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Offline Tom Jessop  
#1 Posted : 25 April 2015 00:16:42(UTC)
Tom Jessop

Australia   
Joined: 14/12/2002(UTC)
Posts: 800
Location: Newcastle NSW Australia
The East Coast of NSW had a massive storm stationary over the coast for 3 days this week .Where we live in Newcastle we had 144 mm of rain the first night , next day we had 130 mm & the following day 80 mm. All this water had a damage factor along with winds of up to 130 km/hr . We had a little water damage at our place but considering the intensity of the storm cell we got off light compared to neighbours having very large trees falling on their houses . There are still large areas under water & townships isolated . 3 people were killed in the storm & the insurance cost sky high .

Rail lines are still cut & service will not be restore until at least next Thursday at the earliest . Further north , rail will not be restored for at least the following week .

I have attached a official video from ARTC who are the controlling corporation for rural area rail infrastructure .





Cheers Tom in Oz.

Edited by user 25 April 2015 11:22:50(UTC)  | Reason: spelling

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Offline NZMarklinist  
#2 Posted : 25 April 2015 05:16:52(UTC)
NZMarklinist

New Zealand   
Joined: 15/03/2011(UTC)
Posts: 1,757
Location: Auckland NZ
Gee, it just goes to show the immense power of a gentle thing like water when you Dam it or back it up !! Scared

A lesson here for all carriage way builders is; make a culvert ten times bigger than you thought necessary !!

Tom what is that town with the drowned platforms at 2.55 ?
Glen
Auckland NZ

" Every Marklin layout needs a V200, a Railbus and a Banana car", not to mention a few Black and red Steamers, oh and the odd Elok !

CS1 Reloaded, Touch Cab, C Track Modules, K track layout all under construction. Currently Insider
Offline xxup  
#3 Posted : 25 April 2015 07:13:53(UTC)
xxup

Australia   
Joined: 15/03/2003(UTC)
Posts: 9,457
Location: Australia
Shamu lives in the Hunter Valley, which was hit pretty hard on the first and second day.. I hope that it was not his house that we saw floating away with the flood water.

I have not heard from him for a few days. I expect that the power is not back to their house yet.
Adrian
UserPostedImage
Australia flag by abFlags.com
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Offline Tom Jessop  
#4 Posted : 25 April 2015 07:38:30(UTC)
Tom Jessop

Australia   
Joined: 14/12/2002(UTC)
Posts: 800
Location: Newcastle NSW Australia
Shane was going to arrange to meet up at my place for a couple of hrs of train running but I haven't heard from him since the rain. All comms were hit pretty hard & some estimates hint at long outages . With no mains power available most mobile towers would be black within a couple of hours along with street rims [those newish cabinets outside peoples homes ] , Exchanges all have emergency power supplys but rely on fuel tanks . I agree with Adrian that the house power isnot reconnected at his place yet as there will be areas without power for at least another week .



Glen , the station that is on the edge of flood waters is Maitland , This area always goes under water quickly & was famous back in 1955/56 for the devastation caused by flood waters . if you look on the left side of the road bridge at the station you can see some blue things across the track , these are flood gates which swing across the track & then sandbagged around the edges . I have only seen them used twice in 4 years , but I am a newbie to the area . Mention in todays local paper that the Nth Coast railway will be closed for at least a month with all freight going by road to Brisbane & return . Coal traffic will resume some time this coming week depending on weather predictions . The area centre bottom of the video at the same time mark is where Steamfest was held only 2 days before the storm hit & is usually filled with all sorts of steam machinery on show along with various farm machines . This area is always a problem during storm periods & will go under water at the drop of a garden water can .

Cheers Tom in Oz , listening to the sound of either chainsaws or portable generators doing their work .
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Offline NZMarklinist  
#5 Posted : 25 April 2015 08:19:25(UTC)
NZMarklinist

New Zealand   
Joined: 15/03/2011(UTC)
Posts: 1,757
Location: Auckland NZ
Originally Posted by: Tom Jessop Go to Quoted Post
Shane was going to arrange to meet up at my place for a couple of hrs of train running but I haven't heard from him since the rain. All comms were hit pretty hard & some estimates hint at long outages . With no mains power available most mobile towers would be black within a couple of hours along with street rims [those newish cabinets outside peoples homes ] , Exchanges all have emergency power supplys but rely on fuel tanks . I agree with Adrian that the house power isnot reconnected at his place yet as there will be areas without power for at least another week .



