Ok here are the pictures from today,
2850 leading the freight through Bald Hills.
2363 + 1733 Spirit of the outback
PN002
PN004
Rockhampton Tilt Train.
Nambour bound EMU53…
And from thursday afternoon,
2827 @ Zillmere…
Manly bound EMU10
Enjoy!
Great shots, James! Thanks!
The shots are terrific but where are the shots of the salties?
…It appears to me the operators of Australian locomotives {as pictured above}, are very vulnerable if involved in an accident such as at a grade crossing. Locomotive cabs are quite low to the rail head and it appears very little structure at the very front of the locomotive…
Nice photos of the rail activity there above by J. S.
Interesting fotos. Thank you for posting them.
Thank you for sharing the pictures. [tup] I look forward to more (now that I’m spoiled).
Trains from other countries always look odd to me, but they are probably perfectly normal to the locals. I thought these were good pictures and always nice to see stuff going on elsewhere.
The locomotives in Australia, with the exception of the pilbara region, have to be built a bit lower than AAR standards, because of clearance issues on much of the East coast. As to regards to accidents I believe the 2850’s are reinforced at the front, but much of Queensland is rural along the North Coast line so it does not see much action, however down south in NSW and Victoria there have been some bad fatal accidents, which involved similar build locomotives. The EMU (passenger) are more susceptible to damage, as it is fluted aluminum sides and steel fronts, there was an accident a few years ago when a stabled (empty) emu was side swiped by a derailed cattle train, i’ll dig up the photo’s of the damage, and search for the accidents in the other states, also interesting to note however, the Ghan hit a Semi at a level crossing in the Northern Territory at 120km/h two weeks ago, but only minor damage was sustained, and only minor injuries occured.
www.home.railscene.com/zanatta/petrie01/petrie-01.htm thats an web page on the derailment of the cattle train
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/ghan-derailment-victim-critical/2006/12/13/1165685714582.html
And that one is on The Ghan derailment.
Where does the name “Tilt Train” come from?
They are called that, because they use tilting technology when they enter a curve, as it improves ride quality for the passengers, the name is really original! [:-^]
Thanks for the information. I suspected that it might have been something like that, but after going through several web sites that referenced “Tilt Train”, I could find nothing that indicated where the name came from.
Do you know of a web site that would explain the tilting technology?
Unfortunately no, I don’t but i’ll do some asking around and get back to you.
cheers
…Tilt train mechanics…Picture a pendulum and when centrifugal force tugs on it it swings out a bit…That is what the train cars are doing when the forces on a curve are working on it. Believe that reduces the side force a bit on the passengers. Force through them is transferred more in a downward direction.
James, Welcome Back to posting on the forum!!
Thanks for sharing some very interesting and great pics with us!! [tup][tup]
The overall picture of what tilting does and why it would be used is understood. What I would like to know is more of the technical details relating to how Tilt Train implemented that feature.
Thanks, Mr Mutt [:D]
I’m glad you enjoyed them!
keep an eye out for more in the coming weeks.
James
Yeah one thing I do miss is the 3900 class electrics. When I was up there last (early 1999) I remember seeing a couple of stock trains hauled by 3900’s and boy did they shift.
Yes that is a shame, I quite liked the 3900’s, Now I have to go all the way to the coalfields to see one…There was talk recently of 4-5 returning to Brisbane, but I’m not sure what happened there.
Cheers
…James…Several hours ago I saw the down under folks celebrating with all the fireworks there at the big bridge {That’s Sidney, right…?}…and we still have 2 1/2 hrs. here to go.
Happy New year.