The Backflip Boys Weblog

So, we come to the final part of this two day adventure into the wilds of the Northwest of the state - still a comfortable driving distance from Sydney, but, in many ways, a totally different world. Country folk are just so damned friendly you could just catch diabetes from them.

So, at the end of part 2, we had arrived at Coonabarabran and had a number of beers, beaten a couple of lesbians at pool, enjoyed a good Chinese feed and downed a few nightcaps before retiring for the night. When I think about it, we did actually manage to fit quite a few things in on the first day of the trip.

The morning held great promise that the weather would be fine for the day - I saw large patches of blue sky from the motel window. First order of business for the day, once everyone was up and about, was to pack up the truck and head on down to Coonabarabran station to take advantage of the morning sun for some photos. Big Al was also on the hunt for some old metal plates he had seen on a previous trip. Just to prove to everyone we had actually made the trip, we took this photo underneath the Coonabarabran railway station sign:

Now you can put some faces on the names I’ve mentioned - from left (in the red shirt) Anthony O’Brien, Alan Tebbet, Greg Reynolds and yours truly kneeling in the front. That one will probably find it’s way to a notice board at work.

We only spent about 25 minutes at the station, but that was plenty of time to get a good overview of the dilapidated state of the place since trains stopped running there sometime in the early 1980’s. Judging by the size of the yard area, the place must have had a lot of freight pass through it. Here’s some more pics of the place:

That’s all that remains of the platform - a sign and a shed.

This is the goods shed - you can see part of an overhead crane at the left.

Since Coonabarabran had a locomotive depot, it of course needed a water tower and filler for the steam locomotives. This is probably the most intact one that I have seen. I took a few more photos down at the station and you can see them on my Flickr account.

The next course of action was to hunt down breakfast. Well, actually, firstly we had to locate an ATM so some of us could buy breakfast, but once that task was out of the way, it was full steam ahead to a little cafe that was run by one poor woman who seemed to be totally overwhelmed by the fact that four people arrived to order breakfast at the same time. I got the impression that she could only cope with people in pairs at the most, but she did do a great bacon, eggs, sausage and toast fry up. I think I ended up with Alans cappuccino but hey, coffee is coffee.

A quick stop for fuel and we began our journey home, with the intention being to only stop at Merrygoen then make a straight run for home, however as we arrived at Mendoran, we crossed a bridge over the Castlereagh River and I had to take a photo of it - it was just so out of place:

This is not something you expect to see in the middle of nowhere, but there it was, large as life. What was more amazing was what I saw in a property across the river from the bridge which was even more out of place - an old Sydney train carriage being used as a shed or something similar - http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3624/3558368324_55236a2c8d_b.jpg

So with our brief stop at Mendoran over and done with, we continued on our way to Merrygoen. Our specific mission was to photograph a particular signal in the yard there. Merrygoen is still in use by freight trains so everything there is in working order and the number 1 and 2 rules are to look with the eyes, not the hands and keep watch for trains which we did.

That’s Merrygoen station. The building on it contains the safeworking equipment that freight drivers need to use to allow them to traverse the sections.

This is the signal that we were interested in because it is unique in the entire NSW rail system now. It’s all about the letter ‘U’ that you can see on the mast. When that is shown, it means that the station is unattended and train crews will have to set the road and signals. It is mechanically operated from this points and signals ‘frame’:

That diagram on the back tells the crew member what order to pull the levers to set the road and signals. Wherever there is a frame, you will find a diagram explaining how to operate it. Something that actually makes sense on the railways.

Our final stop on the way home was at Dunedoo and this was really at my request as we were driving through. I saw the station and wanted to photograph it. Here are the results - the station building itself and a general overview of the yard area:

As you can tell by the silver on the tracks, trains still run through here.

From here, our journey home was non stop and the weather started to close in on us not too far down the road. I took note of the surrounds as we drove and noted a few things that I would like to go back and investigate further at some later stage (when the weather warms up a little, but well before summer sets in).

All in all, the trip was great. The weather was the only thing that let us down but mere mortals such as us can’t control the weather plus it may have just been a case of being the wrong time of year to go. You live and learn.

Rest assured, more trips are planned for the future which will certainly lead to many more photo opportunities for me to practice my work plus record a little more of railway history before it’s totally gone.

