Description
Eureka’s steam era W44 features the first dedicated ore carrier, the GC. This was a subclass of the G wagon, introduced in 1951, of which there were 500 vehicles. In 1961, to carry the lead ore from Broken Hill to Cockle Creek, forty-eight G wagons had their underfloor hoppers and side doors sealed and were recoded GC, with a red corner post to indicate the change. Later, a number were upgraded by the fitting of roller-bearing 2AS bogies, which required the moving of the handbrake and ladder from the end to a central position. Later still, 2CG bogies were fitted to many and finally the sides and floor were replaced entirely, without doors, creating the GP type.
W44 ran as a block train of sixteen wagons, with a loaded weight of 1020 tons, hauled by two AD60 class Garratts between Molong and Orange, then a single Garratt to Lithgow, and two 46 class over the Blue Mountains. As N645, it continued to Gosford, where a 36 and a Garratt took over for the final run to Cockle Creek.