Queensland Rail - Blackall to Yaraka 1993 VHS edit

[@samuelanketell8190]

Queensland rail was something special back then, it didn't matter where you went there seemed to be an active railway line, look at it now...just the skeletal remains of a great railway network.

[@tedbear4243]

Agreed. I'm pleased I had the opportunity to cover at least some of it.

[@trevormaxwell3480]

You are so right as I said before government polictians don't care

[@jouebien]

The biggest mistake was turning it from a carrier of anything to anywhere into something that had to make money. The result was major line and station closures. Much like the UK we lost a major portion of the economic engine and what was left was a sub par in quality and scope of service.

[@zanelindsay1267]

Definitely a rural rambler. Places I have only seen on a map. Nice work on the editing, thanks so much for filming and sharing this nostalgic slice of history.

[@tedbear4243]

Cheers Zane. I'm so pleased I got to some of these more out of the way places around the country and capture some unique trains, or at least what remained of them. This is also on my list to digitally re-edit in the future when I get time

[@johnmccnj]

I managed to get 3 trips on the Yaraka line, and it remains my favourite trip. This and the Maryborough-Monto service were the last true "mixed" trains in Qld, with no affections of tourism.

[@tedbear4243]

I managed a few shots on the monto line, but think I may have slept in or something, as I didnt end up getting full coverage like I planned.

[@michaelblockerlangley3462]

BRILLIANT!!! This resonated with me on many levels... Former country locomotive driver and massive fan of Pink Floyd. Video and music beautifully matched and cleverly edited. 👍❤️

[@tedbear4243]

Cheers Michael. Pink Floyd works well with this footage I think. Ive actually just recently digitally re-edited and posted an extended version of this, with 2 additional Pink Floyd tracks: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gmbdY5ekqKujhbs

[@JGrandcourt]

Fantastic video. Driving to Blackall tomorrow. Will be keen to see what, if anything, is left in buildings etc. I assume passengers travelled in the front van. Please keep uploading these nuggets of history, your efforts are appreciated.

[@tedbear4243]

Thanks Jason, your thoughts and comments are appreciated. Again, this is one video I will re edit one day - in 2 versions - one as is, only slightly better quality, plus a version with no (or little music) as per an earlier special request from some that worked in the area. Re the van, I presume so, tho there were no passengers on that occasion.

[@tedbear4243]

....And what did you find out to Blackall? Anything still standing?

[@adriannettlefold9084]

I just got back from a road trip to Yaraka and Blackall. Only a few isolated buildings like the station buildings at Yaraka, Emmet and Blackall remain. I wish I had taken the offer to learn the road as a D.A before they decided to pull the track up. Well worth the drive for anyone thinking of visiting the area. Especially the Woolscour at Blackall.

[@tedbear4243]

Thanks Adrian. I would like to one day get out there for a drive again. I'm still intending to re-edit that video and to run it through some new software to improve it. I also notice its one of a few that were somehow transferred at 24 fps instead of 25, hence the very annoying loss of a frame each second. Not sure how I managed to do that! Ive also promised a fellow that used to work on the track that I'd do a version minus the music (even though there is little to no sync sound where ive used music)

[@adriannettlefold9084]

@@tedbear4243 No worries mate, I enjoy your stuff whichever way. I just wish I had done the trip when work offered it to me. But, no use crying in your beer hey...

[@dieseldavetrains8988]

Forget about "Outback Truckers" this is "Outback Railways" at its best, small towns, rinky-dink tracks, before the railway sold out to the trucking industry. Like QLD we too in NSW lost most of our branch lines and with their loss small towns and communities died. The final blow was privatisation, private rail freight companies like Pacific National are not interested in shunting small sidings, they say there is no money in it.

[@rodneydrew9117]

I agree qld government should of done more to stop transport companies for doing that

[@robertcameron2808]

A nice little video

[@tedbear4243]

Thx. Im just so pleased I got to see and record it. I will digitally re-edit this one sometime and probably with a bit less music for one of the guys that msgd earlier, and worked out there.

[@kylestennings456]

Pink flyod for the win 👌🏻 epic

[@tedbear4243]

🙂

[@shaynescott3039]

Why the music?The locos are music to my ears.Enjoyed the video.

[@matthewdempsey6583]

pinkfloyd sorrow from the delicate sound of thunder album or momentrey lapse of reason album

[@tedbear4243]

TBH, it was that long ago I put together the VHS edits I cant recall such detail, sorry.

[@RailTownProductions]

Am I able to use parts of this for a future video I plan to do. Credit will be given

[@tedbear4243]

Hi there. I'd kind of prefer it to stay as is, where is, but appreciate the interest.

[@Hugh1620]

absolutely love the video but is there any chance we can have it without the music?

[@tedbear4243]

Most of these VHS vids were done years ago and are the first to go up because they are quick and easy. Ive got hundreds of hours of material I'm digitising which includes the field tapes all these edits have been drawn from. Two Tasmanian ones (Fingal and Wiltshire) were just quick tidy up edits of field tapes and I hope to do the same with more eventually. So yes, but its going to take a while as I just have so much going on in my life! Im particularly fond of the Yaraka trip, so it might be toward the top of the list 🙂

[@Hugh1620]

@@tedbear4243 mate what you have here is absolute gold. I am currently stationed in the central west of QLD and many of my work colleagues worked on this line and have many fond memories. I was born in Emerald in 1996 and can remember being taken by my father to watch the Yaraka train among others being marshalled at Emerald. It was a hive of activity even up until the mid 2000s although slowly declining. I even recognise some of the faces in your videos. You have captured a golden period lost in time. displaying the changes. To hear the those natural sounds again would be an even bigger nostalgia trip. Obviously the 1620 class were gone by the time I was of an age however the 1720s took over as the back bone of Western QLD where the 90 tonners couldn't go. Absolutely great times even from an interested kids perspective back then.

[@tedbear4243]

I tripped around so much of QLD in the late 1980's and 1990's and have had a couple of road trips since then, but keen to visit some of those western areas again. I actually spent a fair bit of time in the Emerald area in those years as I had a brother and sister living there for a while and used to go visit them. At the time the caravan park was just near the river which is all shops now and all we would hear for so much of the days and nights was the sound of EE's shunting what was indeed a busy yard at the time. I will do my absolute best to get another version of the Yaraka video up soon, maybe in the next few weeks. It will be just a tidy up edit of the original source material and no music (unless the audio is really dodgy in places, as I used to have cameras sometimes that had audio issues), so there should be a bit more material in it for you :-)

[@dieseldavetrains8988]

@@tedbear4243 If you don't like the music Hugh1620, just click the "mute" speaker icon, problem solved.

[@kylestennings456]

That track aint good 😳 Did it close much after the video was taken ?

[@Rowdy_GB]

2005 the line closed

[@tedbear4243]

Amazingly somehow it survived for a few more years!

[@ozstickman]

Yaraka is a station my pop was station master at well before I was born. Think late 60s early 70s. He was at different stations all around Queensland. From what my mum told me there was Longreach, Alpha, Clermont, Yaraka, Charters Towersand a heap more. His last railway job was either Imbil or Kadanga. I was only 7 or 8 at his last job. I'm 43 now.