Not All Holiday

 Just spent two weeks in Bali. A week of diving and a week of relaxation, well it wasn’t all relaxation. Still being in the process of developing the supporting paperwork for operations and having run the Monday AM and PM schedules. I spent many hours in my hotel room writing, or typing, out the paperwork for the Tuesday AM scheduled, getting ready for a June Operating session. Train Orders, Station Timetables, Blue Lake Switchlists etc. I also spent time processing images of my locomotives to use on the Traincontroller interface. 

15 years Operations of the BDR

 May 3rd, 2025 saw most of the BDR team, past & current assemble for the 15th Anniversary of BDR commencing regular operations

Geoff, Steve Ray, Bob , Don, Reg, Craig, Connor , David & myself  to a lunch time BBQ all wearing the Border Downs T shirt.  

Snags, onions & coleslaw with buttered bread & a choice of sauce - very nice followed up with a chocy cake that slid down very easily.

The Boss cooking up onion.

Some tall stories of all types

On a board were photos of the various stages of building the BDR

 a record of events

   and some notes from the History book

Reg. Bob. Steve, Ron,  Craig at the far end, Connor, Ray, David, Don - gunzel Geoff

this time Gunzel is Kris, the Boss according to Geoff

A very enjoyable period of time.

remember crew for May 8th

Geoff - main line driver

Steve - Train Control

Ray - Border Downs Station Master

Craig - poison train plus

Connor & David , the other crew members.

I now have two records to my name  - on both Wild Creek & Border Downs, I have the most operating sessions just behind the railway Company owners.

Sol

The Wolf Creek and Western Expansion

 Geoff has decided to expand the WCWRR further creating a little congestion on the layout. He has moved that layout around so that the Largest town, formerly Bristol is now in the centre of the layout, renamed Eagle. Now stay with me, Eagle is now Bristol, Bristol is now Eagle, Hudson is now Independence, Greenville is now Hudson, Franklin is Greenville, and Clinton and Dayton are Dayton and Clinton. The new area above Aaronsberg Yard is Franklin and Indepenence is either Jesus or Jehovah’s, I’m not sure which, maybe Jacksonville or Jump City. Anyway things have changed in the WCWRR. 😱😩

Bristol, I mean Eagle Yard

The new Franklin above Aaronsberg Yard

Dayton, or is it Clinton, 

The SAR finally hits the South Penn

 Imagine my surprise as I entered the Train Room expecting to see Carlisle in my face and there staring at me was the town of Jamestown, half way between Gladstone and Peterborough. 

Like me, Steve is finally taking the plunge to come home. He has redesigned his layout from the ‘once planned but never built South Penn’ to his real passion ‘Gladstone’. As luck would have it, his layout design facilitates a section of the standard gauge line that ran from Broken Hill to Port Pirie, intersecting with the narrow gauges at Gladstone , to Wilmington, and at Peterborough, to Quorn and of course the Broad Gauge to Adelaide. His Staging conveniently acts as Port Pirie, Adelaide and Broken Hill.

The modelled section commences in Peterborough (formerly Bedford) with the Narrow Gauge Branches to Quorn (Narrow) and Adelaide (Broad) up through Yongala (formerly………), Bellalie North (formerly Summit), to Jamestown ( formerly Carlisle), down through Caltowie (formerly…….. ) to Gladstone with its Branches to Wilmington (Narrow) and Adelaide (Broad). Jamestown has a Branch to Bundaleer North (formerly Pine …..) for the extensive logging traffic to Port Pirie.

Welcome home Steve.

835 and 848 haul a string of OB loaded with wheat from Caltowie to Jamestown and on to Port Pirie for export.

Later in the day the 830’s are seen hauling a mixed goods towards Gladstone