zigzag

This must be a very old photo. Charles Bayliss was also there about the same time, judging by the vegetation -

Closer examination - it looks as if this photo is earlier than the Bayliss one, comparing the vegetation on the wedge of embankment. Opinions?

Any chance of working out the number on the locomotive? My computer tends to digitise at the magnification needed. Can State Records help?

John Cowper "Class Z1412 (G23) No.34 locomotive" is on the subtitle (which are renowned to be inaccurate). Does that help? it looks like an old loco to me, but I know zilch about trains.

beachcomber australia Thanks! Trust me not to read the obvious! The Great Zig Zag was opened on 18 October 1869 and the (G) 23 class, of which 34 was the twelfth member, entered service between September and October 1865. Thirteen were in service by December 1870 which would certainly date the picture from the earliest of days of this engineering marvel. This makes sense, as the final four of this class were fitted with 168 cm coupled wheels which made the handling of steeper grades - such as would be encountered on the Zig Zag the Blue Mountains, and the line around Picton - easier. The original nine of the class had 175 cm coupled wheels and reduced tractive effort. One could conjecture, therefore, that the shot was taken during locomotive trials - hence the person at the rear of the train and the person looking up the line (although the same photograph in William a Bayley's book 'Lithgow Zig Zag Railway' [undated] describes the train as a "tourist train"). Either explanation is plausible. The story of the (G) 23 class is an interesting one. Although they entered service as a 2-4-0 locomotive between 1865 and 1870, from 1890s they were transshipped from the workshops rebuilt as a 4-4-0 locomotive which completely altered their appearance!. They were then transferred to the south-western and far-western depots where there were few grades. The last remaining member of the class (Z1405 - under the 1924 reclassification) was scrapped in June 1952 having travelled 1 866 880 km. Sadly none of the class remain (I'm grateful to Leon Oberg's book Locomotives of Australia for some additional information about the (G) 23 class.)

what a beautifull photo..... very lovely

lovely indeed!

she is stunning!

I love it!

absolutely beautiful. Breathtaking photo.

Photo by Lithgow Studios

"RAILWAY ACCIDENT ON THE ZIG-ZAG. [BY TELEGRAPH] SYDNEY, Wednesday.
An accident, involving some £200 damage, occurred on Thursday evening at the Zig-Zag, near Lithgow, to a goods train from Penrith. The train was descending the top line incline, and when the Westinghouse brakes were applied they refused to act. As a result the engine was impelled forward at terrific speed until it struck the end of the length upon which trains back up to enable them to run on to a different track. Here five feet of solid cut-out rock was encountered, and, having demolished the strong buffer stops, the engine bounded up on to the rock ledge, on the other side of which was a deep chasm. A truck next the engine mounted the tender by the force of the impact, and became a total wreck; the next truck also left the rails, but the remainder of the train kept its position. Beyond shock, the driver and fireman received no injuries. A departmental inquiry completed yesterday afternoon shows that the derailment of the engine was due to the injudicious use of the brake, which resulted in the train getting beyond control." - Barrier Miner, Wednesday 10 April 1901, p. 2.

A view from the other side shows the engine number to be 246

Derailment on the Zig Zag at Lithgow (04/04/1901) [SRNSW: 17420_a014_a014000988]

pellethepoet Thanks for adding this article. What a frightening experience for the driver and fireman!

AB

I love this photo, so much I tracked down the exact location & made a composite photo of the old photo & a new photo taken in the same location

Here it is
flic.kr/p/DsU3xa

John Bolt, the engine driver, is my GG Grandfather. He sadly died 7 months later.