Australian Railway History

30/08/2024

🚂THE SEPTEMBER ARH ISSUE OUT NOW IN DIGITAL AND PRINT🚂

We are staying on the North Coast Line of NSW with a wonderful article supplied from Garry Kahler from a trip during the 1977/78 years to Coffs Harbour. Lots of first generation power was in use on the line just as the stickers of the PTC had been applied over the locos in NSWGR livery. The contrast is quite stunning as the trains come through the banana plantations and carry out good trains operations before the yard closed in 1996.
We also get a little architectural with a look at the NSW Two-Storey Railway Houses that were built to accommodate railway staff during the second half of the nineteenth century. Most railway two-storey houses followed architectural styles of the Victorian period with some brilliant examples still seen around the tracks.
Western Australian Government Railways never went to close to Alcos before but with the awarding of this contract for the soon to be N Class, it was a complete departure from the past locomotive buying practices of the WAGR. The WAGR had entered the diesel locomotive era in the 1950s with locomotives sourced from British builders. In the 1960s the focus for main and branch line locomotives shifted to a mix of Clyde Engineering/General Motors EMD and Australian built English Electric units. It was an experiment to say the least!

All this and more in our SEPTEMBER issue!
Grab your copy now!
Print and digital formats available. Order at:
arhsnsw.com.au/australian-railway-history/

18/08/2024

Australian Railway History – August 2024 Issue Out Now

This month’s issue of Australian Railway History is brimming with fascinating stories and detailed accounts that bring our railway heritage to life. Here are three standout articles you won’t want to miss:

Temporary Transfer to Ararat: Dive into the personal experiences of Lindsay Morrison as he recounts his time as a young Victorian Railways fireman, temporarily stationed in Ararat during the busy wheat season. A vivid portrayal of life on the rails in the late 1960s.

A Lament for the Murwillumbah Railway – 20 Years On: Explore the history and eventual decline of the Murwillumbah line in this insightful second part by Peter Cokley. A reflective piece on the impact of this line on local communities and the broader railway network.

Rail Travel to the Gold Coast: Join Col Gilbertson on a nostalgic journey back to the days when trains connected Sydney to the glitzy Gold Coast, offering a glimpse into the golden era of rail travel to this iconic destination.

Subscriptions available online at https://arhsnsw.com.au/australian-railway-history/ and come free with ARHS membership. Or visit your local newsagent to purchase this month's issue.

31/07/2024

🚂THE AUGUST ARH ISSUE OUT NOW IN DIGITAL AND PRINT🚂

Ararat was the busiest railway yard and junction outside of Melbourne and late December 1969, Lindsay Morrison was a Victorian Railways Trainee Engineman. With the wheat season underway, this was a busy time each year on the VR as many special additional trains were run to transfer grain. Additional train crews were required and consequently Lindsay was to be temporarily transferred to Ararat to help run these extra trains. It was an interesting time with the demise of steam in sight and the coming of more and more diesels to the region. We extend our coverage of 20 years since the closure of the Murwillumbah Line with Part 2 of A Lament for the Murwillumbah Railway, 20 years on by Peter Cokley. But we also offer a complementing article by Col Gilbertson with his Rail Travel to the Gold Coast. Col discusses and places context to the changes in rollingstock and the passenger trains that ran in the late 20th century along the North Coast Line leading up to the closure. The Murwillumbah Railway was not immune to the effects of the national economy but it held in there as a result of state electoral math but in the end with changes in government it sadly couldn’t last forever.

All this and more in our AUGUST issue!
Grab your copy now!
Print and digital formats available. Order at:
arhsnsw.com.au/australian-railway-history/

28/06/2024

🚂THE JULY ARH ISSUE OUT NOW IN DIGITAL AND PRINT🚂

Unusually we look at some railway history in the early 2000s on Australia’s Apple Isle in the July issue. Pacific Nationals tenure in Tasmania was short and an odd time to say the least between 2004 and 2009. Equipment and track faults but also EE locomotives could not be used in multiple with EMD units to operate trains. Very few locos ever wore the PN livery. It’s a very interesting article and an ideal time to assess the privatisation with perspective. We complete the final part of History of the Gippsland Line Electrification this month but no electric rolling stock exist now but its reminds us of some of the unusual rolling stock that we saw in the 1990s after the wires were pulled down. But there is more in sight as we have just received another article on the other Gippsland Electrification (watch this space)!
Where has time gone – who can believe that it has been 20 years since the last XPT left Murwillumbah station? Once it left it ended 110 years of rail transport in the region!

All this and more in our JULY issue!
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Print and digital formats available. Order at:
arhsnsw.com.au/australian-railway-history/

21/06/2024

To anyone that enjoyed our February issue on The Trans-Australian Railway, a time now forgotten!

