Our first activation for Thursday, 23rd October 2025, was Shepherds silo VK-SHS2 for the Silos On The Air (SiOTA) program.
The silo is located at Brucedale, about 18 km northeast of Wagga Wagga, and about 453 km southwest of the city of Sydney.
Above: Map showing the location of Shepherds silo, NSW. Map c/o Google Maps
The silo is located at the intersection of Byrnes Road and Shepherds Siding Road at Brucedale. The silos take their name from Shepherds railway station on the Main Southern line. (Wikipedia 2025)
Shepherds Railway Station opened on the 10th day of March 1893 as Shepherds Siding. It was renamed Shepherds on the 31st day of October 1925. It was closed on the 19th day of July 1975 and served passengers right up until its closing. The station was subsequently demolished. (Wikipedia 2025)
Sadly, the rail crossing at Shepherds Siding saw a tragedy in 1925, when a local farmer driving his car collided with a train at the crossing. (Trove 2026)
Above: article from The Labor Daily, Sydney, Thu 10 Dec 1925. Image c/o Trove
Marija and I parked on Shepherds Siding Road and operated from the 4WD. We ran the Icom IC-7000, 100 watts, and the Codan 9350 antenna with the 1.5 metre stainless steel whip.
Above: the activation zone at Shepherds silo. Image c/o SiOTA website
Marija worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-
- VK3PF
- VK2IO
- VK4SMA
- VK3VIN
- VK1AO
- VK2MET
- VK5WU
- VK5NJ
I worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-
- VK3PF
- VK2IO
- VK4SMA
- VK3VIN
- VK1AO
- VK2MET
- VK5WU
- VK5NJ
References.
- Trove. (2026). The Labor Daily (Sydney, NSW : 1924 – 1938) – 10 Dec 1925 – p1. [online] Available at: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/page/25632508?searchTerm=shepherds%20siding%20railway%20station%20%2B%20headley [Accessed 12 Jan. 2026].
VK5PAS 