FMG 123 loaded crosses FMG 727 empty 5km.

As a loaded FMG train behind AC44C6M loco 123 and SD70ACe 704 glide under the Great Northern Highway bridge as they approach the port, an empty departs the port behind SD70ACe-P6 loco 727 and AC44C6M loco 109 with 244 empty waggons in tow, the cross happened right in front of me at 1722 hours, Wednesday May 7, 2025.

The video shows the loaded coming around the 5 km curve on the east track and then the empty proceeding south away from the port on the west track. And as the loaded reappears we see the tail of both trains in the end.

Waggon consist for the empty train was [format is slave waggon - master waggon builder;]:

5043 - 6044 CNR QRRS; 5049 - 6050 CNR QRRS; 5987 - 6988 CSR Yangtze; 1319 - 2320 CSR Zhuzhou; 3617 - 4618 CNR QRRS; 7537 - 8538 CRRC Yangtze; 3237 - 4238 CNR QRRS; 3523 - 4524 CNR QRRS; 5773 - 6774 CSR Yangtze; 5025 - 6026 CNR QRRS; 1671 - 2672 CSR Zhuzhou; 3585 - 4586 CNR QRRS; 3443 - 4444 CNR QRRS; 5939 - 6940 CSR Yangtze; 1769 - 2770 CSR Zhuzhou; 5547 - 6548 CNR QRRS; 9165 - 10166 CRRC Qiqihar; 5887 - 6888 CSR Yangtze; 7315 - 8316 CSR Yangtze; 3925 - 4926 CNR QRRS; 3413 - 4414 CNR QRRS; 9689 - 10690 CRRC Qiqihar; 7609 - 8610 CRRC Yangtze; 5415 - 6416 CNR QRRS; 9441 - 10442 CRRC Qiqihar; 7701 - 8702 CRRC Yangtze; 1203 - 2204 CSR Zhuzhou; 5669 - 6670 CNR QRRS; 5257 - 6258 CNR QRRS; 7631 - 8632 CRRC Yangtze; 3603 - 4604 CNR QRRS; 5435 - 6436 CNR QRRS; 9197 - 10198 CRRC Qiqihar; 3247 - 4248 CNR QRRS; 7067 - 8068 CNR QRRS; 5897 - 6898 CSR Yangtze; 9029 - 10030 CRRC Yangtze; 5087 - 6088 CNR QRRS; 9071 - 10072 CRRC Yangtze; 5555 - 6556 CNR QRRS; 5585 - 6586 CNR QRRS; 7683 - 8684 CRRC Yangtze; 5759 - 6760 CSR Yangtze; 1657 - 2658 CSR Zhuzhou; 9407 - 10408 CRRC Qiqihar; 5391 - 6392 CNR QRRS; 9489 - 10490 CRRC Qiqihar; 1739 - 2740 CSR Zhuzhou; 9779 - 10780 CRRC Qiqihar; 9673 - 10674 CRRC Qiqihar; 9169 - 10170 CRRC Qiqihar; 3533 - 4534 CNR QRRS; 1009 - 2010 CSR Zhuzhou; 7115 - 8116 CNR QRRS; 3755 - 4756 CNR QRRS; 7979 - 8980 CRRC Yangtze; 9327 - 10328 CRRC Yangtze; 7831 - 8832 CRRC Yangtze; 3145 - 4146 CNR QRRS; 3065 - 4066 CNR QRRS; 7535 - 8536 CRRC Yangtze; 5791 - 6792 CSR Yangtze; 3123 - 4124 CNR QRRS; 3111 - 4112 CNR QRRS; 5515 - 6516 CNR QRRS; 7641 - 8642 CRRC Yangtze; 5409 - 6410 CNR QRRS; 9557 - 10558 CRRC Qiqihar; 5989 - 6990 CSR Yangtze; 9205 - 10206 CRRC Qiqihar; 7915 - 8916 CRRC Yangtze; 7961 - 8962 CRRC Yangtze; 5387 - 6388 CNR QRRS; 3531 - 4532 CNR QRRS; 5371 - 6372 CNR QRRS; 3869 - 4870 CNR QRRS; 9599 - 10600 CRRC Yangtze; 9163 - 10164 CRRC Qiqihar; 9605 - 10606 CRRC Yangtze; 9135 - 10136 CRRC Qiqihar; 7459 - 8460 CRRC Yangtze; 7519 - 8520 CRRC Yangtze; 3865 - 4866 CNR QRRS; 1527 - 2528 CSR Zhuzhou; 5355 - 6356 CNR QRRS; 7913 - 8914 CRRC Yangtze; 9291 - 10292 CRRC Qiqihar; 5013 - 6014 CNR QRRS; 3563 - 4564 CNR QRRS; 7871 - 8872 CRRC Yangtze; 7181 - 8182 CNR QRRS; 5831 - 6832 CSR Yangtze; 3929 - 4930 CNR QRRS; 5397 - 6398 CNR QRRS; 5705 - 6706 CNR QRRS; 5465 - 6466 CNR QRRS; 1559 - 2560 CSR Zhuzhou; 5885 - 6886 CSR Yangtze; 3683 - 4684 CNR QRRS; 9319 - 10320 CRRC Yangtze; 3059 - 4060 CNR QRRS; 7829 - 8830 CRRC Yangtze; 9703 - 10704 CRRC Qiqihar; 5217 - 6218 CNR QRRS; 9437 - 10438 CRRC Qiqihar; 7965 - 8966 CRRC Yangtze; 3631 - 4632 CNR QRRS; 9363 - 10364 CRRC Qiqihar; 7203 - 8204 CNR QRRS; 7467 - 8468 CRRC Yangtze; 1539 - 2540 CSR Yangtze; 9369 - 10370 CRRC Qiqihar; 7817 - 8818 CRRC Yangtze; 5339 - 6340 CNR QRRS; 11089 - 12090 CRRC Qiqihar; 7361 - 8362 CRRC Yangtze; 1599 - 2600 CSR Zhuzhou and CRRC Yangtze 2nd style ribbed; 5003 - 6004 CNR QRRS; 7873 - 8874 CRRC Yangtze; 5483 - 6484 CNR QRRS; 3241 - 4242 CNR QRRS; 9553 - 10554 CRRC Qiqihar.

