Marree dual gauge rail transfer Central Australia Railway

[robertgift]

How interesting!

13:00 - does narrow gauge track shifto the left? Why?

Are narrow gauge passenger cars narrower than standard gauge?

What was wrong with the "defective" boggies?

Does the transisiton car have two couplers on each end?

Thank you.

RWG, Denver, Coldorado (Colorado) USA (cold and snow here.)

[reidgck]

@robertgift There were two main yards connected with a dual gauge balloon loop at the top on which standard and narrow gauge trains could be turned. The narrow gauge rail changed sides before the left yards so that it would be on the correct side once around the loop. The narrow gauge passenger cars were originally standard gauge thus were even higher than the locos. Bogies had defective motors and worn gears (lost lubricant). Couplers likely would have been off center so connected at an angle.

[robertgift]

@reidgck Oh. Thank you. That explains it.

Yes. After posting I thoughthathe couplers need only reach (angle) 1/2 the difference between the two gauges which is, what, about 4-inch offset?

Thank you.

[reidgck]

@robertgift If you go to "google maps Marree Austraila" and select the satellite view, you can zoom in on the town and scene and see the former location of the old raiway yards and the loop. I have a page at - tripple w - nex. net. au / reidgck / marree.htm that shows the remains of the scene in late 2007 after the rails were removed if you are interested further.

[TheJrisen99]

@reidgck Thanks for sharing this. Not much like that here in the States. Very interesting and enjoyed your video very much! Added to my favorites!

[Organgrinder1010]

Was there still triple gauge track in Broken Hill in the early '90s?

[reidgck]

@Organgrinder1010 There would not have been tripple gauge at Broken Hill as only narrow and standard gauges met there. The standard gauge was government owned and the narrow gauge private so dual gauge was probably not constructed but am not sure The stations were well apart but don't know about the ore loading. There were a few locations in South Australia where three gauges met the best and most confusing track layout geometry was at Gladstone. Another interesting place was Peterborough

[JBofBrisbane]

@Organgrinder1010 - I think you're thinking of Port Pirie, not Broken Hill.

[InvasorEspacial007]

Good video, sad to see the line vanished so long ago.

[gregrudd]

So when did the recovery start just after the last narrow gauge Goods train in 1981 or was there a time that they left the line idle before dismantling started.

[reidgck]

@gregrudd Don't know exactly the commencement date of pulling the tracks up. The operations started at Oodnadatta and one team of contractors worked towards Alice Springs and the other worked towards Marree. I've seen pictures of an NSU diesel reversing with rail sleds attached to the coupler on the Oodnadatta - Alice section so the job seems to have been done differently. I was up Oodnadatta way two thirds of the way through 1981 and work towards Marree then had progressed about 80 kms.

[gregrudd]

@reidgck

The the reason that I ask this was IIRC the section north of Oonadatta was the most prone to wash outs and if they didn't start quickly it would have been quite difficult to do the recovery. Particularly the crossing of the Finke River which by looking at Google maps looks like it was done on the river bed. Judging from your video's the recovery trains looks like they ran quite fast compared to what was the former regular traffic.

[reidgck]

@gregrudd I should have said said I was there two thirds through 1982 -- Not 1981. So therefore the Marree side of Oodnadatta would have been started early or mid 1982 I guess. Sorry about that mistake. I didn't have video the first trip so went back to take the unusual operations later the same year. The first time work was near Edwards Creek. Recovery trains eventhough loaded with heavy rail, did run rather fast. The track seemed in good condition there but there was one derailment.

[jack90040]

great video

[imautuber444]

This is a really cool vid, 5*