Brisbane CityTrain - 800x600 pixels

Hello Everyone,

I am currently finishing off Ferny Grove Section; its being housed and textured since all the signalling, bridges and station fittings. Expect a few screenshots during the week, and cricketstar will be back doing gold coast after some encorragement from me.

I was searching around on the web, last night after finishing off Alderley and found this beautiful image of it back in 1925 with its original wooden station with the former Sawmill in the background with houses starting to pop up on the hill.

xu7lg.jpg

Regards
Michael Gitsham
Queensland Heritage Railways
 
Re the discussion on the Australian screen shot thread about SX and Evans car set composition matters;

Evans cars http://www.wuiskemodels.com/prototy...ioyOTE2ZGI3MDM0YTAwMDAzYWMyOTNjYzFiNGY0NmE3ZA

SX tin sets http://www.wuiskemodels.com/prototy...iphNjk4MGYzMjY2OWYzZTY0OWZkZGUxZTIyMDNhYmMwZA

If links do not work search Jade and Adam Wuiske's site http://www.wuiskemodels.com/ as they have it covered as it is QLD :D

Railpage also has the topic covered of course :D

Evans http://www.railpage.com.au/f-p752967.htm

SX http://www.railpage.com.au/f-p1148047.htm

Can we have some screen shots, maybe using the above Brisbane car set data, for us to enjoy to make my Brisbane suburban research worthwhile, please... or even "pretty please with strawberry jam on top" as a thank you to the screen shot poster if the screen shots show accurate car consists ;)
 
Hi all I have just found this thread and started reading it from the start and all I can say is WOW there are so maney people on this project
and it sounds like it is comeing along well
You should be proud of yourselves for produceing such a complex project I am going to be looking forward to the day when you release it
but you might want to consider puting it on CD and sell it
because there is hundreds of man hours on that project and to just let it out on to the DLS would be a shame as you would got nothing for your time
If you did concider putting it on CD please sell me a copy as I am starting to get a love for Queensland rail

At the end of this week I am comeing over to Queensland for a FIRST EVER overseas trip so I want to check out some railyards to take pics and get pics of sone rollingstock
My wife and I well be staying with Family in NERANG
So I may Bang into you on me travels
Chris Sullivan
 
At the end of this week I am comeing over to Queensland for a FIRST EVER overseas trip
Chris Sullivan

Also try some other sites such as the following for South East QLD rail material http://www.qrig.org
the above has a top menu that may be of interest as well as a yahoogroup whose messages are searchable online
http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/qrig/

Railpage
http://www.railpage.com.au/f.htm
especially the QLD pages
http://www.railpage.com.au/f-f4.htm

Wheels on Steel http://www.wheelsonsteel.com.au/index.php

Remember all searchable by google.

I read else where you are based at Nerang somewhere for your holiday so if you are interested in the railway history of the steam era line to Brisbane (closed 1960s) I have downloadable old maps etc at http://www.railpage.com.au/f-t11367088.htm
And this Railpage thread has material as well http://www.railpage.com.au/f-t11348803-0-asc-s0.htm

Steam era Nerang railway station was in the middle of the present day Pacific Motorway between Station St and Railway St and south of the road bridge to Broadbeach.

Nerang history http://www.goldcoast.qld.gov.au/thegoldcoast/nerang-history-2737.html

Park in middle of Nerang near river has the restored Maid of Sker paddle steamer.

Cheers
Peter
 
Chris, forgot to mention re your holiday in SE QLD. You really need the following weather bureau website loaded into your iphone etc http://www.bom.gov.au/qld/?ref=hdr especially the weather radar http://www.bom.gov.au/products/IDR663.loop.shtml

Yes, there is some railway material in this post so read on folks...
A few posts above we were discussing the Sunnybank triangle that seems to have been removed in the 1950s track duplication era. The following 1960 street directory may be of interest. My 1955 street directory shows Lyell Street extended to the triangle site. If you check the property boundaries on a cartography map such as google, you can see the the location of Lyell street east of Station Rd. The approx triangle site seems to be block 21 Dixon Street, if the Google map property boundaries / cartography is similar to the 1950s.

Sunnybank-1960.jpg


If really interested in historical matters the "Limited Edition reprint of UBD Brisbane Street Directory 1st Edition (1955)" is or was available at selected bookshops. It shows the tram lines as solid lines and bus routes are broken lines. This predates the 1962 Paddington tram fire so maybe of interest to Trainz folk.
 
