The original section of the line served Williamstown Racecourse which was Melbourne's fourth major racing venue prior to World War 2. An island platform with sidings each side was located to the left of the video at 1:40 with the originally private Altona line originally built out of the station yard. Four tracks crossed Kororoit Creek Road for race trains with electrification to the racecourse completed in 1920. Taken over as an army camp it never reopened following a fire in the main grandstand in 1947. The remains of stanchion bases remained in place up until Skyrail Works along with the 'WR' prefixes on the signals as a reminder of the former use.
You are lucky tonight! Videos are usually ready days before, and it is pot luck when I remember to post the next one. Sometime not before 4:30 but sometimes after 6:30 if I forget. 😊 And they seem to look a lot sharper on a TV compared with computer screens.
I like BTW, some visible works have finally started at Cheltenham and Mentone level crossing projects. Mentone carpark is now site offices. Access lane fences up alongside rail between the 2 stations.
Thanks. I will continue presenting one every three or four weeks until I run out or get some more. I try to spread the topics around so all my regulars get to see their topic from time to time.
I’m always curious as to why the line isn’t duplicated, excluding the narrow section near Altona station. It’d save us from waiting so long at Westona for other trains to pass through
Hi there tressteleg1 I was just wondering if you can tell me about the Prospector and the Australind train's over in WA they look like our Xplorer's and hunter railcars here in NSW
Wikipedia can tell you a lot more than I ever could. I have ridden the present Australind. Noisy inside like most Rail motors. You may like my ‘Perth Trains 1972’ Video as it shows the original Prospector.
It appears that the tram lines run quite far out into the country side. Spring equinox for Australia, Autumn for us this weekend....and it's still summer hot for us! 90°+F for us this afternoon. Enjoy riding with you
You mention trams in a video dealing with the trains so I’ll have to briefly mentioned both. The longest tramlines extend about 20 km or 12 miles out from the city but most are very much shorter. It’s the electric trains that go much further. This map is only diagrammatic but it will give you some rough indication. If you get a geographical map, you could then relate distances from that. As for the climate, Spring started on 1 September, summer will start on one December etc. During winter, where I live a couple of winter days got to 30° C OR 85°F. Nearly every day reached at least 21°C or 70°F. But Melbourne was very much colder. www.railmaps.com.au/melbourn.htm
I will probably go there when I go to Sydney for their eventual opening. In the meantime open TH-cam and enter Matthew Geier. He has covered Newcastle, Canberra and Sydney test running.
It's a speed trip. If the other train is already at the station you'll come in on a normal speed warning (orange over red) and the speed trip will be down. If you're first to the station you'll come on a medium speed warning (red over orange) and the trip will be up. You must be doing 25kph or less before you hit it or you will trip. This is to help stop you entering the single line and having a head on with the other train. The other side of the platform doesn't need one due to the fact that the home departure is far enough back from the single line that that will be enough to stop you.
I have always had a funny question: why is it right-hand run at Westona? Hahaha I wonder if is due to convenience where trains open their doors on the left all the way from Seaholme to Westona
VincentKoh LUMCFan Not the doors. If you look at the track geometry you will see that entry into the loop, when trains can be going faster, is much gentler right than the left. Right would give less wear and tear and less chance of derailment, and less lurching for the passengers.
home signal 216 just before the main line many years ago probably 2012 2013 on the train talk videos through metro they were saying that alot of drivers were having SPADS through there they got like 6 a year but with the new gantry's looks like there solved that problem
I did not especially notice a trip halfway along the station platform but I daresay there is one there. Tied in with your comment about SPADS, in places where there is a serious danger just after a normal trip beside a signal, there may be several trips without signals fairly close together approaching the signal trip.They are set to go down one by one at set time intervals to make sure the train is not going too fast. Thus the driver has to go slower and slower to pass these intermediate trips without interruption. This ensures that by the time the signal is reached, the train is already going slow enough to stop safely, or if not will be stopped by the trip at the red signal.
Nice video tressteleg1, any chance of a Hurstbridge line ride before the duplication past Greensborough - and then a video of it in a couple of years, when it's complete?
I am aware of works taking place on that line. I would have nothing on anything done since last summer. Hopefully something when I visit Melbourne next summer.
hqqns Thanks. Hopefully some more crossing removal videos will be available when I go south next summer. Unfortunately I suppose one day I will run out of new topics and old. I don’t know what I will do with my spare time then.
Wouldn't be authentic of the Werribee line without the Comeng train. Out of curiosity, does the Belgrave/Lilydale line ever get Comengs or Siemens trains? I catch the train to Swinburne 3 days a week and it's always X Trapolis??? Any reason for this? Thanks for viddys too, they're actually quite relaxing.
Look at my Playlist for Driver’s View Trains and you will find a few on the Box Hill line. That will give you some idea of what train types to expect. They do seem to keep certain train types on certain lines.
I could read your comment about watching at double speed but it was inaccessible for reply. Sometimes I watch videos at doubling speed if it is painfully slow or not of great interest. If you want to watch your computer or better still Big TV and pretend you are driving the train then play at normal speed. And unless you are a very fast reader, you will probably miss my captions and miss something which may be of interest.