Later days.

Trivial fact number 196:- In 1911 3 men were hung for the murder of Sir Edmund Berry at Greenbury Hill, their last names were Green, Berry and Hill - this is either really spooky or a load of old cobblers.

So, where was I before I cut short this magical mystery tour of the northwest? Ahh yes, we had arrived at Mudgee and made a beeline for the railway station. Mudgee is actually a fairly bustling little country town that has a thriving wine industry so it is confusing to me why the railway line to the place has been closed. Even if there was no money in freighting wine out of the town by rail, the money that could be made by ferrying tourists there every weekend would be worth the maintenance costs.

Anyway, opinion aside, Mudgee station was opening in 1884 and is one of those impressive buildings that was constructed in the early days of the railways when having the railway pass through your town was a big thing. Thanks to the effort of historical societies and community support, Mudgee railway station has been restored and is used as both an information centre and a cafe.

Even some of the old signalling equipment has been kept in good condition, although the “frame” has been fenced off to keep the public from damaging it.

Mudgee is on my list of places to explore on my own at a later date. The general area has a lot of stuff that I would like to explore a bit more extensively.

After leavng Mudgee, we drove straight through to our final destination, Coonabarabran, because other than some interesting scenery, the crappy weather had set in again and we needed to get our butts into gear. The stuff we wanted to photograph on the way could be left till Friday when we were on our way home.

I could easily fall in love with Coonabarabran. Actually, I could easily fall in love with any of the country towns in NSW because they are so laid back, relaxed and friendly. Totally the opposite to Sydney and its surrounds. On arrival, our little troupe stowed our bags at the motel and headed off to the golf club to enjoy a couple of beers. Along the way, Alan pointed out the station and a couple of other interesting sights.

It is interesting to note that almost directly across the road from the golf club is the Coonabarabran cemetery which is actually fairly big.

Our drinks at the golf club were limited because it was getting onto 5:00pm and we had planned on enjoying the hospitality of the Imperial Hotel on the main street (which is actually the Newell Highway) before dining at the Golden Sea Dragon Chinese restaurant. Thanks to Alans local knowledge, every place we were going to be at was within walking distance of the motel.

We had many beers at the Imperial Hotel and played a number of games of pool (6 games between ourselves and two against the locals). Alan and Greg aren’t the greatest of pool players, but O’Brien made it all the more interesting - especially as the amount of alcohol being drunk increased. The highlight of the games was the pair of lesbians that challenged us and were terribly smug about themselves until one of them sunk the black on their third or fourth shot.

Dinner came around at about 8:00pm at the Golden Sea Dragon which was directly across the road from our motel and, if I say so myself. serves the best Chinese food I have ever eaten and I’ve had a lot of it in my life. When I think about country towns, Chinese restaurants don’t feature too prominently as part of the natural order of things. After we finished our meal, we walked around the corner to the bowling club for nightcaps. Eventually, we rolled ourselves into bed around 11:00pm with no real plan of attack for the next day. I made my own plans and set my alarm for 7:00am.

And that’s where I will leave off this part of the story. I can sense that you’re getting bored with all the words and no pictures. I don’t blame you - I would as well. We’ll continue this in a day or two.

Later days.

Trivial fact number 195:- More money is spent each year on alcohol and cigarettes than on Life insurance - simply because alcohol and cigarettes are far more interesting than life insurance.

Better late than never they say and it’s time for me to tell you of my recent sojourn to Coonabarabran in the Northwest and points in between. I do hope you’re sitting comfortably because it’s going to be terribly dull but there will be some nice pictures if you want to scroll down the page a little.

Ready? He we go.

I was actually chosen to go on the trip rather than randomly invited. Apparently my three traveling companions - Allan Tebbet, Greg Reynolds and Anthony O’Brien - were enjoying beers at a pub in Parramatta when they thought I would be good to take along on the trip they were planning on making. A few weeks later, (very senior) driver Tebbet let me know I had become one of the chosen and a date for the trip would be arranged.

So, last Thursday and Friday (21 - 22 May) found us traveling the countryside in the Hi-Lux in search of things of interest - such things being mainly old railway stations (although there was a lot of roadkill spotting done as well). We managed to stretch a 3 - 4 hour trip into 7 hours by stopping off at various stations along the open section of the Mudgee branch line.

