New Video: BHP hot bottle train (added by aussiesteve)

[Railway Forum]

BHP hot bottle train
Keywords: AIS BHP
Added by aussiesteve.

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[Beeyar Wunby]

Hi Steve, always love seeing switchers. They do the unglamorous work but we couldn't live without them.

Is that line inside the works, ie private ? Just wondered if there's any special regs whilst working a hot steel train (other than run like hell if it all goes wrong). IIRC molten metals can make a hell of a bang if water gets into them.

Cheers, BW.

[aussiesteve]

G'day BW,
The AIS / BHP / Bluescope / ? / Steelworks at Port Kembla had it's own loco fleet.
Initially soot belchers, then EE diesels.
Today, many of them EEs are kyboshed.
PN performs much of the steelworks shunting with EMD (YUCK) things.
The Steelworks was naturally a law unto itself in regards to operations.
Direct Traffic Control via radio was the norm.
How ever, them bods were permitted access to the NSWR main line to wander to the couple of coal mines accessed via the NSWR.
Them EEs were fitted with limiters on the governor to prevent travel in excess of that dictated.
Us, well WE were not permitted to enter the steelworks network.
For a while we did run a coalie into Cringila exchange yard, as seen briefly in this clip.
But, we had to be VERY careful that we did not encroach beyond the STOP board.
Otherwise you could get snotted by a rampaging EE.
Four 82 class EMD things only just fitted in the Cringila yard neck after detaching from the train, to run around and then depart the yard LE.
The Hot Bottle was indeed HOT.
You would not want to take a tumble off the footbridge into one of the cars.
Instant evaporation.
The hot bottle jobs ran from the furnace region of the steelworks over to the rolling mills on the opposite side of the main road.
The insulation material inside them bottles would be rather massive to keep the metal liquid until delivery.
I would NOT wanna be around if the thing derailed.
Molten lava going everywhere.
I am editing me old video footage featuring aussie EEs.
The did chortle nicely.
And, as ya knows, I did drive the things down in Tassie.
Steve.