Workshops Pilot

Usually each weekday one of the pilots in Ballarat yard would run out to the workshops at Ballarat North with red carded wagons requiring repairs or departmental wagons transferring parts between the workshops. The workshops pilot usually ran around 12:30 - 1:30pm when there was a lull in services on the mainline. 

Today W243 is on the workshops pilot with a VHFF hopper and QH flat wagon. The W will propel the wagons from Ballarat yard to the workshops (as permitted in the general instructions) and retrieved repaired and repainted wagons placed on the Maryborough line by the resident workshops shunter.

W243 sits in Ballarat yard over the Peel Street bridge with the workshops pilot. Today's load is a VHFF hopper and a QH flat wagon. The QH was built on tender underframe from an S class steam locomotive.

W243 propels the wagons through the maze of points near Ballarat B box running from No.4 Road across to the Down mainline.

W243 propels the wagons past the Garden City Flour Mill through the junction at Ballarat C Box and into the workshops.

The workshops shunter has placed a rake of repaired wagons on the Maryborough line for the workshops pilot to pick up. This rake includes a VHFF, GY, HR, GH (x 2), VFBA, GY and VLCX.

W243 pushes the wagons into the workshops sidings. F212 the workshops pilot will move these wagons into the main workshops building during the afternoon.

W243 hauls the repaired wagons past Garden City Flour Mill and back towards Ballarat yard.

W243 arrives back at Ballarat B Box with the workshops pilot.

W243 sits in the arrival and departure sidings with the rake of repaired wagons from the workshops. They will be added to goods trains that evening, The GH's will be added to the rake on the other side of the yard destined for a block grain working to Dunolly. The VHFF, VLCX and HR will be attached to the 9170 Ballarat - Melbourne Yard Goods.