SteamRanger’s Track Manager is responsible for the regular inspection and ongoing maintenance of the track infrastructure necessary to operate our railway which extends from Mt Barker Junction to Victor Harbor, a distance of 82 kilometres, traversing mountains, plains and six kilometres of sea-side formation. His responsibilities include; The right of way between the railway fence lines, including control of vegetation Road crossings (but not warning devices) The track bed, sleepers and rail line on the main line Track and rail switches in and approaching depots and station yards Rail bridges * Turntables * * Rail Bridges and turntables, whilst described on this page, are at present managed by other managers. Signalling and crossing protection is managed on a day to day basis by a dedicated Signal and Communications Manager and the infrastructure in this area is described on a separate web page

Recent Activities - Mt Barker Creek Bridge This bridge, just south of our Mt Barker Depot, is quite critical for our operations between Mt Barker and the south coast. In accordance with our infrastructure monitoring procedures, the bridge was inspected earlier this year. The bridge is of a fairly standard SAR design with ballast being supported by a series of transverse trough sections. Inspection is unusually time consuming and requires removal of rails and supporting ballast. The track and ballast was removed some weeks ago and this revealed some cracking and corrosion of the steel trough which carries the formed track. Transport SA bridge inspectors had a good look at the bridge and being quite familiar with that type suggested some contractors to clean the bridge and a method of repair. A quote to erect scaffolding to fully encapsulate the bridge during the grit blasting (the bridge paint is lead based) and the grit blasting and subsequent treatment came to $62000. With repairs and contingencies added on we could expect a bill of around $75000. Photographer Bob Grant was on-site when Ian Johnston lashed the running and check rails to the front of depot shunter DE 350 and pulled them off the bridge structure (top) and then Ian himself captured (L to R) Oliver Lukins, Shaun Sutton, Kim Critchley, Kevin Marzahn, Andrew Gramp, John Gordon and Craig Dunstan tackled the task of chipping away at the trough structure after the ballast had been removed. Since $75,000 is a lot of funds to put towards a bridge of poor design and in not very good condition, various options for restoration are being considered. The use of the bridge for this year only has been supported by the bridge inspectors with a few conditions, notably a 10 kph speed limit and regular inspections, and accordingly the ballast and track will be reinstated while SteamRanger actively considers all the pros and cons. The favoured option at the moment is to completely remove the existing bridge and replace it with an open girder type structure, hopefully acquired from a broad gauge abandoned railway somewhere. Any ideas? It is thought this option would be less than the current quote. As far as finance goes, SteamRanger is following up discussions with the SA Tourism Commission in an endeavour to gain funds on a dollar for dollar basis. Others involved were two of our younger volunteers, Oliver Lukins and Shaun Sutton who enthusiastically chipped away at some of the corrosion and Kevin Marzahn who seems to have found another use for his fireman's shovelling skills. These three photos courtesy of Ian Johnston All we can say at this stage is "watch this space"

A quick overview of our 80 kms of Track

Mt Barker to Mt Barker Junction

This section of track is used only infrequently by SteamRanger for Junction Jogger railcar services. The line travels through a deep cutting before passing through a tunnel built under the South Eastern Freeway in the 1970s using circular steel lining sections and then crosses the Old Mt Barker Road at grade before winding through the outskirts of Littlehampton and on a elevated embankment alongside the roadway up the valley of the Mt Barker Creek to the site of the abandoned Mt Barker Station. The track terminates at a dead-end alongside the old platform, parallel to the main standard gauge line. There is no run-around trackwork and double ended railcars must be used or a second locomotive attached at the rear to haul consists back to Mt Barker.

Large trees overhang the track and brush invades the line at many points and both need to be kept well trimmed. Drains and culverts in cuttings near the tunnel must be kept clear to prevent ballast degradation. The maximum nominal track speed in this section is 25kph.

Mt Barker to Strathalbyn

Leaving Mt Barker the line skirts the residential area, crossing Mt Barker Creek on a low level causeway, and then climbs through forested cuttings to the crest of the line at Philcox Hill (above).

The track then descends to Strathalbyn on a long extended grade, crossing the main Strathalbyn road at Gemmells. The steeply graded curved sections (as typified by this photo just beyond Stirling Hill Rd) are often on high embankments or through cuttings, and require particular attention in regard to maintenance of gauge and correct curvature under the stresses imposed by our 200 tonne locomotives and 40 tonne passenger cars.

The ranges can be subject to heavy rainfall and the large trees along the trackside and on sides of cuttings can be struck by lightening or be uprooted by a combination of heavy rainfall and high winds making a full track inspection before each movement obligatory. The maximum nominal track speed in this section is 40kph.

Strathalbyn to Goolwa

The next section from Strathalbyn to Goolwa initially traverses relatively level countryside, in places well away from public roads, with difficult access by road vehicles. The line crosses three major watercourses on significant bridges and flooding and erosion of the trackbed is common through the winter.