31/12/2023

⛰🚂JANUARY ISSUE OUT NOW IN DIGITAL AND PRINT🚂⛰

Happy new year and new a ARH Volume 75! Let’s get the year started with the Blue Mountains and how you het trains up 12 in 60 grades before electrification. Steam is the power of the day, and you must link Sydney with the west over the Blue Mountains known for dramatic scenery, steep cliffs, eucalyptus forests, and waterfalls. Several authors have come together this January to cover different aspects of the feat. planning, construction, safeworking and a real good tale of driving along the line in the early 1970s with a 46 Class are all enclosed. All this and more to start you year!

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Print and digital formats available. Order at:
arhsnsw.com.au/australian-railway-history/

01/12/2023

🎅🎄 DECEMBER ISSUE OUT NOW IN DIGITAL AND PRINT 🚂

We finish the year with a bang and a favorite branch.
This issue we celebrate the Centenary of the Gilmore to Batlow and Kunama Branch. A Failed Experiment in Repatriation by Neville Pollard. The opening of the railway from Gilmore to Batlow (and Kunama) by the New South Wales Governor, Sir Walter Davidson, on 23 March 1923 was somewhat anticlimactic; the line would not be officially handed over for another nine months so the Governor’s wife had to drive the construction engine through the celebratory ribbon. The real reason for the visit was to open the annual show; celebrations at the railway may, therefore, have been an afterthought. There was little festivity when the 22-mile (35-km) branch finally opened on 17 December; representatives of public bodies were invited to travel on the first ‘official’ service but the local newspaper did not receive advanced warning to publicise the event more widely. The branch, no longer operating, is remembered for many peculiarities.

Grab your copy now!
Print and digital formats available. Order at:
arhsnsw.com.au/australian-railway-history/
Call us on (02) 9699 4595 to get you copy!

🎄 🎄🎅 🎄 🎄🎁 🎄🎅🎁

Australian Railway History is the nation's leading railway history magazine, published monthly by the Australian Railway Historical Society

03/11/2023

🚂 NOVEMBER ISSUE OUT NOW IN DIGITAL AND PRINT 🚂

In November’s issue we look back at a commissioners story. John Forsayth Thallon was the Commissioner for Railways in Queensland from 1902 till his death in 1911, but we take a comprehensive look at his life prior to taking on that role and how he made many changes to the Queensland Railway system before he even became Deputy Commissioner. It is really a Railway story through and through and even though it is well over 100 years after his death he is still remembered for his tenure and the quality of service that he provoked.
In the Central West region of NSW lies Cowra on the Blayney–Demondrille railway line. The region saw many trains in the 1960s and Ray Don shares his experiences as a Driver over his steam days in the region before moving back to Sydney. It’s a summarised taste of what the trains in the region were like and perfect narrative of the region.
We don’t usually see Federal and State Governments working together easily to promote a better railway outcome these days, but in 1992 the creation of National Rail Corporation rapidly modernised and abolished many historical barriers when operating interstate rail freight over state boundaries. Frank Hussey writes about his role in the corporation and when you read the article it’s just amazing that it took Australia this long to come to terms with operating a railway system nationally. The changes and the NR Class locos are the high standards that today’s private operators use in modern operations.

Grab your copy now!
Print and digital formats available. Order at:
arhsnsw.com.au/australian-railway-history/
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01/11/2023

🚂 NOVEMBER ISSUE OUT NOW IN DIGITAL AND PRINT 🚂

In November’s issue we look back at a commissioners story. John Forsayth Thallon was the Commissioner for Railways in Queensland from 1902 till his death in 1911, but we take a comprehensive look at his life prior to taking on that role and how he made many changes to the Queensland Railway system before he even became Deputy Commissioner. It is really a Railway story through and through and even though it is well over 100 years after his death he is still remembered for his tenure and the quality of service that he provoked.
In the Central West region of NSW lies Cowra on the Blayney–Demondrille railway line. The region saw many trains in the 1960s and Ray Don shares his experiences as a Driver over his steam days in the region before moving back to Sydney. It’s a summarised taste of what the trains in the region were like and perfect narrative of the region.
We don’t usually see Federal and State Governments working together easily to promote a better railway outcome these days, but in 1992 the creation of National Rail Corporation rapidly modernised and abolished many historical barriers when operating interstate rail freight over state boundaries. Frank Hussey writes about his role in the corporation and when you read the article it’s just amazing that it took Australia this long to come to terms with operating a railway system nationally. The changes and the NR Class locos are the high standards that today’s private operators use in modern operations.

