From the vaults-5: Fruit trains.

It has been a long time since I have posted anything, and with the October issue of AMRM rapidly approaching its print deadline, I doubt I'll be posting anything else for the next month, so here is another 'from the vaults'.

This, taken on 24 December 2005 in pre-DCC days, shows my weathered Trainorama 4429 arriving from Cowra with a Darling Harbour bound fruit train, with a couple of stock wagons, heading for Flemington, attached to build up the load. Once the fruit train has cleared, the goods, headed by 5262, will get the staff for the short section to the junction between the lines from Cowra and Demondrille and proceed towards Demondrille. On Lambing Flat the junction arrangements reflect that found at Binnaway, on the cross-country line from Werris Creek to Dubbo, rather than the 'straight through' arrangements found at Young on the prototype NSWGR. This was done to make the operation of Lambing Flat, which is quite a small layout, more interesting, as every 'through' train has to be reversed.

Back on the model, once the Standard Goods has departed, 4429 will run round its train, attach any loading originating in Lambing Flat and then proceed towards Demondrille, once 5262 has cleared the section to Wombat. Up to the late 1960s, fruit was an important traffic on the railways around Young (where I grew up and the inspiration for Lambing Flat). It was so important that the local radio station 2LF, during the fruit season, would announce the time that the fruit truck arrived at Darling Harbour as part of the morning news!