams, so I just record a sighting and some data about the tram. 2034 has no Skybreaker; 19 was on Route 72. I recorded this last because I knew I was (mostly) in a Yarra Trams only area, so apart from the M>Tram route crossing, the appearance of a Z1-class tram would be unusual.
In the Camberwell Depot paragraph comes another shorthand: a description of "same" is usually much easier to write than repeating "YT New SB". I was surprised to see at Camberwell the City Circle tram 925, usually a Southbank resident.
"279 Kew": the destination board said "Kew Depot" so I recorded the fact. Also because I was in an area run from Camberwell Depot until then.
Busy Corner: my code for the corner of Flinders and Swanson Streets, because I have never yet seen it without a tram to look at - usually there are so many that I can't write all the numbers down before one or more have disappeared.
"56 Dot No SB": Z1.56 has a dot-matrix destination board and no Skybreaker. Almost all of the Z1/Z2s have the dot matrix board now, but I still record it.
"211 ST SB": The Z3s and B2s are split between M>Tram and Yarra Trams, so I record which company each one belongs to. Actually M>Tram own all the Z3s but have hired several to Yarra Trams until the new Citadis are all in service, so by these notes I can get a rough idea of what's happening in this line.
"164 ST SB Th": A theme or all-over advertising tram for which I didn't actually see what the subject was.
"2111 YT New SB Th Crown!" A refurbished tram in all-over advertising livery instead of Yarra Trams's own. This was not apparent from the outside; in fact I had seen and recorded the livery before and it wasn't until I rode it that I saw the internal refurbishment. Exclamation marks denote an unusual or previously unknown item.
"Sp Str: N468 VLP1": At Spencer Street Station. VLP0 refers to the orange and grey V/Line livery; VLP1 to the red and blue V/Line Passenger livery with the old all-upper case logo; VLP2 with the proper case logo.
"432M 1066T 431M Smiley -> F Str": We rode 432M, the leading M car (as usual!) to Flinders Street. I refer to a Comeng train as either Yellow (unrefurbished - from the front end colour), Blue (Connex refurbished - from the dominant colour) or Smiley (M>Train refurbished - from the appearance when viewed head on).
"336M Yellow NX": At the city stations and Richmond it is necessary to distinguish Connex from M>Train when talking about Hitachi or unrefurbished Comeng trains (except for a mixed refurbished and unrefurbished train, or one where I'm riding it to an area served by only one company). Recording this will become less important as Connex's Yellows disappear. NX is for National Express, owner of M>Train and M>Tram.
"S Kensington: 5 Sprinters! inc 7008": Passed a five Sprinter lash-up (unusually large) at South Kensington.
"CQJY 2x20' cont 61.5t cap 14.3t tare 14.6m long inc 455E 454S 451J 456N 452A 453J SG Some loaded with tanks! Snapped 1.": I'm always on the look-out for data about wagons, since it's only locos I can find books about. CQJY wagons carry two 20' containers, have a 61.5t capacity, and those numbered are all on Standard Gauge. I took one photograph of the interesting loading.
"G536 FA": Freight Australia locos are or have been in four liveries: original V/Line (VL), the same but marked V/Line Freight (VLF), green Freight Victoria (FV) or the now definitive green Freight Australia (FA). On the next line several locos don't have their livery stated, eg GM36, T385, GN377 etc - these are privately owned or preserved locos, unlikely to change livery. If they do I'll take a photo!
"P20 Green": Either the FV or FA livery, but I was unable to see which, probably due to another loco in the way.
"Y165 FA DOO": in FA livery, with the extra cab windows fitted when the Ys were modified for Driver Only Operation.