Grampians Wildflowers Specials

Wildflower Special trains were run to Stawell on consecutive Sundays in October 1982. Five buses were used to transport the passengers from Stawell to Halls Gap to view wildflowers in bloom.

X40 hauls a Stawell bound Grampians Wildflower Special down grade through Ballarat East.

On Sunday 3rd October 1982 the train was hauled by X41 with a consist of 31BE(a/c)-4BZ-1MRS-5AZ-24CE.  The regular Sunday Horsham pass also operated with usual double consist (2 Nsets) hauled by X52 and B64.  On the 10th October 1982 the special was hauled by X32 with the same consist. On this occasion the Horsham pass was hauled by B82 and B81.

I can't find any record of wildflower specials operating in 1983, perhaps due to the reduction in the carriage fleet from scrapping of wooden bodied cars or the significant number of S and Z cars that were in the workshops being refurbished.  I chose to add Grampians Wildflower specials to the October operating sessions using the Sunday timetable.

X40 hauls the Down Grampians Wildflower Special over Doveton Street.

Significant changes had occurred to the carriage fleet and timetable between October 1982 and October 1983.  Carriage roster N18 had commenced in August 1983 corresponding with the delivery of the 18th N set, with 15 of these sets programmed each day. The ten S and Z sets running to Albury, Swan Hill, Mildura, Bairnsdale and Warrnambool were either fully air-conditioned or would shortly would be (when the last of the Z and S car refurbishments were complete).  Wooden bodied cars were now largely restricted to the short distance commuter runs to Geelong, Bacchus Marsh, Kyneton, Sunbury and Seymour. The only wooden bodied cars on the long distance runs were car D (usually a BWL and BE) in one or two of the S and Z sets or CE van in the sets that hadn't received a hired CD van from Australian National. 

17CW was the van on both Grampians Wildflower Specials.

There were still a couple of spare sets with made up of two of three BW and/or BE cars, with a AE or AW and CW van. I chose to use one of these for both of the specials. For the first Sunday, the special was hauled by X40 long end leading with a consist of BW-BW-BW-AW-CW. The regular Sunday Horsham pass was hauled by B80 and B83 with a double N set.

B61 and B79 hauled the second special and are seen running through Ballarat North.

On the second Sunday the special was hauled by weather beaten B61 and B79 with the same consist. The Horsham pass was a double N set hauled by X49-B64.

B61-B79 haul the Grampians Wildflower Special past the back fences of houses in Little Clyde Street in Ballarat North.