Grab your copy now!
Print and digital formats available. Order at:
arhsnsw.com.au/australian-railway-history/

12/10/2023

In honour of her service, NSW Trains has dedicated a luggage towing vehicle to her, which now bears a rego plate with her nickname – Vesa 🚆

🗞️ Read the full story from SBS Macedonian here: https://bit.ly/3RZfENA

06/10/2023

NEW PRODUCTS FOR 2024!

NEW 2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣4️⃣ CALENDAR ARRIVAL🥳
Make your new year loco-tastic!

The South Maitland Railways (S.M.R.) have had a fascination for rail buffs and historians for decades. Partly because of the longevity of steam haulage over the system but also for the variety of colliery and urban landscapes that the system connected and served. Some of this variety is reflected in the range of events and happenings associated with various days of each month. Another episode in the rich history of the S.M.R. began on 14 June 1983 when diesel electric locomotives 4822 and 4893 worked an empty train to Pelton Colliery.

Call (02) 9699 4595 or purchase at: https://arhsnsw.com.au/product/2024-diesels-on-the-smr-calendar/

29/09/2023

🚂OCTOBER ISSUE OUT NOW IN DIGITAL AND PRINT🚂
We start October by reflecting on the last years of the Wonthaggi to Nyora Railway. Coal traffic was becoming less and less, and passenger numbers and local goods were also on the decline that led to the railway lines sad closure but not without several tourist fan trips! We then look at some spectacular South Australian steam photos that have recently had authentic colours applied using new artificial intelligence software that shows previous sharp black and white photos in a new light and adds much more life these magnificent photos. Jack Beaton began his railway career in May 1953 at Werris Creek, when it was one of the largest depots in the state’s north. At the time Werris Creek crews ran trains south to Broadmeadow, north to Armidale, north-west to Moree and west to Binnaway. Jack has fond memories of running the night mail trains with the 35 Class ‘Nannies’ and 36 Class ‘Pigs’. All this and more in our September issue!

Grab your copy now!
Print and digital formats available. Order at:
arhsnsw.com.au/australian-railway-history/

15/09/2023

SEPTEMBER ISSUE OUT NOW IN DIGITAL AND PRINT.
After the 1909–1910 strike by coal miners in the Hunter Valley, the Victorian state government were determined to ensure stability in local supplies of coal. The State Coal Mine and the town of Wonthaggi came into being in 1910 to supply coal for the Victorian Railways. We take an extended look and compare the timetable from the mid 50s with a 1977 run on the line and compare the timetable and the traffic that would of travel along the Wonthaggi branch before closure. We also explore the Dubbo region in 1968 when trains were plenty and seemed to be coming around the corner every few minutes but then reflect on life on the Queensland Railways and those ASGs. All this and more in our September issue!

Grab your copy now!
Print and digital formats available. Order at:
arhsnsw.com.au/australian-railway-history/

01/09/2023

🥹☕🚂📔📘📕Come and visit us for a great deal on our second hand railway books and a enjoy a delicious coffee in our coffee shop! You can see our full range at https://arhsnsw.com.au/second-hand-books/ or call (02) 9699 4595 to order.

28/08/2023

25/08/2023

A great book! Not at all a light read about light rail!

🚋🚊🚨The first and only comprehensive publication to cover the planning and construction of the Sydney South East Light Rail project.
In this publication you’ll find the history leading up to the commencement, the planning, construction and commissioning of the project. As well, there is a list of the participating companies and consortia that made the completion of the project possible. The book also includes hundreds of photographs, maps and diagrams covering all aspects of the project. Hard cover 265 pages

GET YOUR COPY: https://arhsnsw.com.au/product/tracks-south-east/ OR CALL (02) 9699 4595

04/08/2023

AUGUST ISSUE OUT NOW IN DIGITAL AND PRINT.
We complete the celebration of the Main south with the Part 3 of both Table Top and Gerogery. But we also take some time to look at Bridges and Water tanks in that support the rails in NSW. Bridges and water tanks may not be everyone’s favourite items in railway history but you cannot run a quality railway without them. Especially Kempsey where too much water cannot be a good thing. All this and more in our August issue!

Grab your copy now!
Print and digital formats available. Order at:
arhsnsw.com.au/australian-railway-history/

15/07/2023

Railway Transportation Systems (RTS) Podcast
Hosted by Rahiman Shaik, Railway Systems Specialist talks with ARHS Gen. Manager James Dalton
LISTEN NOW: https://railwaytransportationsystemsrtspodcast.buzzsprout.com/1998732/13093244-australian-railway-historical-society-talk-with-james-dalton

Season 1 Episode 29 25mins:
James Dalton is General Manager at Australian Railway Historical Society. The ARHS recently celebrated its 90th birthday, and as well as publishing both Railway Digest and Australian Railway History magazines, is home to the most comprehensive private archive of railway-related information in Australia.

