Brisbane Valley - Tracks In The Sun Queensland Rail

[@WorldOfTransit]

I was on that tour in 1989, shame that such a scenic railway was laid to waste instead of being turned into a heritage railway of which Queensland was crying out for in the late 80's, with so many examples of locomotives and rolling stock scrapped without thought of preservation in mind. My only venture up the branch, sadly never made it to the terminus at Yarraman.

[@cozmolikeytrainz]

732 is my fav out of all of the PB15s

[@mikecondon9576]

Not that many around to choose from but 732 certainly covered some territory after to end of steam in 1969.

[@Hugh1620]

Another great video Mike. It gives a very small look at a line that was closed a few years before I was born that is another that I wish I could have travelled on. When will you be out at QPSR again ? I hope you got some good footage that night you were out with us. Cheers H.

[@mikecondon9576]

Thanks Hugh, Very please to hear that you liked the production. It is available on DVD. I hope to come out to QPSR in the coming few months. See you then.

[@Hugh1620]

Will be good to see you again Mike. How did that footage that you took that last time you came out on that night we spoke about Noel, fire brigade and other things ? Would be good to see the finished product of that footage. Hears hoping i'll see you out there when your out there in the coming weeks. Cheers mate.

[@0011clem]

Is 1615 still alive somewhere , or finished. I wish they would have kept that line open. I always wanted to catch a train to blackbutt . but I never made it. with all the development going on at fernvale etc , it would have made sense to at least keep some of the track open.

[@mikecondon9576]

Thank you for the comment and question. With respect to 1615, I have no specific knowledge other than the whole class would withdrawn by 1991. That said, some remained on the books for a few years longer. To the best of my knowledge there are only 5 class members in some form of heritage service. 1615 is not one of them. I am not certain but it has probably been scrapped. On the issue of the Brisbane Valley line, there is no doubt that the development at places like Fernvale could warrant the return of the rails. That said, the corridor was less than ideal with a huge number of 5 chain curves. Fernvale station area is now largely a shopping centre. If the general corridor could be altered to reflect a more modern alignment then a return would be possible. The current state of politics seems to be focused upon the small vision for rail. Alternately, the large scale projects like Cross River Rail seem to suffer form a lack of funding or short termism views of what is needed. This is on display at present with two parties contesting the current election saying that they would abandon the project or attempt to downscale the project. Either way the core value of the project would be lost and the chance to add to the South Easdt Queensland network would evaporate. Having travelled along the Brisbane Valley, I can tell you it was one of the most picturesque lines in the state. Such a shame it was all lost. Again thanks for your comments and I hope you engage and enjoy other productions on my channel.

[@0011clem]

Hello , yes for sure 1615 is no doubt scrapped . Yes lots of curves in the old lines , that made going at a reasonable speed impossible . I had a visit to rosewood railway a while back , and in the yard at Kunkala , they had 1179 sitting there . this class looks similar to the class that 1615 is in.. Were you a driver at mayne at one time ? cheers clem

[@0011clem]

Do you remember Bernie concannon from mayne. and jimmy mc cauliffe ?

[@mikecondon9576]

Hello again, I apologise for not replying earlier but I have been very busy in the lead up to Christmas. With respect to the 1170 Class and 1600 Class there are some superficial similarities. However, there are some very significant differences between the two classes. To mention a few might help. The 1170's were an A1A - A1A wheel arrangement as opposed to Co-Co arrangement of the 1600 Class. The 1170's had only one driving position unlike the 1600's. The operation of the 1170's was designed for long end leading running and they were difficult to run cab leading as the diver would have the controls located almost behind the seat. Of course crews just did what they needed to do. If you look at all of the early images of the class and particularly when operating in multiple, the cabs would be back to back in the middle of the pair. Of course all of the early QR 60 tonne diesel locos were designed to run long end leading. However, the 1600's, 1700's and 1720's had better visibility at the cab end and as consequence crews ran the locos in that manner. Another interesting aspect of the 1170's was the articulated trucks or bogies. There is no centre fuel tank under the frame. You will also see the another interesting feature of the 1170's when you look at the headstock position. There is no headstock as such and like the 1150 class the coupling, buffers, air brake hose and in the case of the 1170's multi unit cabling are all part of the truck or bogie. This was unique in QR. The use of Pyle-National locomotive marker lights complete with red shade glass were another unique feature that only the 1170's and 1150's shared. Of there are many other aspects that make the 1170's and 1600's different but we could go on for some time. I hope you this information interesting and helpful.

[@mikecondon9576]

Hello Clem, Sorry, I overlooked your question at the end. The answer is no. However, you would be right if you thought that I have a connection with drivers from Mayne. I know many current and former Drivers as well as Inspectors.