Xtraps only on mernda hurstbridge lilydale belgrave alamein and Glen Waverly. Probably makes it easier to have the stations set up for that train type. The Siemens have a wider body than the xtrap and the comeng. Notice they both have the round sides where the Siemens is flat? When adapting the design for use on the metro network, some genius thought "we'll make it the same width as the comeng and measured it at the widest points, forgetting that the point at which floors meet the platform is narrower. So they had to modify the platforms to accomadate. So probably something to do with that.
Interesting! I did not know the Siemens were wider. I suppose that is another unfortunate result of privatisation and two different companies going their own ways with purchasing rolling stock.
He must have had a second comment. Very briefly, the points into the passing loop are much gentler on the right hand side, especially coming from Laverton. This means less wear and tear and less chance of a derailment.
True. Sometimes a mirror is good enough for a gentle curve, but on sharper curves four cameras with the four video screens in the box are used by the driver. They have various types of doors which close to protect the screen when no train is there.
Wasup Doc Here it all is from one Driver. This was a very tough question as I’m sure you’d say the same thing with all the trams. Familiarity breeds contempt so I will try to take that out of my thoughts. Hitachi / Silvers: They were very quiet and when going for power and releasing the brakes there was always a moment where the thought was, is it going to go! They always did, and, as they took off they did so with a bit of a clunk. Fantastic airbrake that was not quite the same in the Comeng, fantastic aircon (in the drivers cabs only and only in my time) and fantastic drivers seat, none other have ever come close. Everything else was very agricultural, for example air operated, randomly working wipers that generally just smeared the windscreen. Starting them up could be and usually was a bugger (like the Comengs), taking (unallocated) additional time Comengs: The pride, well really the backbone of the fleet. Still the only train that can go anywhere without restriction. Old school in its operation, just like the Silvers. The master controller is easier to use than the Silver but the brake never felt as effective. The Knorr (disc) braked trains are generally were, and are, a bit underwhelming when running on the Rheostatic brake. They’re good to drive but due to their ageing most sets have something wrong with them, generally in the form of isolated motors and therefore giving a sluggish feeling. Siemens: Quiet, simplistic and comfortable. There feels like a certain degree of detachment from reality in these and there’s always the nagging feeling of, are we gunna stop! We these go kaput they generally stay kaput. Xtraps: Probably the most numerous of all types now. Rugged and reliable and simplistic. People always complain about the lack of airbags (all other train types have) but that just hides deficiancies in the track. The Xtraps keep going without too much trouble, very easy to drive, almost point and shoot. In summary; When you drive one type all the time you long for something different. Once you’ve changed it doesn’t take long for all the old horrible annoyances to be remembered and resurface.
@@tressteleg1 I really don't know how to thank you. You went above and beyond and managed to recover the drivers experience of operating these magnificent machines giving us a drivers perspective and highlighting the differences with both the positives and negatives in each. Now I understand why the Comengs have stayed around for so long, and its a shame the Siemens are not that enduring in the end. Thank you for the hard work in getting the information.
You must be British. Australian railways have rarely used vacuum. Normally it is Westinghouse style compressed air braking as well as rheostatic braking.
Cool video! The title however got me. I am from the Netherlands close to the border with Germany. And in the german City of Hamburg there is also a Altona. And Skyrail sounded for me as a translation of the Hamburg local train "Hochbahn". But when I started the video I immideatly could tell we are not in Germany. But than I thought we were in Italy, by the looks of the signals. But seeing the levelcrossing it came clear for me we are in Australia. Nice to see the signals have a mechanical safety device, stopping trains from passing signals at danger. Similar systems use to be in the London Underground and the Berlin (Germany) S-Bahn. Two questions: is this wide gauge? Looks wider than our normal gauge 1433 mm. And is there a site explaining these singals? Tnx for sharing!
Haha! It sounds like I tricked you into watching a video you may not have bothered with 😊. Anyway you did some good detective work to discover that it is in Australia. I have now added the name Melbourne to the title of the video. Most of The rail network in Victoria including Melbourne electric trains was built to the old Irish gauge of 5‘3“ or 1600 mm. Yes the signal trips work well. Also the trains crossing at the station passing the loop running to the right is unusual, probably to give easier entry curves to the loop. I did a video called Melbourne Train Signals explained. Nevertheless I am still confused by them myself! But the video may help to you. Your last sentence suggest you enjoyed it. If you check my playlists you may find other similar videos of interest to you.
@@tressteleg1 I love to see cabride video's. And to ride the train myself in TS2019! Cool that I just it right that it is a wider gauge... I have been in Ireland, however I have not travelled by train there. Just by car. Spain, Portugal and Russia and Finland use wide gauge too. There are trains going from France to Spain that have moveable wheels and at to border they go through a spacial gauge changing street!. However the new highspeed lines in Spain are normal gauge so the TGV can cross the border at full (300 kmh!) speed!
Marc van der Linden I missed replying to this earlier. Too many comments to handle. I knew that they Spain Talgo trains could have the wheels moved on the axles. I seem to recall, but could be mistaken, but on one occasion I think we all stayed in the train while the carriages were raised up and the bogies changed to the other gauge. Unfortunately in the early days, everybody using the same gauge was not particularly worried about. A century or more later, this difference in gauges is still costing money. And Australia had three major gauges. Queensland still has only 3 foot six gauge or 1067 mm except for 100 or so kilometres of track coming up from New South Wales.
