BIG Coal Trains in South Australia's North

This video shows some movements in the final month of operation for the Leigh Creek Coal train, which ran from the Thomas Playford Power Station at Port Augusta, to the Leigh Creek Coal mine located at Copley, 250 km's ( 155 miles ) to the north.
The train is powered by 3 x Pacific National 82 class, which are locally built GM-EMD with a 12-710G3A power plant, producing 3000 hp for traction.
The train usually ran with around 165 wagons, ( which varied slightly at times ) with an overall length was around 2.7 km's, or 1.67 miles, or 8860 feet.
The last vehicle on the train is a compressor wagon to help with keeping up air pressure in the trains brakes.
The scenes were filmed between Tue 29/03/16, and Fri 01/04/16.

[@21mozzie]

My Grandfather (or so I understand) was in charge of designing the town of Leigh Creek in the 50s and chose the route for the railway. It went downhill the entire way so the trains didn't need to do much pulling once the train was started. (Happy to be corrected if my understanding is wrong.)

[@TrevsOutbackandGoldAdventures]

I have watched many ,many aussie train videos and even made a few myself ,so when I say this is best aussie train video I've ever come across I don't say it lightly.A totally enthralling video framed within majestic South Aus desert scenery. Thanks for covering the last of the Leigh Creek coal trains. One of my greatest and most memorable train experience was of the LC coal train about 25 years ago.I was on a camping trip out Parachilna way ,and as I always, whenever near,set up camp a rail line..I had propped near a rail bridge over when of the many dry creeks running westwardly off the Flinders.It was a very dark,moonless night and as usual in wide open aussie desert areas you can see lights for tens of miles off in the distance.In the dark I could see a bright light in the far distance to the south west.As always it is very hard to judge the distance of bright lights in the distance in the desert.But I knew whatever it was it was a long ways off.A look at my map made it clear it would have to be a train's light. Any way after half an hour passed and I could just start to perceive the familiar rumble of some serious locomotive power an innumerable steel wheels on steel rails headed my way on that still,mild and beautiful desert night.After ten minutes that distant rumble had become a bone shaking,visceral cacophony and ground literal began to shake as the massive beast of a train drew level with me and passed over that small bridge.It literally must have been doing 110 kph and even at that massive speed the damn thing took at least ten minutes to pass. I figured later that at that sort of speed it must have been at least 50 or 60 kms away when I first spotted its head light in the distance. It was a truly memorable experience and one that has ever since etched a vivid and lasting impression in my mind. So I can only feel great regret at the passing into history this iconic train of the South Australian landscape. With kind regards,Trev.

[@Keithlfpieterse]

Thanks for the upload. It reminded me of my childhood in South Africa. One of my favorite pastimes was to count the number of wagons while my thoughts ranged far and wide. As for the landscape - very familiar. Appreciate the photography and the editing. I wish you well.

[@romeowhiskey1146]

161 CARS...yup...I COUNTED them.

[@zacheryboodhai2002]

A lot

[@manlybaker3098]

Thank you for posting!! As an American, I have a concept of DISTANCE. Europeans can never seem to understand how just how much bigger the world is compared to their ELITIST patch. 👍👍👍👍

[@jenesisjones6706]

I kept getting distracted by the flies 🙃 BUT the approach to Leigh Creek was visually superb! I love SA, used to live in Hammond until 2013.

[@nancyhobson9710]

Wonderful video. Thanks for posting, as it's a part of Australia most rarely see.

[@tubbylunchbox5693]

That explains a lot! 😃That beast has been as long as 169 wagons.

[@jimcrawford5039]

Magnificent video! I love that country over there! Riverina, NSW.

[@tubbylunchbox5693]

GREAT Video as always😃 but those 12-710's are 3030BHP, so 2850ish for traction? I'd like to know do the 81 Class pull any more weight than the 82 Class. 🤔

[@chillimocha]

Great footage, thanks for uploading.

[@narendrashukla1198]

i love Australian landscape.

[@nihongo02341]

By the way, a great video!!! Thanks for sharing with everyone great history! Hope the TV stations ask for it someday!!!

[@emd645e3c]

Thanks...re the TV stations, they don't ask, they just take it and hope you don't notice.

[@rupee0987]

Hi Steve, a wonderful vlog capturing a part of Australia that most never see. A sight now consigned to history. Thankyou. Cheers

[@colinwilkie2279]

Those are ex NSWGR's coal hoppers, I remember them from the 1980's on the hunter valley coal trains. We use to ride them, all through the night. Great fun.

[@cityraildude]

Aren't they a different gauge?

[@JBofBrisbane]

Port Augusta to Marree was relaid to standard gauge in 1956.

[@sam8alex12]

A very good film to watch ,thank you.

