DC ++ Garratt Locomotive Restoration

Location: Canberra, Australia

One of my goals for this trip to Australia was to be able to work on this Garratt steam locomotive restoration project. It's just an interesting locomotive, being articulated and having the water tank ahead of the boiler and the coal tender behind.

At the moment it's in bits but it's looking great and has good bones. Today we began to reassemble the superheader and the bits inside the steam dome.



The boiler had been chopped off its base in a timber mill, which meant all the bolts had to be drilled out and re-tapped. Fun!



A locomotive grillout.



Would you trust this man with your locomotive?

Work days are the first Saturday and the third Sunday of the month. Click here for more information on the locomotive and the project.

Visit it!


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Whalecopter

Location: Corinbank, Corin Forest Australia

I was at a festival called Corinbank in the ACT when I was pleasantly surprised to see this whale roll up.  Called "Humpback Gunship" and created by Benjamin Gilbert, this whalecopter has been recommissioned from military to air freight use.



This thing was of course loaded with kids all weekend.  At night some parents started pushing it around, and so standing around a fire with this thing whizzing past full of screaming kids was a surreal and wonderful experience.




The wheels are old hand-valves.  Ben said his goal was to give kids the feeling of a whale, so that they could sympathize with their plight.