@@tressteleg1 Well as far as I know bogies are changed on the border from Europe with Russia. There are a lot of freighttrains that get their bogies changed at the border. That is very time consuming of course. Russia had a different gauge for strategic reasons. They were afraid of an invasion of the enemy by train!
Firstly, I strongly suggest you have a chat with train drivers (one at a time) at a terminus or somewhere about how they enjoy the job. The honest ones may surprise you. Get back to me after that. 😊
I would personally rather work as a Train Controller at Metrol or whatever its called now. That way you're not exposed to all the stupid people that walk in front of trains ignorantly or commit suicide. I couldn't handle that.
It will be interesting to see what happens to the altona loop when (or if) the clifton hill to newport tunnel is built. Likely that it will be duplicated in its entirety and HCMTs will run stopping all stations via the loop all the way through to wyndham vale. Not sure if there will be room for express trains under this plan!
Caleb Stewart Wait and see. I expect that Victorian finances for a long time will be gobbled up with level crossing replacement costs. Tunnels are so very expensive
tressteleg1 definitely true but doesn’t seem to bother the current government. Level crossing removal is in full swing and they’re still funding the $10 billion + metro tunnel. The next tunnel is estimated at 20 billion over almost 10 years so not completely crazy. By then though suburban rail loop and airport link will be in full swing taking billions more from the budget as well. Vic are at a point where nothing has been done for PT in 40 years and now it needs to all happen at once if we are any chance if catering for population growth
Caleb Stewart But I would rate just about every level crossing removal ahead of any tunnels in the Newport region. And of course with all these plans, some years into the future, it will be interesting to see what happens when eventually Labor loses power. Will the current opposition have any heart for continuing?
@@tressteleg1 I agree grade separation definitely needs to be top priority. PTV actually proposed the second tunnel under the liberal government however nobody wants to promise anything until they can measure the success of the current metro tunnel. Although there are very strong feasibility studies for it I wouldn't be surprised if the liberals threw all their moneys at roads instead, they will be forced to finish airport link, that might be enough rail infrastructure for them haha
Actually Liberals could well continue with the crossing removals unless balancing the budget is their strongest ambition of all. Crossing removals benefit motorists a lot, trains not much at all.
👨💻 i lived in melb 35yrs see about all of it and Moved to SA since 2008 The rail line looks so similar to the goodwood line +4yrs in darwin humidity does u in🥵 dad was a guard oldest bro driver young bro desk station🚂-🚋-🚋-🚋-🚋-🚋-🚋-🚋-👍 been watching the Rifleman in youtube 4 weeks this was break :)
These crossing removals are for the benefit of motorists, not for trains. The street below the bridge is very busy. All the other crossings on the line are with unimportant roads so will remain.
The usual reason would be that there is not enough passenger traffic. And in this case in the peak hours, some services which might be expected to go via Altona may instead go direct along the old main line.
I rember getting the train from seaholme station to the city in the mid eighties , early 1983 me and a mate of mine from the same class at seaholme primary school on arvo after school we were playing on the line on the bridge over kororoit creek and i said what obout if a train comes what are we going to do will the traia try and slow down and try and stop if someones on the track and my mate said no they will honk the whistle or horn and then go faster so i was ready to jump off the bridge into the creek if a train was coming .
The train from laverton will always beat you. It's only one station away. The down will always lose due to all sorts of reasons like signals, slow boarding, late departure from flinders street because your train got in late, following another train, comeng with motors out, or even a noob trainee that hasn't had a chance to learn how to drive a train efficiently.
Hawthorn Valley if you watch it again, especially coming from Laverton, less so outbound, it is a straight run through the facing points on the right. Less wear and tear on the pointwork and less risk of derailment.
I like the video, purely for its' before and after status. As for the Altona loop, I believe it is largely an alternative to a third main, so am surprised at the grade separation work. Seems to run smoothly, and I'm all in favour of investment in infrastructure...
I really love the broad gauge of Melbourne, it's such a historic decision tied directly with the gold rush and our connection with England at the time. And I love that they kept it.
Beren Scott Actually the broad 5’ 3” gauge comes from Ireland. There is no point changing the gauge of suburban trains but a lot of the rest of the Victoria and South Australia is gradually being changed to Standard for freight trains. The quality of suburban track is below Brisbane and much lower than Sydney.
@@tressteleg1 its easier to change track if its only used a few times a day. But its because standard is more common. Still the broad reminds me of that gold rush age when we had a massive rail network to everywhere.
Incorrect, trains did not tetminate at Laverton in 1985, they all Terminated at Westona. Laverton trains came much later. If you wanted to get to Laverton in the 80s & 90s you had to get a Werribee or Geelong train!
