Against the buffer, at the end of the train line.
This is steam engine 3526 at the former Mortuary Station, Sydney. The station opened in 1869 and was the terminus of the Rookwood Cemetery line. The line, as you may have guessed, served to transport bodies from central Sydney to Rookwood Cemetery in Lidcombe, western Sydney. I took this photo from another steam-engine-hauled heritage train during the NSW Rail Museum’s heritage weekend in May.
Posted as part of October Squares Lines&Squares
Watching the change of engines.
Yesterday I travelled in a vintage train from Sydney to Bowral. The train was hauled by vintage diesel engines to Picton, where the real star of the day took the place of the diesels: steam engine 6029. As you can see from the heads sticking out the windows and the people watching from the bridge, it was quite a popular show! (And yes, I got these shots by sticking not just my head but also part of my body out the window. The adjoining track was closed while the engine change occurred, so I figured I was safe.)
The train carriages were an assortment from different years and different trains; my carriage, the lounge with observation deck, dated from 1936 and was refurbished from a decrepit shell in 2004. It was at the rear of the train going to Bowral. This position gave the opportunity for some marvellous shots of the train curving around bends and also for the photo below that shows the full length of the train.
Unzoomed view of the train from the end carriage.
This very shiny and lovingly maintained steam locomotive will be hauling me (and a few hundred other enthusiasts) to see the spring tulips tomorrow. Vintage train cars (or carriages, take your pick), a steam locomotive and 90,000 (really!) tulips! Definitely a grand day out. I’ll post about those 90,000 tulips soon.
“6029” is the Southern Hemisphere’s largest operating steam engine. More about the trip and the locomotive here. Scroll to the bottom of the linked page for info about the locomotive.
