HO Aussie 48/930

[Nick_Burman]

Question for the Aussies... the 48/930 is one of, if not the, my favourite Aussie diesel loco...possibly because we have similar locomotives still in operation here in Brazil. I really like their wheezing and coughing sounds and their rather anemic response to putting TE on the rails (at least ours - which are metre-gauge - act like that). I wouldn't mind getting one in HO (Silverton Tramway yellow and blue is a favorite), Powerline makes one but it is rather long in the tooth. They have promised a retooled version and Trainorama has promised a brand new model. Is the Powerline project still "on" or have they thrown the towel? The Trainorama one is scheduled for release at the end of the year.

 

 

Cheers NB

[marknewton]

Nick, I'll ask around about the Powerline model, but can I just clarify that these are the locos you mean?

 

 

 

I ask because the 930 class you mention are the South Australian version of the Alco World series DL500Bs, or our 44 class:

 

 

 

Having spent a bit of time on both loco classes, I agree they are rather asthmatic-sounding - what we call "Alco music" - but I wouldn't call them anemic. When you cut first notch on the throttle, they dig in and go, unlike their EMD competitors.

 

Cheers,

 

Mark.

[Nick_Burman]

Mark,

 

Thanks. Sorry, I meant 830, not 930. And yes, it's "them". I'm attaching a picture of the last operating unit in Sao Paulo state, now working as a dock shunter at a grain terminal in Santos City. There are another two dozen or so still working in mainline service in NE Brazil.

 

As for their behaviour, I guess it must have been a mix of metre-gauge traction motors and deferred maintenance. The ones which worked the Santos - Sao Vicente push-pull commuter trains (the loco in the picture used to be one of them) had to be fairly cajoled to get moving. With four coaches (demotorized MU stock) the drivers needed to push them to notch 3 and beyond (with lots of coughing and wheezing, plus black smoke) before they would consider getting into track speed - a modest 50km/h... The Aussie units had the benefit of running on "wide" gauge trucks (OK, OK, some of the SAR units were 3'6"...) and thus had the benefit of extra "oomph" in the form of larger traction motors.

 

Cheers NB