Livestock Special

 

With the 1982/83 drought hitting hard across much of South Eastern Australian, livestock specials have been operating moving moving cattle and sheep to southern areas of the state where more feed is available. Today a livestock special had been arranged from Ballarat to transport cattle to Buffalo in  South Gippsland.

W243 crosses Lydiard Street with a rake of empty cattle wagons bound for loading at the Ballarat Cattleyards. 

W243 on pilot duties retrieves a rake of empty M cattle wagons and a KQ loaded with a MC container from no.11 road in Ballarat yard. The W runs around the rake in the arrival and departure sidings and then departs for Ballarat Cattleyards.

After a 37 minute from Ballarat, W243 arrives at the Cattleyards. W243 uncouples from the rake of cattle wagons, pulls forward towards the Gillies Street gates. 

The points are switched and the W runs arounds the wagon rake and couples up the guards van. 

The ZL is uncoupled from the wagons, the W runs back towards Ballarat with the van until it clears the points for the loop. The W then pushes the ZL down the loop leaving it near the Gillies Street gates. 

The W then returns back down the loop to the shunters cabin. The points to the cattleyards are switched and the W runs forward onto the M, KQ, KMQ and M being loaded from the cattleyards. 

Once the 4 wagons are loaded, W243 pulls the wagons out of the siding and down the loop until the junction with the siding to Redan is reached. 

The Redan junction points are switched the loaded wagons are pushed down the siding. The wagons will be stored here until the wagons brought out from Ballarat are loaded.

The W then runs back down the line until it clears the points at the Ballarat end of the loop. The points are switched the W runs forward and couples to the wagons brought from Ballarat. The W runs back down the line towards ballarat, until the last wagon clears the points.

The points are switched the W pushes the wagons down the loop for loading at the ramp. Once the first four wagons are loaded, they are shunted onto the adjacent track onto the waiting guards van. 

This continues in rakes of four wagons until the last of the wagons are loaded with cattle.

W243 retrieves the wagons stored on the Redan siding and shunts these onto the other loaded wagons and the guards van. 

Once safety working procedures are complete, W243 departs for Ballarat.

W243 runs down grade past the workshops and Ballarat C Box and over MacArthur Street. 

W243 arrives back in Ballarat yard. It uncouples from the wagons and stables in the adjoining siding. 

B69 arrives from Ballarat East locomotive and couples to the cattle wagons. The train examiner arrives while the crew use the opportunity to boil the billy and have a quick cuppa. 

B69 departs Ballarat running past Ballarat East Box and across Humffray Street. It will then begin the climb up the 1 in 52 grade of Warrenheip Bank on its long run to Buffalo.