It vanished as quickly as it appeared. A strange contraption that I can only guess checks the accuracy of rail lines that have been laid or repaired.

Part of the reconstruction of the rail line which is used to transport coal from the Leigh Creek mines to the Port Augusta powerhouse.

Anyone who has visited the plains on the western side of the Flinders ranges on a cloudless evening will appreciate the stunning afterglow that occurs on the horizon about 30 minutes after sunset.

Shot at f5.6, ISO 400, shutter speed 3 seconds.

Like toys in the sandbox….but this was the scene on the rail line between Leigh Creek and Port Augusta a couple of weeks ago.
23 cars carrying thousands of tons of coal from the Leigh Creek mine derailed.

The train and its cargo destined for the power station at Port Augusta is getting through again but the repairs go on.
Two special vehicles which check the rails and the sleepers using laser technology, have been lifted onto the line and are working along the section damaged by the derailment.

These two vehicles weigh around 34 tons each, requiring a bit of heavy lifting to get them into position.
Here’s the link to the earlier pictures of the derailment.

Train Wreck.

The Leigh Creek Coal train was derailed over the weekend as it headed, fully-laden with coal, to the power station at Port Augusta.

I got a gig shooting some pictures for the Channel 9 News in Adelaide – a bit like old times, in a roundabout way.

The chaps crewing the train were pretty lucky. The derailment occurred behind the locomotives.

The three kilometre train was broken into three segments. The main damage involved 22 cars which were scattered and concertina-ed.

The train travels at about 80 kilometres an hour so when disaster strikes the combined weight of all the cars and coal is enormous.

The momentum would have been very hard to arrest, hence the incredible pile up.

I couldn’t resist a landscape photo – it puts the whole thing into perspective