Ron. They only terminated at Westona for three months and according to Wikipedia - “The line was subsequently extended to Westona on 21 January 1985, and to Laverton, on 14 April 1985”
@@tressteleg1 Hmmmmm, thats strange because around 1986-7 there was a lady where I worked in Abbotsford who lived in Altona, she told me the train terminated at Westona and I don't ever remember seeing Laverton up on the Computer display screens at Flinders Street in the 80s or 90s. Why wouldn't they just run Laverton trains via Paisley, Galvin & Aircraft on the Geelong line? I thought there was a white buffer train stop at the end of thd Westona line? ok well thanks
tressteleg1 I agree but wouldn’t it make more sense to duplicate the line at the same time. Doing both projects together that way more services can run.
@@anakinskywalker4113 They did duplicate a small section of the line at the same time as the level crossing removal. Removing the rest of the level crossings and duplicating the full line would cost into the billions. It's not cheap to elevate and rebuild all the stations and disrupt the whole railway. Plus it is close to residential homes and likely would be hard to justify since most of the area is low density. Maybe in the future when the area is developed, but at the moment it seems unlikely.
The Caulfield - Dandenong line needs to be 4 tracks, they could have at least put in the columns to take them at a later date. At a meeting they said they are a level crossing removal authority, nothing to do with new tracks. It will cost just as much if not more to add two badly needed tracks in the future. No foresight in this State/Country. By the way, the locals in Carnegie were pushing for the Koornang Rd. level crossing removal way back in 1950!! It took just a mere 68 years for it to happen, but don't hold your breath!
27:16 dumb place for a signal box. When this section inevitably gets duplicated across the entirety of the bridge, the contractors will get paid to move it once again!
1. Protect the TWO MAN CREW BILL (HR 1748 Safe Freight Act) It’s about public safety and jobs. 2. Go to SMART-UNION.org/td Click on the Red button support two person crews on the right side of division home page. 2. Enter contact info ( this is needed to direct the email to your member of congress. 3. Click Send. The pre-drafted my essage will be sent directly to your member of congress. 4. This effects railroad retirement, retired railroaders, current railroaders there’s even a spot for the general public to make there voice be heard. Please take action there is 175,000 conductors and 59,000 engineers that need this support not to mention public safety at risk. 5. safety of the crews and the public must come first!
![บุษบา - เมนทอล [Official MV]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/IGnWPokSEis/mqdefault.jpg)
Having grown up in Altona, watching that was amazing. Thanks for sharing.
😊👍
The original section of the line served Williamstown Racecourse which was Melbourne's fourth major racing venue prior to World War 2. An island platform with sidings each side was located to the left of the video at 1:40 with the originally private Altona line originally built out of the station yard. Four tracks crossed Kororoit Creek Road for race trains with electrification to the racecourse completed in 1920. Taken over as an army camp it never reopened following a fire in the main grandstand in 1947. The remains of stanchion bases remained in place up until Skyrail Works along with the 'WR' prefixes on the signals as a reminder of the former use.
scana1979 Interesting. Thanks 👍
Perfect timing, dinner in front of the TV watching new tressteleg video - cheers 👍
You are lucky tonight! Videos are usually ready days before, and it is pot luck when I remember to post the next one. Sometime not before 4:30 but sometimes after 6:30 if I forget. 😊 And they seem to look a lot sharper on a TV compared with computer screens.
Ha ha 😊 next week probably Docklands via Collins Street. I think I have it in store. Week after, Nambour Cane Trains. That probably won’t grab you ☹️
Awesome trip. ty for sharing these with us. God bless
I love watching these videos, especially since I live on the other side of Melbourne and never get to travel on this line. Thanks for sharing.
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Great video, enjoy everyone you put up, keep em coming!
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All Melbourne and Sydney Signals must display 2 lights. One light would be a broken signal.
Love all the vids i,ve seen so far! But this one and the sun towards the end! What a sight
In a few weeks time I will post one which I consider to be quite extraordinary, but you will have to wait till then 😊😄
I'm a tram and I approve this video! Great to see my cousins in action!
😊👍
I like
BTW, some visible works have finally started at Cheltenham and Mentone level crossing projects.
Mentone carpark is now site offices.
Access lane fences up alongside rail between the 2 stations.
Thanks for the update.
Congratulations on the bridge! It looks good and rides like a new bridge should.
😊
Interesting, enjoyable video, thankyou.
😊😊. If you want to check my Playlists, you will find a lot more like this one and all put on the one page.
2:55 was the part I wait at for trains
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Love your work Tressteleg 1, please give us more drivers view train videos, Very interesting......
Thanks. I will continue presenting one every three or four weeks until I run out or get some more. I try to spread the topics around so all my regulars get to see their topic from time to time.
Where the Skyrail is on this rail line got double tracked was not before !
A bit of foresight for when duplication is needed.
I’m always curious as to why the line isn’t duplicated, excluding the narrow section near Altona station. It’d save us from waiting so long at Westona for other trains to pass through
Thank you for the video
Hi there tressteleg1 I was just wondering if you can tell me about the Prospector and the Australind train's over in WA they look like our Xplorer's and hunter railcars here in NSW
Wikipedia can tell you a lot more than I ever could. I have ridden the present Australind. Noisy inside like most Rail motors. You may like my ‘Perth Trains 1972’ Video as it shows the original Prospector.
