Drivers view Tasmania, Ormley to Avoca, May 2024

[@michaeljohnston406]

Wow such a greattview to see everyday when you drive a train in Tasmania! thanks for sharing!

[@driver667]

@@michaeljohnston406 Tasmania has some great scenery. Very happy you enjoyed the ride along the line. 👍😀

[@AZqyc]

[ x ] Another very pleasant, enjoyable ride! Nice scenery ... but my favorite was at 20:10! (I like bridges.) [Greetings from Tucson]

[@driver667]

@@AZqyc greetings to Tucson. That one is a decent sized bridge along the line. Glad you enjoyed the ride. 👍😀

[@robinmathews2446]

Really enjoyed this part of the line.. So many times that I wished that I could visit the old Avoca Station.. Then suddenly it was gone? I missed my chance.. You can still see the remains of the two coal loading stages..On the left, one before and one after the station platform.. Thank you for the great memories... Having driven on the Esk Highway for so many years, I always imagined the rail line to have more curves (like the road) in this section? I hope that you post the next section from Avoca to Lewellen, and then on to Conara.. Great stuff !!!

[@driver667]

@@robinmathews2446 very happy to hear you are enjoying this series. More to come. 👍😀😀

[@gregholm6562]

What was the four legged animal that crossed in front of the train at counter number 1750 mark, overall a great video

[@driver667]

@@gregholm6562 there was a Deer 🦌 that ran along and across in front. Glad you enjoyed the video 👍 😀

[@georgeheilman4243]

Mesmerising countryside.

[@driver667]

@@georgeheilman4243 they have some beautiful country in Tasmania. 👍😀

[@PaxAlotin-j6r]

I checked online for the amount of 36" Narrow gauge - in use in Australia. I was surprised to find that there's nearly 12,000 Km of it in use across the states.

[@driver667]

@@PaxAlotin-j6r there is quite a bit of 3'6" narrow gauge track across Australia. 👍😀

[@martythemartian99]

Somebody tell the Tassie Tourist Bureau. I would come back for another visit just to ride this line. :)

[@driver667]

@@martythemartian99 there is a lot of potential in tassie for rail tourism. 👍👍😀

[@emdB67]

I was very fortunate to be given the opportunity to ride this line from Conara Junction to Fingal in Z1 (second unit) in 1993. I happened to be at Conara Jcn one night with 2 friends from Queensland (I'm Victorian). We were photographing 2 trains crossing there when the crew of one told us we could have a ride if we were still around in the morning. So we slept in our van and were given a long blast from lead loco, Z3 just before sunrise to let us know they were departing soon. The crew even gave us a key for the station saying that we could use the shower when we got back (by road - one of my friends drove the van to Fingal so that we could get back as we did not have time to come back on the loaded train which was hours away. I've not yet returned to Tasmania since then. I hope to do that soon, but am not expecting to be offered any cab rides then. I was offered many in 1993. Two on Tasrail, the rest on various tourist lines including Don River, Wee Georgie Wood, Derwent Valley and the Bush Mill's 15" gauge K1 Garratt. The only one I actually had to ask for was Emu Bay to Hellyer mine. Great memories. ☺

[@driver667]

@@emdB67 great memories and good times there. 😀 It's a little different these days. 🤔👍😀

[@rsinclair6560]

​​@@emdB67Great memories. Always friendly crews. The North East Scottsdale (Tonganah) to Ledgerwood was spectacular mind blowing track. The closest you could get to bush walking but riding a locomotive pushing it's up through deep granite cutting, hardly seeing the rails for overgrowing treefern fronds. I think Tasmania never sees its non convict infrastructure as an asset , they think what they think what visitors should see. Probably time to plan the future of the Emu Bay Railway when the ore stops and Australian Cement look at an alternative that coal for cement production and the Fingal line becomes redundant but I don't hold high hopes for Tasmanian planning or imagination plus it is the poorest State with smallest population.

[@emdB67]

@@rsinclair6560 while I covered a lot on my 1993 holiday, the North East line was one that I did not get to see at all. 😭

[@mihailoarsic5716]

👍

[@driver667]

@@mihailoarsic5716 👍😀

[@xr6lad]

Interesting the platform at Ormley is essentially all still there including the edging under the grass but the buildings gone. Btw is there a reason the train keeps slowing down in the middle of no where or crawl along at various places? Is it to keep within the schedule and not arrive early?

[@driver667]

@@xr6lad there are places along the line with speed restrictions due to work being needed to be done on the track. 👍😀

[@robinmathews2446]

If you look at the colour of the ballast, It is usually a fresher colour where the speed restrictions are, I think ? This probably means that the track has not yet fully settled into it, hence the speed restrictions? I notice that the driver does not seem to throttle up until his entire train is over the fresh stuff? Speed restrictions must apply to the whole train at a location. (Not just the loco)?

[@driver667]

@@robinmathews2446 yes, the speed restriction applies to the whole train. No speeding up until the whole train is clear. 👍😀

[@xr6lad]

@@robinmathews2446 yes I noticed in a few places they'd seemed fresh blast and concrete sleepers laid. It seemed well maintained in many places.

[@driver667]

A bit more work required in places but not bad overall. 👍😀

[@tomhenry6440]

I thought this was to Avoca in Victoria

[@driver667]

@@tomhenry6440 hmmm, no. They have an Avoca in Tasmania. 👍😀