Transferred from the Australian Screenshot thread as it refers mainly to the SX tin sets in Brisbane, Perth and Auckland.

Anyway, if it helps, adding further to the Aussie platform height discussion, if anyone is interested, for comparison's sake, as far as WA is concerned (specifically, Perth suburban area), according to John Krietling's book Perth Electric, 910mm was the official minimum height allowed for platforms on the Perth suburban system following electrification, however 1000mm is the standard - naturally earlier platforms could be considerably lower though. John isn't clear about whether this is from ground level or rail level though (I presume the former).

interesting What is clear though is that Perth's platforms aren't particularly high, when compared with other cities. It was especially noticeable for me when I took a trip to Sydney a few years back and noticed just how much taller Sydney's platforms are compared to Perth! :D

Interesting remarks about suburban platforms especially Perth platforms, considering Brisbane SX [tin sets] carriages were on loan for the America's cup yacht race in Perth/Fremantle. Similar thoughts for the Brisbane SX [tin sets] carriages in Auckland as they were seen to be ok for platform height in NZ.

Perth electrics are said to be very similar to the Brisbane ones so I assume the Perth EMUs have the same 840 mm / 33.1 inches wheels as the Brisbane EMUs and the same carriage floor to rail height? If Perth has low platforms, I assume they just do what we did in Brisbane for years; just step up or step down as needed. Still did that at Vulture St Station [aka Southbank Station] up in Brisbane the other week so nothing has changed. It was one of the latest suburban trains so not all platforms match carriage floor height.

Also interesting as the former WA railcars seem to be Ok in Auckland for platform height, well certainly we did not notice any problem when we rode them in NZ. When I was visiting Perth I did not have any problem with rail platform heights on suburban services 30 years ago.
 
Transferred from the Australian Screenshot thread as it refers mainly to the SX tin sets in Brisbane, Perth and Auckland.



Interesting remarks about suburban platforms especially Perth platforms, considering Brisbane SX [tin sets] carriages were on loan for the America's cup yacht race in Perth/Fremantle. Similar thoughts for the Brisbane SX [tin sets] carriages in Auckland as they were seen to be ok for platform height in NZ.

Perth electrics are said to be very similar to the Brisbane ones so I assume the Perth EMUs have the same 840 mm / 33.1 inches wheels as the Brisbane EMUs and the same carriage floor to rail height? If Perth has low platforms, I assume they just do what we did in Brisbane for years; just step up or step down as needed. Still did that at Vulture St Station [aka Southbank Station] up in Brisbane the other week so nothing has changed. It was one of the latest suburban trains so not all platforms match carriage floor height.

Also interesting as the former WA railcars seem to be Ok in Auckland for platform height, well certainly we did not notice any problem when we rode them in NZ. When I was visiting Perth I did not have any problem with rail platform heights on suburban services 30 years ago.

I was about to post my reply in the Aussie screenshots thread before I was timed out, so putting it here is more appropriate. ;)

I'm not sure about wheel size on our EMUs Petan, as the general arrangement drawings I have for the AEA/AEB class cars lack wheel size measurements - the drawings do state however that the floor height of the cars as 1100mm (which I presume is above rail level). The BEA/BET/BEB class car drawings I have even lack floor height dimensions, but it does list the coupler height above rail as 785mm.

But yeah, here in Perth it's basically just a case of stepping up or down when getting on and off a train on lower platforms. Traditionally mobility-impaired passengers were encouraged to ring Transperth ahead of their journey to arrange a 'Customer Service Officer' to meet them at the station with a portable ramp to assist them in boarding or alighting if necessary - the guards/conductors that were on all Perth trains prior to electrification (1990/91) assisted passengers in a similar way until the Perth system went over to 'Driver Only Operation'.

Really though, at least before electrification it wasn't really platform height that was a big issue here as more platform length - some platforms were so short (less than 40 metres long) that Westrail informed passengers intending to board or alight at such stations to only 'travel in the centre carriages', as only the centre cars would covered by them. I have fond memories of being on many a train (usually loco hauled but also railcars as well) stopping at such stations in the 1980s opening the carriage door and seeing no platform to greet me (and then watching passengers wanting to alight but who had ignored Westrail's warning about travelling in the centre cars, and with blithe disregard for their own safety just jumped off the train down to ground level!).