Track maintenance involves clearing and widening of trackside drains and rebuilding of the trackbed where it has been washed away by flash flooding. Regular inspection and maintenance of cuttings and embankments is required. This photo shows a section of track just south of Black Swamp bridge.

SteamRanger's Goolwa Depot is passed just prior to Goolwa township itself. Some of our track maintenance equipment and vehicles are based here and track inspections from Goolwa to Victor Harbor are conducted by locally resident volunteers. The maximum nominal track speed in this section is 65kph.

Goolwa to Victor Harbor

From Goolwa the line traverses flat farmland to Pt Elliot. There are a number of main road level crossings in this section.

From Pt Elliot the last 6 kilometres of track into the terminus of the line at Victor Harbor runs on an embankment along the back of the beach beside the Southern Ocean. This section, shown in this photo, is continuously subject to sand drifts across the track, caused in part by severe damage to the fragile plant species which would naturally bind the sand hills.

Salt spray causes accelerated corrosion, not only of the track but also structures such as culverts and bridges. Cuttings passing through sandy soil are subject to collapse, especially after heavy rain. The maximum nominal track speed in this section is 65kph.

Bridges, Turntables and Station Cranes

Turntables

Turntables are located at Mount Barker, Strathalbyn and Victor Harbor. The 85 foot electrically driven turntables at Mt Barker and Victor Harbor can turn any of SteamRanger's locomotives and railcars, whilst the 53 foot manually rotated table at Strathalbyn can turn Rx and F class steam locos, 350 and 500 class DE locos and Brill railcars.

The Mt Barker turntable is located in-line on the track between Mt Barker Junction and Mt Barker and was relocated from Bridgewater in the Adelaide Hills by SteamRanger and installed in a newly built pit. In SAR days, locomotives were turned at Mt Barker using a triangle located in what is now the caravan park The other turntables are on spur lines in areas of the station yard previously used as locomotive running depots.

Mt Barker TT looking towards MB Junction

Strath turntable with historic watertank

621 moves off the Victor Harbor turntable

Bridges

The line passes over six significant bridges of varying construction and a number of smaller bridges over watercourses. Leaving Mt Barker, major bridges cross in turn the Angas River just before Strathalbyn and the Finniss River, Tookayerta Creek, and Currency Creek before the line reaches Goolwa. The line then crosses Watsons Gap and finally the Hindmarsh River before entering Victor Harbor.

The Angas, Finniss, Black Swamp and Currency Creek bridges were originally built in the latter half of the 1800s and rebuilt or strengthened in the mid 1900s to handle the heavier locomotives introduced in the "Webb era". In general the original piers have been retained and spans replaced with steel girders or lattice girders, although the Finniss bridge has a single steel span raised just 150mm above the original and now redundant piers.

The current Watsons Gap bridge is an early example of an arch reinforced concrete bridge and the Hindmarsh River bridge rebuilt in 1907 was the first beam and slab concrete bridge in Australia. More information on the heritage of this bridge can be found HERE
Both bridges replaced earlier timber bridges.

Each of the bridges has been subjected to a professional engineering accreditation since SteamRanger took over the line and is monitored on an ongoing basis in regard to sleeper and steel girder condition and for internal reinforcement corrosion in the case of the concrete bridges.

F251 on Angas River Bridge, Strathalbyn		Rx207 crosses the Finniss River		Black Swamp bridge over Tookayerta Ck
621 on our highest bridge, Currency Creek		F251 on Watsons Gap "Eggshell" bridge		Alexandra Bridge entering Victor Harbor

Station Cranes

Most major SAR stations were equipped with goodsheds, dedicated freight loading platforms and ramps and hand operated cranes for unloading freight from road vehicles into open goods wagons.

Three cranes have been preserved on our branch line; two at Strathalbyn and one at Victor Harbor. The only other evidence of a station crane is at Goolwa, where a large concrete mounting base remains adjacent to the Victor Harbor end door of the goods shed. Pictured are the two cranes of quite different designs at Strathalbyn. Both were rated at 5 tons, with the one adjacent to the goods shed carrying a plaque indicating it had been imported from the England

Track Maintenance and Inspection Equipment

Although much of the track maintenance requires hard manual labour and use of hand tools, SteamRanger has received as a donation, has purchased and/or has modified a range of track machines to assist wherever possible in order to cover the relatively long track length of over 80kms on a regular basis.

The following photos illustrate the range of on track or road/rail equipment used.

Gemco Track Machine works at Victor

Gemco Track Machine with verge trimmerattachment

Spot Tamper tidies up MtBarker Depot yard

Typical Track Activities

Sleeper Replacement Individual sleepers are removed manually and a resleepering machine digs out the ballast and inserts the new sleeper, the track is spiked to the correct gauge either manually with sledge hammers or with a pneumatic hammer.The track is jacked to the correct height and ballast (40mm crushed rock) is forced beneath the sleeper with electric hammers. More major activities require assistance from a contractor. Our photo shows track stalwarts Troy Barker and Terry Garbett hard at work packing track at the 75km mark.

