Spotting S28 on the T4

On Sunday the 22nd, S28 was out on the rails doing a couple shuttle runs between North Sydney and Loftus, going over the coathanger and down the T4, giving me two opportunities to capture it, once heading toward Sydney and later heading toward Loftus again.

Rockdale

For the first pass, I positioned myself at Rockdale, not too far from the city. Rockdale is a fairly interesting spot, with Banksia (the preceding station) visible from the northern side of the platforms. With a telephoto lens it creates a pretty effect:

While I was at Rockdale, I also spotted the Digital Systems Program test train going down:

On the outside it just looks like a regular Tangara (T59 leading) but the doors have a A4 paper stuck on the inside with "DSP TEST TRAIN" visibly printed on it.

It showed up on Anytrip with almost no information, no length and no type, only a position.

Finally, the S set arrived, giving a whistle as it passed through the empty platform.

It was a four car set with almost all its windows open and appeared to be almost full from the outside, although I didn't get the best view as it was going at speed.

I am told S28 is the only working preserved set. Curiously, it looks like headlights of some sort have been installed in the doorway (as seen in the two images above) such that they are visible through the door's window. It almost looks like they would block the operation of the front door, although I can't be sure.

The S sets are also known for their lack of air conditioning — giving them the nickname of "sweat sets", much to the ire of the commuters of the day. It was a humid and hot day, with temperatures in the mid-thirties so I imagine it would have been quite warm inside the carriages. Authentic historical experience, some may say.

After a quick stop for lunch at Hurstville, we went to Jannali to spot the next run.

Jannali

We arrived at Jannali a bit early, so we got to capture a couple Tangara and OSCAR runs before the "main event" of S28.

Other than the usual Tangos, we also spotted H22, a freshly repainted OSCAR doing a South Coast run, coupled with the yet to be refurbished H7.

The S set ended up having to wait at the trainstop before the platform as the preceding T4 service, run by a Tangara, appeared to have issues getting running again after having stopped at the station. Jannali is on a bit of a grade, although other services seemed to have no issues so its unclear what the exact cause of the delay was.

After the trainstop lowered and the track was clear, S28 proceeded past the curve and through Jannali without issue, giving a quiet whistle as it passed.

Closing Thoughts

This was my first time seeing S28 (or any S set for that matter) in person. I unfortunately didn't get the opportunity to get photos of it passing over the Harbour Bridge, although apart from Milsons Point, I don't know any other suitable vantage points with my current kit (18-150mm lens). The pedestrian side of the bridge is on the wrong side to the tracks, and even if I brought a bicycle, there is a high fence in the way regardless.

Next weekend, the 1st of March (Sunday), I'll be on the Red Rattler heritage service run by Transport Heritage to Oatley, not far from Jannali in celebration of 100 years of electric railways in New South Wales. Exciting!