6029 Garratt Training Trip 

I might be 7 years behind in this wonderful video but I have finally be able to see the big difference in Steam Locomotives. The Garret is in a league of her own. She sound's so strong and mighty. Thankyou.

Don't know what load she was pulling, but the Molonglo Gorge didn't seem to present any problems. I've seen a member her crew comment on another video that she operates at a maximum of 600 ton loads and does so without difficulty, but that she's also quite sensitive to keeping the fire at just the right intensity which means driver and fireman need to work in close concert to maintain optimum performance. He said 6029 was more sensitive to this than any other loco he'd crewed, which was interesting. Then again, keep it correct and you've a lot of power to play with. I've never been able to find what sorts of speeds she is capable of running at, compared with the limits on the tracks she usually travels, NSW being limited to max of 115km/h for a loco powered train (XPT being a different case). It often surprises me how footage from outside and also from the cab show the Garratt to be much quieter than might be expected from such a large and powerful loco. Don't know if it's because the twin engine setup disrupts the pronounced "chuff chuff" you hear from a loco like 3801 etc. Interesting to hear the two engines going in and out of synch as she pulls away from around 15:00, presumably due to different slippage between front and back. Can see the driver or other crew member having a look from about 15:47. The other surprise is how noisy it is inside the cab, mainly from the mechanical stoker system if I understand correctly. Someone had some excellent footage from the cab, and there was noticeably less noise when he put the camera outside the cab door/window than when within it. The only time that wasn't true was a bit of footage where I think the stoker wasn't running. Interesting choice of camera location, too. The last parts with the camera mounted low near the wheels gives a great idea of the sorts of forces at play with large chunks of metal rotating and oscillating at considerable speeds. All in all a fascinating and impressive beast for lots of reasons. Thanks for sharing.

Great idea to attach the camera to the rear of the leading water tank; best of the many 6029 posts on here. None come near the enjoyment of this so thanks for posting.

David, there have been diesels attached to 6029 for these trips. In the event she fails, the diesels are fired up and shunt 6029 out of the tunnel.

Gostei Muito

if the garratts where rebuilt to a normal locomotive how would that be?

Great video! But is anybody able to explain why 6029 is allowed to operate under its own power through a single bore tunnel. That was forbidden in regular service.