It appears that the tram lines run quite far out into the country side. Spring equinox for Australia, Autumn for us this weekend....and it's still summer hot for us! 90°+F for us this afternoon. Enjoy riding with you
You mention trams in a video dealing with the trains so I’ll have to briefly mentioned both. The longest tramlines extend about 20 km or 12 miles out from the city but most are very much shorter. It’s the electric trains that go much further. This map is only diagrammatic but it will give you some rough indication. If you get a geographical map, you could then relate distances from that.
As for the climate, Spring started on 1 September, summer will start on one December etc. During winter, where I live a couple of winter days got to 30° C OR 85°F. Nearly every day reached at least 21°C or 70°F. But Melbourne was very much colder.
www.railmaps.com.au/melbourn.htm
WOW...NICE VIDEO!
😊
Nice vid! Maybe in future it would be nice to have a video of Canberra’s new(-ish) light rail?
I will probably go there when I go to Sydney for their eventual opening. In the meantime open TH-cam and enter
Matthew Geier.
He has covered Newcastle, Canberra and Sydney test running.
notice the signal trip arm right in the middle of westona station most likely for the departing home signal maybe
See note in you next post.
It's a speed trip. If the other train is already at the station you'll come in on a normal speed warning (orange over red) and the speed trip will be down. If you're first to the station you'll come on a medium speed warning (red over orange) and the trip will be up. You must be doing 25kph or less before you hit it or you will trip. This is to help stop you entering the single line and having a head on with the other train. The other side of the platform doesn't need one due to the fact that the home departure is far enough back from the single line that that will be enough to stop you.
Peter Fraser Thanks for the extra details.
I have always had a funny question: why is it right-hand run at Westona? Hahaha I wonder if is due to convenience where trains open their doors on the left all the way from Seaholme to Westona
VincentKoh LUMCFan Not the doors. If you look at the track geometry you will see that entry into the loop, when trains can be going faster, is much gentler right than the left. Right would give less wear and tear and less chance of derailment, and less lurching for the passengers.
home signal 216 just before the main line many years ago probably 2012 2013 on the train talk videos through metro they were saying that alot of drivers were having SPADS through there they got like 6 a year but with the new gantry's looks like there solved that problem
I did not especially notice a trip halfway along the station platform but I daresay there is one there. Tied in with your comment about SPADS, in places where there is a serious danger just after a normal trip beside a signal, there may be several trips without signals fairly close together approaching the signal trip.They are set to go down one by one at set time intervals to make sure the train is not going too fast. Thus the driver has to go slower and slower to pass these intermediate trips without interruption. This ensures that by the time the signal is reached, the train is already going slow enough to stop safely, or if not will be stopped by the trip at the red signal.
Nice video tressteleg1, any chance of a Hurstbridge line ride before the duplication past Greensborough - and then a video of it in a couple of years, when it's complete?
I am aware of works taking place on that line. I would have nothing on anything done since last summer. Hopefully something when I visit Melbourne next summer.
@@tressteleg1 Thanks, love your preservation of history and videos.
hqqns Thanks. Hopefully some more crossing removal videos will be available when I go south next summer. Unfortunately I suppose one day I will run out of new topics and old. I don’t know what I will do with my spare time then.
Skyrail at 27:00 :)
Wouldn't be authentic of the Werribee line without the Comeng train. Out of curiosity, does the Belgrave/Lilydale line ever get Comengs or Siemens trains? I catch the train to Swinburne 3 days a week and it's always X Trapolis??? Any reason for this? Thanks for viddys too, they're actually quite relaxing.
Look at my Playlist for Driver’s View Trains and you will find a few on the Box Hill line. That will give you some idea of what train types to expect. They do seem to keep certain train types on certain lines.
I could read your comment about watching at double speed but it was inaccessible for reply.
Sometimes I watch videos at doubling speed if it is painfully slow or not of great interest. If you want to watch your computer or better still Big TV and pretend you are driving the train then play at normal speed. And unless you are a very fast reader, you will probably miss my captions and miss something which may be of interest.
Xtraps only on mernda hurstbridge lilydale belgrave alamein and Glen Waverly. Probably makes it easier to have the stations set up for that train type. The Siemens have a wider body than the xtrap and the comeng. Notice they both have the round sides where the Siemens is flat? When adapting the design for use on the metro network, some genius thought "we'll make it the same width as the comeng and measured it at the widest points, forgetting that the point at which floors meet the platform is narrower. So they had to modify the platforms to accomadate. So probably something to do with that.
Interesting! I did not know the Siemens were wider. I suppose that is another unfortunate result of privatisation and two different companies going their own ways with purchasing rolling stock.
Yeah i dont know if you remember when they were brand new they had trouble literally hitting some platforms.
Is it normal to use the right hand platform at Westona? I would have thought the normal would have been left hand?
Please see reply to Robbie Henry 2 days ago.
@@tressteleg1 cheers, did not relate it to the Robbie Henry heading sorry
He must have had a second comment. Very briefly, the points into the passing loop are much gentler on the right hand side, especially coming from Laverton. This means less wear and tear and less chance of a derailment.
What is the big box with the TV screens?
Spot 9 infrastructure. Usually on curved platform when you can't look down the length of the train to make sure everyone's finished getting on or off
True. Sometimes a mirror is good enough for a gentle curve, but on sharper curves four cameras with the four video screens in the box are used by the driver. They have various types of doors which close to protect the screen when no train is there.