Glen , the station that is on the edge of flood waters is Maitland , This area always goes under water quickly & was famous back in 1955/56 for the devastation caused by flood waters . if you look on the left side of the road bridge at the station you can see some blue things across the track , these are flood gates which swing across the track & then sandbagged around the edges . I have only seen them used twice in 4 years , but I am a newbie to the area . Mention in todays local paper that the Nth Coast railway will be closed for at least a month with all freight going by road to Brisbane & return . Coal traffic will resume some time this coming week depending on weather predictions . The area centre bottom of the video at the same time mark is where Steamfest was held only 2 days before the storm hit & is usually filled with all sorts of steam machinery on show along with various farm machines . This area is always a problem during storm periods & will go under water at the drop of a garden water can .

Cheers Tom in Oz , listening to the sound of either chainsaws or portable generators doing their work .


Hi Tom & Adrian,

Note Shane put a like on Toms first post in the thread so he must be ok and have power or a peddle driven generator maybe Laugh

I''m sure he would have said something if there was anything serious for him, altho he could have been reading the users.net on his mobile pehaps Unsure

Thanks for the info about Maitland Tom, there is a lot of washouts all along the railway, but I guess they're on to it, but some of it is really so major it won't be fixed anytime soon I wouldn't think !!OhMyGod
Lets hope for the best for all those effected people, and of course Shane. He'll most be worried about his MRR collection, I'd imagine cause his family are up North are they not Confused
Glen
Auckland NZ

" Every Marklin layout needs a V200, a Railbus and a Banana car", not to mention a few Black and red Steamers, oh and the odd Elok !

CS1 Reloaded, Touch Cab, C Track Modules, K track layout all under construction. Currently Insider
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Offline Shamu  
#6 Posted : 26 April 2015 03:31:52(UTC)
Shamu

Australia   
Joined: 12/07/2011(UTC)
Posts: 1,068
Location: In a building site in Yeppoon
Yes it has been a tad inconvenient the last 3 or 4 days, lack of power/phone/TV/internet......... and ANOTHER freezer full of food to be trashed after it blew up a month or 2 ago.

Had to go up to the top of Neath hill (if you can call it that) yesterday morning to try to get mobile reception to phone the kids to tell them we are OK and check email/sms' at the same time. had a quick squiz at the site while I had a stable connection and saw this thread of Tom's at the top of the list but lost signal shortly after.

Finally had all services back up and running late yesterday just in time for the edge of a savage hail storm to pass by although Sydney/the ranges copped the worst of it.

Oh well calm blue ocean as a old friend used to say.

Very fortunate that the only damage was to the rather old and large gum tree half way down the back yard which fortunately missed everything on the way down. Was only 15 to 17 degrees the first 2 days the power was out but luckily we have gas stove/water/heating so didn't starve or freeze to death, local pub about 200m down the road was flooded out, well the important bits where the booze is. Still no easy way for us to get to Maitland as main access still flooded, not that I go there often but a issue for many workers.

Have not seen a coal train since Monday night so who knows when they will start up again....... the maintenance 4WD/trucks have made a couple of passes along the tracks but other than that no sign of life.

We and most people in our village got off scott free but for many thousands it was a week they lost everything....... no matter how shitty you think things are there is always someone worse off.

And thanks for the concern guys, I'm touched.

Sad when its cheaper to buy a new 29640 starter set from Germany than a CS2 on its own in Oz, welcome to the joys of Marklin down under .
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Offline NZMarklinist  
#7 Posted : 26 April 2015 03:56:29(UTC)
NZMarklinist

New Zealand   
Joined: 15/03/2011(UTC)
Posts: 1,757
Location: Auckland NZ
Hi Shane,

I'm sure we are all glad to hear from you and that things are not so bad Cool

Shame about the freezer full of food but you could probably go at for the next day or two ! Hope you had it insured !

