Baldwin steam locomotive 5917

[Pete_W]

Here is another shot of Baldwin steam locomotive 5917 in the rural town of Rylstone located in the central west of NSW. This was a one-off day trip from Lithgow, three hours by rail from the south. The locomotive is seen here taking on water (you can also see the water tanker to the right). The train ran a few shuttle trips for the local community to a nearby town. It certainly created a lot of interest.

Ex-NSWGR loco 5917 at Rylstone by Peter Watters, on Flickr

 

[1971_M5]

Nice! Looks like fun. Beautiful weather. Late winter -- or maybe an early spring? I checked the map (Lithgow to Rylstone). About 100 km (via roadway). Northwest of Sydney. Good perspective showing the general scene. Your vantage point... a ladder? Standing on the roof of your car? But as I understand it, you rode the train, right? So... maybe a dedicated photographer's perch? What's also cool is... there's a Wikipedia page for "5917" -- interesting! The loco went into service beginning in 1953... but it seems a little odd (intuitively) that they were making locomotives like that in 1953. Appears to be a much older style. I think it would be a bit scary sitting behind a big old (mobile) steam boiler. Hopefully the maintenance people are doing their jobs! Although... in this regard, you really don't hear about any major issues with the old steam trains that continue to run nowadays. The steam vessels themselves were probably over-engineered back-in-the-day. A loose fitting -- that would not be catastrophic. It is really cool that folks keep this technology alive.

 

[Pete_W]

Nice! Looks like fun. Beautiful weather. Late winter -- or maybe an early spring? I checked the map (Lithgow to Rylstone). About 100 km (via roadway). Northwest of Sydney.

The sun was warm but the wind was cold! First thing that morning the wind chill factor put the "feels like" temperature just below zero degrees celsius.

Good perspective showing the general scene. Your vantage point... a ladder? Standing on the roof of your car? But as I understand it, you rode the train, right? So... maybe a dedicated photographer's perch?

I was standing on the loading bank. Most regional railway stations had a loading bank for transport of goods to the towns along the way, i.e. an elevated platform (higher than the station platform) that trucks could drive on for transfer of goods. Here is a photo from a previous visit showing the loading bank on the right.

The train operators ran two shuttle trips to the next town down the line (Kandos) so I got to take photos of it going back and forth after we had arrived. And my very good wife drove the car up to Rylstone to meet the train so I could get some photos down at Kandos.

What's also cool is... there's a Wikipedia page for "5917" -- interesting! The loco went into service beginning in 1953... but it seems a little odd (intuitively) that they were making locomotives like that in 1953. Appears to be a much older style.

Yes, that was during the transition years from steam to diesel/electric so it's intriguing that they were still purchasing steamers at this stage. From what I've read there were a few reasons, including politics within the railways (steam vs diesel) and also scarce availability of newer diesel locomotives due to high demand. So the 59-class locos were comparatively short lived in terms of active service and would have travelled many more miles in heritage service by now.

I think it would be a bit scary sitting behind a big old (mobile) steam boiler. Hopefully the maintenance people are doing their jobs! Although... in this regard, you really don't hear about any major issues with the old steam trains that continue to run nowadays. The steam vessels themselves were probably over-engineered back-in-the-day. A loose fitting -- that would not be catastrophic. It is really cool that folks keep this technology alive.

The rail safety regulator has very strict rules about the operation of steam locomotives, so they are quite safe. They have regular boiler inspections and have to undergo a full certification process before they can be used on the rail network. The people who operate them are all volunteers, so it's amazing they have the time to dedicate to this. I was staying in Lithgow the night before the trip in a motel with a view across to the yard where it was stabled for the night. The volunteers were prepping the loco from about 5:00am for the 10:00am departure in freezing conditions. I was grateful to be in my air conditioned room looking through the window!

 

[Pete_W]

Another photo of locomotive 5917 at Rylstone.

5917 at Rylstone, NSW by Peter Watters, on Flickr

 

[Pikeman]

Another photo of locomotive 5917 at Rylstone.

5917 at Rylstone, NSW by Peter Watters, on Flickr

This is the one I wanted to see!