What's it like to drive a Siemens as opposed to a Comeng or Xtrapolis are they much different to each other from the drivers perspective.
I have no idea, I am not a driver. I’ll see if I can find out.
tressteleg1 thanks in advance if you do.
Wasup Doc Here it all is from one Driver.
This was a very tough question as I’m sure you’d say the same thing with all the trams. Familiarity breeds contempt so I will try to take that out of my thoughts.
Hitachi / Silvers:
They were very quiet and when going for power and releasing the brakes there was always a moment where the thought was, is it going to go! They always did, and, as they took off they did so with a bit of a clunk. Fantastic airbrake that was not quite the same in the Comeng, fantastic aircon (in the drivers cabs only and only in my time) and fantastic drivers seat, none other have ever come close. Everything else was very agricultural, for example air operated, randomly working wipers that generally just smeared the windscreen. Starting them up could be and usually was a bugger (like the Comengs), taking (unallocated) additional time
Comengs:
The pride, well really the backbone of the fleet. Still the only train that can go anywhere without restriction. Old school in its operation, just like the Silvers. The master controller is easier to use than the Silver but the brake never felt as effective. The Knorr (disc) braked trains are generally were, and are, a bit underwhelming when running on the Rheostatic brake. They’re good to drive but due to their ageing most sets have something wrong with them, generally in the form of isolated motors and therefore giving a sluggish feeling.
Siemens:
Quiet, simplistic and comfortable. There feels like a certain degree of detachment from reality in these and there’s always the nagging feeling of, are we gunna stop! We these go kaput they generally stay kaput.
Xtraps:
Probably the most numerous of all types now. Rugged and reliable and simplistic. People always complain about the lack of airbags (all other train types have) but that just hides deficiancies in the track. The Xtraps keep going without too much trouble, very easy to drive, almost point and shoot.
In summary;
When you drive one type all the time you long for something different. Once you’ve changed it doesn’t take long for all the old horrible annoyances to be remembered and resurface.
@@tressteleg1 I really don't know how to thank you. You went above and beyond and managed to recover the drivers experience of operating these magnificent machines giving us a drivers perspective and highlighting the differences with both the positives and negatives in each. Now I understand why the Comengs have stayed around for so long, and its a shame the Siemens are not that enduring in the end. Thank you for the hard work in getting the information.
Wasup Doc I will send your reply here on to the driver. Another interesting Werribee line video will appear in a few weeks.
Can anyone answer why trains at Westona cross on the opposite side?
Please see my reply below to Robbie Henry
@@tressteleg1 thanks mate, hadn't scrolled down that far! Cheers
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The first unit your friend was driving, sounded like he was using Vacuum brakes for stopping, would you know if I'm right?
You must be British. Australian railways have rarely used vacuum. Normally it is Westinghouse style compressed air braking as well as rheostatic braking.
@@tressteleg1 , Yes, use to drive British trains in the 90's.
I once drove a BR southern electric out of Victoria around Midnight. It will go on TH-cam sooner or later. Great fun.
Cool video! The title however got me. I am from the Netherlands close to the border with Germany. And in the german City of Hamburg there is also a Altona. And Skyrail sounded for me as a translation of the Hamburg local train "Hochbahn". But when I started the video I immideatly could tell we are not in Germany. But than I thought we were in Italy, by the looks of the signals. But seeing the levelcrossing it came clear for me we are in Australia. Nice to see the signals have a mechanical safety device, stopping trains from passing signals at danger. Similar systems use to be in the London Underground and the Berlin (Germany) S-Bahn. Two questions: is this wide gauge? Looks wider than our normal gauge 1433 mm. And is there a site explaining these singals? Tnx for sharing!
Haha! It sounds like I tricked you into watching a video you may not have bothered with 😊. Anyway you did some good detective work to discover that it is in Australia. I have now added the name Melbourne to the title of the video. Most of The rail network in Victoria including Melbourne electric trains was built to the old Irish gauge of 5‘3“ or 1600 mm.
Yes the signal trips work well. Also the trains crossing at the station passing the loop running to the right is unusual, probably to give easier entry curves to the loop. I did a video called Melbourne Train Signals explained. Nevertheless I am still confused by them myself! But the video may help to you. Your last sentence suggest you enjoyed it. If you check my playlists you may find other similar videos of interest to you.
@@tressteleg1 I love to see cabride video's. And to ride the train myself in TS2019! Cool that I just it right that it is a wider gauge... I have been in Ireland, however I have not travelled by train there. Just by car. Spain, Portugal and Russia and Finland use wide gauge too. There are trains going from France to Spain that have moveable wheels and at to border they go through a spacial gauge changing street!. However the new highspeed lines in Spain are normal gauge so the TGV can cross the border at full (300 kmh!) speed!
@@Ztbmrc1 300kmh in Australia I wish! Here that is just a dream, maybe in another 100 years when the rest of the world are going at 600kmh!
Marc van der Linden I missed replying to this earlier. Too many comments to handle.