In any event, platform length continues to be a big problem here in Perth - technically the bare minimum was meant to be 90 metres - long enough for a 4 car A set EMU, but a number of stations are still far less than that. Transperth is slowly rebuilding stations to the minimum length, but it's a slow process. I presume QR has a simillar issue in Brisbane, as I've seen photos of stations on the Citytrain network far smaller and shorter than anything we have in Perth.
 
Enkidoh, thanks for your Perth data ;)

Petan - Out of curiosity, I had a look at Nyanda this evening, and it surely would have to be lower than 810mm A.R.L. It did close in 1978 though, so maybe wasn't raised for tin sets. The 810mm looks about right for current platforms, which is what I was referring to.

Thanks Ryan for that data ;) and I don't recall Nyanda being altered height wise since I first saw it in the 1950s.

For the benefit of younger members, Nyanda was just one of the low patronage smaller southside stations that were closed instead of being upgraded to the modern platform standard when the Merivale Bridge was opened and higher tin sets arrived on the southside. Other stations on the Beenleigh line closed at this time were Holmview [original site] as well as Gloucester Street between Vulture St and Park Rd stations. Vulture Street Station has since been renamed Southbank Station. Neither Holmview [original site] nor Gloucester Street station structures exist as revealed by personal visits in recent months.

Gloucester Street's empty site was easy to check from a passing train last week. Holmview was located north east of the Grove Rd and Holmview Rd intersection. I have a downloadable map of old Holmview at http://www.4shared.com/photo/BAoXamUT/Holmview-1977.html

Nyanda was named in 1951 which suggests the platform dates from the Yeerongpilly / Kuraby duplication era. It mainly catered for workers in the Rocklea Industrial Estate area including Comeng, English Electric and Evans Deakin, although there were many more factories than those three. A certain person now typing this used to frequent those places in the steam train era. It was amazing what you could see through fences or from passing trams on Evans Rd formally Compo Road! That industrial estate in WW2 can be viewed here http://home.st.net.au/~dunn/ozatwar/rocklea.htm

On a technical point, the boundaries between Rocklea, Moorooka, Moorvale, Salisbury and Salisbury North have changed several times since WW2. There was a post office at the second last tram stop on the Salisbury [#71] route that changed names in that era. Nyanda as a suburb seemed to disappear yet has now reappeared as the name for the local high school by a merger between Acacia Ridge State High School and Salisbury State High School. Moorvale has been absorbed by Moorooka.

Nyanda platform is still seen on Google Earth street view if you check under the Beaudesert Road overpass near Nyanda State High School between Railway Parade and Fairlie Terrace.

Re the hunt for lower level platforms to measure for height. Maybe those in the electrified area were height modified [**] if they had EMU service so check west of Rosewood or Brisbane Valley Line if anyone lives in or visits those areas. QHRtrainz/Jake, you seem to be the person with your finger on the platform structure data so maybe you know already where the low platforms are and have probably already measured some for your Caboolture northwards project that was mentioned a few months ago?

EDIT; [**] after reading Ryan's following post, I will clarify height modified in electrified area if they had EMU service, to better refer to some stations on the north coast line. Maybe locals can describe the station rebuilding details for the Nth Coast line, especially to Nambour, before the ICE sets and Nambour electrified commuter service. Certainly station upgrading work much in evidence when observed from RM 2014 - 2051 - 2020 while enroute to Gympie 5 JAN 1988. But as to the question if the station upgrades included height or length as well as new construction in some cases, someone with definite factual data will know and help, I hope. Rosewood electrification also resulted in some station improvements. Again locals will probably have pictures and details recorded.

Certainly some stations on the Ferny Grove line were rebuilt with electrification eg Enoggera, although Enoggera's work was more due to a major bus interchange. Electrification was one of the forces that resulted in more passengers which drove the station rebuilding and eventual line duplication. I think recent duplication out that way may have changed other stations by now.

Re the RM 2014 - 2051 - 2020 trip to Gympie 5 JAN 1988. Yes, I admit to a notebook train recording background.

An interesting topic for those building trainz versions.
 
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I don't think the platforms were raised for electrics. Certainly for the SX cars, but the main reason platforms are the height they are is because of passing freight wagons. Down on the Gold Coast and at Lota, the platforms have been raised for the electrics as they are passenger-only lines. South Brisbane has recently been raised - you can see the various levels over the years, but the new height leaves a bigger gap between the train and platform due to the freight wagons.
 
I don't think the platforms were raised for electrics. Certainly for the SX cars, but the main reason platforms are the height they are is because of passing freight wagons. Down on the Gold Coast and at Lota, the platforms have been raised for the electrics as they are passenger-only lines. South Brisbane has recently been raised - you can see the various levels over the years, but the new height leaves a bigger gap between the train and platform due to the freight wagons.

