A bit of a guide is if the In-Line refuelling unit is attached immediately behind the locos.

Cannot tell from the railcam photo stream unfortunately.

Todays 4BM9 through the NSW southern highlands was led by SCT007 and CSR 004 with SCT007 running long end leading.  It seemed to have a good load both from the length of the train and the speed with which it was climbing the grades.  It was not crawling but it was not at the gallop I have seen on other occasions either.

There were at least four Aurizon containers in the load.


https://flic.kr/p/21YiEPm

Aurizon intermodal doesn't own the wagons nor do they own the yellow boxes they use for the woolsworth contract.
SCT has now got the Woolworths contract from aurizon.
In total 15 five packs were delievered to SCT over a three week period plus aurizon painted yellow boxes to continue the contract with Woolworths.

SCT MD Geoff Smith informed people at AusRAIL that Aurizon had sold some of the Aurizon branded containers to SCT

SCT stickers are covering the Aurizon logo on the doors of the yellow WWs boxes. SCT may not do it on the side logo because the stickers needed might be too expensive being so big?

With Aurizon (never warmed up to this name)withdrawing from interstate intermodal traffic ,what future for North Dynon Yard?
QUBE is the other tenant.

edward

Interesting question, as I have posted elsewhere North Dynon has been undergoing extensive renovation and expansion over the past few months (work still going). I initially thought the work was for Qube then as they got near completion Aurizon started stabling some stuff there and now with AZJ moving on I have no idea!

BG

Passing by North Dynon yard yesterday(7/1/18) I was surprised to find the yard,vacated only a few weeks ago by Aurizon,almost full again with containers(lots of Linfox,Toll and Hamburg Sud)
A Y class was shunting a rake of empty platforms in the yard and two PN locos were idling on the rail overpass leading to the yard
Has PN taken a lease on the yard? or is it just a temporary arrangement?
North Dynon would be a good fit for PN steel business,broad gauge coming from westernport and standard to the rest of the network.
Comments?

Edward

Noticed today CSR007 in the sidings at Picton looking a little lonely and forlorn.

Presumably dropped off one of the *MB9s or *BM9s but do not know how long it has been there.

[/url]https://flic.kr/p/JDNqgV

CSR007 left Melbourne yesterday (Tuesday) on 3MP9.

It might just be that I have been in the right place at the right time to see them but the LDPs seem to be fairly active on the Melbourne / Brisbane corridor at the expense of the CSRs.

Last Tuesdays (23/1) 2BM9 (photo) was fronted by SCT009 and LDP001 as was yesterdays  6BM9 (27/1).

[/url]https://flic.kr/p/22L2zew







Thursdays (25/1) 4BM9 was fronted by SCT011 and SCT006.

[/url]https://flic.kr/p/FGYpXJ

How has the service grown in size since we last discussed this online?

Started with around 27 wagons from memory has it increased?

Found some video recently on the Digital Asset Management Server SCT service via Albion.

http://dams.omni.com.au:8080/razuna/raz2/dam/index.cfm?fa=c.sv&f=A4B75E7BF139448B85D133ED43416010&v=o

I wanna ask a dumb question. How does SCT manage to use its own wagons to move freight across the nullabor? How are they loaded/unloaded? Wouldn't it make more sense to move containers given their internal portability onto the back of trucks, ships etc? I know the have some refrigerated boxes that can he dropped onto trucks.

Supplementary question. Does SCT ever park their trains at Cook (SA) for any reason (for a short time e.g. waiting at crossing loop), even if it is not to take on fuel, or are they always waived through? Why does PacNat have the exclusive right to use Cook apart from refuelling)?

Supplementary question. Does SCT ever park their trains at Cook (SA) for any reason (for a short time e.g. waiting at crossing loop), even if it is not to take on fuel, or are they always waived through? Why does PacNat have the exclusive right to use Cook apart from refuelling)?

My understanding is that the town of Cook was sold to PN in 1997, a number of houses were sold and moved following the sale of the town.

PN own the refueling facility.

Cook has a loop available for crossing.

I would have thought that " SCT workings WA and all over Australia" Thread would have been more appropriate for the recent question?

https://www.railpage.com.au/f-t11311076.htm

Supplementary question. Does SCT ever park their trains at Cook (SA) for any reason (for a short time e.g. waiting at crossing loop), even if it is not to take on fuel, or are they always waived through? Why does PacNat have the exclusive right to use Cook apart from refuelling)?

My understanding is that the town of Cook was sold to PN in 1997, a number of houses were sold and moved following the sale of the town.

PN own the refueling facility.

Originally sold to GWA as part of the sale of AN in 1997.

Some time in mid-2000s ownership transferred over to PN as part of a deal with GWA.

To answer the OPs question, the main trackage/loops at Cook are owned by ARTC so no restrictions on anyone using them. Operators can probably buy fuel off PN too, as was the case in GWA days, but they wouldn't like the price.

