Black Thursday - Easter 1983

During the 1970's and 1980's the Thursday before Easter was traditionally the busiest day for country passenger services in Victoria. In 1983 a Friday timetable was used with extra services to Warrnambool, Dimboola, Mildura, Numurkah, Albury and Bairnsdale. Many trains were run with double sets or had their capacity increased with the addition of  a spare carriage.

To provide carriages for these services, all spare sets were used, together with 2 new N sets delivered just before Easter. In addition some railmotor services and a 1702 Werribee service were replaced with buses, releasing the railmotors and a carriage set for extra services.

Below is an outline of services on the afternoon and evening of the 31st March 1983 through Ballarat (using observations by Roderick B Smith recorded in the June 1983 issue of Newsrail).

 

Time	Train No.	Train	Loco(s)	Consist
14:20	8115	Melb-Ballarat pass	B65	3BCE-1AS-50BE(a/c)75-BWL
14:55	8142	Ballarat – Melb pass	B65	3BCE-1AS-50BE(a/c)-75BWL
16:45	8146	Horsham Melb pass	B67	VBPY54-42ACN-41BRN-14BN
18:00	8121	Melb-Ballarat pass	B82	7BN-8BN-9ACN
18:45	8150	Ballarat – Melb pass	B82	7BN-8BN-9ACN
19:25	8135	Melb-Ballarat pass	X38	1BN-2BN-3ACN
20:00	8133	Melb-Dimboola pass	S311-S306	17BN-38BRN-18ACN-VLPY123-VBPY27
21:35	8145	Melb-Ballarat pass	B76	36BE-2BE-30BE-13AE-24CE
22:35		Dimboola pass (extra)	X39	13BN-40BRN-15ACN
23:15	8141	Overland	S315-S313	AMPY271-VMPY46-2PCO-Purpawi-Paiti-Allambi-No.1Club-Weroni-Tarkinji-Yanni-Nakuri-Nomuldi-Kuldalai-2AJ-4BJ-10BJ-2RBJ-6BJ-1CO
23:35	8143	Vinelander	X35-T335	VMAY17-VMAY9-VMAY22-Sleepers (No.16-1VAM-No.12-No.13-8BS-6BZ-2MRS-7AZ-31CE
00:40		Mildura pass (extra)	X43	VMAY8-VMBX50-VMBX13-AMNX3158-Sleepers (No.4-No.1-No.2-No.3)-25BE-45BEL-60BES-19AE-CD1

 

B65 rolls down grade through Ballarat East at 14:18 on the 8115 service. Consist is 75BW-50BES-1AS-3BCE.

Having run around the carriage set, B65 sits in platform 1 ready to form 8142 Melbourne service.

At 16:44 B67 on 8146 Horsham-Melbourne pass runs wrong line over Doveton Street level crossing and into Ballarat. 

At 18:00 B82 arrives on time at Ballarat with the 8121 pass. The B will run around the cars via No.2 road to form 8150 pass to Melbourne scheduled to depart in 45 minutes.

B82 runs under Queen Street Bridge on 8150 Melbourne pass.



At 19:25 X38 arrives on 8135 Ballarat pass. Unusually the train includes a VLPY van at the rear. The X will run around via No.2 road and then shunt the carriages to the carriage shed. The X will stable at Ballarat East loco overnight and will be used on 8118 pass to Melbourne tomorrow morning.  

S311-S306 on the 8133 Dimboola pass run through Ballarat North at 20:05. The service is formed by set N9 (18ACN-38BRN-17BN) with a VBPY and VLPY at the rear.

B76 arrives in platform 1 at Ballarat with the 8145 pass. The B will shunt the cars to the carriage sheds and then run to the Ballarat East turntable to stable overnight.

At 22:35 X39 with set N5 runs past the Doveton Street sidings on extra service to Dimboola.

At 23:22 S315-S313 accelerate up grade out of Ballarat and past Ballarat C Box with the Overland.

 

At 23:40 X35-T335 run past Ballarat C Box and across the junction points and onto the Mildura line with the Vinelander.

Is after midnight when X43 on the 2215 Mildura pass (an extra) reaches Ballarat North. This service was formed by non air-conditioned sitting cars with air-conditioned sleepers. The extra included 4 car carriers, including an Australian National AMNX wagon.