Railway Digest Magazine April 2018 Back Issue

North West Frontier – Revisited: Part three
In the third, and final, instalment of Alan Graham’s tale, we join him at the FIFO camp at Cloudbreak where, after a 4am wake-up call, then a last-minute change of plan, he joins a new driver, Johnny, and with SD70 units 721 and 712, banked by two more units at the rear, they move off towards Port Hedland with a 40,000-tonne ore train in tow.

SKYRAIL LANDS
With level crossing removal becoming a significant political issue in the 2000s as both road and rail traffic increased across Melbourne, it is not surprising that Victorian governments of both persuasions have maintained a strong political focus on level crossing elimination. David Campbell describes how the Level Crossing Removal Authority came up with a different approach for the chronically congested Caulfield – Dandenong rail corridor.

Inland Rail’s first works
As reported in last month’s RD, the first rail for the upgrade of the Parkes – Narromine line in western NSW was delivered on 15 January. This represents the first physical work associated with the Melbourne – Brisbane inland railway since the Commonwealth Government announced an allocation of $8.4 billion for the project in the 2017-18 Budget. John Hoyle takes a look at the work now in progress and reports on the planning underway for the Brisbane – Toowoomba section.

Retrenchment to Rail Industry Innovator
Being retrenched is not often looked upon as the best day of one’s life but that’s how Russell Ricketts regards that day in May 1991 when the young engineer was made redundant from a glass factory in Penrith NSW. Neville Pollard reports on how this apparent setback ultimately led to a very successful rail industry career.