[@Railfan6675]

First time I've seen a compressor wagon, or at least knew what it was. They don't use them here in Canada that I know of. Had to look this place up on Google Earth. That is a massive mine, about 7 km wide! Thanks for posting and the very good description of locos and wagons.

[@emd645e3c]

Thanks for actually reading it. Most people don't even bother, they find it's just easier to ask even though the answer is right there in front of them !!

[@vsvnrg3263]

@@emd645e3c ,i was going to ask about the out-of-place wagon at the end of the train till i read the description. lovely stuff this video. and leigh creek isn't in your backyard either. a lot of time and effort to make it.

[@dodgieandsami]

Awesome Video.

[@SantaFe19484]

Awesome video! Greetings from the USA.

[@revisoressi7845]

Que hermosos lugares amigos, yo soy de México, que padre poder observar siquiera los paisajes de su hermoso país

[@allanchapman6250]

The trains are loaded to maximum grade they encounter on the line maximum speed on these grades are 10 mph or 16 kph . Ex NSWGR fireman 60's & 70's .

[@marcosinnes5999]

Super video cool

[@matthewmassarotti2596]

i know the port augusta is now closed but what about leigh creek what r they going to do with all of the coal?

[@erichulgan2572]

Is the track shutting down as well or does it run other freight? If it is shutting down you should build a track cart and ride the line, it's a blast.

[@jimcrawford5039]

Eric Hulgan I believe the track only goes to the mine. I think the central Aus. line is further west.

[@stuatbendigo]

Many thanks for the vid Steve! Was at Parachilna a few years ago and saw that the old Ghan line passed through there before it was more further west. Do you know if these coal trains out of Leigh Ck used part of the old Ghan line down to Port Augusta? Cheers, Stu

[@korinuthefish1861]

Wow! The 3rd one was the longest one I've ever seen!

[@emd645e3c]

They are all the same train. I just chose not to show the WHOLE train in some views to avoid people falling asleep !!

[@antonioaraujo3029]

Parabéns belo vídeo

[@andybowen34]

g'day mate my name andy bowen from taree in nsw i am very interested in wanting to find out how many coal wagons are on these big bloody monsters newcastle on the nsw hunter valley coal train carry 90 wagons long it will be great to here back from you

[@justinjordanbalingit8831]

Led By Pacific National Coal Train in South Australia Takes the 1,000,000 Grade Back to South Australia 2:34

[@justinjordanbalingit8831]

Only for 82 Class Locomotive in South Australia 3:40

[@justinjordanbalingit8831]

26 Minutes Watching this Video 5:11

[@justinjordanbalingit8831]

1,000,000,000,000 Mile Coal train in South Australia 6:24

[@turuncude33]

How many tons of cargo does the train carry in total? There is no ramp on the way of the train, it seems

[@imacgra1]

cool video - good one for posterity. It must be pretty flat to have hauled so much with that horsepower: to get 48 of those same wagons up to Waterfall (Southern Sydney, NSW) they need 4 x 82s for 48 of them! Damn 1 in 40 grades.

[@callum_bracht]

It wasn’t until 8:20 when I realised, woe that’s longer than I thought

[@CarlosGonzalez-kt5be]

I like to know how many car pusch this locom.?

[@whorayful]

That will become valuable historic footage of the last days of South Australia before it became a third world state. You managed to get some fantastic angles and lighting with this video, it's beautiful country and you have shown it at it's best. Pity about the flies! What has happened to the rollingstock? Was it abandoned at Leigh Creek or left down at Port Augusta for reuse somewhere, not too many coal mines in SA?. Ray.

[@emd645e3c]

A couple of my recent videos show them being transfered to NSw after SSR purchased them

[@nancyhobson9710]

Yes,beautiful country

[@johnmoore8016]

what is the max grade on the rail line in Australia? a very outstanding video. love to watch in on wide screen the view of the country side is something else. what was on the flat car at the end of the train? thanks

[@imacgra1]

according to the description it's a compressor car so the brakes work optimally at the rear of the train (so far from the locos!). As for the grades, it really depends on where you are. In the Blue Mountains west of Sydney it's as steep as 1 in 33, and the other main lines out of Sydney all have sections of 1 in 40.

[@geoffreyblack5982]

Why are the coal wagons not loaded to capacity? Very nice footage. Pity its finished.

[@vsvnrg3263]

there might be load restrictions on the track. because it was known the coal trains were ceasing maintenance might have been stopped.

[@tubbylunchbox5693]

The mine closed the previous year, that was the last of the stockpile.

[@sahirkhan1581]

The train speed pleas

[@tutekohe1361]

Was that a private track or the same line the ‘Ghan’ runs on?

