The Flickr Metropolitangoodslines Image Generatr

A 2-car Xplorer set, running as HP68 from Hurstville to Maintrain (at Auburn) passes Campsie on the down goods line.

The 2-car set was doing crew training runs on the metropolitan goods lines for the New Regional Fleet test crew.

Funnily enough, I planned to use the overpass to frame the lead cab of the train BEFORE it entered the shadow (as the sun was in the western part of the sky at this point), but as I was trying to hold the camera over a fence at the time, the focus went wonky. At f2.8, this was quite noticeable so this was the only composition in focus. Thankfully, I don't mind it!

A worn looking 1433 powers through Hurlstone Park with T252 container trip train from Minto to Port Botany.

At about the same time as 1433 was passing the Bankstown Line stations to Botany, classmate 1428 had failed at Ingleburn with a similar trip train causing major delays to Sydney Trains suburban services.

1443 passes Dulwich Hill with T234 trip train to Port Botany.

The worn old locomotive and the motley collection of wagons is a funny contrast to the modern glass overhead bridge connecting the light rail system with the soon-to-be metro system of the Bankstown Line.

I'm keen to revisit this concept when the metroification of the Bankstown Line is completed, although it's anyones guess as to how many of the venerable old Europeans that we'll still see on the tracks by then.

A battered 1431 drops down into Canterbury Station with T231 trip train to Moorebank.

With new motive power being delivered en-masse to owners Qube Logistics, it's a wonder how many more years of service the old girls have left.

Meanwhile the Bankstown Line in the background is mere months away from closure for conversion from heavy rail (Sydney Trains) to metro (Sydney Metro).

8242 drops down into Canterbury Station on the down goods line.

For many years, quad 82 Class would pass through Canterbury in both directions all day everyday conveying coal from the western coalfields of Lithgow to Port Kembla for export.

These days the Freightcorp scheme is all but extinct, with current owner Pacific National embarking on a thorough repainting program. Coal from the western coalfields is exported mostly through Newcastle instead and is hauled mostly by Southern Shorthaul Railroad.

In this case, 8242 was leading an empty grain train from the large Manildra Group starch mill at Bomaderry and is bound for the companies grain loader at Bogan Gate, west of Parkes.

Cs5 trails behind 442s5 and 442s2 on 1443 empty container flats to Broadmeadow.

At the time, Cs5 was the last of the fleet of Greentrains C Class to pass through a major rebuild and overhaul project in Adelaide. It would finally succumb, emerging in Greentrains colours and renumbered back to C506.

442s5 (44223) leads 442s2 (44202) and Cs5 (C506) through Campsie with 1443 empty container flats to Broadmeadow. At the time, both the 442 Class had been repainted into their new owners corporate scheme (Greentrains colours with Coote Industrial logos) whilst Cs5 had not yet been so treated.

44209 in the attractive R&H Transport colours leads T182 through Campsie. On this particular day, 44209 has replaced the more regular motive power of 4903 and 4906 which were more or less captive to this service in the last years of operation from Sandown.

44209 has since been sold by CFCL Australia to Manildra Group for use as a shunt loco at their Bomaderry plant.

442s3 (built as 44203) sedately rolls past Canterbury Station with T276 Southern & Silverton container trip train from Leightonfield to Port Botany.

442s3 was eventually stored at Parkes NSW by owner Greentrains. It was slowly stripped for parts and scrapped in 2014.

4917 and 4911 have just crossed T285 as they roll through Mascot with T170 Linx trip train from Enfield. The two 49 Class were standing in for a failed G534.

49 Class are no strangers to metropolitan trip train working - they were frequently seen on local work during their final years of government service and again in private operators hands.

4471 and S300 pass Enfield Yard with T281 container trip train from Port Botany to Yennora for P&O Trans Australia.

P&OTA had purchased 4471 and 4477 from CFCL Australia to operate their daily container trip train between Yennora and Port Botany although other CFCLA motive power often deputised for the aging alcos which were often out of service for repairs.

4903, 4906 and 48136 work T182 container trip train from Sandown to Port Botany past Rookwood.

In their twilight years of commercial service, the two Patricks 49 Class were more or less captive to the Sandown trip train. On the odd occasion that one of the locomotives would be out of service, typically a hired locomotive from CFCL Australia would step in.

Sadly by the end of their working lives in 2010, the two 49 Class combined couldn't pull the train alone, requiring the use of hired 48 Class from Pacific National.

On this day the venerable pair would finally call it quits, with 4898 being dispatched to Port Botany to replace them. The two 49 Class would then be dumped on a siding at Port Botany until their eventual sale to Lachlan Valley Railway for preservation.

Despite not knowing about this failure at the time, we knew as we shot this train that these two were not long for this world as Patrick PortLink had announced that they would end rail operations in July 2010.

1431 rolls through Canterbury at the head of T261 container trip train from Cooks River to Minto in light rain. This unit was once fitted with a trial LP Gas injection system to improve fuel efficiency.

1432 runs light engine through Mascot between Cooks River and Port Botany as D262.

With Qube having withdrawn the majority of their fleet of 44 Class in early July 2013, the task of hauling trip trains within Sydney has fallen to other vintage mainliners. In this case, 442s5 (44223) and 8044 do the honours with T280 from Yennora to Port Botany.

It is anticipated that the withdrawal of the 44 Class will see 442, 422 and 80 Class locomotives cascaded down from mainline service to join the fleet of metropolitan locomotives.

442s2 passes Dulwich Hill Station with T276 container trip train from Leightonfield to Port Botany for South Spur Rail Services (operating in NSW as Southern & Silverton).

3104 and 3106(?) lead a Manildra Group container train away from Cooks River towards Enfield. This train would become 1881N empty containers to Manildra.

A CityRail L Set finds itself in unfamiliar surroundings at Rookwood, operating as run 602B from Enfield to Rhodes for driver familiarisation.

Located on the metropolitan goods lines, this is not a regular destination for electric trains. RailCorp have recently built a new stabling facility at Enfield for their withdrawn S Set trains to be stored "as is" until time comes that they can be cut up for scrap. The trains to be stored in this new yard are to remain operational where possible as a "just in-case" measure, although it is unlikely that they will survive much longer than their other withdrawn brothers.

8183 leads 8005, 8152 and 8159 south through Rookwood with a well loaded 8938N Manildra Group flour train from Manildra to Bomaderry. Currently the only limitation on the amount of flour that Manildra send to their Bomaderry factory is the length of the crossing loops on the line south of Wollongong, and the availability of train paths!

T381 and T363 wander slowly through Rookwood with T191 - the daily Clyde Yard shunt. The two locomotives are towing a single empty side dump spoil wagon.