I knew that they Spain Talgo trains could have the wheels moved on the axles. I seem to recall, but could be mistaken, but on one occasion I think we all stayed in the train while the carriages were raised up and the bogies changed to the other gauge. Unfortunately in the early days, everybody using the same gauge was not particularly worried about. A century or more later, this difference in gauges is still costing money. And Australia had three major gauges. Queensland still has only 3 foot six gauge or 1067 mm except for 100 or so kilometres of track coming up from New South Wales.
@@tressteleg1 Well as far as I know bogies are changed on the border from Europe with Russia. There are a lot of freighttrains that get their bogies changed at the border. That is very time consuming of course. Russia had a different gauge for strategic reasons. They were afraid of an invasion of the enemy by train!
Why do the Siemen trains make that high pitch sound when they depart or just before they stop
Do a google search of ‘chopper control of electric trains’. The chopping is the noise you can hear. Trams are the same.
tressteleg1 ok thanks I will
Motors run on 3 phase AC like the xtraps. Comeng on DC.
I'm super interested in becoming a Melbourne train driver, can you tell me what I need to know and do to become one?
Firstly, I strongly suggest you have a chat with train drivers (one at a time) at a terminus or somewhere about how they enjoy the job. The honest ones may surprise you. Get back to me after that. 😊
@@tressteleg1 ok thanks
I tried in late 1983 after failing year 10 at Tech school but they wouldn't admit me. Good luck.
I would personally rather work as a Train Controller at Metrol or whatever its called now. That way you're not exposed to all the stupid people that walk in front of trains ignorantly or commit suicide. I couldn't handle that.
It will be interesting to see what happens to the altona loop when (or if) the clifton hill to newport tunnel is built. Likely that it will be duplicated in its entirety and HCMTs will run stopping all stations via the loop all the way through to wyndham vale. Not sure if there will be room for express trains under this plan!
Caleb Stewart Wait and see. I expect that Victorian finances for a long time will be gobbled up with level crossing replacement costs. Tunnels are so very expensive
tressteleg1 definitely true but doesn’t seem to bother the current government. Level crossing removal is in full swing and they’re still funding the $10 billion + metro tunnel. The next tunnel is estimated at 20 billion over almost 10 years so not completely crazy. By then though suburban rail loop and airport link will be in full swing taking billions more from the budget as well. Vic are at a point where nothing has been done for PT in 40 years and now it needs to all happen at once if we are any chance if catering for population growth
Caleb Stewart But I would rate just about every level crossing removal ahead of any tunnels in the Newport region. And of course with all these plans, some years into the future, it will be interesting to see what happens when eventually Labor loses power. Will the current opposition have any heart for continuing?
@@tressteleg1 I agree grade separation definitely needs to be top priority. PTV actually proposed the second tunnel under the liberal government however nobody wants to promise anything until they can measure the success of the current metro tunnel. Although there are very strong feasibility studies for it I wouldn't be surprised if the liberals threw all their moneys at roads instead, they will be forced to finish airport link, that might be enough rail infrastructure for them haha
Actually Liberals could well continue with the crossing removals unless balancing the budget is their strongest ambition of all. Crossing removals benefit motorists a lot, trains not much at all.
👨💻 i lived in melb 35yrs see about all of it and Moved to SA since 2008 The rail line looks so similar to the goodwood line +4yrs in darwin humidity does u in🥵 dad was a guard oldest bro driver young bro desk station🚂-🚋-🚋-🚋-🚋-🚋-🚋-🚋-👍 been watching the Rifleman in youtube 4 weeks this was break :)
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seeing that rails in the air been built ,spoils the place ,a lot of work and money for what is a branch line
These crossing removals are for the benefit of motorists, not for trains. The street below the bridge is very busy. All the other crossings on the line are with unimportant roads so will remain.
When they said build a bridge over Koroit Creek, they definitely got a bridge.
If that is the impressive bridge when the line 1st branches off the direct route to Werribee, you were not kidding!
Nice Video tressteleg1 I'm asking you when you do Reservoir Stations Construction Yes or No just saying?
I have no video yet of bridge works. Hopefully some will be handed to me when I go to Melbourne next summer.
Ok thanks for asking tressteleg1.
Why don't they make the Altona loop double track for the full lenght? It would allow more up and down trains to pass each other at the same time.
The usual reason would be that there is not enough passenger traffic. And in this case in the peak hours, some services which might be expected to go via Altona may instead go direct along the old main line.
i use to have free rides some times on this root , officers doesnt come here often
Fare evasion seems rife in Melbourne. Don’t try that stunt on the Gold Coast Tram. It will spoil your holiday!
good one.
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I rember getting the train from seaholme station to the city in the mid eighties , early 1983 me and a mate of mine from the same class at seaholme primary school on arvo after school we were playing on the line on the bridge over kororoit creek and i said what obout if a train comes what are we going to do will the traia try and slow down and try and stop if someones on the track and my mate said no they will honk the whistle or horn and then go faster so i was ready to jump off the bridge into the creek if a train was coming .
Unless the driver saw you on the bridge from some distance away, you would have got run over 😊
Took you 3 goes to get the crossing at Westona right. The crossing service was waiting for you to arrive in the 1st two!
I’m not the driver! These videos come from a mate. But I know what you mean.
