Giving a CooEE to All the Aussies Where are Ya Mate?

Here are a few photos taken while visiting a friend and youtube personality Jpaydirt (AKA Mr Jeff Anderson) at his place in Idaho. The old 14G would have to be my favourite machine. I got my grader ticket on one at a Machinery School at Rocklea in Brisbane back in 1994, and later worked briefly on one on a Job building Pelican Waters Gulf Course and Resort for Peachey Constructions from the Gold Coast. Jeff has some fantastic older Cat equipment and services his local area doing mostly work for big irrigation properties. I will post a link here to his Youtube Channel.

ovrszd said: Good stuff. Really enjoying the pics and the stories!!!! An old blade man that was a good friend to me stayed in the seat so long that his wife would help him up into the back of the pickup using a step ladder, then back the pickup to the grader door and help him up in the cab. He was also legally blind and didn't have a driver's license. One visit with him I said Howard how do you control the blade with your sight problem? He said oh I just lower it until the machine starts to struggle then lift it a pinch. I was embarrassed for him. I've always told my Township Board to not let me stay that long. Howard was running the Township Grader when they bought this one. They gave it to him when they got a motorized Cat. I bought it at his Estate sale. View attachment 205668 My Son had never ran a grader. So I hitched my tractor to this one and he ran it for a couple hours. He came away with a whole new respect for those oldtimers!!! View attachment 205669 View attachment 205670 View attachment 205671 Click to expand... I found one on my trip back from Capella the other week pretty much identical.

Did you find a machine tag to figure out who made it? Very cool old machine!!!

ovrszd said: Did you find a machine tag to figure out who made it? Very cool old machine!!! Click to expand... Sorry, I didn't find any markings, but I have to admit I wasn't looking real hard for any either at the time. I saw it at the last minute and backed up to take the photos.

Would that be on the Dawson Highway, between Moura and Banana...Dawson mine in the background?

Queenslander said: Would that be on the Dawson Highway, between Moura and Banana...Dawson mine in the background? Click to expand... Yes got it in one Qld'r.

I haven’t seen the grader but the name of the place rings a bell. I pass through both of those towns fairly regularly but have only been on that road once. We used to cut across to Moura on the Gibihi road before they accidentally blew it up.

Great picture. Can you tell me the history of the road. It obviously has serious structural problems.....

ovrszd said: Can you tell me the history of the road. It obviously has serious structural problems..... Click to expand... Over-zealous use of ANFO by the mine next door at a guess. The other option is rain but it doesn't do that very often in that part of Australia.

Yes, it used to be a public road through the Dawson metallurgical coal mine and the road fell away after a nearby blast. The whole mine is about 50 km long and road was a valuable short cut. It has now been abandoned, but the mine operators are probably glad to be rid of the public from the middle of the site. What would cause the dashed appearance of the haul roads nearby?

Really large washboards???

I would say that just before the satellite photo was taken the water cart went down that road “spot watering”. It’s a technique to reduce the amount of water used on the road while still controlling dust. Modern water carts you can set the spray nozzles on a timer so that they open for X seconds and close for Y seconds, both numbers being almost infinitely variable. I know that on Ground Force carts you can even change the numbers while on the move.

In fact, the water cart is just down the road.

Qld'r can you guess where these beauties are? Merry Christmas to you all. 3rd of January I start off back to Emerald to take up as a Train Driver back there with QR on the 6th Jan 2020. Hope to get some good pics along the way and I will try post some more stories etc... in 2020.

I’ll give it a go. Obviously somewhere with irrigation. Maybe the North Burnett, somewhere between Monto and Gayndah perhaps? I would gladly forego the big can of XXXX for a few barrels of rain.

Queenslander said: I’ll give it a go. Obviously somewhere with irrigation. Maybe the North Burnett, somewhere between Monto and Gayndah perhaps? I would gladly forego the big can of XXXX for a few barrels of rain. Click to expand... The 16 is Banana and Father Christmas is south of Eidsvold. And yes, is any one praying for rain? I mean it used to be common for leaders to call everyone to pray for rain. I think we've lost the true meaning of Christmas, it just doesn't seem like it used.

I had a bit of a hint. For the last couple of years the North Burnett locals have been producing creative Xmas displays incorporating hay bales. So where is home for you Adrian, and have you settled on a preferred route for your commute back to CQ?

Queenslander said: I had a bit of a hint. For the last couple of years the North Burnett locals have been producing creative Xmas displays incorporating hay bales. So where is home for you Adrian, and have you settled on a preferred route for your commute back to CQ? Click to expand... I have a house here in Caboolture. I have decided to go back the same way via Tansey to Biloela and then Springsure so I can take mum to have a look a house I am hoping to buy there. Hopefully after I start on the 6th, I will get to take her for a bit of site seeing round Emerald and Capella, before she hops back on the Spirit of the Outback back to the Sunshine Coast. I get 2 days to 3 days to look around so I'm going to make the most of it. It's good to see People still have a sence of humour. I used to get to work the Santa Christmas Steam trains, but unfortunately that is all over for me.

If you’re into railways then you should check out the “Steam Nuts” thread in the TGIF forum.

Nige said: If you’re into railways then you should check out the “Steam Nuts” thread in the TGIF forum. Click to expand... Thanks Nige. It's been a passion of mine to Work Steam At Work, right from the time my Dad took me for a ride on one with one of the Old Steam Driver's when I was 3 or 4yrs of age. I Got qualified to Driver that Very Same Locomotive about 33yrs later. BB18 1/4 No.1079 which has be in continuous service since 1956. It has never officially been retired, even though Steam hauled trains stopped in 1969 in Queensland. So now Im not going to be in Brisbane and No longer in Heritage, I might have to find other outlets like the group you suggested. Please feel free to have a look at my Youtube channel just type my Name in the search.