Ryan, good point as to if suburban platforms were raised for electrics. Certainly for the SX cars. I have thus edited and added to my above post to better reflect that.

Re the Nyanda business; As people already know, the introduction of the SX cars meant the Southside platforms needed to be both raised and lengthened. [Kerr, Destination South Brisbane, 1978 P.115] Nyanda could not be lengthened due to the level crossing on the south end and the lines into the industrial estate on the northern end. The former 1067 mm line into the industrial estate can still be seen on Google Earth while the 1435mm is still in use.

If you have been following the platform structure discussion, place Google Street view on the actual level crossing at Nyanda and look along the sides of the platform to see how an early 1950s platform was built. Its length can also be measured by Google Earth's measuring tool which looks like a measuring ruler on the top tool bar.

Cheers
Peter
 
Hi all thank you for the information that is all good stuff it is now only a few days untill I get to oz
I can't wait
If the people over there are as nice as you lot then I'm in for a neat time
chris sullivan
 
Hi all thank you for the information that is all good stuff it is now only a few days untill I get to oz
I can't wait
If the people over there are as nice as you lot then I'm in for a neat time chris sullivan

Hi Chris, I should check recent posts but just in case this has not been mentioned, the following site http://translink.com.au/ for general timetables and delays and this next one for the "Go Card" electronic ticket that can be used on all South East QLD public transport including the "Surfside" Gold Coast buses, most of which have the Translink stickers or paintwork http://translink.com.au/tickets-and-fares/go-card

Some debate re the matter of if it is easier for visitors to buy individual paper tickets or buy a Go Card as the electronic fares are usually cheaper.

Cheers
Peter
 
Hi all well its a big thank you from me for all this information and I well be in oz on Friday 26-10-2012
so I well beable to let you know what I have done and I am going to find some shunting yards while there and take some pics
so I well chat to you all later
chris sullivan
 
A Very Good Afternoon Everyone

@Cvkewi
, thank you for the kind words; its been a while since I posted here. There is alot of people helping out, petan is a amazing source of information, a real credit for finding the most juicy information.

It will be released onto a CD, and be sold on our website; when we set up one. At the present time, I am finishing year 12 and I am currently working two jobs; one with a retail chain and running Queensland Heritage Railways Limited.

The Inner City is nearly finished, Ferny Grove is nearly finished, and Shorncliffe is nearly complete thanks to the assistance of young Nathan Meier.

Please do subscribe to our thread, and our social media; Facebook Page;

http://www.facebook.com/mobileprotection#!/groups/281919215193963/

@Ryan_MC, could it be possible to take screenshots on your Brisbane Route of all the signals on your route for the inner city, and Mayne Yard; it will be much better then asking for a classified QR Document.

P.S Post Soon, with Shots of Ferny Grove

With Regards
Michael Gitsham
QHR Commissioner Of Railways
 
petan is a amazing source of information, a real credit for finding the most juicy information. It will be released onto a CD, and be sold on our website; when we set up one. Michael Gitsham

Your above reference to selling a CD of material must not include any material in any format I make freely available for the rail fan community!!!!

I wish to state all the obsolete material, documents or otherwise, I provide are for private research purposes only and are strictly not for profit. The original documents are also noted as the products of the original producers eg NSWGR, QR, WAGR, Australian Military Forces Survey Corps etc as applicable.

Therefore not to be sold in any format or any manner including, but not limited to, money or payment in kind or any similar scheme......

I have stated this on this public forum for all to see so all can clearly understand and thus can not say they did not know.

Cheers
Peter Cokley [Petan]
 
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Petan,

I should offer a clarification on the matter of the quote; as I the original questioner remarked that he would like to see the trainz routes as part of a CD pack. I was not reffering as you mentioned about selling obsolete documents, refference material for any money or otherwise payment as you would be infringing on the Copywrite Act 1968 (Commonwealth).

Peter C, Myself or any member of Queensland Heirtage Railway Limited, DO NOT wish to gain personally or on behalf of the organisation by selling refference material at the highest bidder. We have no intention to do this at all or at any point in the future. As this material should remain freely avaliable, and to be used correctly under the guidelines of the 1968 Copywrite Act (Commonwealth)

I hope that clears the matter up further.

With Regards

Michael Gitsham
Chief Executive Officer
Queensland Heritage Railways Limited
 
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