Bulliac 1961

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Bulliac derailment, 1961 (Lorraine Jones)



Alan Wakley:


"I was on the night no 1 derailed,the engine stopped right outside the signal box,I asked the driver why he had stopped and he said they had lost an air hose."



Greg Lee:


"In the first photo you can see Broadmeadow MFD (Mechanised Fitters Deutsch) rerailing the derailed carriages using the German jacks. The German jacks were hydraulic jacks that used water for hydraulic fluid and were powered by compressed air, usually from the brake pipe of the train. Notwithstanding the fancy name, (MFD) they were in fact just very experienced fitters from Loco, and they were experts at rerailing. I saw Enfield MFD in action on a number of occasions in the early '80s, and I have never seen rerailing made look so easy. In those days the Railways were self-sufficient and they didn't rely on heavy lift road cranes like they do today."



Alan Wakley:


"To watch these chaps working was amazing the photos don't do justice to what they were doing, they had to rerail the tracks under the carriages before repairing the rolling stock above it.i will never forget that experience. We had plenty of wood for around 12 months."

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Brisbane Limited Express Derailment Bulliac 1961 (Lorraine Jones)