Train collision in Adelaide today....

V

VinnyBarb

*HRH in real life*
If you have not heard yet, SCT014, one of the new Downer EDI build SCT Class/LPD Class, a GT46C ACe USA derivative Locomotive, only perhaps some 2 years or so old, hit an apparently stationary grain train near Mawson Lake this morning. Reports say of some many million Dollar damages of at least AU$ 6 million so far estimated and also say, the SCT014 might have to be scraped.

It is ironic, just a few weeks ago I took some 100 or so digital photos of the very same locomotive, while it was serviced at the Downer EDI Dry Creek service facilities in Adelaide. Really sad if this fine piece of machinery has to be scraped and possible then return as steel for a Kia, Honda, Holden or any other car body.

To see what this fine piece of engineering looks like, take a peek here.

Cheers

VinnyBarb
 
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Oh good, so it was not as bad as my radio had reported it. Goes to show how news services play up a story to make it seem more dramatic as it really was. At least SCT014 will live to see another day. As one of these days I will start constructing the SCT/LPD Class. But not any day soon, not before I clear my backlog of current projects.

Cheers

VinnyBarb
 
VinnyBarb said:
Oh good, so it was not as bad as my radio had reported it. Goes to show how news services play up a story to make it seem more dramatic as it really was. At least SCT014 will live to see another day. As one of these days I will start constructing the SCT/LPD Class. But not any day soon, not before I clear my backlog of current projects.

Cheers

VinnyBarb
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I was scared for a moment that it was a metro train. I am happy no one died.
 
slozelhrzel said:
I was scared for a moment that it was a metro train. I am happy no one died.
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"Lucky" it was an ore train that hit a grain train. So no passengers were involved. SCT014 usually passes past my back fence in Peterbourough every now and then on the way to Broken Hill with some 40 or so ore gondolas, I guess, to pick up some lead ore for the Pt.Pirie Smelters.

Every day some 8-12 or so freight trains, beside the Indian Pacific from Sydney or from Port Augusta go past my backyard, a good spot for train watching, even from my kitchen window. At other times, the SCT Classes are shifting some 80-100 container flat tops, most are double stacked, in a long SCT consist past my place, beside the National Pacific NR Class locos zooming hither and yon with their loads along the tracks passing here.

The other day something very unexpected happened, shock horror, the Indian Pacific stopped at the Peterborough railway station to pick up a passenger. Must have been a VIP, as normally the IP NEVER stops there as the station is now not used anymore and its windows are all barred up with thick panel boards.

Just a little news snipped from the hazy, lazy, sleepy, slow, time forgotten place called Peterborough SA :p.

Cheers

VinnyBarb
 
VinnyBarb said:
Oh good, so it was not as bad as my radio had reported it. Goes to show how news services play up a story to make it seem more dramatic as it really was.
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This post convinced me to do some research on the locomotive mentioned, and it's really quite advanced in design. I admire how the gross weight cane be changed to allow it to run on different lines if need be.

The news services here are already scaring the senior citizens with predictions of how severe the winter weather will be! They never miss an opportunity to turn a snow dusting into a hundred year blizzard!
 
Ed, I take it the loco wasn't designed by Australia then, since you call it advanced:hehe:

Jamie
 
H222 said:
Ed, I take it the loco wasn't designed by Australia then, since you call it advanced:hehe:
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Luckily you had the laughing/sarcasm icon at the end or some of us would have taken the comment seriously.

A quote from the Wikipedia page link provided by Vinnibarb:

The class was a new and innovative design for Australian conditions based on other locomotives produced by Downer EDI, such as the Queensland Rail 4000 class (GT42CU AC) and the Westrail / FreightLink / Freight Australia GT46C.
 
Like Euphod, I was also impressed by the ability of the loco to change its weight to suit the tasks it had to perform and the lines it was running over. It has a maximum weight of 139 metric tonnes to provide the extra adhesion needed to haul coal trains on the heavy duty lines. 7 metric tonnes of "dead weight" can be removed to bring it below the 134 metric tonne maximum allowed on the national standard gauge network. If only losing weight was that easy!
 
pware said:
Luckily you had the laughing/sarcasm icon at the end or some of us would have taken the comment seriously.

A quote from the Wikipedia page link provided by Vinnibarb:

The class was a new and innovative design for Australian conditions based on other locomotives produced by Downer EDI, such as the Queensland Rail 4000 class (GT42CU AC) and the Westrail / FreightLink / Freight Australia GT46C.
Click to expand...

Has anyone seen the Adelaide main train station? Not the metro one but the other one. Very quiet and small.
 
Yes, the Keswick Interstate Terminal standard gauge station has, IIRC, only 3 platforms. A few kms away is the Adelaide Metro Terminal broad gauge (soon to be converted to standard gauge) station. The platforms at Keswick, unlike the Adelaide Metro station, are all through platforms.

The smaller size of Keswick is due to its use by only four fairly irregular services (each 1, 2 or 3 times a week but are frequently reduced during the "off" season):
  • the Overland to Melbourne
  • the Indian Pacific to Sydney and Perth
  • the Ghan to Darwin
  • and the new Spirit service to Brisbane
All of these services, with the possible exception of the Overland, are aimed at the tourist market. There are no regional passenger rail services left running in and out of Adelaide.
 
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