GrahamH's photos

Part of the crowd at Wyreema station shortly after arrival. Trainee fireman Oliver, in the green shirt, and I lit up 106. In the centre Andrew, the lead loco reconditioner and part of the crew is checking round 106. The two men at the right are Evan, a trainee fireman and Clyde, trainee railmotor driver. 18/08/23.

Loco 106 approaching the Drayton Connection Rd level crossing on its first run on Queensland Rail (QR) tracks in about 60 years. It's going to Wyreema then returning to DownsSteam's site. August 2023. See PiP.

Out the gate, at last! 23 years in the making. Onto Queensland Rail tracks for the first test run to Wyreema and return, the next crossing loop. 18/08/2023.

C16 106 where Oliver and I prepared her for the first run out on the Queensland Rail tracks. We stared at 5am with departure at 10am, about an hour after this photo. 106 had been used two days earlier so raising pressure was quicker than from cold. 18/08/2023. Mouse-over to see the PiPs

DownsSteam's Shed. C16 106 on the left and BB18 1/4 1037 on the right. Tomorrow, 18/08/23, at 10AM, glitches permitting, 106 will head out on Queensland Rail's track to go through testing prior to DS running steam hauled trains for the public to regional destinations. 106 is the reason for DownsSteam. The loco was built in Toowoomba in 1915 at the foundry which used to be here. 106 is the last surviving loco of the ~60 built there of several different types.

One of two brass steam loco builder's plates which I am restoring at DownsSteam, where I volunteer at. These belong to DownsSteam's second loco, currently being restored. August 2023.

An iron horse for horse's birthday, 01/08/23 here in Australia. Photo taken last April early one morning while lighting up.

The steam loco and railcar set at DownsSteam. They are in the workshop, known as 'the shed', in almost ready condition to get onto the Queensland Railway's track. Both have been driven around the DownsSteam yard. The approvals required are mostly complete. January 2023.

The working steam loco, C16 class, a 4-8-0 from 1915, being readied for lighting up for Australia Day celebrations. DownsSteam exists because of this loco. It is the last surviving loco made at the former Toowoomba Foundry. The boiler in front of it is part of a recent acquisition, a BB18 1/4 4-6-2 from 1950. January 2023.

Late autumn afternoon light in East Creek Park, Toowoomba. May 2023.

An odd sign and fittings. Found on the outside of a toilet block in a park. May 2023.

A small Australian with a large reputation. She lives in a messy web in dark corners. May 2022. australian.museum/learn/animals/spiders/redback-spider

This shows the two gum trees, 1 in my place and the other just over the back fence, and odd bird behaviour. There were many crows and many currawongs flying in and out of the tree. There were also at least 2 pee wees. They were calling loudly and continuously from around 7am until nearly 8am. I don't know why this was happening. It seemed some sort of confrontation. If that is correct it could be that the currawongs and pee wees which have both nested in these trees were wanting the crows to keep away. Suggestions welcome in the comments. April 2023.

Silos and grain storage shed beside the former railway from Tamworth to Barraba. April 2022. See PiPs for additional images.

Steel sleepers waiting for the next stage of a new branch line to a developing industrial area near Tamworth NSW Australia. April 2022.

A flower head and shoulders above its companions. April 2023.

The pressure relief from our hot water tank drains into this used milk bottle. Around there is a creeper of unknown name. On this particular morning two flowers appeared through the handle hole. It was a pleasant and humorous surprise. March 2023.

This is one of three amplifiers at the church I go to. I was gathering interconnection information for the whole system so I could make changes to improve reliability in Toowoomba's summer thunderstorm season when I found this had stopped working. I removed it from the equipment rack and took off the cover. There was nothing obvious except the blown fuse in the mains power socket. This photo was taken then. I replaced the cover and took it home for further investigation. At home I eventually decided that the mains power transformer, the circular object with the wires going from it, was probably faulty. I contacted the Australian agent of the manufacturer, Bosch, for circuit diagrams and technical information. They weren't very helpful but did refer me to a business which did warranty repairs for this type of product. The service manager answered some general questions but didn't/wouldn't supply any circuit information. I worked out a likely AC supply voltage but didn't anything on hand to provide it to check that the rest of the amplifier was working correctly. I ordered a replacement transformer anyway with some trepidation. A pleasant surprise was that it was priced comparably with the normal pricing for similar transformers. About a month later the transformer arrived. With the aid of some photos, a soldering iron and some other tools I replaced the transformer and was relieved when the amplifier then worked correctly. I measured a few key voltages and wrote them on the chassis in case there was any further trouble. The amplifier worked correctly when reinstalled in the rack at church. Mouse-over to see some other photos of the amplifier.