Dorrigo

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Dorrigo, 1946, roads construction camp in front of the station.

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Chris Harrison:

A chance search for something else turned up a very convenient image in relation to the beautiful work of archivist John Forsyth, recently posted in stages by Greg Lee.  The first image and close up is from the colour book COUNTRY RAILWAY STATIONS NSW Vol 4, and is taken by Michael Schrader.  It shows the 1964 tour to Dorrigo with 5088 having arrived in Dorrigo.
We are fortunate that Michael took this image as it reveals a good deal of the activity which took place after the train arrived.  5088 has moved to the coal stage and would most likely be proceeding to the turntable.  This raises a number of questions.  The John Forsyth image clearly shows that 5088 was being rewatered with one of the open end carriages attached.  The elephant trunk gib is only located on the "main line" side of the tank.  This could only mean that the first two carriages were shunted off, and then 5088 coupled up to the open end cars and then proceeded to take water.  But then the whole train would seem to be remarshalled back the same way before 5088 was turned. What movements were carried out that day and why is a bit of a mystery so far.  Anyone know what occurred?  My only thought was that the open end cars were intended to be on the tail end of the train to give excellent viewing scenes from the back, but for some reason it did not end up being so for the return run. 
Other interesting features are potentially a healthy number of wagons in the goods yard, and quite a number of spectators around, particularly the passengers watching 5088.  There also would appear to be some youngsters standing at a safe distance at right of the yard.

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Dorrigo station (recent photo - 2021 ) (uncredited)

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Dorrigo branch, 11 years after closure  1st photo at Dorrigo station ..the second picture is a bit further down, at the road crossing at Arthur Billings farm, a couple of hundred metres before the Bielsdown bridge. You can see the big landslip in the background,,,the one that caused the trains to be terminated at Megan for some months.

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Dorrigo station and Taylor's Mill (1960s)

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Dorrigo station, 1990

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Dorrigo station. From a set marked "Dorrigo Timber Series, March 1946". (SLNSW)

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Dorrigo, March 1983 (Greg Lee)

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Dorrigo goods shed

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Dorrigo

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Tour train at Dorrigo, 30/08/1964

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Dorrigo, between 1972 when the line fell into disuse and 1975 when the line closed.

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Dorrigo, 19/10/1953

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Chris Harrison :

A recently posted image of a 44 in Dorrigo yard would seem to have surprised a number of people by the presence of large Alco power on the line once.  One source of history notes that the 44's were a drivers favourite on the line.  For all diesel operations on the line during regular service, it would appear that 44's and 48's were the mainstay (according to one source).  But apparently the working timetable of 1979 listed the following classes as also permitted for use on the line: 422, 43, 421, 45, 49, and 47, and also 70 and 73.  Interesting to consider that timing as no loco would have been allowed to operate on the line considering that it had been disused for 7 years.  Also interesting to consider is that the one class missing off the list is the 42, and this was the first diesel (4206) type back on the line in the 1980's.  In these images from the NSW State Archives, we see 4434 in Dorrigo yard, 28 March, 1963.  There was until tonight (thank you Greg Lee!) only one other image I had ever seen of a 44 on the line, at Timber Top.  Might we be lucky in future for more?

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Greg Lee :

Here's one for youse... This photo is from Marie Howlett, daughter of Vince Shipman who is the driver, on the left. I believe the fireman is Ron Kane. The lady in the cab is Lena Waugh nee Gill.