A Moment in Mullewa

[@stanleyj.mitchell4851]

Thanks for the memories Terry. I attended Mullewa Junior High School from 1966-70. Then was a drivers assistant based at Three Springs and Geraldton from 1985-91. I well remember the grades around Eradu including putting sand from trackside unto the rails so the loco could keep traction. Some drivers hated the track out there. I personally loved it and actually learnt to drive trains in that area. I went back to Mullewa in March 2023. I was saddened by how much the town has deteriorated.

[@mcdoodlematush363]

Thank you for this little bit of WA railway history.

[@Raptor50aus]

Great footage yet again thanks Terry

[@railmediaproductions3677]

Great video. I love how you were able to record the different birds around the rail yard.

[@dieseldavetrains8988]

A great lookback on Western Australian railways history and the old diesels. It would be interesting to do a follow up video of Mullewa in 2024!😉

[@tjmfarming9584]

Great footage, Terry! Mullewa is very familiar territory for me, as that's the area I grew up in. Unfortunately, I came about 30 years too late to see Mullewa back in the WAGR/Westrail days. I only ever saw the Perenjori and Karara ore trains as well as the seasonal grain trains as a kid. My dad would've only been a toddler when you filmed these scenes of Mullewa. Until now, I only heard from dad what it was like back then before the regular goods trains stopped, and never had I seen any photos or videos of Mullewa in that time period. I know Dad told me how he remembers my late grandfather sending almost all of our wool, grain and sheep off to market by rail from Canna siding, and any commodities like bags of fertiliser or machinery parts we needed would also get carted up by train where possible. So, to finally see footage of the area from back in the day has answered so many questions. Thank you for sharing!

[@Pablo668]

Great vid.

[@user-three-four-nine]

Love this video, so many different birds!

[@vsvnrg3263]

pleasant viewing. corellas and galahs really are clowns.

[@MitchellFreeway]

Not technically a double header, the XA is being hauled dead. English Electric and Metropolitan-Vickers locos couldn't operate in multiple unit.

[@djukin1016]

Great footage Terry, the first part is filmed at Wicherina on the climb from Eradu towards Northern Gully. Was the sound dubbed? if original the X was working, drivers up here say they used to double head with the EE's but with a crew in each loco.

[@vsvnrg3263]

@@djukin1016 , after reading your post i went back and listened. yes, i couldnt see any smoke but i remember the sound of those x's as they pulled the morning rush hour trains out of queens park station. the ee loco sound is how i remember ee locos doing the suburban trains too. they make a pleasant sound.

[@MitchellFreeway]

@@djukin1016 Phil, it's Super 8 footage. The sound is overdubbed like all of Terry's other videos from the era. The lack of smoke from the XA is also a dead giveaway.

[@terrymercer2379]

Thanks MitchelFreeway. That's a good reflection. I was originally thinking of a crew operating in each locomotive. No problem dead heading, because it was all down hill.

[@djukin1016]

@@terrymercer2379 Terry the section you have caught the EE and X is the Geraldton- Mount Magnet Road at Wicherina. It is a climb all the way from Eradu to almost Northern Gully, that level crossing has seen plenty of trains stall as they climb through it and even today its not uncommon for locos to fail in that section. It is normal for loaded trains to be only doing 10-15kph across the crossing and the section takes 30-40 minutes for a train to get through, only 5-10 mins in a car!! There is an overtaking lane for vehicles coming towards Geraldton as road trains also can only get up there at 10-20kph.