Ballarat station observations 19th July 1984

 

 The September 1984 issue of Newsrail included a list of train observations made 40 years ago at Ballarat station on evening of Thursday 19th July 1984 between 20 00 and 23 30. 

Observations at Ballarat station 20 00 to 23 30 Thursday 19^th July 1984

Train No.	Working	Loco	Arriv.	Depart.	Road	Comments
8133	Down Dimboola pass	S305		20 00	1
9147	Down Melbourne -Adelaide Express Goods	C507	20 03	20 09	1
383	Down Ararat Roadside Goods	Y151		20 18	3	5 = 9
9141	Down Fruit Flyer	B80	20 30	20 31	1	14 = 28
	Up Maryborough Goods	B81-T398-T352		2035	4	57 = 59
	Up Dunolly Goods	X36-T323-T368	20 42	21 45	4	24 X VHGY-CP
	Yard Pilot	Y154	20 52			Arrived and stabled at car shed
8145	Down Ballarat Pass	B75	21 47		1	33BE-18BE-8AW-5AW-20VVCP- set N5
	Up Maryborough Goods	T375			4	G-VBBY-B-16xGY-ZL
	Up light engine	T375		21 50	4	Light to Ballarat East Loco
	Up light engine	B75		22 04	2	Light to Ballarat East Loco
		X36		22 29	3	From Warrenheip (X36 banked earlier Up Goods)
	Up Maryborough Goods	Y118		22 42	4	G-VOWA-GY-G-VOCX-VTQY-7XGH-VPCX-ZL
	Down Dunolly Goods	T393		22 46	1	24xVHGY-CP. Arrived at A Box at 22 46. At 22 51 proceeded slowly up No.1 road and coupled onto X36 at Down end of station.
	Down Dunolly Goods	X36-T393		23 11	1	24xVHGY-CP.
	Up Dunolly Goods	X32-T413-T335	23 10	23 14	4	22xVHGY-ZLP
	Down light engine	T375	23 12		2	From Ballarat East loco.

At 20 00 S305 runs over Lydiard Street with 8133 Down Dimboola pass.

C507 is held at the Home signal at Ballarat East Box, waiting the Dimboola pass to depart Ballarat station and clear the section through to Ballarat C Box.  

Y151 crawls out of Ballarat yard and down no.3 Road halting at the signal gantry near Lydiard Street.  Y151 is rostered on 383 Ararat Roadside Goods. 

At 20 03 C507 pauses at Ballarat station for a crew change on 9147 Melbourne - Adelaide Express Goods.. Y151 waits in the No.3 road on 383 Down Ararat Roadside Goods.

With a fresh crew, C507 departs at 2009 on 9147 Express Goods to Adelaide.

At 2018 Y151 departs on the 383 Down Ararat Roadside Goods. Loading is light consisting of a GY, VLCX, VOBX and a ZL. 

At 2030 B80 rumbles through Ballarat station on the 9141 Melbourne - Mildura Express Goods (Down Fruit Flyer),  

B80 pauses briefly at the station the Fruit Flyer then accelerates out of Ballarat disappearing beneath the Armstrong Street Bridge.

At 2035 B81-T398-T352 on the Maryborough - Geelong Goods crawl under the Armstrong Street bridge and along the no.4 road and then through Ballarat yard. The train consists mostly of GH's destined for the GEB terminal at North Geelong. The train had been held at Post 30 awaiting Y153 on yard pilot duties to shunt the rake of open wagons with shipping containers loaded with Kaolin into the arrival and departure sidings.

At 20 42, X31-T323-T368 Up Dunolly Goods consisting of 24 x VHGY arrives at Ballarat. Due to issues with a wagon, the train will pause in the yard so the defective wagon can be removed. 

Shunting duties complete, yard pilot Y153 is stabled at the car shed at 20 52.

With the defective wagon removed X31-T323-T368 reverse back onto their block train of VHGY's.  

With the defective wagon removed, X31-T323-T368 begin the climb up Warrenheip bank on the Up Dunolly Goods.

At 21 47 B72 arrives at Ballarat with 8145 Down Ballarat Pass. The pass has a consist of 33BE-18BE-8AW-5AW-20VVCP and set N5. The wooden bodied passenger cars being worked to Ballarat empty to form a school charter the following day.

B72 uncouples from the cars and pulls forward over Lydiard Street and then reverses down no.2 road.

 

 

At 21 50  T367 rolls along no.3 road through Ballarat Station on an Up Maryborough Roadside Goods with a short consist of G-VBBY-B-16xGY-ZL.  

B75 runs to Ballarat East Locomotive Depot to stable overnight. It will be used to run the 06 45 pass in the morning.

T367 leaves the wagons in arrival sidings and runs through to Ballarat East Locomotive Depot to refuel.

T367 and B72 rest at fuel point at Ballarat East Locomotive Depot.

Yard pilot Y151 shunts the carriages into the car shed were they will be cleaned overnight. 

At 22 29, X31 returns from Warrenheip and runs down the no.3 road to the signal gantry near Lydiard Street. X31 had led and earlier goods to Warrenheip, leaving T323-T368 continue the run to Geelong. 

At 22 42 Y111 rolls down the no.4 road through Ballarat Station and into the arrival and departure sidings on the Up Maryborough Roadside Goods with a load of G-VOWA-GY-G-VOCX-VTQY-7XGH-VPCX-ZL

The wagons will be sorted and shunted into the sidings by yard pilot Y153. Y111 will run to Ballarat East Locomotive Depot for servicing.

At 22 46 T386 rolls into Ballarat on a block grain of empty GH's destined for loading at silos on the Kulwin line. subterminal at Dunolly. 

T386 on the block stops at platform 1, X31 pulls forward out of no. 3 road to crossing  to the down mainline then reverses along no.1 road coupling up to T386 waiting in the platform.

At 23 10 X32-T413-T335 slow to a stop in platform 2 on an Up Dunolly Goods. Crews will swap to the opposing train in platform 1.

When paperwork and safety working procedures complete the block grain trains will depart Ballarat. 

With a Jet stalling on Ingliston Bank, both the Overland and Vinelander have been delayed and are now not expected to reach Ballarat until after midnight.