Would be really handy if that Inglewood to Eaglehawk line was being prepped for a re-opening right about now.If it isnt there will be 90 road trucks for each train that cannot be run off the Sea Lake and Manangatang lines with the expected record grain harvest . Government and responsible Ministers need to get cracking as it is a 10 - 12 week job to get it open again in fit to purpose job to handle garin trains at 40 to 50 kmh. Main nned is to replace some track washed away in floods NOT replaced by VLP, and tie renewal and re-decking of a bridge at Marong.
PN Up grainy with two XR locos stalled on Warrenheip this morning. G and BL dispatched from Geelong to rescue it.Could have been worse.
They really need to ensure this doesn't keep happening...
If Inglewood - Eaglehawk were available the Up loaded bg grain trains would run via Bridgewater and the Down MT via Warrenheip so there would be no stalls on Warrenheip as Ups all via Bendigo, which is actually largely downhill to Melbourne and Geelong . Another benefit of reactivating Inglewood - Eaglehawk.PN Up grainy with two XR locos stalled on Warrenheip this morning. G and BL dispatched from Geelong to rescue it.Could have been worse.
They really need to ensure this doesn't keep happening...
Gman would have had them on the Bendigo line, perfect place to stall - not.
PN Up grainy with two XR locos stalled on Warrenheip this morning. G and BL dispatched from Geelong to rescue it.
They really need to ensure this doesn't keep happening...
As someone with no knowledge of driving a locomotive, what causes it to stall
Cobblers.If Inglewood - Eaglehawk were available the Up loaded bg grain trains would run via Bridgewater and the Down MT via Warrenheip so there would be no stalls on Warrenheip as Ups all via Bendigo, which is actually largely downhill to Melbourne and Geelong . Another benefit of reactivating Inglewood - Eaglehawk.PN Up grainy with two XR locos stalled on Warrenheip this morning. G and BL dispatched from Geelong to rescue it.Could have been worse.
They really need to ensure this doesn't keep happening...
Gman would have had them on the Bendigo line, perfect place to stall - not.
People forget the Eaglehawk - Inglewood section (opened 1888) and fed the lines radiating from Korongvale well before the cross link was put in over to Dunolly giving the alternate route South. The line would still be open and operating today but for the failure of successive Governements to adequately fund mainatenance of the rail freight network, and VLP's failure to lobby Government for funds to re-instate the track damaged by floods. The clear disbenefit of having a passenger operator responsible for maintaining the freight only network.
Meanwhile excellent rains continue in the Sea Lake/Manangatang lines ensuring a bumper harvest but will the Government fund rail in re-opening Inglewood Eaglehawk to allow the lions share of that harvest to be carried by rail ? We live in eternal hope.
XR557 was built new in 2005. XR553 (X33 rebuilt) entered service about 2003.Not really that recent, according to Vicsig.
Seriously? What a load of rubbish. I mean, why bother at all then? Why not just give the lot over to road and be done with it if that's your attitude. Or more importantly, if that's the government's attitude.@Gman I completely agree that track maintenance is appalling.
1 train each day on each of the Manang' and Sea Lake lines isn't going to cut it. The roads in rural Victoria are in a bad enough state already, they don't need another 180 B-Double grain trucks driving the 300+km return each day because some incompetent boob within the department can't pull their finger out and fund the damn maintenence that should have been done years ago.
If the state gave a damn about anything other than the Hotel Quarantine stuff up, then maybe somebody would actually notice that the world has continued on its merry way. They may notice that the government need to get a rocket up the department of transport and actually fix the damn line.
When that has been done, then maybe we can worry about the ancient rollingstock that may be hauling this massive harvest, because if the line isn't re-opened, it won't be old diesel locos failing us, it will be an arseload of old Kenworths destroying our roads.
I'm not sure what Castlemaine has to do with it. Nowhere did I suggest opening the Castlemaine - Maryborough line. That line is dead.Sorry Gman my bad.
The Inglewood - Eaglehawk line though as has routinely been pointed out, would take relatively little work to bring back to operational.
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