Switch Reconditioning

Particular attention needs to be paid to the condition of sleepers and switch mechanisms at each station yard along the line. Photo: Replacing switch timbers in Goolwa yard

An ongoing task is removal of tree branches which can damage rolling stock and pose a fire hazard in the warmer months. Photo: Trevor Williams and his chain saw at work

Vegetation Clearance

Emergency Response

Unexpected flooding and line obstruction after regular inspections demand an on-call response so that scheduled services can be quickly restored

A full on-track inspection is necessary before eacxh movement from Mt Barker and weekly along the south coast. Photo: Troy and Anthony with their Mazda road/railer

Track Inspection

Major Track Rehabilitation

Major trackwork beyond the internal capabilities of SteamRanger is outsourced to contractors
who can use specialised equipment.conducted by Track

In 2003 contractors carried out major track rehabilitation in the Victor Harbor to Goolwa section,
involving replacement of some 2000 sleepers and virtual rebuilding of Goolwa Station Yard
as part of the Goolwa Wharf Environs redevelopment (Photo below)

Contractors were also used to relay track at Mt Barker Depot following unexpected subsidence.

Becoming Involved

So you think you might like to join the track team? To give you an idea of what might be involved, one of the original members, Robert Haebich, wrote an interesting article in the May 2005 issue of our magazine "Catchpoint" describing the activities of the Mt Barker based Gang.

Here's a condensed summary of what he wrote

Mount Barker Track Gang Every Monday morning at about 8.30am a team of track workers depart from Mt. Barker Depot to undertake track maintenance duties at various locations along the track. The Mt Barker based team of volunteers concentrate their activities between Mt. Barker Junction and Strathalbyn whilst occasionally undertaking maintenance tasks between Strathalbyn and Goolwa Depot when the need arises. The Gang complements the heavier track maintenance functions performed by track maintenance employee, Terry Garbett and his group of volunteers who are generally out anywhere on the line between Tuesday and Friday Activities During winter months the main activity of the Mt Barker Gang has been the cutting back of tree growth for train clearance, improving the sighting at level crossings, cleaning line-side drains and culverts and removing litter and debris from the track to reduce the vulnerability to bush-fire damage. The foliage from these activities is stacked at convenient locations and burnt when conditions allow while the heavy timber is cut into sections for transport to Mt Barker depot for steam locomotive light-up wood. In early days all this work was done by hand, but over the last two years, in deference to the age of the volunteers, specialised mechanical plant has been acquired to make the work a lot easier. During summer most of the time is spent on the control of noxious weeds and plants; i.e. blackberry, gorse, fennel, cape tulip, caltrop etc. This is done by selective hand application of weed killer when weather conditions permit. All noxious weeds and plants have now been almost entirely eliminated and while the railway will never be totally free of them at least they are now much easier to control. The current major project is the removal of olive trees along the railway, which predominate near Strathalbyn. Equipment All track maintenance vehicles have to undergo a rigorous annual accreditation process to enable them to operate on the railway and whilst routine servicing is performed by the gang, more specialised maintenance functions are performed by qualified tradespersons from within the Mt. Barker Depot workshop Pre-train operation inspections Depending on the running of the Highlander, Southern Encounter or special trains the appropriate section of line has to be checked more closely for irregularities together with correct functioning of the automatic level crossing warning devices. These duties are shared between the Mt. Barker Track Gang and SteamRanger’s S&T Manager, who has responsibility for the maintenance of the level crossing warning devices. Further South Further south, there is an unmet need for another dedicated group to provide a regular maintenance function between Strathalbyn and Goolwa Depot, performing similar tasks to the Mt. Barker Track Gang. The section from Strathalbyn to Goolwa Depot is not as arduous in terms of foliage and weed control as between Mt. Barker Junction and Strathalbyn and would suit a team of three or four volunteers who could provide one day a week/ fortnight to maintain this section of line. Valued volunteers Initial members of the Mt Barker gang were Doug Mackenzie and Robert Haebich who commenced the controlled burning of foliage between Cameron Rd and Dutton Rd., Mt. Barker around 2002. Subsequent recruits have included Murray Billett, Geoff Smith , Ron Reid, Bob Grant, Peter Keynes and Alan Milne as well as some of our more recently recruited younger volunteers who unfortunately can only participate in their school holidays. Would you like to help? Robert Haebich concluded his "Catchpoint" article by commenting that the railway certainly looks different from when the current Track Gang commenced about three years ago, however environmental control is an endless task and if you would like to join the team, or help on other sections of the line, Robert would welcome a call on 8449 8148.

SteamRanger runs a fare concession scheme as an incentive to volunteers who put in many hours of dedicated effort. Look here for details



Updated: 24th May 2005