Brambles Long Distance

My memory of the old highway is of three runaway sand traps. I don't know if the new one has any.
I have never seen anything in a sand trap.
Has any forum member seen a truck in one (or been grateful to use one themselves)?
How many other sand-traps exist on other highways?
Are they obsolete in an era of spring brakes?

I had New Year's Eve 1972 into 1973 (or was it dinner on 1.1.73?) at Eagle on the Hill.
It has been closed as pub for a few / many years now, and survives as a private residence, with a spectacular view.

Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor

Smitty
Gudday M8

Maxi spring brakes wont save U
when the brakes need adjust n n there already heat build up
from use n the brakes ...all U get iz brake fade
Best to kno the hill n use the proper gear to hold back ...even better ifn U got jake brakes
LOL
cya

How many other sand-traps exist on other highways?
Are they obsolete in an era of spring brakes?

Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor

Roderick, I still see a few about in my travels.

Mt Ously & the Clyde mountain are the ones I see the Most often.

Both Roads over the Blue Mountains (Mt Victoria & Bells line) had them.
But It's years since I've travelled either road,
So can't vouch if they're still there(but suspect that they are)..

Nor I have I ever seen a truck in one, or had cause to use one.
But I have on a couple of occasions. had My heart in my Mouth & being all 'puckered up"

& as Swishy said, If your brakes are HOT & you're in the wrong gear, :'(

Maxi brakes won't stop you..........

Thanks for the prompt responses.
They have revived memories of my worst school ski trip ever.
The bus loaded in east-suburban Melbourne for Mt Buller around 4.30. I was in charge, had done the formalities, and dozed off. I woke in unfamiliar territory. We were at Belgrave. The bus did a U turn around the roundabout to return to Stud Rd to cut across.
Entering Upper Ferntree Gully, it ran a red light.
'Oops', said the driver, 'maladjusted brakes' and pulled into a petrol-station forecourt to fix them.
An alert teacher would have offloaded the kids, waited to 7.00 to call a different company, and informed TRB. If we hadn't gone the wrong way, the incident could have been in a far worse environment.
Later in that trip the driver didn't want people in wet ski gear in his bus. The parents in my supervision pool prevented him from stripping their daughters. If a company wants to make money from the ski market, it has to accept ski clothing.
I should have dobbed the company in, but I was young. I did blackban it.
Fast forwards, I was in a different school, and was invited as a staff member for a Mt Buller skiing day. The one in charge had chosen my blackbanned company. I refused to go. At morning recess, we had a call from one of the staff members: the bus had run off a curve in the valley section between Mansfield & Merrijig, and had demolished the curve sign.

Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor

A lot of the sand traps and ramps i have seen on some pritty good hills....

If you had ran out of picks you would have hit em at 100mph and crashed anyway!
I reckon one in the Loftys had a bend in it from memory..
If you were fortunate enough to hang onto it that far down, you'd roll it on the ramp!

The ol mate that taught me the story said...down a serious hill at a pace you wouldn't mind hitting the wall at....

"Heat em up and you can hang the maxis up on the gal nail in the shed with the rest of the useless $hit!"

Theory has worked for the last 30 odd years...

chocs

Memories of the Adelaide Hills run
The top ramp up near Charlicks (just below what used to be the Mad Mile) was a straight run up off the highway with a big soft sand trap at the top. Saw a family parked half way up it one Sunday afternoon. Told them what the ramp was used for. They were there having a bloody picnic.
The one below the Devils Elbow had a bit of a kink in the approach. I did see a Lake Boga Inter try to get up it one morning ... missed it and finished up base over apex on the side of the highway. Lucky the driver crawled out minus one thong.
They made the ramps following a runaway truck below the Elbow. He managed to swing left into Cross Roads?? and travel down past Urrbrae before he collected a car at a railway crossing. Some guy in a car was in front of him trying to warn everyone to get out of the way. Made headlines in all the Adelaide papers for a few days.

Hey Chocs, Old bloke told Me years ago.

You can go down a hill Too slow every day of your life,

BUT,

You will only ever go down a Hill Too fast ONCE...

Wise Man 'Seed.....
Both of you..


chocs

My old man always taught me to go down in the same gear that you would come up in, and I have always thought it pretty good advise.

Plenty of escape ramps on the New England. The latest is on the new section at Black Mountain/Devils Pinch, nice straight fast approach and right side of the road. Same at bottom of Moonbi where there is a dedicated lane for runaways!! Moonbi has two tricky ones at the top where you have to cross the road and disappear through rocks. Ben Lomond ramp is a clay big dipper. The usual scenario here is that guys go over the brow at the top, panic, lock up and roll it on the first bend half way down. Otherwise they stuff the bottom bend and roll there, right in front of the ramp. Further north at Bolivia has seen plenty of drama, including headons between semi's, but no room for a ramp.
A friend has described how his dad was going down here (probably an old overloaded Inter) when a load bang was heard. The owner who happened to be on board recognised that the prop shaft had let go, along with any hope of controlling the descent. He ordered abandon ship and fortunately all managed to bail out (on the landward side) before it got dangerously fast.