Mother's Bridge

 An update on Mother's Bridge - Inland Rail modifications

Inland Rail changes in Junee, have forced a lot of traffic to the level crossing.  Last week, I was stopped first in line, by the boom gates for around 5 minutes, waiting for the long container train to pass through.  The one bonus, is that I get to do some picture taking.

3 years ago, I covered the pair of footbridges that cross the railway line in Wagga, mentioning that they would be replaced with Inland Rail

https://buildingwagga.blogspot.com/2022/06/footbridges.html

Well, changes have started.  This blog post will be an update on the earlier post, including some new information.  For completeness, I will include some pictures that appeared in my 2022 blog post.

Built in 1936.

Image stolen from the Lost Wagga Wagga facebook page

Mothers bridge was opened in 1936, by the Mayor of Wagga.  The below newspaper article gives the reason why the bridge was called "Mothers Bridge".  The pictures used in the newpaper article date from later; what interested me is that they used one of mine. (The newspaper article  appeared on Lost Wagga Wagga facebook group, without acknowledging the source of either picture)

I took my picture in 2007, with my Olympus C350 digital camera.  The footbridge was a firm favourite with photographers over the decades

Sixmaps aerial image shows Mothers bridge.  

Plans of the bridge will be very useful when it comes to making my model.  Thanks Bob S for supplying me with these from the NSW railway archives

Some detail pictures

The original girder connection to the northern ramp.  There is a subtle hint that the original bridge is a cantilever design - which is important, as we will see later

Inland Rail artist impressions

The following images were taken from the Inland Rail video of the artist impression of the new bridge.  It is pretty impressive video, particularly in the rendition of the Wagga Wagga station and surrounds, including the palm tree. 

The street entrance to the Wagga Railway museum isn't right, but I am impressed they got the correct number of corner blocks.  This level of detail takes time, and I wonder what the video actually cost?

The temporary changes

In the last week, there has been a "discussion" in the press on who owns "Mothers Bridge".  Inland Rail have suggested that the bridge was always owned by Wagga council, and that Wagga council will be responsible for the cost of replacement.  Of course, Wagga council has other ideas.  

The first part of the rebuild was to remove the northern ramp, and replace with temporary scaffolding

Side road to parking, and other buildings is manually controlled traffic lights.  Northern Access to Mothers bridge is beside the station, and up the scaffolding ramp.

The existing bridge girder cantilevers on the platform support, and the scaffolding then connects

The original northern ramp has been fully removed, leaving just flat ground. 

The scaffolding ramp is less steep than the ramp now removed.

Finishing up.

Some bonus shots from recent operations on Kangaroo Valley 

During the October operation session, I was able to run the new Auscsion DEB set from Moruya to Sydney and return.  Lovely looking and running model.  Here it is on Kangaroo Valley - platform 2

November had me doing the Limestone Local run (again).  1307 and CCA crosses the 159' Whitten truss bridge on its way to Kangaroo Valley.  The bridge was a very limited edition Anton UnEEK kit.  (I have 2 spans for my Murrumbidgee river bridge)

At Kangaroo Valley, the tank engine runs around the carriage, for the return trip

Until next time, build a model or two

Kemp Street Bridge changes for Inland Rail

 Kemp Street Bridge - the removal

On the weekend, September 13-15th 2025, Kemp Street Bridge in Junee was removed.

Kemp Street bridge in Sept 2023.

The Kemp Street bridge was finally opened on March 8, 1945, after many decades of community pressure to build it.

Whilst I won't be modelling Kemp Street on my layout, the bridge was built in a similar manner to the Edmonston Street bridge in Wagga, that I covered in a blog post in September 2022.  Well, that is my justification for this post, and also an excuse to document this small part of the Inland Rail project, from a modellers persepective.

I am indepted to the Junee Bulletin, particularly for the drone pictures of the bridge's removal.

100 Mile project Facebook page had a picture of the bridge, taken from the opposite direction to my first picture.

Junee Bulletin Drone picture in May 2025, shows Junee yard beyond

My detail pictures from September 2023.  (n.b. to get a bigger image, click on a picture)

Set of steps from Edgar Street to the bridge

Abutment beside Edgar Street

Besides the roadway, and railway, the bridge also crossed a storm water drain

The platform that was for the semaphore signals

Water pipe for the ???  Was this pipe for watering steam locos at Junee station from the water tanks close to the roundhouse? 

There were 4 lamps of this design on the bridge.  I understand that these lamps are to be reused in the replacement bridge landscaping

Signal platform. 

Roadway ramp retaining wall detail, besides the steps up from Edgar street

I was always interested in semaphore signals, and in 1996, well before I moved to Junee, I took this picture of the signals that were part of the Kemp Street bridge until 2007.