BHP's 4464 'Celebrating 50 Years 1969 To 2019'.

I do not see this BHP SD70ACe 4464 'Celebrating 50 Years 1969 To 2019' locomotive leading very often, and less so when I'm in a position to capture an image of it. Well, it finally happened on Thursday, May 1, 2025.

SD70ACe locomotive 4464 'Celebrating 50 Years 1969 To 2019' was built by Progress Rail in 2014 with serial number 20138907-015. Seen here at Nelson Point on a 135 waggon rake with sister locomotive 4340 as they wait their turn to present to the car dumpers for unloading.

FMG retires two 9-44CW locomotives.

    On April 28, 2025, Mammoet transported two stripped General Electric 9-44CW units from FMG's Thomas Yard to Wedgefield for scrapping by Sell & Parker.

    The two units, 003 with serial number 58183 and 006 with serial number 58183 were built by GE in August 2007 and delivered to the then new iron ore mining project under construction by FMG in the November of that year. FMG purchased fifteen of the locomotives from GE and all were built in Erie, Pennsylvania [USA]. These were the final 9-44CW units built by GE.

003 sits on its pilots with the bogies, radiators, air-conditioning unit and other items removed prior to delivery to Sell & Parker.

006 sits on its pilots, partially stripped of reusable parts by FMG before being scrapped.

Loaded at the 28.5 km Cape Lambert line.

A loaded Rio Tinto train with ES44ACi model locomotive 9104, 9-44CW model locomotive 7075 and ES44DCi model locomotive 8106 hold the west mainline at the 28.5 km marker, on the Cape Lambert line, immediately south of Arches having allowed a loaded Deepdale train to run through it on the east mainline and then an empty that was in Arches switched from the west to the east and passed this loaded. July 1, 2024.

Ballast train at Green Pool.

Had to go to Karratha to collect some fridge's that had been there getting fixed, and with my new camera I decided to go via Cape Lambert, Western Creek, then down to Dampier to get to Karratha. After a loaded at Arches, I can upon this ballast train sitting in the back track at 1025 hrs.

Green Pool, Cape Lambert line. July 1, 2024.

Ballast train with 8130 [closet to camera], 8195 and 8107 with 26 loaded hoppers and two ploughs.

Location is here. 

Cape Lambert South Yard with Blue Rake

June 19, 2024, looking south from the Walcott Drive over bridges and one of the Rio Tinto blue rakes of waggons has just rolled into Cape Lambert South Yard along 19 Road under AutoHaul and a local driver has now boarded in preparation to run into Car Dumper 5 for unloading.