Our first stop was a little place called Ben Bullen which is about halfway between Cullen Bullen and Capertee. The railway station at Ben Bullen is in disrepair but from what I gather from looking at older photos, not that much different to what it looked like when it first opened, although I doubt there were any rotting Kangaroo carcasses in the waiting room in the old days.

And this is a panorama of Capertee, the next station along taken from the public side. This station, like most of them along the line, is up for lease so if you’re looking to open a shop or office in an old railway station or maybe even turn on into your new home away from anywhere, it’s something to look into.

What surprised me about Capertee was this window above the door to what would have been the station office. While we weren’t exactly in the middle of nowhere, if you got on top of a hill, you could see it. I guess that in the late 1800’s, architects didn’t care where buildings were, they had to look the part. Thank goodness the vandals haven’t found it.

Just for the record, the weather on both days of the trip was generally bad with intermittent drizzle and pouring rain most of the time. I discovered that it’s best not to try and take too many upwards looking photos when water is falling out of the sky at Capertee.

We pulled into Kandos around about 12:10pm and decided to take a break for lunch. Kandos has one industry in it and that is cement. It is also where the Mudgee branch line ends nowdays. By ends, I mean that down towards the level crossing there is a sleeper across the track and a permanent stop signal. A couple of years ago, the entire line was renovated to allow tour trains to run but it didn’t last long.

What I liked about Kandos station was that it looked a little out of place. The above picture really doesn’t give the impression that well, but the whole scene reminded me of building a mansion on a goat track.  As is generally the case in country towns, across the road was a Railway Hotel:

It was next to the tree stump in the picture that Greg found an old item that had NSWGR stamped on it but none of us could identify what it was. Hopefully when it gets cleaned up properly, someone will be able to figure out what it is.

With lunch out of the way, we continued on towards our ultimate goal. We only stopped at one more place before we got to Mudgee because when the line was closed, most of the intermediate stations were demolished - knock down a terrace in Sydney and they’ll take you to court but destroy a historical railway station in the bush and no-one will care. So that brought us to the town of Lue (pronounced Lewie) and it’s larger than it really should have been railway station:

Honestly, there isn’t really anything in this town nowdays, but to have had a station that big, it must have been one hell of a party town in the day. I assume that it must have been painted recently because there were empty paint cans in the waiting room and a new lock had been fitted to the door, not that it would have mattered considering all the other doors to the station were left open. This one’s up for lease as well if you are interested.

I will end the first part of the trip with our arrival at:

The sole purpose was to go the station and get photos of the remains of the yard and see if a striking photo of the station could be obtained. Remember I said the weather wasn’t the best? The station looks a lot better in the sunlight I am sure but you’ll see what I mean when I continue this next time.

Later days.

Trivial fact number 194:- Hindu men believe(d) it to be unluckily to marry a third time. They could avoid misfortune by marring a tree first. The tree (his third wife) was then burnt, freeing him to marry again - obviously marrying a first and second time didn’t seem to be that lucky either.

I have decided that I need to write a will. I’m not getting any younger and I’ve been meaning to put pen to paper and write one for a couple of years. The biggest problem is that I have never had any experience in what wills are supposed to have in them - my mother never had a will when she died and since all her stuff was in my house, I figured that it all belonged to me by default - other than her Elvis stuff which she always said would go to my older brother (the idiot) when she died. My father had a will, but since I hated him I wasn’t really too particularly interested in the legalities surrounding his death. He was nice enough to leave me $1000 though just so I wouldn’t contest it. I wouldn’t have bothered going to such an effort but I took the money and I spent it on something frivolous.

One of the biggest problems I’ve always had with writing a will is that I have no heirs to leave all my stuff to. My younger brother (the fat bastard) has everything he needs and is set up for life in Tasmania and I wouldn’t give the idiot the correct time of day let alone all the interesting paraphernalia I have collected over the years. Unfortunately, I haven’t seen my nephew or heard anything of him since he was 3 years old so I don’t think it’s a good idea to leave anything to him in case he has turned into a junkie or something.