I wanna ask a dumb question. How does SCT manage to use its own wagons to move freight across the nullabor? How are they loaded/unloaded? Wouldn't it make more sense to move containers given their internal portability onto the back of trucks, ships etc? I know the have some refrigerated boxes that can he dropped onto trucks.

Pallets.

Not all customers are shipping enough stuff that they can afford to fill entire containers on a regular basis. Of course they could share containers with other customers, but that has the same net effect as using SCT's vans.

LCL (Less than Container Load) was one of the freight sectors that was left behind in the early 1990s when National Rail was formed and Australian National exited interstate freight, which led to SCT starting the transition from being just a freight forwarder to running their own rail operations. Initially they started with just using some ex-AN vans and paying to have them coupled to the back of NR trains, then they started forming their own trains and paying AN or Freight Australia to haul them, and then later again they took over their own rail operations.

Supplementary question. Does SCT ever park their trains at Cook (SA) for any reason (for a short time e.g. waiting at crossing loop), even if it is not to take on fuel, or are they always waived through? Why does PacNat have the exclusive right to use Cook apart from refuelling)?

The crossing loop at Cook is part of the ARTC network, so there's no reason for ARTC to not schedule trains of operators other than PN to use the loop.

The current version of the MTP does make it look like there are a few times each week when a SCT eastbound train will stop at Cook for a cross. Of course, they could just be more examples of the sometimes hilarious time zone mistakes that have plagued the MTP for years.

Remember that there's often major mismatches between what's written in the MTP and what actually happens on a given day, so it's just as possible that SCT trains not scheduled to stop there according to the MTP may do so if that's the best way to manage the pathing at the time.

Supplementary question. Does SCT ever park their trains at Cook (SA) for any reason (for a short time e.g. waiting at crossing loop), even if it is not to take on fuel, or are they always waived through? Why does PacNat have the exclusive right to use Cook apart from refuelling)?

My understanding is that the town of Cook was sold to PN in 1997, a number of houses were sold and moved following the sale of the town.

PN own the refueling facility.

Originally sold to GWA as part of the sale of AN in 1997.

Some time in mid-2000s ownership transferred over to PN as part of a deal with GWA.

If I recall correctly, PN waited until oil prices tanked in about 2005 and then bought the Cook depot at a time when GWA (still branded ARG at the time) were starting to offload unprofitable assets.

PN can't have bought it in 1997 because PN was only formed in 2002.

PN would have to run a fuel supply out there on a regular basis I imagine?

I wanna ask a dumb question. How does SCT manage to use its own wagons to move freight across the nullabor? How are they loaded/unloaded? Wouldn't it make more sense to move containers given their internal portability onto the back of trucks, ships etc? I know the have some refrigerated boxes that can he dropped onto trucks.

Don't jinx it, SCT are a beacon of light in an industry that says that LCL is unviable for Rail.

SCT are an end to end logistics company who load their own trains in their own depots which gives them a heap of operational flexibility.

Judging by the size of the trains that they run North - South and East - West with a large proportion of the load being in vans I reckon they might just know what they are doing.......

I wanna ask a dumb question. How does SCT manage to use its own wagons to move freight across the nullabor? How are they loaded/unloaded? Wouldn't it make more sense to move containers given their internal portability onto the back of trucks, ships etc? I know the have some refrigerated boxes that can he dropped onto trucks.

Don't jinx it, SCT are a beacon of light in an industry that says that LCL is unviable for Rail.

SCT are an end to end logistics company who load their own trains in their own depots which gives them a heap of operational flexibility.

Judging by the size of the trains that they run North - South and East - West with a large proportion of the load being in vans I reckon they might just know what they are doing.......

Agree on all three points.
SCT has been a great success story and is a major hope for the future of rail freight in Australia.

If I recall correctly, PN waited until oil prices tanked in about 2005 and then bought the Cook depot at a time when GWA (still branded ARG at the time) were starting to offload unprofitable assets.

More to do with a land/lease swap for the still controlled, at the time, PN terminal at Alice Springs. Money may also have changed hands.

I wanna ask a dumb question. How does SCT manage to use its own wagons to move freight across the nullabor? How are they loaded/unloaded? Wouldn't it make more sense to move containers given their internal portability onto the back of trucks, ships etc? I know the have some refrigerated boxes that can he dropped onto trucks.

Don't jinx it, SCT are a beacon of light in an industry that says that LCL is unviable for Rail.

SCT are an end to end logistics company who load their own trains in their own depots which gives them a heap of operational flexibility.

Judging by the size of the trains that they run North - South and East - West with a large proportion of the load being in vans I reckon they might just know what they are doing.......

Agree on all three points.
SCT has been a great success story and is a major hope for the future of rail freight in Australia.

The biggest part of which is that they are a transport operator which uses rail as part of the transport system, instead of being a train operator which tries to make everyone's transport needs fit their operations.