6072 Leads Loaded under Redbank Bridge Second Day of 2005

    On January 2, 2005 I chased a loaded train with 6072 and 3081 leading 6076 and 5667 mid-train, from out near where Tabba Siding would later be installed, then past the 50 km, it crossed an empty at Mooka, when it was just a freshly minted passing track and then for the money shot, I snapped it as it passed under the Redbank Bridge on arrival into Hedland Yard at Nelson Point just after 1700 hours on the Sunday afternoon.

    As it happens a fair bit here in the summer, there was haze and high cloud impacting the image. The position that the below photo was taken from is no longer accessible with the duplication and yard modifications the fence line has likewise been altered.

    The Redbank Bridge was opened back on September 14, 1973. The track underneath that carries BHP Iron Ore traffic, and originally Mount Newman Mining traffic was duplicated in 2006.

    AC6000CW locomotive 6072 'Hesta', which was built by General Electric at their Erie, Pennsylvania plant in the USA back in January 1999 with serial number 51064 and was delivered in the April of the same year via the heavy lift vessel Titan Scan.

    6072 also has the distinction of being one of the last two AC6000 units to operate on the BHP mainline when it and 6076 worked a loaded train into the yard on September 1, 2013. It remained in the same livery its entire career. And was subsequently scrapped October 2014 at Sell & Parker, Wedgefield.

    As 6072 'Hesta' leads SD40-2 unit 3081 into Hedland Yard a couple of empty trains can been see on the departure roads at left.

    SD40-2 locomotive 3081 was one of five former Union Pacific SD40-2 models supplied by GE Transportation Services in a batch of twenty SD40 variants in a stop gap measure due to a motive power shortage on the BHP system.

    3081 was built by EMD at its McCook Illinois facility in March 1979 with serial number 786170-75 and was originally number UP 3573. The unit was overhauled by GETS and delivered in under coat wearing the number 3573 over the New Year in 2004 via the heavy lift vessel BBC China.

    3081 remained in the undercoat livery, along with all the SD40-2 units which were stored by May 2010, until it was eventually scrapped in July 2013 at Wedgefield.

AC6000 6074 Leads Loaded Train Off the Avoidance Rd on the GML

    On the former Goldsworthy Mining Limited, GML, line [now owned by BHP] from Finucane Island to Goldsworthy, and later to mines Nimingarra, Shay Gap and later out further to Cundaline and Yarrie there was a siding, Kober which located between the 12.4 km and the 13.6 km between the Boodarie yard and Goldsworthy Junction. The siding Kober was named after Alfred Kober who was the Goldsworthy Mining Limited General Manager.

    The Kober siding was located towards the western end of Bofin Yard which was the name given to the line between the Newgold diamond crossing, and later Goldsworthy Junction with the Mount Newman Mining mainline and the GML Finucane Island location including Boodarie Yard when that was built following the closure of the GML workshops at Goldsworthy.

    In the attached picture taken on Christmas Eve, 2006, we see General Electric AC6000 locomotive 6074 'Kalgan' and Goninan rebuild GE CM40-8ML locomotive 5663 'Newcastle' [originally built without a cab as a Locotrol controlling remote] with a single rake train as it runs off the Avoidance Road onto the former GML mainline towards Finucane Island and Car Dumper 4 for unloading. This new location of SER4 is within the original siding location of Kober which was originally decommissioned on May 30, 1999.

This section of line to Finucane Island is now duplicated all the way, and both locomotives and a number of those waggons have been scrapped.

BHP AC6000's retired, November 2013 Line Up.

Back in November 2013, the remaining BHP Billiton AC6000 locomotives were all stored within Nelson Point Yard. Following a derailment at Turner Siding in late May 2011 class leader 6070 was written off due to a twisted frame and was scrapped on location.

By August 2013 the units were being stored or confined to yard pilot duties, by September 1, 2013 all were out of service and stored with 6076 being the final unit driven in service on the mainline.

The last day of service / mainline running of the AC6000 units were:

6070 - May 27, 2011 [Turner derailment].

6071 - May 21, 2013.

6072 - September 1, 2013.

6073 - May 2, 2013.

6074 - October 19, 2012.

6075 - August 12, 2013.

6076 - September 1, 2013.

6077 - August 13, 2013.

The line up of units from left to right is [number - serial - name]:

6071 - 51063 - Chichester

6074 - 51066 - Kalgan

6072 - 51064 - Hesta

6075 - 51067 - Newman

6077 - 51069 - Nimingarra

6073 - 51065 - Fortescue

6076 - 51068 - Mt Goldsworthy

BHP AC6000 6074 at Nelson Point.

Back in happier times on the 9th of September 2003 BHP Iron Ore's General Electric AC6000 unit 6074 'Kalgan' with serial number 51066 waits with a loaded rake for Car Dumper 2 at Nelson Point.

The remaining seven AC6000 units were all subsequently scrapped in October 2014. 6070 was scrapped in May 2011 following a derailment at Turner Siding.