Monday Evening Photo. 13/09/2010.

G'day all, Brisbane has three major city stations, Roma Street, Central and South Brisbane. South Brisbane in those days had no direct cross-river connection to the other two and Central was served only by suburban trains while Roma Street served both suburban and long distance trains. As well as providing all south of the river services South Brisbane was the terminal for interstate services to and from New South Wales.

On our 1963 trip we spent some time in Brisbane and usually rode the last train to a suburban terminus and slept in the cars after they were stabled, I don't think I slept in a bed for over a month.

Most of the suburban services were provided by loco hauled trains and only a few were diesel hauled. The rolling stock was a mixture of modern stainless steel cars built for conversion to electric multiple unit sets and elderly wooden bodied compartment cars.

Today's photos are all at or near the three city stations. 1036 is at Roma Street and is on a pretty typical country day train , a miscellaneous, not to say motley, rake of wooden cars headed by a clean, dark green Pacific although it could as easily sport a baby blue and white diesel.

All the rest are suburban trains, 754 is approaching South Brisbane with a rake of the aforementioned wooden compartment cars and the three shots of Central show what a smokey hollow it was in those days.

I havn't been to Brisbane for some time and I just had a look at the city on NearMap, I'd say it's pretty much unrecognisable as the same town. It was known then as a very big country town and had very little high-rise developement. It certainly wasn't anything like the southern cities. I liked it.

Just to round this posting off I've also attached a later photo of the evening tramway peak on the Southside, not too far from South Brisbane station. At the time the Brisbane City Council tramways ran a really efficient and intensive city and suburban service. Sadly the Council headed by the Lord Mayor Clem Jones, destroyed the tramways in favour of bus services in the late 1960s.

Most of the negatives I'm using at the moment are none too flash and require a fair bit of work to make them half-way presentable, hence my tardiness.

All my previous postings can be found at;

http://teenagerailfan.blogspot.com

Regards,

Peter Bruce.

Monday Morning Photo. 6/09/2010.

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G'day all, I misread the timetable last week and had us arriving at Wallangarra from Sydney when we were actually departing for Brisbane. So for what it's worth we arrived at 7.48am and at 8.20am we departed northbound.

The grand in name if not in performance "Brisbane Express" became just "The Mail" on the Queensland Government Railways narrow gauge metals and was allowed over 10 hours for the 223 odd miles to Roma Street Station in Brisbane.

The old QGR had a few rather distinctive practices one of which was the seemingly haphazard allocation of locomotive numbers. For instance we had engine no 52 out of Wallangarra, it was a B181/4 Pacific but goodness knows what Nos. 51 and 53 were. These Pacifics were first introduced to traffic in 1926 and 52 was one of the early ones having a small tender.

Anyway we trundled along until we reached Glen Niven. At Cambooya the southbound "Mail" turned up behind 1043, one of the more modern 1950s Pacifics.

Toowoomba was reached at 1.55 pm for a 30 minute refreshment stop, shortly after we arrived 1014 arrived in the dock platform with No19, the connection from Roma.

Extra cars were added to our train here and we departed for Brisbane at 2.25 behind another BB181/4, its number long forgotten.

By 1963 the days of leisurely long distance travel were drawing to a close, car ownership was coming within the reach of more and more people and these slow long distance trains just couldn't compete for time or comfort and the mail went over to road or air transport.

That said, Queensland still has some long distance trains and I think I can feel another long train ride coming on. I might go sleeper this time.

Regards,

Peter Bruce.

Monday Morning Photo. Tuesday 31/08/2010.

G'day all, I think that it was in late November 1963 that three of us, Graeme Westwood, Kevin Taig and I, set off for Queensland. I can't be sure about the exact time but maybe Kevin can set me right. We left Melbourne on the morning Albury and travelled on to Sydney on the South Mail in the leading car which was an LFX, an ancient vehicle whose classification meant that it was a compartment car with a lavatory serving each pair of compartments. A slightly up market dogbox!! But that virtually guaranteed us against a visit from any railway official who may have been interested to see our non-existent tickets. 401 miles and 48 chains of travel on the NSWGR Commissioners.

I've always been grateful.

"The Brisbane Express", train number 17, via Wallangarra, left Sydney three times a week, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. It was an early afternoon departure at 1.55pm and arrival at Wallangarra on the NSW-Qld border was at 8.20 the next morning by which time we'd covered 492 miles, close to 800 kilometres.

We had a 46 class electric to Gosford and a 43 class diesel on to Broadmeadow but from then on it was steam all the way to Brisbane.

