moneypenny20

Great photos. We were floating in the pool last summer, gazing up saw three Wedgies hovering high overhead. Stunning but being in the pool didn't have my phone to hand.

scrubbedexpat098

did you check eachothers pulses? I think I'd have been worried I looked a bit peaky 😅😅

scrubbedexpat098

scrubbedexpat098

some great photos today, what a place, thi mining looks huge up close, but it's bugger all from a distance, reminds you how vast the pilbara is

Amazulu

Train loaders are cool but the car dumpers - at the other end - are something else. The electrical controls & instrumentation are really interesting

scrubbedexpat098

yeah they are very cool. The newer ones that dump 2 cars at a time are amazing things. I've seen them dump compressor units before which is quite funny, for everyone except the person who did it. The engineering is awe inspiring, they're building a 10km conveyor belt now, unreal.

Amazulu

Have a look at this incredible project:
https://uk.angloamerican.com/the-woodsmith-project

37km of underground conveyors under the Yorkshire Moors! 120-250m down, taking potash from the mine to the port on Teeside. I see that Anglo American have taken the project over as it had financial problems - so Australian and South African mining know how will get it done as the UK knows f**k all about mining

It's some project

scrubbedexpat098

UK knows **** all about mining anymore is more accurate I reckon. That looks insane, be quite something to be involved with, you thinking about it?

Amazulu

True about the anymore. The project has been running for a while but has had major stops and starts because of funding problems. It was started by some Aussies (ex-FMG) when the downturn hit mining here in 2013. Gina Rinehart is (was maybe) a big investor. An electrical engineer that I used to work with was principal engineer on it but is now back in Perth

When the lockdown ends, I've got my eye on HS2, which hasn't really started and has at least 10 years of work in it - a chance to hit the big candy for a bit. We'll see. My son finishes school this year so we are thinking of spending a few years overseas somewhere. I could just about handle the UK as long as I can travel away from there as often as possible

scrubbedexpat098

snap about HS2, just from a professional point of view id like to be involved. Having trains doing 300KPH over something i built gave me a bit of a rush on HS1. To this day that's the most gratifying job I've had. Gina also holds a special place for me, I built every single set of points on Roy Hill, and it hard work too with all the design issues. I was thinking about retiring at 55, but thinking about it, I dont know if I ever really could, I just love challenges. Cheers geeze, you've got me all misty eyed 🤣🤣.

Kim67

Hallowella hallowella yip yip yah, we all come from Marble Bar. The Pilbara is one of the most beautiful places I've seen and it's home to me. I just long for the day I can go back and soak up the beauty.

scrubbedexpat098

I feel like this place is my spiritual home at times, i will leave a fair chunk of my heart here that's for sure. My wife wouldn't live here though, I've broached the subject already. There was a cow skull on the welcome to marble bar sign, that skull has been in my bar at home now for 6 years. Sending it from Hedland post office was a bit odd haha.

brits1

You'll be lucky to land a job on HS2 plenty of qualified guys here and some already have worked or working on the London train system which has been ongoing for years so they have the advantage of local knowledge and of course most already live here and are very happy to be doing so lol

Amazulu

Nope. I have extensive UK rail electrical design experience and the main part of that has not really started yet on HS2 and will go on for many years. I still have plenty of contacts in the industry over there too. There is usually always demand for my skills as there's not many people doing them. I'd be happy to live there - as long as I can leave often and know that it's not permanent so lol

scrubbedexpat098

That sounds very similar to my own situation. The signalling system they decide on will be interesting, the French system they currently have is sensational.