this is my first blog post from on board a moving train with my nifty mobile broadband.
I feel like a nerd, but i like it.
now i must dash as other comuters wan to see what webpage i visit next.
If you are wondering how many train tickets I have managed to keep since the 4th of April 1997. It is 608
i’m glad I now work in glebe at least once a week because it has brought me much ticket love.
If there is a mecca for steam train and train enthusiasts I think it would be the entire UK.
its heaven
I think i’m going to have to take control of organising the evens of each day on our UK trip in may. Soo much to see so little time.
This morning wife and I headed off to Glenreagh about 30 mins north west of coffs. They have a little steam train! And we all know how much I love steam trains. We found the plae, it was a litle shed in the middle of a muddy paddock. There where about 20 little old men and lades in bright orange vests scattered around the shed. They where all volunteers for this little train. We had to wait about 20mins for the train. It puffed on in and we got on and enjoyed the little 6km train ride.
then it was off to find some lunch. We first stopped at a little bakery that only seemed to sell burnt buns,cakes and bread. We bought a finger bun each, whilst driving away from the bakery jenny managed to drop half her bun under her car seat. The 10 second rule does not apply in our car!
we eventually made it to another place for lunch, I ordered a hamburger with no bettroot, I got given a hamburger with beetroot.
and that brings us up to date.
this is the old signal box building from hornsby station, its a 2 storey brick building and this morning when we arrived at work it was up on wheels ready to move off to a new home.
so cool.
today i finnaly got to go back to Eveleigh and play on trains.
I havent been down there since August sometime so it was tops to be back, although i did have to wait at the security gate for about 40 mins before i was able to get in.
I got to polish brass handrails on the outsides of train carriges and carry boxes of stuff from one train to another, and i got to see my favourite steam train the 3801 being shunted out of the shed. It painted all green again now it looks very nice.
oh i love the smell and the atmosphere and everything about playing with trains.
stupid government taking it all away.
Yesterday afteroon i had to catch a train to Lindfield.
I walked to hornsby station and bought my ticket, the indicator board said there was a train in 0 minutes and if i missed that there was the next one in 1 min.
So i went down to platform 1 and there was a train sitting halfway along the platform with its doors closed. the platform was quite busy lots of people standing around wondering why they couldnt ge ton the train. then the voice from above “the train on platform 1 is broken down please proceed to platform 2 for your next city service”
so everyone prceeded up and over to platform 2.
then we heard “passengers on platform 2 waiting on the next city service please note that this service will now depart platform 1″
So back up and over we all went to platform 1.
then onto the train.
Just beofre we got to gorsnon the guard came over the PA “due to the late running of this service this train will not be stopping at killar, lindfield or roseville”
So i got off at gordon and waited for the next train, as i was waiting there was an announcment “due to the late running of the next city service it will not be stopping here at gordon”
yay!
eventually a train came that picked me up from Gordon and it did stop at Lindfield.
the other day in all my nerdness i downloaded a little freeware game that is a train simulator.
most of the writting in the game inst in english but its still fun. I can only get to the 3rd station so far.
I”m such a nerd
Yesterday i went down to the eveleigh sheds again.
This time i was wearing my coveralls, my work boots and an orange vest. I had a lot of fun, i polished all the brass hand rails on about 6 carriges, boy oh boy did they come up nice and shiny.
its so much fun playing with trains.
Yesterday was my first day volunteering with 3801 limited. I had a really fun day, My job was to be and observer and to see how they do stuff i also got to help people on and off the train and do the things that the other volunteers did. It was tops I was on the Cockatoo run a journey from central to roberstons and back again. 3 vintage carriges pulled by a big old diesel engine. We climbed the steepest grade of track in NSW to Summit tank a little platform overlooking lake illawara and srounds.
I even got to ride in the engine with the 2 drivers from Thirull to Hurstville.
oh so fun.
Today i got to visit dreamland. I woke up early and caught the train into Redfern. Then walked along a path to a gate where a security man was standing. i waited til a man came to meet me. he gave me and orange vest and ewcorted me to the sheds of the 3801 limited. We had to cross a few train tracks to get there and go past the maintene sheds for the xplorers and other countrylink trains. Then the 3801 shed was huge!!!!! it had about 15 old carriges inside it a few diesel engines and about 5 or 6 steam loccos. It was so cool. an old man showed me around everything and we climbed in and out of carriges and loccos and lokked and ones being restored and buit and others being cleaned. oh it was so cool. the old dudes who work there really love thier jobs it was awsome. I got to climb up inot the 3801 engine itself and that was cool in fact is wasnt cool it was quite warm, it was still warm from when it last went out which was on sunday, thats how how the engine gets that still on tuesday it was still warm.
oh it was so much the coolest ever. And the stupid NSW governemt wants to take it all away. So much work goes into maintaing trains and i want to be a part of it. I’m off on the cockatoo Run this sunday to experience that train and leanr the ropes a bit. then i’ll hopefuly be able to spend a few saturdays down at the sheds helping to maintain some of the old carriges and eventually be a passenger attendant on the 3801 train. Oh i was in little bot heaven, i’m sure its extremely dagggy that i love steam trains and trains in general so much, but bah what are you gonna do.
tomorrow i’m off to the Evenleigh railway yards for a tour of the 3801 workshop and a bit of an orientation to 3801 limited.
how fun, i get to walk across train tracks, and get up close to my favourite steam train.
today i filled out an application form to be a volunteer on the 3801 steam train
Toot toot!
Yesterday was steam train day. And oh how much I love steam train days.
Myself, jenny, joshy and sam all booked tickets on this baby a few months ago and finally the day had come. We where going on my favourite stream train the 3801.
We had to get up damn early and I had such a Bad sleep the ngiht before that getting up early was not a pleasant experience but I did it. We went down to central station to get on the train there. I love steam trains, it pulled in to central with its old school wooden carriages, and the smell of the smoke and the heat of the engine.
And this was no pansy steam train day we got to go all the way to Newcastle and back.
mmmmm steam
its early but its worth it
all of us in our compartment, thanks to the lady who took the photo
sam and jenny with their special $2 goggles to stop the soot from getting in their eyes
New castle isn’t the most exciting place in the world on a sleep Sunday afternoon, after ,much walking we eventually go to a supermarket. And then back to the waters edge for a picnic lunch. On the way we climbed this tower it was a long spiral staircase and my legs sure are reliving the climb today.
I took this photo through a little hole in the floor of the tower.
tug boats and big ships where defiantly a highlight of the Newcastle experience.
fancy some dance lessons?
wooshing past the signals.
and my personal favourite, going over the hawksbury river bridge.