From the left, in A1 dead end sits 8163, 9111 and 8125 with compressor set CB07 which have cut off an empty rake from Car Dumper 2. 8159, 8140 and 8174 shunt back onto the empty rake along 8 Road. An empty rake sits on 10 Road, whilst the blue rake is on 19 Road.

The blue rake heads for Car Dumper 5 along 19 Road going over 144B switch behind 9-44CW locomotive 7070 in original Hamersley Iron livery, ES44DCi 8155 in the Rio Tinto stripe livery and 9-44CW 7069 in original Hamersley Iron livery. In the foreground on 8 Road are triple ES44DCi units 8174, 8140 and 8159 all in the Rio Tinto stripe livery.

In the early evening of June 20, 2024, I managed to catch this empty Rio Tinto iron ore train heading south at the double bridges located south of Galah at the 85.4 km. This train is in AutoHaul on account the blue lights on the cab roof are on.

The train is powered by General Electric ES44ACi model locomotive 9107 leading a pair of sister GE DC type ES44DCi model locomotives 8139 and 8141 with 120 pairs of waggons for 240 in total for ~5000 tonnes at 1800 hrs on June 20, 2024.

Location of video is here: video location or copy and paste:

https://maps.app.goo.gl/Vm2UhU8bgDnBJYmo8

J Car at Wickham entry statement

Rio Tinto has very recently plinthed Nippon Sharyo ore waggon 001 at the Wickham town entry statement, joining ex NSWGR 40 class 9401 which was used during the construction of the railway and after that in operations.

Ore waggon 001 was built by Nippon Sharyo of Japan in 1971 as the leader of a batch of 285 waggons with 100-ton capacity ordered by Cliffs Robe River Iron Associates. The order was subsequently increased to 325 waggon.

These 'J cars' as these waggons were known that ran on the Robe River 'J trains' or 'Robe Valley' to Mesa J and Deepdale have now all been recently retired and have been being scrapped. The original Car Dumper One at Cape Lambert has also been decommissioned. And the Robe Valley line is now operated by a standard Rio Tinto train of three locomotives and 240 waggon which is banked from either Mesa A [Warramboo] or Deepdale / Mesa J to the siding at Maitland.

These images were captured on June 19, 2024.

Finucane Island, June 18, 2024.

With a couple of visitors in town from the Eastern States and one from the USA we had a quick peek at a loaded waiting to enter the dumpers at Finucane Island and a empty departed for Boodarie Yard around 1300 hrs on Tuesday, June 18, 2024.

Above: BHP's SD70ACe locomotive 4356 serial number 20078915-012 from a 2008 delivery leads 4433 'Achiever' serial number 20128866-002 from a 2013 delivery with 135 waggons waiting its turn through the dumpers at Finucane Island. The bridge in the distance is for the Roy Hill conveyor to their shiploader.

Above: BHP's SD70ACe locomotive 4325 'Jimblebar' with serial number 20066862-038 and delivered in March 2008 started life as part of an order for BNSF and was going to be numbered BNSF 9167, however BHP purchased ten of these 'standard US domestic' model SD70ACe units and after a while of being relegated to trailing only, they were all converted to BHP specs for lead operations. Following 4325 is 4456 'Jim Foran' with serial number 20138907-007 from 2014 and 135 waggons destined to form another empty train back to the mines. In the right background is Utah Point which is the common user facility for the smaller miners such as Min Res and Atlas.

Rio Tinto's Galah collision wrecks.

Around 0023 hours on Monday May 13, 2024, three Rio Tinto EVO ES44DCi locomotives ran into the rear of a disabled train just north of the crossovers located at Galah on the Dampier to Tom Price mainline, near the 82 km location.

Here are a couple of images of the locomotives stored, minus bogies and engine hoods whilst they await recovery, and by the looks of it, potential scrapping.

From the left, 8183, 8175 and 8188

8118 with serial number 59110 is from the second order of these units, with a build date of 04/2008 and is the highest numbered ES44DCi in the plain Rio Tinto silver livery, all the following DCi units being in the 'tiger stripe' red livery.

8118 serial number 59110 from the second order

8175 with serial number 60773 is from the ninth order of GE ES44DCi units with a build date of 01/2021 and wears the Rio 'tiger stripes'.

8175 serial number 60773 from the ninth order

8183 with serial number 60781 is also from the ninth order of ES44DCi locomotives with a 02/2021 build date and also wears the Rio 'tiger stripe' livery.

8183 serial number 60781 from the ninth order