SOUND UP! XR Locomotives rescue a stalled grain train on steep Warrenheip Bank - 1 in 50 Grade

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Turn the sound up for this rescue mission to move a disabled or stalled grain train!
In this video Pacific National send XR555 and XR550 from Melbourne as Thunderbird locomotives to rescue Pacific National broad gauge train 9160 loaded grain from Boort. G543 and XR552 barely made it up the steep 1 in 50 Warrenheip Bank before the train stalled under the load of the 600 metre long loaded grain.
The train sat at Warrrenheip Bank for much of the day until the XR locomotives arrived to assist with the train. The XR Diesel Locomotives are seen arriving during the last light of the day with wet conditions. The locos attach and are departing with the disabled grain consist. With extra horsepower and all 4 locomotives on line, the train finally made easy work of Warrenheip Bank.
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Filmed 16th Janaury 2021 Warrenheip Bank near Ballarat
Filmed in 4K - Edited in 4K
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[@slepper98]

Good stuff, thanks for sharing.

[@Schony747]

Thanks for looking.

[@edwardmounsey9208]

The rescuers look brand new the others not so much. The combo made easy work of pulling the train up and over. Great video thanks for posting.

[@nswtrainsvlogs4853]

Great catch. I also liked the Qube version with the older locos (X31 and T376)

[@Schony747]

The Qube is still the best out of the two. I enjoyed filming both.

[@mattmatty4670]

Cool thanks mate

[@Schony747]

Thanks for looking mate

[@mrv736]

Nice video

[@railtrolley]

Great video. G543. The last new loco built for V/line before all the major changes from Victorian Govt state-based railways to privatisation etc.

[@Schony747]

Yep and still a workhorse in private ownership as well! Thanks for looking.

[@railtrolley]

@@Schony747 The G class might stay in service as along as the B class. The G class continues a long design tradition of Victorian Railways: 3 axle 3 motor bogies, EMD V16 engine, cabs at either end, and accessible without having to go outside in the rain.

[@DEPORTER_SUPPORTER]

@@railtrolley they're a beast of a loco.

[@jimpikoulis6726]

Wheel slippin is gold.... notch 8 all the way

[@Schony747]

I'd you haven't seen the link below, check out the sand and wheel slip on this Qube train. kzbin.info/www/bejne/qna6e5R6q8yKn68

[@NicholassTrainChannel]

Nice video mate I understand this is not the first time this has happend i understand it has happend a few times now.

[@thebops4180]

There are plenty of youtube videos of freight struggling/stalling up Warrenheip Bank.

[@RosTheBanned...]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="0">0:00</a> If your a Nascar fan, that text will be very nostalgic. Any ways, that was a very good catch. I wish I could be something like that irl.

[@matthewmassarotti2596]

is it my mangernation or inbetween the two loco & the third one i cant c no hook up of the jumper cables between the two xr & the third one

[@johannessilver8653]

Why do they struggle in this bank? Is it too difficult to pre estimate the needed pulling capacity vs train load tonnage ? I think not.

[@Trammann]

Great shot. One thing I still don't understand that if they know that the train is at almost max capacity then why not have more locos or do what they used to do back in the 90s and have a banker engine sitting at Ballarat East and in case this happens have the bank engine help instead of blocking the track for hours upon end and waiting for locos from Melbourne

[@perthdave100]

@JS317Productions wonder if the same happens there as in the UK, if a train blocks the track, does the company that caused the block have to pay delay payments to other companies that are using the track?

[@ChannelReuploads9451]

@@perthdave100 No. That is the beauty of Warrenheip just outside Ballarat, because of the dual track, they will just run the vline passenger services on the other track, given the junction for the Geelong branch is a bit further up the line, where the Vlines to Melbourne break off to go to Ballan, Baccus, Melton etc, and the freight head south to Geelong.

[@perthdave100]

@@ChannelReuploads9451 ok, thanks for reply, maybe the company that owns this train including locos should do their sums and put one or two extra locos on this or is the company only after profit

[@louiskats5116]

Great dedication Brendan, to be out there ar that time of night & those weather conditions. But then again the noise of all 4 loco's at Notch 8 would of been worth it. Thoroughly enjoyed it.

[@Schony747]

Not as good as the Qube I filmed previously but still worth going out for

[@raptor9813]

Patiently waiting for the day I see XR558 and XR559 on a Melbourne to Brisbane freight run, I hope it does happen one day.

[@Schony747]

Only one chance - XRs getting transferred back to NSW for more grain trains otherwise it's NRs and ANs on the MB / BM

[@raptor9813]

@@Schony747 I find it very rare to see a G class on an MB BM run, even on a YN NY run

[@raptor9813]

@@Schony747 I find it very rare to see a G class on an MB BM run, even on a YN NY run

[@Wb3110]

Maybe having three or four Locos on the Consist in the first place would have helped, so they didn't have to send those XR's out to rescue it.

[@Schony747]

I'm sure there is a reason why 3 or more locos aren't run as you suggested. I'm no expert.

[@kelgreathead4923]

Nice video. When you quote the combined power output of a set of locomotives, is that the combined output of the diesel engines, or the combined output of the traction motors? Thanks again for the great coverage of Aust's freight system.

[@Schony747]

I get totally confused by all those terms. I'm assuming it's the diesel output as the traction motors are probably measured in Kilo Watts. Thanks again for your contributions.

