6018, 6010 Newstan coalie 18-05-1970

[Steve Appleton]

From the photgrapher, Dennis Mitchell:

In the steam days in N.S.W., the hardest job that locos and crews had to endure, were the Newstan coalies. After sitting at the mine for an hour or so while the trains were loaded, when a path was available the trains were backed out onto the main line under block telegraph conditions back up the 1 in 75 as far as they could to attack the mile and half of 1 in 40 that was Fassifern bank. Not only were the locos cold but the trains were grossly overloaded. The W.T.T. said the trains should be 17 x BCH + van = (17 x 71) + 22 ton van = 1229 tons, which was shown as 1200 tons. But the actual load was 18 x CH hoppers (85 tons) +22 ton van, which calculates to 1552 tons, plus the colleries would overload the wagons because they usually got charged a pro-rata rate even though the wagons were weighed for shipping purposes. So these garratts that were supposed to have a load of 1200 tons would usually have around 1600 - 1650 tons to haul up the 1 in 40.
Here are 6018+6010 travelling at about 2-3 m.p.h. apprroaching the top of the grade in normal deafening style, proud to do a job the diesels couldn't do. The collery had to ship its coal out by truck for 2 years until the grade and new point leads to allow straight running out of the colliery could ease the load for diesels (on trials in 1972, 6 diesels ended up with blown traction motors trying to lift the loads.)
May 1970. This is again #907 18/05/1970

[attachment=0]60186010 Newstan coalie 18051970_edited-1.jpg[/attachment

[Steve Appleton]

Judging by the thick black smoke being ejected en masse from the stacks, not much of that 1600 tonnes of coal would have made it to the top!