I made good use of one of my days off (Study? You've got to be kidding) to pursue one of my other hobbies, "Railway Archeology", which isn't as boring as it sounds - maybe :-)
I started off with a trip to Rockhampton marshalling yard to take a look at an old DH class locomotive stored there. These little locos used to be seen in shunt yards all over the state, but the majority have been sold.
...missing quite a few bits... including it's engine(!)...
...and has had quite a hard life - the result of a very hard couple-up, by the looks of it.
A humble KWJX cattle wagon - one of the few in it's class, and quite unique.
A TGV guards van. Not that long ago, you could find a guards van at the end of nearly every train you saw. Nowadays, they are a vanishing breed.
Wharf branch lines
There is not much evidence left that Rockhampton was once a port (The temptation to put "bustling" in from of "port" was almost overwhelming, but I resisted the cliché), with wharves at Gavial Creek, and Stanley Street.
Both of these wharves are now closed, and the railway lines to them have been pulled up - mostly.
This is where the "archeology" bit comes in.
Fortunately, Rockhampton City Council is a bit shy about removing railway lines at old level crossings - it makes my task that much easier :-)
Gavial Creek branch
From left to right, top to bottom:
Level crossing - spur line off the Gavial Creek branch.
Level crossing - just prior the Gavial Creek wharf. With both this and the prior pic, the Rocky City Council finally removed the level crossing signs a day before I took these photos. It just serves as a reminder - if you are going to take photos of anything historical, don't procrastinate, 'cos it may not be there tomorrow :-(
Sidings just prior to the Gavial Creek Wharf. Most of the points on this branch have been removed, but I guess they looked at the state of these ones, and just gave up...
The mortal remains of Gavial Creek Wharf. Stanley St branch From left to right, top to bottom:
Street trackage, Stanley Street. Denison Sreet may be the most well known street railway in Rocky, but it wasn't the only one. When it was closed, the track was sealed over, rather than being removed, and part of it has worn through. It's a lot more apparent in real life, than in this photo... Put it down to being nervous about standing in the middle of a busy street taking pictures :-)
Track leading down to the Stanley Street Wharf.
Same track, looking back up to Stanley Street. Fairly steep, isn't it? This would be about the time that a shunt train driver would not want his brakes to fail...
What's left of Stanley Street Wharf... even less than Gavial Creek!
Other Sidings
Level crossing leading up to the old Shell siding, just near Rockhampton marshalling yard.
I created this page, while on QR's tilt train, between Rockhampton & Brisbane, Friday 27th September, 2002. It would make it a bit unique - there can't be that many web pages created on the move? :-) From left to right, top to bottom:
Q902 Tilt Train just before leaving Rockhampton, taken at about a quarter to 8 in the morning
Scenery just south of Rockhampton
Quite different scenery near Mt Larcom, just north of Gladstone
Cane fields just north of Bundaberg
Pineapple fields between Nambour and Brisbane
Approx 7¼ hours later... Tilt Train at Roma St Station, Brisbane, 3 o'clock that afternoon Back to Homepage
