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Current News

Upgrade project nearing completion

The Koolyanobbing to Kalgoorlie upgrade project is nearing completion and is on schedule and under budget.
The main concrete resleepering activity was completed in mid Deccember with about 147,000 sleepers inserted over 97kms of track between Bonnivale and Jaurdi. The John Holland lead joint venture contractor will complete the final tamping, rail weld straightening and rail grinding over the 200km of track between Koolyanobbing and Kalgoorlie during February 2002.
Savings of more than $1 million are likely to be achieved in the $38 million project. South Spur Rail Services provided all locomotives and crews for this project with K205/6/10, KA212 and 42219 hired in from Australia Southern Railroad being utilised.

Brunswick - Worley upgrade begins

The $10m WestNet Rail upgrade of the 23km section of track between Brunswick Junction and Worsley began in December.
The heavily utilised line will receive 34,000 concrete sleepers which are being manufactured by CSR Humes. Barclay Mowlem Construction Ltd began re-sleepering work on 3 December 2001 and completion is expected within 3 months.
Special train working arrangements have been put in place after discussions between WestNet Rail, AWR and Worsley Alumina. The negotiated eight hour train free window, which will nominally operate between 0800 and 1600 hours for 12 days per fortnight, will allow Barclay Mowlem to open out approxiamately 700 metres of track daily. Rails will be laid out on the side and old sleepers removed. The ballast will be graded level and the new sleepers will be laid by a gantry running on the rails at the sides. The rails will then be replaced on top of the new sleepers. After new ballast is added, the track will be lifted and tamped on a clean ballast bed of 80mm.
South Spur Rail Services will be providing motive power for the trains with newly acquired NA1874 hauling the ballast train and R1902 on the sleeper train.

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Leisure Rail WA announces locomotive overhauls and purchase of third ZC class

Leisure Rail WA has secured a third ZC class Tasrail locomotive as part of the motive power it needs to operate regularly scheduled world class, boutique standard rail restaurant and touring services planned to get underway in 2002.
ZC 32 is a complete unit minus traction motors that will be used as a major spare parts backup in the full overhaul of ZC 2142 and 2143 which were stored operational by Tasrail.

A special train movement planned for Thursday October 25 of ZC 2142 and ZC 2143 bracketing ZC 32 will move under their own power from Tasrail's motive power depot at East Tamar to the Don River Tramway in Devonport.
ZC 2142 and 2143 are to be overhauled at Don River by Alstom Power of Hobart who have undertaken a number of overhauls of English Electric locomotives.
Whilst Alstom Power are to be the principal contractor, Don River Tramway will be a sub contractor not only in providing workshop space but also in the dismantling of the units and their subsequent reassembly.
Alpha Electrics of Burnie will undertake the overhaul of generators and traction motors including three spares, and other sub contractors will be engaged for various repairs and upgrades of the electrical and other systems under contract to Alstom Power.
The overhaul will also incorporate upgraded cabs with air conditioning and higher standards of crew comfort, ditch lights for higher visibility and upgraded headlights and horns. The locomotives will be configured in regard to power and electrical settings to achieve the maximum level of acceleration for the 6 to 7 car trains they will haul when operating through the metro area on routes where higher track speeds are permitted.
The locomotives will subsequently be repainted in Deloraine by a local painting contractor.
During the refurbishing of ZC 2142 and 2143, ZC 32 will be assessed in regard to a later heavy refurbishment of the main engine and other components and either transported to Perth complete or disassembled. The company has placed an option on a fourth ZC unit currently still in service
with Tasrail and either it or ZC 32 will be subsequently overhauled as the third mainline unit for the company.
ZC 2142 and 2143 will be overhauled in parallel and the work is expected to take 7-months from start date.
The units will be shipped fully complete and operational and on arrival in WA will undergo a series of proving and performance trials to establish running times for locomotive passenger trains on the routes to Albany via
York and Manjimup via Picton.

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DA1575 overhaul nearly complete

As can be seen by the above photo, the overhaul of DA1575 is almost complete. The DA is pictured inside EDI Rail's testing facility at Forrestfield on 20 October 2001 after being towed in from United Goninan's Bassendean plant where the overhaul is being carried out.
Special thanks to EDI Rail for allowing access to take this photo of DA1575.

The W.A. Railfan Site 2001