Southern Shorthaul Railroad
Encyclopedia
Great Northern Rail Services
Great Northern Rail Services is a former railway operator in Victoria, Australia. Great Northern Rail Services was incorporated in July 1993 and provided locomotives and train crews to other rail operators, ran general train operations and operated rail vehicle maintenance services in Victoria...
were purchased from CFCL Australia Pty Ltd. Jason Ferguson was then the Fleet Manager for CFCL Australia, and this company was facing a $1.3M write-off of a bad-debt from the previous owners of Great Northern. Ferguson was able to get some other good quality people to come on board as shareholders and working Directors, and together take on this debt and rebuild the company. On taking control and gaining ownership of Great Northern, the name was immediately changed to Southern Shorthaul Railroad. The debt to CFCL Australia was repaid in just under 3 years.
Current NSW rail operations primarily involve providing RailCorp with hook & pull services for their work trains (ballast cleaners, rail sets, sleeper trains, spoil trains, tracklaying and ballast trains) operating out of Chullora and Clyde in Sydney. These trains generally operate in the areas bounded by Muswellbrook, Grafton, Goulburn, Bathurst and Bomaderry (Nowra). The company also refurbishes and repairs locomotives and rolling stock at the former railway workshops in Bendigo
Bendigo, Victoria
Bendigo is a major regional city in the state of Victoria, Australia, located very close to the geographical centre of the state and approximately north west of the state capital Melbourne. It is the second largest inland city and fourth most populous city in the state. The estimated urban...
, Victoria.
SSR's locomotive fleet consists of ex-Great Northern Rail Services
Great Northern Rail Services
Great Northern Rail Services is a former railway operator in Victoria, Australia. Great Northern Rail Services was incorporated in July 1993 and provided locomotives and train crews to other rail operators, ran general train operations and operated rail vehicle maintenance services in Victoria...
locomotives that are on long-term lease from Chicago Freight Car Leasing Australia, along with their own ex-GN S317. It started operations at the end of 2003, and its work involves shunting and trip trains in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
and Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
.
SSR Fleet
B61 & B65S317
T363 & T381
G513 & G514
GM10, GM22 & GM27
44204 & 44206
4904, KL81 (4910) & 4917