Restoration of railcar set 629/729 commences.

Only days after arrival at Paterson, the restoration of railcar 629/729 has commenced.
Goodwin Alco plans to restore the 2 car diesel train to an authentic livery and configuration reflecting its early days of service.

To keep updated on the restoration progress of 629/729 visit the restoration blog site:

http://629729.blogspot.com/

All the very best.......

Goodwin Alco wishes all our supporters, suppliers, friends and oldmates the best compliments of the season for a Merry Christmas and a safe and Happy New Year in 2009.
2008 has seen another successful year full of restorations, operations, sponsorships and new oldmates and we hope that the good times will continue in 2009.
Thankyou to all who continue to support our rail heritage activities.

L813 arrives for preservation.

Goodwin Alco is pleased to announce that L813, the S truck won for preservation in the recent RailCorp heritage EOI, has finally arrived at our Werris Creek restoration base.
After a round about period that saw it disappear from Dubbo yard but thankfully found again (thanks to the efforts of our oldmate Keg) 22 miles to the west, L813 was delivered by tilt tray to Älco Park"in early December.
The years of neglect whilst stored at Dubbo have taken their toll but plans are already underway to restore this icon of the öld" railway.
S trucks were once the backbone of railway freight traffic being used for the transport of all kinds of goods throughout NSW.
It is fitting that the first piece of freight rollingstock to be preserved by Goodwin Alco is from such a significant class of vehicle.


These photos depict the deterioration of L813's body work and an open axle box showing that the axle box lid and brass have been removed.

The first of many journeys!

On Wednesday December 10, railcar set 629/729 made its first journeys under Goodwin Alco ownership on its delivery run from the Broadmeadow RailCar Depot to Paterson, the home of our friends, The Rail Motor Society.
Collected by Goodwin Alco's own locomotive 4833, the event free trip saw the consist arrive safely at Paterson at approximately 1300hrs.
Thanks to the generosity of TRMS, 629/729 will enjoy an initial restoration period at Paterson prior to its next outing.
Goodwin Alco wishes to thank the many oldmates who assisted making this move possible particularly those from RailCorp, TRMS and The Lachlan Valley Railway Co op.

"Put away", 4833 and 629/729 pause briefly at Mindaribba to allow an up freight to pass whilst enroute to Paterson.

Off the main line at Paterson, 4833 shunts 629/729 up to the TRMS depot whilst class leaders 621 & 721 look on.

NSWGR Shaded lettering and numbers reproduced.

To assist with the authentic restoration of NSW carriage stock, Goodwin Alco has commissioned the reproduction of NSWGR shaded lettering and numbers.
Prior to the introduction of the "Candy" colour scheme in the early 1980's these shaded letters were used to denote classifications, coding's and other labelling on the Indian red vehicles.
Originally produced as hand painted water transfers, the reproduced artwork is printed on stickers with a weather proof clear coat to ensure the colours last for many years.
Able to be produced for any vehicle, sizing and quantities of the required labels is all that is required to enable them to be printed.
Goodwin Alco thanks its artwork master Tony for his assistance to make this project such a success.


Reproduction lettering and numbers were recently supplied by Goodwin Alco to put the finishing touches to the repainted railmotor 402 at The Rail Motor Society, Paterson.

Railmotor 402 repainted.

Goodwin Alco has recently helped complete the repainting of railmotor HPC 402 for its friends The Rail Motor Society at Paterson, NSW.

A team comprising of Goodwin Alco Director and TRMS member Peter MacFarlane and several other TRMS members, cleaned, sanded, masked, painted, lined and decaled 402 in under 4 weeks and in time for its around the state tour for ARHS NSW.

It is believed that 402 was last painted in the late 1980's at the railway carriage works Eveleigh whilst being prepared for radio network test duties.

The application of the new livery was sponsored by Goodwin Alco who supplied paint and materials at no cost and also produced and applied reproduction shaded lettering decals to the traditional design to denote carriage classification, seating configuration and numbering.
Special thanks is due to oldmate Tony Matthews for his excellent skills in producing the lettering files.

All agree that 402 now looks better than it has for many years and hopefully it will continue to provide excellent heritage service in the future.

Railcar 629/729 joins the fleet.

Goodwin Alco is pleased to announce the addition of railcar set 629/729 to its rollingstock fleet.
Goodwin Alco successfully tendered for the purchase of the railcar set from its previous owners RailCorp who decommissioned the unit in 2007.

Entering service on 3/12/1963, 629/729 was one of 18 2 car 620/720 diesel train sets built at the NSWGR Rollingstock workshops Chullora to replace steam hauled passenger operations in NSW suburban and country areas.

Known to many as "Sputniks", "grubs" or "sausage trains", these trains streamlined running schedules and services in many parts of the state and provided service to the NSW travelling public for over 45 years.
629/729 spent its last in service years on the Newcastle to Scone & Dungog runs and although retro fitted with modern traction & compliance systems and a new colour scheme, its overall appearance and configuration still remains largely as it looked when delivered into service.
Goodwin Alco intends to restore 629/729 using authentic fittings and colours and utilise it to operate heritage tours throughout NSW in the near future.

Unit 629/729 maintains Goodwin Alco's preservation focus on the products of manufacturer AE Goodwin as its bogies were built under contract for the NSWGR.

Any information, photos or equipment to assist with 629/729's restoration would be greatly appreciated by Goodwin Alco.