GY storage at Smythesdale

 

With fertiliser deliveries almost over for season, GY's that are surplus to current traffic requirements are being temporarily stored. T359 has been rostered to run a rake of GY's out to Smythesdale on the Skipton line for storage.

T359 runs from Ballarat East locomotive depot to Ballarat yard to pick up a ZF guards van from the dead end sidings near Ballarat East signal box. T359 Then departs at 9:42am for Doveton Street sidings. 

T359 reverses into the flour mill sidings pushing the ZF guards van towards the Doveton Street sidings. The ZF is placed in a vacant siding, T359 then retrieves 5 GY's from the southern most siding and then shunts these onto the 4 GY's in the siding parallel to the mainline. The rake of GY's is then shunted onto the ZF. T359 then departs running slowly down the flour mill siding before rejoining the mainline near Macarthur Street. 

The driver receives the staff from signalman at Ballarat C Box for the section through to Linton Junction (Ballarat D Box).

After dropping the GY's in the loop at Smythesdale, T359 ran to Pittong to retrieve a rake of open wagons with shipping containers loaded with kaolin, returning to Ballarat in the late afternoon.