The train from laverton will always beat you. It's only one station away. The down will always lose due to all sorts of reasons like signals, slow boarding, late departure from flinders street because your train got in late, following another train, comeng with motors out, or even a noob trainee that hasn't had a chance to learn how to drive a train efficiently.
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Just out of curiosity, why does the crossover direction go "wrong way"?
Hawthorn Valley if you watch it again, especially coming from Laverton, less so outbound, it is a straight run through the facing points on the right. Less wear and tear on the pointwork and less risk of derailment.
Wonder if they will ever duplicate the line fully.
Aiden Teszke yes I agree.
Unless they bung up dozens of high rise slums, just 3 stations are unlikely to generate a need for trains more often than at present.
It is in the long-term plan to do it. It may take 30-40 years before it gets done though
I like the video, purely for its' before and after status. As for the Altona loop, I believe it is largely an alternative to a third main, so am surprised at the grade separation work. Seems to run smoothly, and I'm all in favour of investment in infrastructure...
Joseph Christianson I believe that Skyrail is little about rail benefit and a lot about road benefit.
Just noticed you don't have a drivers view for the craigieburn line. coming soon?
No. I only have a few scraps so far on that line. Maybe after next summer.
I really love the broad gauge of Melbourne, it's such a historic decision tied directly with the gold rush and our connection with England at the time. And I love that they kept it.
Beren Scott Actually the broad 5’ 3” gauge comes from Ireland. There is no point changing the gauge of suburban trains but a lot of the rest of the Victoria and South Australia
is gradually being changed to Standard for freight trains. The quality of suburban track is below Brisbane and much lower than Sydney.
@@tressteleg1 its easier to change track if its only used a few times a day. But its because standard is more common. Still the broad reminds me of that gold rush age when we had a massive rail network to everywhere.
I hope i get make a wish it's gonna be i want to be in the simen set cab
Good Luck!
Really great videos, are you a train driver?
Wilston BB No but I was a South Melbourne tram driver around 1990. I also unofficially drove electric trains in the past in Sydney and Melbourne.
6 years ago
Another great video 👍tressteleg1 🚈🚋🚋🚋🚋🚋🚋🚋🚋🚋
No I’m sure you will be much delighted with my upcoming one on the Nambour sugar cane trains, something which no longer exists.
And where is this?
Think of Victoria Australia.
@@tressteleg1 okay thanks
Incorrect, trains did not tetminate at Laverton in 1985, they all Terminated at Westona. Laverton trains came much later. If you wanted to get to Laverton in the 80s & 90s you had to get a Werribee or Geelong train!
Ron. They only terminated at Westona for three months and according to Wikipedia - “The line was subsequently extended to Westona on 21 January 1985, and to Laverton, on 14 April 1985”
@@tressteleg1 Hmmmmm, thats strange because around 1986-7 there was a lady where I worked in Abbotsford who lived in Altona, she told me the train terminated at Westona and I don't ever remember seeing Laverton up on the Computer display screens at Flinders Street in the 80s or 90s. Why wouldn't they just run Laverton trains via Paisley, Galvin & Aircraft on the Geelong line? I thought there was a white buffer train stop at the end of thd Westona line? ok well thanks
Can't understand why this not duplicated. I mean seriously there is plenty of space to add an extra track how hard can it be?
Money. All the money is going into crossing removals. That must be costing a fortune.
tressteleg1 I agree but wouldn’t it make more sense to duplicate the line at the same time. Doing both projects together that way more services can run.
@@anakinskywalker4113 They did duplicate a small section of the line at the same time as the level crossing removal. Removing the rest of the level crossings and duplicating the full line would cost into the billions. It's not cheap to elevate and rebuild all the stations and disrupt the whole railway. Plus it is close to residential homes and likely would be hard to justify since most of the area is low density. Maybe in the future when the area is developed, but at the moment it seems unlikely.
The Caulfield - Dandenong line needs to be 4 tracks, they could have at least put in the columns to take them at a later date. At a meeting they said they are a level crossing removal authority, nothing to do with new tracks. It will cost just as much if not more to add two badly needed tracks in the future. No foresight in this State/Country.
By the way, the locals in Carnegie were pushing for the Koornang Rd. level crossing removal way back in 1950!!
It took just a mere 68 years for it to happen, but don't hold your breath!
blueycarlton I totally agree with you. No long term vision to future proof infrastructure.
27:16 dumb place for a signal box. When this section inevitably gets duplicated across the entirety of the bridge, the contractors will get paid to move it once again!
It doesn’t look the smartest. But maybe with double track it won’t be needed any more.
1. Protect the TWO MAN CREW BILL (HR 1748 Safe Freight Act) It’s about public safety and jobs.
2. Go to SMART-UNION.org/td
Click on the Red button support two person crews on the right side of division home page.
2. Enter contact info ( this is needed to direct the email to your member of congress.
3. Click Send. The pre-drafted my essage will be sent directly to your member of congress.
4. This effects railroad retirement, retired railroaders, current railroaders there’s even a spot for the general public to make there voice be heard. Please take action there is 175,000 conductors and 59,000 engineers that need this support not to mention public safety at risk.
5. safety of the crews and the public must come first!