Express Train Video - Australia

https://youtu.be/mDl0JBd_JHM

1620 Wanders The Downs The 1620 Class were introduced to the network in 1967. The Class leader, 1620 was placed in service with Queensland Rail onQueensland Rail restored the class...

All Quiet On The Northern Front

Clyde built 1503, a member of the 1502 Class locomotives of Queensland Rail sits in serenity at Wallangarra yard on the border of Queensland and New South Wales. The solitude is due to it being Good Friday, 4 April 1980.

1503 probably sat silently until the following Tuesday after the conclusion of the Easter long weekend.

The yard at Wallangarra was rather light on wagons with only an odd assortment around the yard. The New South Wales side was similar.

Mackay DH in Action

DH 45 hauling 1271 and an unknown 1300 Class out of a siding that served a fuel point and a rail motor shed.

It was late in the day and things seemed to be readying for a string of night operations.

The image was captured in July 1980.

Helidon passenger working on a Saturday afternoon. 1740, a Clyde built 1720 Class is seen here in the later afternoon having cut off and run around the passenger cars. The scene was in July 1980.

More than likely, 1740 was substituting for a 2000 Class Rail Car set.

A timetable from that era had a rail car working off Helidon at 1730 to return to Roma Street in Brisbane.

A livestock special on the now closed Beaudesert branch. 1738 had a fairly small train considering double heading was quite common. There was a Guard's Van and the Guard is seen walking down the Main line.

Loop
Class Locomotive

Shipping Steel Shipping Steel illustrates the working of mostly loaded steel trains that operate on the New South Wales North Coast line delivering steel from southern stee...

The Sydney bound XPT, NT32 passes SB3 at Kempsey. Whilst it might happen on every occasion I have seen it happen several times.

On this day, 17 July 2025 at 1250, NR21, NR31 and NR15 completed a crew change whilst the XPT approached.

1720 Class locomotives were routinely used to work short livestock trains that had arrived at Mayne Yard from northern and western parts of Queensland. Sometimes, the trains went to Dinmore, other trains worked to Holmview and the very popular Beaudesert workings. Even Churchill cattle yards outside Ipswich might have also been possible. 1729 is seen passing Cormack Street Graceville in May 1980. All of these options would have been available.

Being on the way towards Corinda where two of the options would have been eliminated were unable to be recorded.

The New South Wales, North Coast Line that stretched over the border into Queensland was dominated by Alco diesel operations. 4427 On the fly South near Wiangaree - 17 November 1979 heads a train that made stops enroute to shunt at places like Casino.

4913 and van standing in Gilgandra yard on a bleak winter day in July 1981.

A Saturday afternoon view from Countess Street overlooking 1451 on the Gympie passenger service. In the background is the top of Roma Street yard with a DH Class loco in the middle of a shunt.

The image was taken in 1980. The timetable of the day shows a late afternoon service departing Roma Street for Gympie at 1745. In the timetable of 1980 it was listed as a rail car service. However, from time to time, loco hauled trains deputised.

The BLV Guards Van at the front is 447. Of course BLV 447 is well known and remains part of the Queensland Rail Heritage fleet. The other car numbers were not recorded.

ARHS Queensland conducted many tours along the now closed Brisbane Valley Branch over the decades from the 1960s through to the closure in the 1990s.

PB15 732 is seen standing on the main line at Coominya in May of 1980.

The loco crews at this time were all Ipswich men.

After the demise of regular steam working in 1969, only the two PB15s 732 and 738, C17 class, 974 and BB18 1/4 1079 survived into post steam era tours, until the renaissance period of extra steam locomotives for the QR steam fleet during the 1990s. Although PB15 738 did not make it to 1980s and was later handed to ARHS Queensland.

This image was from the period when only PB 732 and C17 974 were the only steam visitors to the Brisbane Valley metals.

Coominya was a comfortable return day trip from Brisbane and a number of tours were staged to this location over the years.