Today W243 is on duty at Ballarat North Workshops, shuffling red carded wagons requiring repairs and departmental wagons into the workshops. W243 has dragged two freshly repainted GH's from the paint booth, there yellow paintwork gleaming in the early morning winter sunshine. On the same track is a VHAY soda ash hopper, which has been in the workshops for repairs to its hopper doors. In the adjacent siding is a refurbished S car having finishing touches applied to it before released into service. A repainted VLCX and VHSY await collection on an adjacent track.
Two recently converted VHJA gypsum hoppers still outside the workshops, these wagons having been converted from VHCA cement hoppers, which had originally been J class coal hoppers imported from USA in the 1920's.
Sitting in the track adjacent to the Serviceton line are two T van's. This are held for possible conversion to KMQ's or departmental wagons, and a Q flat wagon awaiting scrapping.
The two locos usually used as shunters at Ballarat North Workshops, W247 and W260 are both currently out of action and are hidden within the main Workshops building having repairs carried out.
Each weekday one of the pilots in Ballarat yard will run out to the workshops to retrieve the repaired and repainted wagons and place 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.
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