Railway Digest Magazine June 2021 Back Issue

TThe 35-car Indian Pacific in Sydney
Just as cruise ships have become progressively larger over the years, so has our most famous and enduring rail cruise train, the Indian Pacific. Wednesday 21 April saw the trial operation of a 35-car train. NR 26 and NR 25 hauled the mammoth train, which was timetabled to arrive in Clyde Up yard at 11.25 am. With the Indian Pacific now so lengthy it would require three platforms at Sydney’s Central station, some serious shunting was going to be required. John Beckhaus explains how it was done.

Zig Zag Ascending
Lithgow’s Zig Zag Railway was once one of the star tourist attractions in the NSW Blue Mountains and one of the state’s most popular heritage railways, but an unfortunate incident in 2011 followed by a loss of accreditation, then serious damage from two bushfires, localised flooding, vandalism and a plunging membership base combined to give the ZZR a bleak future. However, as Chris Walters reports, in recent times huge strides have been made in the railway’s rehabilitation, and Thursday 6 May saw the operation of a steam locomotive from Bottom Points to Clarence, for the first time in nine years!

The Australian Diesel Multiple Unit Fleets
Along with general trends overseas, in Australia there has been a decline in the number of locomotive hauled passenger trains and the multiple unit train is now the becoming the norm. Currently Transport for NSW and TransWA have contracts for new MU Cars, with V/Line continuing to obtain VLocity DMUs. John Beckhaus reports on the current state of Australian railways’ DMU fleets.

Railcars of the Pichi Richi Railway: Part 2
In part 2 of the series, Caleb Jenkins takes a look at NDH3, one of six air-conditioned, gauge-convertible railcars built for the Commonwealth Railways by Gloucester Railway Carriage & Wagon Company in the UK. Entering service in 1955, NDH3 had a varied career, spending time on both gauges and several years as a standard-gauge sitting car!