[@ThePaulv12]

Well convert the internal combustion HP to KW. That is a net rating in the vid so available for traction, whereas gross is what the engines put out on an engine dyno. I think NR class locos even specify the gross and net power rating - IIRC ~ 400hp is lost; so of 4400hp, 4000hp is available for traction. The traction motors will be able to absorb the full rated locomotive output of the piston engines nearly exactly. Traction motors are a complex topic. Things happen in normal operation and balancing the speed with the load gets complicated. Interestingly they get switched automatically between series and parallel (or vice versa) depending on speed.

[@raymondleggs5508]

Classic EMD sounds.

[@Schony747]

Exactly. Still fantastic. Thanks for looking.

[@garylewis2084]

What I would like to know how do you know when something like this happens how you get to film it.

[@Schony747]

There are a number of tracking groups on Facebook. There were a number of updates on those groups from rail enthusiasts.

[@DEPORTER_SUPPORTER]

Love the G543 it's a beast,any idea on its horse power?

[@Schony747]

All the information can be found here - en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/V/Line_G_class

[@ThebusofdoomFSX]

Haha Warrenheip Bank claims another victim 🤣

[@ThePaulv12]

@JS317Productions How do you know that?

[@lachlanbaker2031]

@JS317Productions would you quit being a know it all

[@lachlanbaker2031]

@JS317Productions yes because you’re clearly a driver with years of experience

[@johannessilver8653]

How to avoid being a victim?

[@lachlanbaker2031]

@JS317Productions bro you use the same threat every single time. come up with something original for once, it’s getting boring

[@COLINJELY]

Send out Heavy Harry! 🙂

[@Schony747]

Pretty much!

[@cliffleigh7450]

Had you been out greasing the tracks?

[@Schony747]

It does get a bit slippery from time to time due to the Ballarat weather and some trains come off second best.

[@JoelDavies-cl6nr]

I do apologise in advance for such a stupid question, but are the grades measured in imperial or metric?

[@Schony747]

It's not stupid as I didn't know either! From some of the forums I read, some still use imperial but the majority now use metric

[@JoelDavies-cl6nr]

@@Schony747 thanks for info mate.

[@WayneKline]

I have now seen a few videos over the years from this location. It must cost a fortune to send rescue locomotives, not to mention the blocked track. Why don’t they put the power on the front, or one on the rear, or a DPU in the middle. Who plans these consists knowing the route they are taking?

[@johnno1246]

costs, thats why. Besides, the two original locos should have had enough power to climb over, unfortunately the weather turned against them. The track in itself is a frieght only track and only sees a very few services a week

[@johnno1246]

@JS317Productions oh shit, Surely they would hold enough sand for the trip

[@brettharrison5136]

Its actually bacchus marsh side of Ballarat not Melbourne side of Ballarat.

[@Schony747]

I think people get what I mean. It could also be the Ballan side of Ballarat.

[@norlag]

The amount of times of late trains have been failing to make the climb here, when in the past they would have done it with ease, makes me wonder how heavy they are loading the wagons? and if they remain within legal weight or not. Perhaps its time for a 3rd loco to go on these trains. surely must be cheaper to do that than pay for a standby crew and to run loco's from melbourne to rescue failed trains

[@Schony747]

It makes you wonder doesn't it!

[@Martindyna]

Nice video. Some of the graffiti on the wagons is good quality.

[@Schony747]

Yes. The skill is outstanding on some of the cars.

[@Brakeff]

G543 could do with a repaint...

[@Schony747]

You're not the first with that observation.

[@imacgra1]

Recalling the usual state of NSW locos in the early 1990s, that G looks all shiny and new! I guess the standard has been raised since then!

[@harrothepilot]

Hahaha, you can lie to the drivers about the gross weight, but the loco's not so much!!

[@NoBody-ht1oh]

No doubt the xr took a dump

[@Schony747]

On this occasion I think it was the XR that did have the issue.

[@DJP-ph7yj]

Why is it so difficult to manage motive power with a buffer to overcome the worst grades in the worst weather conditions?? Would it work where the extra loco(s) was dead attached, and then activated at the previous crew change to the locations where difficulty would be envisaged, so that these instances would be mitigated?? Lucky its not on a suburban line, as someone's head would surely be on a stick. Oh.... PN, another G needing a repaint. Get on with it, its looks absolutely disgraceful!

[@Schony747]

Could be any number of reasons. I'm no expert in the area but I don't think crews on the front line would regularly break down a train on a regular basis because they can.

[@neilforbes416]

*Egg-On-Face time!* How embarrassing that two locos can't pull a train of grain hoppers over what appears to be a very small(if that's the term) gradient that the Indian Pacific(if it were to go via Warrenheip) would've gone over with no trouble at all.

[@mabiorcholappreciationpage]

Did you take into account the horsepower difference between NR Class locos and G/XR Class locos + the weight difference between 600m of fully loaded grain hoppers and 730m of passenger cars before writing your comment?

[@thebops4180]

@@mabiorcholappreciationpage Well said :) He has no idea!

[@neilforbes416]

@@mabiorcholappreciationpage It was the 1-in-50 gradient that any train with two reasonably powerful locos could've easily overcome.

[@DaleDix]

@@neilforbes416 God knows why they sent it with only that much horsepower knowing where it was going.

[@lachlantrainvideos]

@@DaleDix I believe it was raining at the time of the stall. If it wasn’t wet it would’ve made it