I worked on the bridge before, during and after the resignalling of the city circle and north shore in the 1990s. Before the resignalling and rerailing of the bridge tracks the wooden decking was dodgy in parts because the planks could move around on the cross supports. I was walking one day towards the southwestern pylon from the Argyle St portals when the plank under my foot sank as I stood on an unsupported end. Way down below was the park at Millers Point. I managed to get my leg clear before the plank swung back up and caught it, and I kicked the loose end back onto its support, but as it was in the “six-foot” before the tracks spread to pass through the pylons it would not have been a happy place to be pinned by the leg with a train every few minutes. That could have been one reason why no-one was allowed off tour trains. That and the frequency of trains. Back then the safety refuges on the bridge approaches were pits in the six-foot at regular intervals - you had to get in and keep your head down while trains passed in both directions. It was a different time.
While the bridge timbers are still there they were fitted with “Cologne egg” resilient rail mounts to reduce noise, and the wooden decking, which was fire prone, was replaced largely with perforated steel tread plates. This is surprising as steel bridges generally still have bridge timbers to support track rather than concrete decking.
Tony
> On 24 Nov 2020, at 2:17 pm, Geoff Olsen gol80579@...> wrote:
>
> Not some much the decking I suspect but the transoms which are probably still timber.
>
> Geoff O.
>
> -----Original Message----- From: 'Richard Youl' via TramsDownUnder
> Sent: Tuesday, November 24, 2020 1:41 PM
> To:tramsdownunder@...
> Subject: [TramsDownUnder] Sydney Harbour Bridge: Trains replaced by buses | Gold Coast Bulletin
>
> Decades ago we were not allowed off trains onto the bridge decking during tours because of its dodgy condition. I wonder how bad it is now?
>
>
> https://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/buses-to-replace-trains-on-sydney-harbour-bridge-in-january/news-story/f2c7596bd9c43e13e823c76bc21da741
>
>
> Regards,
>
>
>
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