Inland Rail changes

Artist impression of the replacement bridge.  The footpath takes a serpentine route to meet new standards to minimize gradients

For the last 2 years, there has been a succession of activity, surveywork, and closures of Edgar Street, whilst detail design work is undertaken, and services relocated.  There was also changes to the train operations being made to limit the length of time trains would be blocking the level crossing near the railway station.  Removal of Kemp Street bridge is a significant bit of infrastructure for the town of Junee to lose for 18 months. 

Image from the Inland rail website shows the current bridge 

Image from the Inland Rail website shows an artist impression of the new bridge.  Double stacked containers requires addition clearance, and was the real reason for removing the existing bridge.  Disappointingly, the pedestrian bridge extension north from the concrete pier is missing from this artist image.  That lack of detail does not give me confidence that they will get it right.

The demolition

The last cars to cross the bridge were on Friday, September 5th.  Workers than started the demolition process, although the main work was to wait until the major railway shutdown on Sept 13-15th.

A sneek peak of the bridge taken Sept 10th, also showing some abandoned infrastructure remaining in Junee yard

My picture on on Saturday, 13th Sept.

    The following images from the Junee Bulletin facebook page

The days after

After all the activity leading up to the demolition, the days following have been a letdown.  There was an erection of a fence, and then nothing.  

From the Olympic way approach to the bridge, it almost seems like you could launch a car, Dukes of Hazard style, up over the ramp to land over the gap

 

Close up of earlier image.

From a slightly different angle

The new bridge is expected to take 18 months to install.  New abutments, piers, and roadway alignments will be needed, along with earthworks to raise the olympic way intersection.  

Other work occuring

The shutdown weekend 13-15 September was a hive of activity on the line from Illabo south, mostly associated with inland rail.  

Whilst travelling to Stephe Jitts's operating session, we quickly stopped to observe a culvert being installed just south of Illabo.  Both main lines have been cut, and the equipment was digging out  the channel.  The canola makes a good backdrop

 

Junee Bulletin's drone image shows this a lot clearer

Side projects

Stephe Jitt's operating session (Sept 13, 2025) at Murrumbateman  (2 hrs drive each way from Junee)

I was assigned the Limestone local, which gave me a lot of time to take some pictures.

A 13 class, with a single CCA carriage at Limestone's small platform.  The 13 class is a Craftsman Model kit, restored to DCC operation by Macca.

Down the short branch to the mainline at Violet

Arrival at Kangaroo Valley, where the train terminates

Runaround at Kangaroo Valley station.  Use of the tank loco means no need for turning.

A stop at the cement works.

Mansfield 43 class repair

Many decades ago, I was on a work course in North Sydney, and after the course had finished for the day, I travelled north by suburban train to Mansfield Hobbies, where I acquired a new 2nd run Mansfield brass 43 class direct from David Anderson.  I never got around to painting my model.  So when a painted Mansfield 43 appeared on ebay recently, I thought it would satisfy my need for  painted brass 43.   I was successful

  The painting of the model is esquisite, only let down by the cloudy windows.  But the shell hid a problem, that the seller hinted at with a statement that the model didn't run.  Whilst the cause was not stated, there was a picture on the ebay listing of a gear tower with a split.

That seemed like a challenge.  I have a few spares, replacement gears, and a pair of 1st run Mansfield 43 bogies that might help.  

After removal of the shell, I then disassembled the gear towers.  Besides being overoiled, there was no evidence of any cracked gears, or issues with the gears, bogies, or motor.  There is a fine crack visible on the gear tower case, that didn't appear to be a problem

But, the split gear tower was a symptom of a more serious problem.  The M2 sized screws had stripped the thread inside the gear tower, and closer inspection showed zinc pest deterioration of the casting.  So the metal is weak, and will probably get worse in time.  Anyway, unless I make, or buy a replacement gear tower, the best repair was to add some foil to allow the screws to bite.

The loco is now back together, and runs extremely smoothly with the improvised screw thread repair.  But for how much longer?  I doubt I will fit DCC, so it will head to my display case.

Another trinket for the Train wall.

To all my readers from the USA....here is one for you.  Another recent ebay purchase was a General Electic loco builders plate from a C39-8.  The seller didn't say what loco it came from.  Anyway, to my surprise, my modest bid was successful.

As the plate arrived.  Dirty, and grimy.  The red around the "GE" was difficult to see

A clean in nothing more than detergent, and a toothbrush on the grass outside my train room

    

Slightly damp, the black and red paint really pops

Once dry, the colours once again fade, but the red is now easily seen without the grime

I did some research on the internet, and found the plate was installed to this loco, Norfolk Southern #8640 - here seen at Chicago in 1991.

Now the plate is attached to my display wall, with other locomotive plates, some real, some reproductions

Conclusion

Life often gets in the way of a finding time to devote to my model train layout.  I keep telling myself, it is a hobby, and delays are OK.  But it still is frustrating, although I am certainly getting lots of exercise pushing the mower around, in battle with the extreme grass and weed growth this spring.  I will try and do better for the next blog post.  

Until next time, build a model or two.