Office job with a view
Working on the rail has given us the opportunity to travel around and see lots of places, but it's only 4 out of 14 days that we get to venture around the local regions, So what happens at the office? Well a typical 12 hour shift starts when we're picked up in busses from where ever we stay and head out to the job site which is forever changing as the upgrade advances along the line. The faces are mostly always the same but the terrian, weather and senery are always new. The weather on track can sometimes be extreme for the labourers, over the last three years we have worked through everything from Snow,hail and flooding through to dust storms and blistering heat.
The machines we use for this job have nearly all been set up with a huge international gathering of specialised equipment. Once every thing is in place the operators are trained on the job over many months sometimes labourers make the step up and generally make better operators than guys with previous experience in other fields. There is a bit of healthy competition that goes on too, bit like the sheering sheds and the tally men keeping score for the guys who want the honour of being the "Gun Shearer". When the trains pass through our work site it gives the crew a chance to get off track, catch up on some sleep or there is generally always a game of cards (Ucka or Poker) going and the favouite Bouchie. Fortunes of laundry change have been won and lost on the access tracks, Dollar a game, winner takes all, and the most skilled players walk away with pockets full of gold!
We have posted a few pics and will continue to add to these as we move along the line.
