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T 269 at Ararat, looking east, circa 1905, prior to the expansion of Ararat yard.
R class arrives Ararat from Ballarat, date unknown. circa early 1900's
Photo courtesy J. C. M. Rolland
C 6 arrives Ararat off the Maroona line, the level crossing in the foreground was Albert Street.
This crossing was replaced by an underpass in 1926 so the photo was taken in the early 1920's
ABOVE & BELOW: These two photos were taken on the same day and show a very busy Ararat in about 1910.
The A2 appears to be shunting some passenger cars off the passenger train in the platform.
State Library of Victoria collection
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Ararat yard looking west from A box, photo prior to 1925. Of particular interest are the staggered arrival/departure platforms.
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A pair of A2's depart Ararat on the up Overland, circa 1930
Many thanks to all who responded to this "where is it" It is definately Ararat and is possibly a photo by The Ararat Advertiser newspaper. August 8 1967. Ararat loco had catch points for movements in both directions and it is suggested that the ones going down the hill were provided after this mess, caused by not having the air through on a long rake that was being shunted.
BELOW: Ross Gorman sent me these great colour shots of the carnage.
below we see it heading down to Ararat loco.
Jan 7 1971.
Photos courtesy Tony Smith
6 month old X 41 and S 307 head a Serviceton bound "jet" at Ararat.
Jan 6 1971.
Photo courtesy Tony Smith
X 35 and a ZL hide behind Ararat A signalbox
Jan 6 1971.
Photo courtesy Tony Smith
S 306 and T 342 arrive Ararat on the afternoon down pass.
March 30 1970
Photo courtesy Tony Smith
B 76 climbs the hill out of Ararat past the up co-acting distant signal on the Spencer St to Horsham pass. in broad gauge days. 1974.
Photo courtesy Trevor Penn
The signalman can be seen walking back to the signalbox after receiving the staff from the fireman.
BELOW: Taken just after the above photo we see the pass. sitting at the platform while the Ararat to Hamilton DRC
waits for the passengers off the pass. Ararat yard could often be almost devoid of activity during the daylight hours but come nightime,
whilst Ararat slept, the yard was usually humming with activity.
Both photos courtesy Peter J. Vincent
The above photo shows X 37 on the 8.30am Spencer St to Horsham pass. departing Ararat on News Years Day 1979.
At the time Ararat was the largest crew depot outside of Melbourne, it had a 24 hour yard pilots due to its very busy yard, in every way it was the hub of the Western district.
The scene below shows Ararat now, almost 30 years later. The broad gauge now ends at Ararat. The place is a shadow of its former self.
Ararat B box controlled all movements at the down end of Ararat yard.
It was abolished in Nov. 1984 as a result of commisioning of Centralised Traffic control. Photo in 1982.
A rare snowfall at Ararat as B 64 departs on the Spencer St. to Horsham pass.
This slide was hopelessly underexposed due to my ignorance about what snow does to exposure meters
but it has been semi salvaged by my new film scanner. June 23 1981.
S 301 departs Ararat on a Dimboola to Spencer St. pass whilst K 190, on an enthusiast special, takes water,
the track that the passenger cars are standing on was called the "Portland Dock" because that is where
Ararat to Portland trains departed from. June 1981.
October 7 1981 was a red letter day for me as I was rostered as the fireman on the first run on the Horsham train
with the brand new N passenger cars, the so called "New Deal for Country Passengers" Unfortunately the N set was "red carded" (declared unfit for service) at Spencer St.
and a replacement set was hastily marshalled. The paper in Ararat had announced this day as the first run of the
"brand new cars" so quite a few people, including the press, were at Ararat to see the new train. It must have been
quite a disapointment to see a motely collection of non air conditioned wooden cars arrive in their place.
At least the loco was nice and shiny!
As soon as it was delivered in 1977, C 501 went straight onto standard gauge.
This photo was taken just after it came off the standard gauge and shows it on an up Serviceton to Dynon "jet"
about a mile east of Ararat. 1982.
In the late 70's the Ararat to Portland service was provided by a DRC railcar. Due to problems with reliability
of the DRC's it was often replaced with a pass. T 369 awaits departure with the Portland train while the
Spencer Street to Horsham pass. is seen on the right. 1978.
On a dreary December 1979 day at Ararat, B 66 awaits departure on a
westbound empty stock train consisting mainly of M cattle wagons.
B 68 - B 62 arrive Ararat with 60 loaded GY's on New Years Day 1980. During the wheat season Ararat was a very hectic place.
The footbridge was partially demolished by a train that derailed as it passed under, not long after this photo was taken.
The building was "Ararat A" signalbox which controlled all movements at the east end of the yard as well as controlling the junctions of the
Maryborough, Ballarat and Maroona lines.
A pair of C class depart Ararat on a Adelaide to Melbourne "Jet" in 1980. I had just transfered to Ararat as a Fireman
and relished the fact that I could walk two blocks from where I lived to capture images like this whenever I felt like it!
B 73 has just arrived at Ararat on the afternoon Spencer St. to Dimboola pass.
as C 508 waits to follow the pass. to Murtoa on a empty wheat train. 1979
B 71, which would later be rebuilt as an A class, drops down into Ararat on the 6.55am Dimboola to Spencer St. pass. 1980.
The afternoon DRC from Portland arrives at Ararat as T 335 comes "off the pit".
The footbridge this photo was taken from was damaged by a derailed goods train and subsequently pulled
down not long after this photo was taken. 1980
A view of Ararat looking East with a down goods powered by S 307 - B - C awaiting the arrival of an up goods before heading West. 1980
Looking west at Ararat yard as K 190 arrives off the Maryborough branch on a railfan special. 1981.
By day a visitor to Ararat yard in the late 70's might have wondered why there were so many empty tracks
but come night time Ararat positively came alive with congestion being the norm, particularly during the
wheat season when this photo was taken. A visit to Ararat at night now would present a vastly different scene!
This view is from the long gone footbridge looking west, Ararat A signalbox is seen at the extreme right.
Feb 1 1979.
Photo courtesy Peter J. Vincent
T 347 - T 387 bring a Ballarat to Ararat goods into Ararat.
The line to the right is the track to Maroona where the track junctions again to Geelong or Portland.
The mountain in the background is called Mount Langhi Ghiran, also known as the "pregnant lady" 1986.
By the time this photo was taken, Dec 1986, Ararat B box had been abolished due to commisioning of CTC west of Ararat.
Ararat A box, seen in the distance, survived a few more years until the line through Ararat was converted to standard gauge.
C 501 - S 308 wait at Ararat for a crew to take a down "jet" (9123) westward to Dimboola.
The train consisted of 30 bogie wagons for a total tonnage of 1,576 tonnes. July 16 1988
C 509 arrives Ararat yard on an up jet in 1979
Trains arriving Ararat from the east were confronted with this signal bridge, left to right:
Home and discs from the Maroona line
Home and disc from Ballarat line
Home and disc from Maryborough line
Discs from the loco depot.
Looking east, B box is on the left. 1988
Ararat coal stage and loco depot, the photographer is standing on the Maryborough line, 1930's?
Ararat's up co acting distant signal operated by B box.
feel free to email me with any corrections or comments
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