The Pub down the road, well that's another matter Huh

Have a look at Tom's ARTC Video link which shows Maitland under water, you may not want to bother going there for another day or two Scared

Bet you can't wait to move North, but hope you'll be living on high ground up there ! Blink

All the best ThumpUp
Glen
Auckland NZ

" Every Marklin layout needs a V200, a Railbus and a Banana car", not to mention a few Black and red Steamers, oh and the odd Elok !

CS1 Reloaded, Touch Cab, C Track Modules, K track layout all under construction. Currently Insider
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Offline Tom Jessop  
#8 Posted : 26 April 2015 04:20:32(UTC)
Tom Jessop

Australia   
Joined: 14/12/2002(UTC)
Posts: 800
Location: Newcastle NSW Australia



Shane ,

Good to see all is well out in the west I was watching the hail storm run over the ridge between our place & yours & thought here comes the Finale of the weeks storms . All shopping centre's in Oz were closed till midday yesterday for Anzac day remembrance & marches in towns but you should have seen the madness in our local shopping centre with people buying up big on all food items because of losses from flooding & lack of power for a couple of days . The FD & my self just got a few essentials to last the weekend & we will get the bulk of it on Monday . The Hexham Swamp is causing problems to rail repair as it is also at the same level of the tracks for about 5 km , so no trains at all heading west .


I checked the layout out yesterday & the amount of corrosion that has occurred just from the high humidity is amazing , a good clean down with Track Magic will occur this afternoon , might even put the A/C on to remove the air moisture . We suffered no damage apart from 1 leaking window in the kitchen but there are people still waiting on emergency repairs before getting the go ahead from rip off insurance companys who are trying to dodge their way out of claims as usual.

Shane , check out the disaster relief section on the nswg website ,you may be eligible for funding for food replacement . take photos of the food that was in the freezer & note what was in there in quantity.


Might be a interesting time at the pub with lots of bottles with no label on them .




Cheers Tom in Oz

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Offline xxup  
#9 Posted : 26 April 2015 04:55:25(UTC)
xxup

Australia   
Joined: 15/03/2003(UTC)
Posts: 9,457
Location: Australia
Great to hear that you are still with us Shane. I am pleased that it wasn't your house taking a trip down the highway on TV during the week.. However, I guess that the recent events will mean that the pressure will increase for the big move now.. Scared
Adrian
UserPostedImage
Australia flag by abFlags.com
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Offline Shamu  
#10 Posted : 26 April 2015 07:21:33(UTC)
Shamu

Australia   
Joined: 12/07/2011(UTC)
Posts: 1,068
Location: In a building site in Yeppoon
Yes Adrian the pressure has increased but more along the lines that at least with a cyclone you get a couple of days notice as opposed to waking up to massive destruction and floods.

Guess it doesn't matter were you live, if mother nature wants to stick it to you it will get you regardless. After my most recent tally of the train gear I will have to find a bunker of sorts to make the layout in. Contents insurance is now 60/40 in favour of the trains....... oh well at least I have nearly everything I need bar the woodwork.
Sad when its cheaper to buy a new 29640 starter set from Germany than a CS2 on its own in Oz, welcome to the joys of Marklin down under .
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Offline utkan  
#11 Posted : 26 April 2015 07:47:39(UTC)
utkan

Turkey   
Joined: 14/07/2009(UTC)
Posts: 19,116
Location: Istanbul,


Hope you will all have a very quick settle down with your life and trains as well....Smile
Do unto others, as you would have them do unto you...
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Offline countrylink  
#12 Posted : 26 April 2015 08:58:33(UTC)
countrylink

Australia   
Joined: 07/09/2007(UTC)
Posts: 133
Location: toowoomba
Yes glad to see you got through that Shane.Those East Coast Lows can sure pack a punch almost equal to a Category 2 cyclone or hurricane.
The way this autumn season is shaping up I don't think this will be the last one unfortunately.
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Offline Chipopo  
#13 Posted : 26 April 2015 11:41:00(UTC)
Chipopo

Israel   
Joined: 19/03/2012(UTC)
Posts: 112
the power of mother nature sure is immense !

