Cab rides on the Melbourne-Ballarat line (Victoria, Australia)

[mcropod]

Come and ride along with the driver on my line, check out the scenery, the railway infrastructure, and the wildlife (sorry, no kangaroos).

I happened across these two full-journey vids, covering the V/Line c120km ride along the line between Wendouree (Ballarat's terminal station) and Melbourne Southern Cross (Melbourne's principal interstate rail terminal, and a major metropolitan services station). Take a run either way and get some technical driver-ed information about the route and running restrictions. V/Line is the state's government-run regional railway operator.

The vids are within the last year or so, and taken on an early afternoon scheduled service in what looks like winter from the colour of the country and the vegetation, so the light is good.

Bits of special interest include running over a short section of dual-gauge track near Southern Cross station (Victoria runs 1600mm broad-gauge but handles the twice-daily interstate Melbourne-Sydney service, run by standard-gauge NSW railways). There is no standard-gauge goods or passenger traffic going through Ballarat: the Melbourne-Adelaide standard-gauge line takes a big arc through Geelong to the south and Ararat to the west instead of the direct route through Ballarat as the road does.

My fave bit of the line is the 180 degree horseshoe on the Ballarat side of Bacchus Marsh as the train navigates its way between the high country of the Ballarat region and the Melbourne flatlands.

Regional rail mostly comprises Bombadier VLocity DMUs. Diesel locos haul some services (not Ballarat's). Regional services from the north and west of the state including Ballarat's have their own tracks on the approach to Melbourne, separated from the metropolitan services which use EMUs supplied by overhead power.
Ballarat to Melbourne:



Melbourne to Ballarat:



https://www.railway-technology.com/projects/vlocity-160-dmu-diesel-multiple-units-australia/

 

[chadamfleetrailfan]

It's great to see mention of the V/Line Ballarat line here on this forum. When I lived and grew up in Australia (20 years ago), I lived not that far from this line near Bungaree (prior to the deviation put in), and loved riding on the Sprinters (the Vlocities were not in service yet) as well as railfanning the Sprinters as well.

Thank you @mcropod for including this post here.

 

[mcropod]

I'm glad there are forumites who liked the vids, and the trips. I'll be on that line again for a quick in-and-out Melbourne visit on Tuesday, so I'll take special note as we go by the Bungaree area.

I saw this youtube vid last night about the last train to Waubra - a small settlement to Ballarat's west and now one of the centres of the state's windfarm power generation. The train was deisel-hauled from Melbourne as part of regular Melbourne-Ballarat services, then the Waubra carriages were steam-hauled from Ballarat Station. The vid was shot in the summer of 1968 and when Ballarat still had its trams. The first minutes show the Bacchus Marsh horseshoe curved climb really well, and has some cabride footage from the steam loco at the vid's end.

It also looks like the then daily service from Adelaide to Melbourne via Ballarat is at Ballarat Station on our train's return

 

[chadamfleetrailfan]

That was a cool video @mcropod !

Yep. You'll be coming down the Serviceton line if you're coming from Adelaide. I'm also pretty sure you'll be on Vlocities as the rolling stock on your trip as well.

 

[mcropod]

That was a cool video @mcropod !

Yep. You'll be coming down the Serviceton line if you're coming from Adelaide. I'm also pretty sure you'll be on Vlocities as the rolling stock on your trip as well.

Not from Adelaide - from Ballarat, and as you rightly say, on Vlocities. Fine enough t4ains for the 90 minute journey.

I've ridden the Adelaide-Melbourne Overlander, but that veers south at Ararat (an hour west of Ballarat) where it hits VLine territory and broad-gauge. Its path is on the standard-gauge line through Inverleigh and Geelong thence to Melbourne. It's a sad service nowadays - privately-run by the same mob that runs The Ghan and The Indian-Pacific - and only two services a week. It was recently rescued by the Victorian government which provided a subsidy as long as it picks up Vic passengers along the way.

 

[chadamfleetrailfan]

Ah yep. I remember Ararat servicing both guages. I remember that the Vlocities terminate there, and that the Overlander continues on from the station.

I haven't ever been to Ararat by rail, but I remember it was a hike from Ballarat.

Speaking of the Serviceton line, I've seen some videos on Youtube that they've revamped some of the stations. Ballan (the station that I used to take to Melbourne) has a revamp, and a lot of the line has been duplicated as well. Kind of interesting to see.