Big Boys Toys

Our valley is divided in two by the railway line heading to Newcastle on the coast. The line is mainly used for carting coal, but rail freight is on the increase once again. Todays Blip one of two trains I could see from this point, the one in the foreground and an empty train being held at the lights behind me. This train with two loco's at the front and two at the rear, they are carrying 100 coal cars with a total of 7,500 tons of coal. During the peak time of any day of the week there could be up to 8 of these coal trains passing through the valley carrying approximately 60,000 tones of coal per day. Other coal trains will continue to travel the line during daylight hours. Projections indicate a slow decline in the use of coal in the years ahead, this could take 20 to 30 years. The first extra photo is of that mountain again, there is some relevance because to the left of the mountain is Muswellbrook Coal, which was established in 1907. The mine is working to it's end of life which will be in about 4 to 5 years. The mine is the oldest in the area and has a strong commitment to the rehabilitation of the area within it's lease. I took shot two first while I was waiting for the train, the last shot was taken with a 70-200 zoom. When the train was about 250 metres off it started accelerating quite briskly startling about 300 feeding Sulphur Crested Cockatoos, a sign that summer is on it's way. Without changing zoom settings I captured about a third of the birds in flight then swung around for the shot of the train. Hope you all had a great weekend!