Good to hear that all our friends down there are safe :)
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Offline Tom Jessop  
#14 Posted : 30 April 2015 02:50:42(UTC)
Tom Jessop

Australia   
Joined: 14/12/2002(UTC)
Posts: 800
Location: Newcastle NSW Australia
l



This article makes interesting reading regarding the wild storm we had last week on the East coast of Australia with another one forecast for this weekend . I'm not sure if the article was Ozzy or American produced .

http://crudeoilpeak.info...ks-days-after-wild-storm


Cheers Tom in Oz
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Offline Tom Jessop  
#15 Posted : 30 April 2015 23:09:27(UTC)
Tom Jessop

Australia   
Joined: 14/12/2002(UTC)
Posts: 800
Location: Newcastle NSW Australia


And there is more .


A quick way to remove a hanging track & sleepers . This is at one of the washaway sites on the Nth Coast track after last weeks massive storm . Uncle Fester eat your heart out .


https://www.youtube.com/...bedded&v=Otcl0Ix_BcE




Cheers Tom in Oz
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Offline kiwiAlan  
#16 Posted : 30 April 2015 23:29:59(UTC)
kiwiAlan

United Kingdom   
Joined: 23/07/2014(UTC)
Posts: 8,082
Location: ENGLAND, Didcot
Originally Posted by: Tom Jessop Go to Quoted Post


And there is more .


A quick way to remove a hanging track & sleepers . This is at one of the washaway sites on the Nth Coast track after last weeks massive storm . Uncle Fester eat your heart out .


https://www.youtube.com/...bedded&v=Otcl0Ix_BcE




Cheers Tom in Oz


That is very similar to what they did in Dawlish after the big storms in the UK about 18 months ago that washed out the railway along the foreshore.

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Offline Purellum  
#17 Posted : 01 May 2015 22:20:30(UTC)
Purellum

Denmark   
Joined: 08/11/2005(UTC)
Posts: 3,498
Location: Mullerup, 4200 Slagelse
Cool

Quote:
A quick way to remove a hanging track & sleepers . This is at one of the washaway sites on the Nth Coast track after last weeks massive storm . Uncle Fester eat your heart out .


Think positive. You can make a model of this, using K-track.

( Glad to hear that everybody is OK )

Per.

Cool
If you can dream it, you can do it!

I, the copyright holder of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. This applies worldwide.

In case this is not legally possible:
I grant anyone the right to use this work for any purpose, without any conditions, unless such conditions are required by law.

UserPostedImage
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Offline Tom Jessop  
#18 Posted : 01 May 2015 23:38:40(UTC)
Tom Jessop

Australia   
Joined: 14/12/2002(UTC)
Posts: 800
Location: Newcastle NSW Australia



It would be one of the few things not on MiWaLu awesome layouts . Maybe I should sent them the link & suggest that it would be a scene stealer .

Cheers Tom in Oz .
Offline countrylink  
#19 Posted : 02 May 2015 01:50:24(UTC)
countrylink

Australia   
Joined: 07/09/2007(UTC)
Posts: 133
Location: toowoomba
Brisbane turn to feel the effects of an east coast low with the area near me receiving 300mms of rain in 3 hours yesterday afternoon.
Very sad that 5 people have lost their lives in that one area.
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Offline Shamu  
#20 Posted : 02 May 2015 04:31:36(UTC)
Shamu

Australia   
Joined: 12/07/2011(UTC)
Posts: 1,068
Location: In a building site in Yeppoon
Just talked to a friend who lives about 900m up the road from me, he is a bit of a.... shall we say keen gardener/weather watcher...... he just emptied his rain gauge and we have had another 140ml of rain since noon yesterday with more forecast as the low from Brissy moves down the NSW coast.

I'm a bit surprised as although we have had locally numerous downpours it has not been constant by any measure. Peter (Countrylink) picked it..... soggy Autumn.
Sad when its cheaper to buy a new 29640 starter set from Germany than a CS2 on its own in Oz, welcome to the joys of Marklin down under .
Offline Tom Jessop  
#21 Posted : 02 May 2015 05:50:03(UTC)
Tom Jessop

Australia   
Joined: 14/12/2002(UTC)
Posts: 800
Location: Newcastle NSW Australia


Only 13 ml since yesterday [Friday ] morn .

Tom J
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