During the 60's when the flexi train was at its prime, likewise it retained it for the 70's according to my May 1974 Northern WTT after I returned to Delec it was numbered 345 on the down, 7
m ex Cooks River, Clapham 2:33PM, load 615Tonnes single main line diesel. 346 on up, and a rostered job for Enfield crews, it ran just after the southern 465 ex Cooks.
Thanks for the 1974 Northern WTT data for the flexi express
The 1968 North WTT has Flexi Express ex Cooks River train 411 to Clapham and 412 Clapham southbound flexi express to Cooks River.
Also curious how Cooks River was listed in the 1974 WTT. Did it have its own row with the other Sydney yards or was it just mentioned in the particular trains column? The 1968 northern WTT did not have Cooks River as its own row and was just a column entry. The 1979 N-WTT had Cooks River with its own row.
a6et, if by any chance you also have a Local Appendix for a Northern WTT for somewhere 1968 to 1974, could you send me a PM please? In particular, was Acacia Ridge listed in the LA-WTT for somewhere around those years for an intermediate staff instrument for either or both frame A and B. I understand Salisbury and Beaudesert Rd (Rocklea) had one each? I am trying to sort out the history of Clapham. Acacia Ridge, Salisbury, Park Rd and South Brisbane freight yards.
EDIT; I am aware the 1964 Sydney metro WTT has TNT at the Industrial Siding line Chullora and no listing for TNT at Cooks River. In mid 1970 two dead end sidings 280 metres long, were provided for TNT at Cooks River, according to P.11 of Offal, Oil and Overseas Trade, The Story of the Sydenham to Botany Railway by Neville Pollard ARNSnsw 1988.
Petan, my books are packed away ATM as we look to sell our home and move, however, not sure if I have that local Appendix or not as I had to hand back my books when I was medically retired, was able to keep a couple that I said were misplaced but not everything though.
If you look at the WTT, your will generally see the main yard as Enfield Yards (from memory its in bold type), that is where the majority of trains departed from, the next general mentioned location is Nth Strathfield, Trains ex Darling Harbour and Cooks River would have the time through Nth Strathfield and the section above that in the TT column would have
Ex Cooks River at xxxx time, or ex Darling Hbr at Ex time. Same for the up service would finish at Nth Strathfield and arrive Cooks River/DH at xxxx time.
TNT at Chullora was a totally different set up as it was the primary warehouse distribution point, a real mongrel place to shunt it had 2 roads with direct loading at the warehouse sides and another one that was between the southern side of the warehouse and another large warehouse as well. Rail traffic in and out of TNT was quite heavy but it was consigned in Louvre vans and not containers, items for the North and South were taken into Enfield yards and mostly into the DD's or Down Departures, where the traffic was picked up by another train usually ex Darling Harbour with the train and loco's amalgamating there. Or Fresh electrics ex Delec for the North.
Google earth if you look at it, there really is nothing left of the old yard areas, except the track that hooks around up and over Anzac road, that line supplied the old Franklins Main Warehouse along with a steel company, that had rolled steel sheets from Port Kembla, it was expanded when the old Containers siding at Hurstville was closed.
However on Google earth between the new yard with the travelling ganty, if you look along that looped up track and you will see a large rectangular building that has an entry off Brunker road, that is the old TNT warehouse, the next large building to the right was a timber merchant and some other company in fact you can still see signs of the old tracks in there.
On the other side of the line behind the stored vehicles which are on the line up the hill, (the other one is for TNT and the other buildings there) you can see the remains of sidings that ran through that area as well.
The TNT Warehouse building had the sidings to around half way along the buildings and the outside siding is approximately where the angled Semis are parked maybe a bit more away from the warehouse.
Cooks River essentially had 3 main areas, the tracks closest to the Princess highway were the TNT flexi van roads. On Google Earth you will see a traveling gantry, along that section the Flexi vans were loaded/unloaded on arrival the train was divided and shunted back into the siding. The up arriving engines did that if the shunter was other occupied often caused issues though as the arriving engines often needed to be cut off early to get them back to Delec or Eveleigh.
The middle part of the yard was also for important trains but more so where the car trains came in. The sidings over to the far side were General goods traffic and mostly steel , and the old small LCL type containers.