Lounging locomotive.
Watco's WRA 002 diesel electric locomotive at Warwick, Queensland undergoing some maintenance and possible repairs. Watco is an American short line railroad operator to use US parlance. A short line in America is usually a borderline profitable or potentially profitable downgraded mainline or former branch line (s) of one of the major railway companies sold off to one of the many smaller private companies which may operate one or even a large number of usually non-connected short lines with a view to making a profit by increasing customers, offering specialised services and doing it all much cheaper. Mostly the high standards of operations expected of mainline operators are not required because they are restricted to slower speeds, less well maintained track and equipment and often lower axle loads. We generally do not have such companies operating in this way in Australia, but following privatisation and open access, some have set up here to operate over parts of the general railway system, sometimes financially borderline type services which the large companies have abandoned or even services which are Government subsidised. Watco are now operating in several states.
In Queensland, they are based in Warwick adjacent to Downs Steam which does certain mechanical work for them. Watco have now won the right to operate grain trains in Queensland and the Government contracts them to operate our cattle trains. The WRA class were their first locomotives, built overseas and as they have won more traffic from the likes of Aurizon (formerly Queensland Rail's freight arm), they have added more locomotives and in a strange twist, these are ex. Queensland Rail/Aurizon locomotives that were sold overseas and following their withdrawal there (mainly South Africa) they have been purchased and returned to Queensland by Watco where they are now technically used in competition with their previous owner. Watco's presence has generally been a shot in the arm for general (non-mineral) rail freight in Queensland which was dumped as unprofitable by Aurizon.*
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watco_Australia_WRA_Class
* A number of years back during the madness and pressure of privatisation of many public assets, when the concept was that public servants knew nothing about how to run the various entities that they had run for many years, often shackled by unrealistic government red tape, the Queensland Government was more or less pressured against its will to also sell assets and keep up with with the rest of Australia. Often, it was with the threat of losing vast amounts of Commonwealth grants and subsidies if the privatisation didn't occur. In this melee of madness, which has had to be reversed in a number of fields in both Australia, New Zealand and even in the birthplace of Thatcherism, the UK, the Queensland Government hived off the freight arm of Queensland Rail and the ownership of the very profitable coal network in Central Queensland. The new stock exchange listed company became known as Aurizon.
In the fight for more and more profit for shareholders, it abandoned most of its interest in general freight which either lost money or was only mildly profitable. In the end, they priced themselves out of intermodal traffic, cattle, sugar, grain etc laying waste to vast railway infrastructure in the state. This occurred even as they set up interstate in profitable services such as minerals and coal. Having placed all their eggs in limited baskets, the recent threat to coal and therefore profits has seen them expand interstate operations, taking over other railway companies and they are now the largest operator in Australia with a presence in all mainland states. If you get a feeling of deja vue from some of this info, it may be because you have felt the cold wisps of similar treatment from the likes of the big banks, Qantas and telcos! Less services, more profit for shareholders (and most of us are indeed often shareholders through superannuation) but.....there is a limit isn't there.
Lounging locomotive.
Watco's WRA 002 diesel electric locomotive at Warwick, Queensland undergoing some maintenance and possible repairs. Watco is an American short line railroad operator to use US parlance. A short line in America is usually a borderline profitable or potentially profitable downgraded mainline or former branch line (s) of one of the major railway companies sold off to one of the many smaller private companies which may operate one or even a large number of usually non-connected short lines with a view to making a profit by increasing customers, offering specialised services and doing it all much cheaper. Mostly the high standards of operations expected of mainline operators are not required because they are restricted to slower speeds, less well maintained track and equipment and often lower axle loads. We generally do not have such companies operating in this way in Australia, but following privatisation and open access, some have set up here to operate over parts of the general railway system, sometimes financially borderline type services which the large companies have abandoned or even services which are Government subsidised. Watco are now operating in several states.
In Queensland, they are based in Warwick adjacent to Downs Steam which does certain mechanical work for them. Watco have now won the right to operate grain trains in Queensland and the Government contracts them to operate our cattle trains. The WRA class were their first locomotives, built overseas and as they have won more traffic from the likes of Aurizon (formerly Queensland Rail's freight arm), they have added more locomotives and in a strange twist, these are ex. Queensland Rail/Aurizon locomotives that were sold overseas and following their withdrawal there (mainly South Africa) they have been purchased and returned to Queensland by Watco where they are now technically used in competition with their previous owner. Watco's presence has generally been a shot in the arm for general (non-mineral) rail freight in Queensland which was dumped as unprofitable by Aurizon.*
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watco_Australia_WRA_Class
* A number of years back during the madness and pressure of privatisation of many public assets, when the concept was that public servants knew nothing about how to run the various entities that they had run for many years, often shackled by unrealistic government red tape, the Queensland Government was more or less pressured against its will to also sell assets and keep up with with the rest of Australia. Often, it was with the threat of losing vast amounts of Commonwealth grants and subsidies if the privatisation didn't occur. In this melee of madness, which has had to be reversed in a number of fields in both Australia, New Zealand and even in the birthplace of Thatcherism, the UK, the Queensland Government hived off the freight arm of Queensland Rail and the ownership of the very profitable coal network in Central Queensland. The new stock exchange listed company became known as Aurizon.
In the fight for more and more profit for shareholders, it abandoned most of its interest in general freight which either lost money or was only mildly profitable. In the end, they priced themselves out of intermodal traffic, cattle, sugar, grain etc laying waste to vast railway infrastructure in the state. This occurred even as they set up interstate in profitable services such as minerals and coal. Having placed all their eggs in limited baskets, the recent threat to coal and therefore profits has seen them expand interstate operations, taking over other railway companies and they are now the largest operator in Australia with a presence in all mainland states. If you get a feeling of deja vue from some of this info, it may be because you have felt the cold wisps of similar treatment from the likes of the big banks, Qantas and telcos! Less services, more profit for shareholders (and most of us are indeed often shareholders through superannuation) but.....there is a limit isn't there.