[@vsvnrg3263]

yeah/nar. it was the original ghan track that was reconstructed from 3'6" to 4'8" and realigned in places. so yeah/nar, mostly yeah. i think the original ghan used to get piggy-backed on sg wagons as far as about leigh creek then meander to alice springs from there. until the new track to alice springs was built. i may stand to be corrected on this. best of luck finding video or pikkys of the piggy-back service. they are rare.

[@kefelonia1]

jacinda likes to play with train sets, but she really loves plain with the drivers.

[@stnicholas54]

8229 was a very busy boy.

[@sector5514]

82 classes are real work horses

[@rodzor]

8800 ft? That's a short train on the CN in Canada. Regularly running 11000+ ft

[@emd645e3c]

Yea, but with DPU's though.

[@R00RAL]

How does a driver feel with all that steel behind you ?

[@sydneymartin6941]

Replying to Dennis Latter Greetings from South Africa As an old driver I can tell you The feeling of controlling all that power is so unbelievable Either with electric or diesel Your adrenalin goes up a notch or 2 with the roaring of the diesels but either one it it just unbelievable Sure miss those days

[@spencerwood2093]

I would pull three hundred fifty coal wagons with eighteen engines to the mines for loading!

[@TheWizardGamez]

Australia has got to come up with some new state names. The title had me baffled cause I was thinking, that’s just central Australia, why didn’t they say that. It would be better if it was like ‘north Kansas’

[@tubbylunchbox5693]

It was part of the Northern Territory not that long ago. Adelaide & thereabouts should be part of Victoria.

[@AppleseedVid]

@@tubbylunchbox5693 It's the other way around. Before 1911, Northern Territory was a part of South Australia.

[@johno6366]

Do you know what sucks, when you are coming back from Kalgoorlie after a holiday you decide to stop over because it is getting late and stay at the Kunderdin caravan park next to the grain depot and and where the train tracks run along side Great Eastern Highway and next to the caravan park, what sucks is that every F¥€$£# hour a freight train drives past, honks it's bloody horn; MUAAAAAAAAAA, MUAAAAA, AND THE CLICKETY CLICK NOISE OF THE CARRIAGES DURING THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT! Hmm... Good sleep...

[@nancyhobson9710]

Been there, done that?

[@yunassaxer7119]

super

[@santoshrao7430]

nice

[@5520397547]

Why closed the mine?

[@emd645e3c]

The mine only existed to serve one power station at Port Augusta, and they closed the power station.

[@5520397547]

@@emd645e3c thank you

[@1arritechno]

The real reason is that the state Govt is totally for Renewable Energy and wanted to close all Coal powered electricity generation. Mine closure & no Coal generation , has led to higher energy cost, sucking on power from other States and more blackouts...........

[@stefenosthepom2649]

Because the SA government are dickheads..

[@alans9806]

@@1arritechno Rubbish. The 'coal' was crap but the owners Alinta closed the station and mine for pure economic reasons. SA's wholesale power price dropped due to solar and wind and is sometimes negative. The state regularly runs on 100% renewables, blackouts are rare and we export a lot to Vic and soon NSW.

[@chuckufarly5]

Australia is weird, you have locomotives from north america as well as some that have the Europe style....

[@chuckufarly5]

okay, but i mean in terms of looks....this video is more Euro style, yet other videos i have seen have north american styles....

[@TrainsinToronto]

chuckufarly5 the iron ore trains basically look American. And they use ex-DM&E units

[@zagan1]

It's because some of the mining companies have us rail lines in australia. So they don't comply with australian standards but us standards in every way so procedures, signaling, guage etc are all usa standard. It's easier to just buy a us Loco then ship it over and start using it, they do change dust filters etc on them and train drivers to the usa standards, if you were a us driver you would probably find it easy to just start driving as you'd already know 95% of everything. As far as I know it's the only place with full us standard rail lines not in the usa.

[@miauwgabriel3547]

@@chuckufarly5 This does not like euro style. We had our own oceanic style of trains.

[@tubbylunchbox5693]

Near stock American in the Pilbra. The 82 Class JT42C Clyde-EMD is the predessor of British Rail's Type 66 Class, you can still get them in 2023 brand new as JT42CWRM EMD's from Progress Rail for EU use.😀

[@mattr7118]

I counted 162 the first clip

[@haydenallen6392]

John Doe 167 for me

[@RailAndVlogsPK]

210 coal trin

[@johno6366]

Imagine being at a boom gate when that train is approaching, do you speed across or wait...

[@harinderpalsingh2232]

Wagons are small

[@tubbylunchbox5693]

92t Wagons, 132t Locos. Hunter Valley Coal is where you find the 120t Wagons & a lot of 180t Locos (90 Class, 5000 & 5020 Class)

[@magpiesextreme123]

Someone re-uploaded your video and hasn't credited you. kzbin.info/www/bejne/i3_IeKZvd75roZo