The fat bastard has a will that leaves all of his stuff to the children of his friends Damien and Karen. That’s fine by me because, like him, I am already set up so it’s pointless leaving me anything. I think he has mentioned me in there somewhere, but it’s nothing major and I am quite okay about that. As long as I don’t have to travel to Tasmania for the will reading, he could leave me his pile of dirty magazines for all I care. Of course, if he leaves me his debts, I’ll be taking him to task when I catch up with him when I die.

So, I have decided that once I get around to writing my will, I am going to be leaving everything, after all debts are settled, to my friend Garrys two children - Brendan and Jessica. I’ve known Garry for just on 30 years now and he has always been like a brother to me and I have the greatest respect for him so it really wasn’t much of a stretch to choose his kids as being the ones who get my stuff once I’m finished with it.

Have you ever had to inventory all of your stuff for insurance purposes? Writing a will is similar to doing that. If you want certain items to be dispersed to different people, you have to actually state that. You can’t rely on just telling someone that you your collection of Star Trek DVDs will be theirs when the time comes, you have to state that in your will - if you don’t someone else could come in and say they are more entitled to them.

Don’t worry Garry, you are still going to get my Star Trek DVDs.

My plan is to actually live till I am at least 92 years old. By then, Brendan and Jessica will have children (maybe even grand children) of their own and will hopefully have enough sense to give whatever I leave them in my will to them  rather than keep it themselves. Unfortunately, plans sometimes have a way of going astray, so if I die in the next few years, whatever I leave them will help them set themselves up for their adult life.

I’ve never really thought about wills and my own death that much, but you get to a point in your life where you realise that it can’t go on forever and you have to make arrangements. I think I am at that point now. I’m not actually dying at the moment, but I want to get everything sorted out just in case the worst happens - like having insurance.

The government certainly doesn’t need my money or belongings.

Later days.

Trivial fact number 193:- The study of stupidity is called ‘monology’ - I am definitely a monologist

As the end of my second week of annual leave comes to an end, I must admit that I’ve had a good and relaxed week. My previous entry showed an example of my trip up to Lake Burragorang on Tuesday and on Wednesday, I was at it again, only this time I went up to Leura to pay a visit to Lady Cathie The Insane.  Our original intent was to take a drive up to Blackheath and check out the Autumn colours but when we got there, we discovered that most of the leaves had either dropped or stopped being colourful so we made a snap decision to drive down into the Megalong Valley to do lunch at this quaint set of tea rooms that are literally in the middle of nowhere.

The staff were a tad odd but the food was nice.

Once lunch was over, we took a drive to the end of the one road in and out of the valley to see whether there were any opportunities to take photos. There wasn’t really much that pricked my interest, but Cathie noted a couple of places that she wanted to take snaps of on the way back.

Cathie completed a basic photography course last year and it seems the bug has given her a bit of a nip, although her preferred subjects are old things as opposed to my preference for landscapes. She also has a photo of me standing on the roof of my car to take a photo to avoid having a billboard spoil the shot which I am certain she will post on Facebook at some stage with the appropriate smart arse comment to boot.

Being the fan of panoramas that I am, most of the photos I took were stitched together and are way too big to upload anywhere to display but I did play around with the camera set to the RAW format on a few shots to get a better understanding of the post processing part of photography. To the uninitiated eye, the results aren’t bad, but if you are a professional photographer, then you’ll probably want to hunt me down and slap me around a bit for posting such amateurish shots.

Go right ahead - I might enjoy it….

So, here are a couple of standard “enhanced” jpg shots from the Megalong Valley:

With the second photo, I was trying to use the two gum trees to frame the shot but I don’t think I have managed to make it look anything like what I saw in my head on the day. That’s my curse when it comes to taking photos - I don’t see creatively. I see conventionally - center everything and make whatever is in the middle the focus of attention. I’m sure I will get better over time though.

Standard weekend coming up - Push And Power tomorrow followed by a gym visit then it will be pottering around Sunday. I have to admit that I could get used to this lifestyle - unfortunately, I still have a long way to go till retirement. What I need is a rich benefactor to take me under his or her wing.

Preferably one with a terminal disease.

Later days.

Trivial fact number 192:- Sir Winston Churchill’s mother was descended from a Red Indian - that just can’t be right.