1968 Mayne Nickless

Why all the drama of the Left turn into Champion n Koroit Creek Rd
OK tiz a sharp turn
But probly way back when with the overall length of vehicles B n Short n there B no roundabouts, Little traffic and the trucks could use the whole rd to make a lefty

Jist Guess n

Cya
[ch9787]

g'day Roderick and all .. early days Millers Road came to a T intersection, as beyond that looking south towards the bay was marshy, poor land and most, if not all, of the storage tanks were still east of this intersection...

...also Grieve Pde heading to Kororoit Creek Road was a goat track, being that much further west out into the sticks !!

...thanks for the interesting topic...cheers

Found a mate with a 12th ed. Gregory's from 1979 (ie about 10 years after the above storyline pics). Doesn't look like there was a roundabout at the Koroit Ck rd/ Champion rd intersection even by then.

Someone suggested going up Maddox rd? Nope. Even in 1979 it only went from Koroit Ck rd as far north as Tennyson st. The section from there to Railway pde was shown as 'non-trafficable' as were the side streets of Macaulay, Albermarle & Chelmsford - I'm guessing they were a newly planned subdivision?

PS. Roderick mentioned earlier that he'd sprinted back and forth on his motorbike to get that sequence of photos. Reminded me that my late father, many years ago, lamented the loss of the motorcycle cops as escorts for OD loads. He reckoned that their maneuverability and acceleration made them ideal as they could close an intersection and then after the float was clear, still round you up an get to the next interscetion to close it before you. Something that the replacement (single) car couldn't do, thus disrupting the steady progress of the float.

Here is my final selection for the transfer of the Australian Standard Garratt from Australian Portland Cement (Geelong) to Australian Railway Historial Society's museum (North Williamstown).
Two show the trucks clustered on arrival.
Two show the cranes in action next day.
Stitching together all of the advice.
'craigs' indicates that the Total tank is alongside the railway, close to the Grieve Pde T intersection (which shows in the preceding photo), when that road was still a goat track. That tank has gone.
By 1950, Miller Rd was no longer a T intersection, it went through.
Either routing from Kororoit Creek Rd into Champion Rd seems feasible: a direct left, using all of the road, or around the block Station St, Melbourne Rd & Ferguson Rd.
There is no answer yet on the model of the International 'butterbox', and now could we have some information on the Coles cranes?

Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor

The old Coles cranes look like 30 tonners. 6 cylinder ford diesel drives a generator in the crane part which then powers electric motors through Radicon box's to the winch drums. The carrier is AEC running gear.

The 'Acco' looks like it is an AACO 180 series or similar


chocs

Smitty
Gudday M8

Many a job dun with Clarkes way back when







Can remember way back when ..... jokey n in cab to grab a load from the Spotswood Works n Way n B n Loaded buy there rail mounted steam crane to cart the structaul steel to the then new Dynon Rd rail sheds

? have U any pix of the W&W steam crane ?

Thanx in Advance

Cya
[ch9786]

Wonderful extra photos.
VR had a very wide range of steam cranes.
Smaller ones were just for depot work (or were cascaded from mainline use, when no longer up to modern capacity needs).
The largest were two with 60 t capacity.
Next down were two with 30 t capacity.
My photos are buried, and likewise articles about them.
Here is a quick selection:
< museumvictoria.com.au/collections/tags/steam-cranes> ;
Back in the days, rerailing irons or packing handled minor derailments. Slewing jacks and block & tackle were common tools of trade for major ones, then steam cranes (where they could be positioned).
Steam cranes were also used for tasks such as positioning bridge beams.
On most railway systems, rail-mounted cranes have given way to heavy-duty road ones, which can come in over the railway tracks when field access is unavailable.
A problem for both styles is getting close range, and hence maximum lift ability. Often, they have/had to work from a position of weakness.
A further problem for both styles today is working around overhead wires.
Some photos showing fire appliances working around tram overhead (which would have been dead, but in situ) are at < www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/man-c...me2-1226386790745> ;

Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor

Me thinks the VR W&W Yard crane twaz more like this beast with out the xtra rollin stock

That last photo in reply #23, ol' mate has the front outrigger about 5-6 inchs off the pads, if that was a modern oily there'd be bells and whistles etc. going off, those old girls could hack a bit of that safely.