Lachlan Valley Rail Freight (LVRF), affectionately known to the rail industry as ‘Dodgy Brothers’, commenced operations in Sydney in 1999.
While the term ‘Dodgy Brothers’ may sound derogatory, let me say from the outset it is not meant to be so. I think anyone who has some rail industry experience can appreciate the complexities of running a railroad (haulage contracts, rail access, scheduling, maintenance, crewing, rostering, insurance, capital expenditure and cash flow to name but a few). This small group of people, the commercial arm of Lachlan Valley Railway Society, had the ‘guts’ to pool their financial and intellectual resources and get a railroad started from scratch, and I personally take my hat off to them all.
It would be fair to say LVRF ran on a shoestring budget, leasing second hand locomotives and rolling stock from whoever could provide them. In this presentation you will see EL, GM, 422, 44, 442 (JL) and 47 Class in varying mechanical condition and numerous liveries, operating in the Sydney and Newcastle areas. The only equipment to be painted in what I assume to be the formal LVRF corporate livery were locomotive 4703 and 2 ex-SAR open wagons, all three of which are seen in this presentation. LVRF had their problems along the way, in the form of a number of wagon derailments and a major hit up with a GM, both during shunting operations, and probably the most serious, the death of a driver at Botany, which resulted in possible industrial manslaughter charges being brought against certain company personnel.
In 2005, with some renewed financial backing, LVRF purchased 10 surplus MZ type locomotives, originally built for the Swedish government railway system, the DSB, by NOHAB in Sweden under licence to EMD. By chance in earlier years I had filmed the MZ and later derivatives at Stockholm whilst on leave. This presentation also includes such operations in Sweden for the DSB and in Australia for LVRF and Independent Rail, and, additionally, a brief look at the location where the concept of Lachlan Valley Rail Freight all began, the Lachlan Valley Railway Society museum at Cowra (the former Cowra locomotive depot).
Approximate run time: 84 minutes.