This week's posting will take us to the border.

Out of Broadmeadow we had 3616, unique in NSW as the only engine fitted with the Geisl exhaust ejector, hence the funny looking stack.

At Werris Creek a pair of 32s took over as far as Armidale [I think], thence a single 32 to Tenterfield and the last 11 miles to Wallangarra were handled by a 50 class 2-8-0.

Wallangarra Railway Refreshment Room provided us with a good breakfast during the 32 minutes allowed to change to the narrow gauge Queensland Government Railways train.

The only decent photo this week shows 3616 backing down onto the Express at Broadmeadow, then we have a shot at Muswellbrook which shows a not untypical NSWGR overnight train, a couple of insulated vans, a string of 1st and 2nd class sitters and a couple of sleeping cars. A pair of mail or luggage vans brought up the rear.

By the time we got to Tenterfield behind 3315 the rake was much reduced.

We would have been the only passengers travelling the whole way to Brisbane as there were two trains every night taking the much shorter North Coast line and they catered for the through loading. The route via Wallangarra was the original connection between the two capital cities though.

Next week we'll take the train to Brisbane.

Regards,

Peter Bruce.

Roger Hill's Prompt Reply to MMP 23/08/2010.

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Subject: Re: Monday Morning Photo, Monday Evening. 23/08/2010.

Hi Peter

Twas indeed I, I remember it well, here are some shots plus some others I took at another time. I think we decided on the spur of the moment that Friday afternoon to go on the ARHS trip that night to chase the Southern Aurora up to Wallan behind an R. We incurred the wrath of the ARHS heirachy on board for getting on the train without a ticket even though we wanted to buy a ticket on the train.

Regards

Roger

Monday Morning Photo, Monday Evening. 23/08/2010.

G'day all, been a bit short of time over the last couple of weeks but more to the point I've been a bit short of inspiration.

So while I gather my thoughts I've put together a few photos taken at the long gone North Melbourne Locomotive Depot.

Many of you will have absolutely no knowledge or recollection of the great smokey edifice which once dominated the western end of North and West Melbourne. Melway 43 B6.

Just behind North Melbourne station.

These pictures are all interiors so I'd certainly welcome any contribution showing the exterior and its location.

It was a long brick shed built probably fairly late in the 19th century, maybe 1870-80? I'm sure someone can clarify the date. It contained three 70 foot turntables each radiating roads around the full 360 degrees and it provided nearly all the Victorian Railways locomotive stock in Melbourne until the early 1960s.

By that time steam was on its last legs and these shots are from that time.

I have posted these before perhaps but some of you wont have seen them.

I think they were all taken the same late afternoon with the kind forbearance of the shed foreman. I think I was there with Roger Hill. Any memories Roger? better still any pictures?

Regards,

Peter Bruce.

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Monday Morning Newspaper Clippings.2/8/2010

G'day all, this seems an appropriate way to finish off the story of a great weekend. The commencement of standard gauge through passenger service recieved huge coverage in the papers of the day. I think all of Melbourne's daily press is represented in this selection, in those days we had two morning papers "The Age" and "The Sun" and an evening paper "The Herald". Our family didn't have a TV at the time so I have no recollection of the television coverage, I wonder if any has survived.

I felt sure that I once had an actual print of the Tallarook picture but having read a little about other peoples unreliable memory recently I am willing to concede that I may have "misremembered".........and I don't remember where I got that word from either......maybe Mark Twain!!

There isn't much that I need to say about these little gems. The occasion was celebrated officially with a fair bit of the old Imperial pomp but the Premier of the time, Henry Bolte, let the side down at the Parliamentary Garden Party. He is wearing the required top hat and morning suit but note the hands in the pockets.....that gives him away for the cow cocky* that he really was. I'm just surprised that the top hat wasn't on the back of his head!

"The Spirit of Progress" and "The Southern Aurora" are long gone now and so are the State Railway Departments and most of the railway people that ran them.

And in many ways more's the pity.

Regards,

Peter Bruce.

http://teenagerailfan.blogspot.com

*cocky=small time farmer.

Re MMP 27/07/2010.

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G'day all, have done some editing of the latest post. The photo entitled Seymour Big Wheel had an obvious defect and there were some errors in the text.

The edits are in the posting to:

http://teenagerailfan.blogspot.com

More careful proof reading is called for.

Regards,

Peter Bruce.

P.S. I'm very happy to have any errors pointed out to me, errors of grammar and spelling especially.

P.P.S. For those unfamiliar with Melbourne I've attached another picture of Southern Cross Station as it is today.