L Trucks

The first photos show the transferring of the CMR's initial "L" truck for use by track maintenance crews to carry sleepers, tools and ballast out along the track. It was one of two that were part of a group of rolling stock left at Tumut by Mountain High Railway.

CMR member John Gibson provided some pictures of the first wagon being transferred from Tumut and unloading at Cooma on 6/8/03.

As it stood, the wagon was not compatible with our CPHs. The brakes were a different system and it had auto couplers and no buffers. But what a difference a few months makes!

And now we have retrieved the other one from Tumut. Its body looks straighter but the wooden floor has been burnt out by vandals. It wasn't long before it received some restoration treatment!

A side benefit of having two of these wagons in the yard is the boost they give to the image of a working railway!

The first CMR Goods Train

The two photos below depict what we are jokingly referring to as 'the first CMR goods train'. 29-12-05 saw the working of a trackwork special, consisting of CPH22 and our two L trucks. It was the first time that both L trucks were used together. One contained sleepers and the other ballast. The CPH pushed them slowly to Chakola, so our eagle eyed track maintenance crew could identify where work was required. On the return journey, strengthening and replacement works were carried out in several locations (in particular, some of the small culverts). (The two photos were taken using a mobile phone camera, so are not quite as sharp as our usual photos.)