A news snippet in the Land newspaper of 8 August 2013 states that work on this line,funded by Graincorp and Austrac is almost finished .
The line connects the Henty West grain site to the interstate line, and is expected to carry its first rail movements by the end of next week.
Residents have been warned to take care at level crossings as the line will be active for the first time since 2005.

A news snippet in the Land newspaper of 8 August 2013 states that work on this line,funded by Graincorp and Austrac is almost finished .
The line connects the Henty West grain site to the interstate line, and is expected to carry its first rail movements by the end of next week.
Residents have been warned to take care at level crossings as the line will be active for the first time since 2005.

IIRC, the silo is only a short stone's throw from the main line junction.

Visiting the place about 3-4 years ago, cascaded 53kg rail was laid out to replace the older rail, but had not yet been transposed.

Between the Silo and the Junction there is perhaps only one level crossing, and because train speeds are so low here, that level crossing had only a "Give Way" sign, not even a "Stop" sign.

A few days back ARTC released this...

"Safety message for Henty residents as grain rail line re-opens

The Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) is asking Henty residents to take extra care around railway level crossings in the area with the re-opening of a section of the Henty to Rand branch railway line this month, the company said today.

The two kilometre section of track has been upgraded as part of a jointly funded project by ARTC and GrainCorp to re-open the line between the large GrainCorp silos at Henty West and the main interstate rail corridor.

The upgrade is expected to take around four thousands trucks a year off the region’s roads.

It means trains will now be crossing Wenskes Road in Henty for the first time since 2005."

http://www.artc.com.au/Article/Detail.aspx?p=6&np=4&id=402

Good to see any rail line reopening, & I do like those wheat branches. Wish they'd reopen the Kywong line but I don't suppose that'll happen.
Re level crossings, I hope the local motorists are more tolerant & alert than they are in my district. A lot seem to assume there won't be a train & if there is it should get out of their way. And I'm talking about a main line.

Good to see any rail line reopening, & I do like those wheat branches. Wish they'd reopen the Kywong line but I don't suppose that'll happen.
Re level crossings, I hope the local motorists are more tolerant & alert than they are in my district. A lot seem to assume there won't be a train & if there is it should get out of their way. And I'm talking about a main line.

The line was never closed.
The line from Henty West to Rand is closed, but Henty to Henty West where the wheat silo is was always open , but wasnt used
because it was a light line , suitable only for 48 class the locos.
This project is about upgrading the line so main line locos can service the wheat silo.
The wheat silo is only a few hundred metres from the main line junction.
There is 1 level crossing across Wenkes Rd which is just after the junction.
You can easily see it from the main line.

IIRC, the silo is only a short stone's throw from the main line junction.

Visiting the place about 3-4 years ago, cascaded 53kg rail was laid out to replace the older rail, but had not yet been transposed.

Between the Silo and the Junction there is perhaps only one level crossing, and because train speeds are so low here, that level crossing had only a "Give Way" sign, not even a "Stop" sign.

"Give way"? "Stop"?  Sorry, but at best they mean the same thing in the modern interpretation of road rules - as in, "What sign?".  Here in Canberra the observance of the stop sign is virtually 0%.

"Give way"? "Stop"?  Sorry, but at best they mean the same thing in the modern interpretation of road rules - as in, "What sign?".  Here in Canberra the observance of the stop sign is virtually 0%.

Another interesting issue here is who exactly is responsible for train working from Henty to henty West?
The Henty to Rand line, even though its out of service is part of the CRN managed by John Holland.
Whats it got to do with ARTC, or has John Holland handed over the first 1 Km of the line to ARTC?

Another interesting issue here is who exactly is responsible for train working from Henty to henty West?
The Henty to Rand line, even though its out of service is part of the CRN managed by John Holland.
Whats it got to do with ARTC, or has John Holland handed over the first 1 Km of the line to ARTC?

Seek and you shall find... a SAFE notice http://extranet.artc.com.au/docman/DocManFiles/DocTypes/SAFE/Files/2-1935.PDF?1977543149
"
Henty West Grain Siding


Booked Back into Use


On Friday 19th July the Henty West Grain Siding was booked back into use.


The siding extends from the Main Line connection at 579.833km (C Frame) to a fixed Stop block located at the ARTC boundary (582.500km).

The Wenskes Road level crossing located at 581.140km on the Henty West Grain Siding is a Type D crossing and has been fitted with STOP roadside warning signs. "


P.S. boundaries are defined in this document Pages 109-111
http://www.artc.com.au/library/Interface%20Definition%20Survey.pdf

A few pics of the new work.

Looking from the mainline toward Wagga
[img]http://i1119.photobucket.com/albums/k634/packa32/Henty/2013-08-22143749.jpg[/img]

Not sure what this wagon is all about...
[img]http://i1119.photobucket.com/albums/k634/packa32/Henty/2013-08-22143455.jpg[/img]


[img]http://i1119.photobucket.com/albums/k634/packa32/Henty/2013-08-22143208.jpg[/img]

There's a few ordinary timber sleepers but mostly steel.
[img]http://i1119.photobucket.com/albums/k634/packa32/Henty/2013-08-22142945.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i1119.photobucket.com/albums/k634/packa32/Henty/2013-08-22142220.jpg[/img]





then becomes

[img]http://i1119.photobucket.com/albums/k634/packa32/Henty/2013-08-22145157.jpg[/img]

The wagon is used by the 2nd person to ride in while shunting out to the loading site at Henty West.

The wagon is used by the 2nd person to ride in while shunting out to the loading site at Henty West.

There is a similar one at Harden for trains that run out to Cunningar & return.

There is a similar one at Harden for trains that run out to Cunningar & return.

It is the same one that was there.  It has gone from Harden and looks like it's being used elsewhere.  My understanding was that it was not deamed safe to be used by persons riding it ( OHS) issue is my understanding.
konkos

It looks a lot better now. it was a real mess after the floods a few years ago