South Dynon Yard, late Friday night back in the days of the Victorian Railways. Driver and fireman arrive at the yard and sign in. They are told locos T372 and X41 are theirs to run an extra goods up the Bendigo line. Their notes indicate a healthy load of 63 wagons, with roughly half destined for Echuca and the rest going to the mill at Deniliquin.
It’s a short walk across to the turntable to pick up the locos. The driver inspects them while the fireman sets the road. The X class has a better cab so the crew decide to put it on the front with the T class in the shafts. Both locos can be operated bi-directionally so there’s no need to go for a spin on the ‘table. After marshalling the locos on the other side of the turntable, the train faces a red signal at the entrance to the yard. After a short wait the Y class shunter rolls past with a short rake of containers and the signal blinks green. The train exits the Sth Dynon yard and powers through Bunbury Street Tunnel, heading to Tottenham to pick up the wagons. Upon arrival the crew reverse the locos and couple onto the wagons. Once the brake pipes are connected between the T class and the first wagon and air is pumped through the train, all that’s left before departure is an inspection by the train examiner. The examiner seems to take forever and it's well past the scheduled departure time when he finally gives the all clear. It’s time to get moving. The crew give the horn a blast and power up the locos. The train creeps its way towards Sunshine and the locos are put into full power as the train threads its way onto the mainline. It begins the long climb uphill to Gisborne.
The locos manage the load well before long the train is burling through Sunbury. Climbing up Sunbury Bank a goods train from Bendigo is seen approaching and the crew dim the headlight of the X class so they don't blind the crew on the other train. They do the same and locomotives Y144 and X33 pass the Bendigo bound goods train in darkness. The crew switch the headlight back on and watch the long string of GH and GY grain hoppers passing.The train continues climbing until it crests the grade at Gisborne and the locomotives are put into idle. As soon as the train gets to the bottom of the hill the crew power it up again for the climb up Macedon Bank. The locomotives keep good time up the hill and crest the grade approaching Woodend at just over thirty miles per hour. The locomotive’s dynamic brakes whine into life as Woodend station is passed. The train speeds through the station and continues downhill until Carlsruhe station. The train passes the junction to Daylesford and as it drops downhill from Carlsruhe the crew again use the dynamic brakes to slow the train. It slowly pulls into Kyneton station where the signaller informs them that the train they’ll be changing over to is half an hour away. The crew use the time to have a meal and prepare to change trains with the crew from Bendigo. Eventually locomotives B68 and B70 creep into view with a long grain train from Deniliquin. The crews have a quick chat before swapping trains. The driver and fireman from Melbourne climb into the cab of the B class locomotive and the train is soon powering away from Kyneton. The train easily makes it to the top of Macedon Bank but the descent is the hard part. The locomotives have almost two thousand tons pushing them down the hill; however the dynamic brakes of both locomotives and a few heavy train brake applications keep the train in control. It’s essentially downhill all the way to Melbourne and the few short uphill sections help to keep the speed in check. The train rockets through town after town. Eventually Sunshine is reached and the crew reduce the speed to cross onto the goods only line to Tottenham Yard. The train meanders its way through Tottenham Yard and behind West and Middle Footscray stations. After passing through Bunbury St Tunnel, it rolls across the Maribyrnong River bridge, then swings through North Dynon yard and pulls into the arrivals road. The crew uncouple the locomotives and take them over to the turntable, leaving the yard pilot to split up and shunt the train into the docks. They sign off at just as the sun peeps above the horizon and head home for some rest.