James is responsible for managing a small team of amazing staff and volunteers who keep the Society, which does not receive any external funding, financially viable through magazine and book sales, consulting work, operating tours and producing various publications.

The archives were recently assessed to be of National Significance. They include a vast collection of documents, photographs, and artifacts related to the history of railways in Australia. Much of the collection is already digitised, thanks to the efforts of volunteers over decades. James is committed to expanding the use of these archives to members and commercial clients and to supporting the objectives of the Australian Railway Historical Society.

Under James' leadership, The Railway Archives has made significant strides in preserving and promoting the history of railways in Australia. He has developed new processes and implemented systems for cataloguing the archives, making them more accessible to researchers and enthusiasts. He has also worked to expand the Society's membership and outreach efforts, raising awareness of the importance of archival preservation and the Society's mission.

Railway Transportation Systems (RTS) Podcast
Hosted by Rahiman Shaik, Railway Systems Specialist talks with ARHS Gen. Manager James Dalton
🚂🎙LISTEN NOW: https://railwaytransportationsystemsrtspodcast.buzzsprout.com/1998732/13093244-australian-railway-historical-society-talk-with-james-dalton

Season 1 Episode 29 25mins:
James Dalton is General Manager at Australian Railway Historical Society. The ARHS recently celebrated its 90th birthday, and as well as publishing both Railway Digest and Australian Railway History magazines, is home to the most comprehensive private archive of railway-related information in Australia.

James is responsible for managing a small team of amazing staff and volunteers who keep the Society, which does not receive any external funding, financially viable through magazine and book sales, consulting work, operating tours and producing various publications.

The archives were recently assessed to be of National Significance. They include a vast collection of documents, photographs, and artifacts related to the history of railways in Australia. Much of the collection is already digitised, thanks to the efforts of volunteers over decades. James is committed to expanding the use of these archives to members and commercial clients and to supporting the objectives of the Australian Railway Historical Society.

Under James' leadership, The Railway Archives has made significant strides in preserving and promoting the history of railways in Australia. He has developed new processes and implemented systems for cataloguing the archives, making them more accessible to researchers and enthusiasts. He has also worked to expand the Society's membership and outreach efforts, raising awareness of the importance of archival preservation and the Society's mission.

30/06/2023

JULY ISSUE OUT NOW IN DIGITAL AND PRINT:☀️🥵🚂
The Silverton Tramway was a lot more than a private tramway, many employees talk about the railway being a family and like a family they all sat around and discussed the history of the tramway. The stories were passed down between generations of employees to one another. Ron Carter worked his whole working life with the tramway and explains through many stories how the railway was more than just a vital link to South Australia and beyond. The tramway is a vital addition to Australian railway history and is a perfect example of a private railway stepping in to fill a vital between two state railways. We also continue on the 140th celebration of the linking of the Great Southern Railway at the River Murray with some forgotten stations at Table Top and Gerogery. All this and more in our July issue!

Grab your copy now!
Print and digital formats available. Order at:
arhsnsw.com.au/australian-railway-history/

23/06/2023

Help us stay on the rails in 2023!

It's your LAST WEEK to donate to the ARHS before June 30! https://arhsnsw.com.au/product/donations/ #

Donations of $2.00 or more are tax-deductible.
We need your help! Your donation will help us weather the current economic times and continue our activities for “all who are interested in railways”!

Funds raised through this appeal will be an investment in the Society’s future. We plan to grow our activities and put the society on a better financial footing while growing membership and attracting a new generation of rail enthusiasts. We are improving our capabilities for sharing the collection and engaging with the community through modern technology and platforms.

Every little bit helps, and we thank those generous members who have already donated.

Donate here: https://arhsnsw.com.au/product/donations/ #
Donations can also be made by contacting the office, please call (02) 9699 4595.



CAPTION: Collision between 6028 hauled goods train and the Melbourne Express at Glenlee on 27 March 1961. Another valuable image stored and digitised with the ARHS Archives.

01/06/2023

48 PAGE SPECIAL JUNE ISSUE OUT NOW IN DIGITAL AND PRINT:
We are celebrating a true joining of nations via a railway line 140 years ago, when the section between Goulburn and the Murray River was joined to meet the Victorian Railways. The meeting was a true first as it marked the first time in Australian history that two colonial premiers had appeared together publicly. The line finally reached the border with the extension across the Murray River on 14 June 1883.
Despite the story of the building and the designing of the railway and Albury’s new station styled in Victorian Italianate style under the direction of John Whitton. We have taken time to look at the in dept history of some long-forgotten stations that have disappeared off the map in the section such as Bon Accord, Kapooka (again – April 2020 issue), Jindalee (this is in May 2023 issue), Table Top, and Gerogery.
All this and more in our June issue!
Grab your copy now!
Print and digital formats available. Order at:
arhsnsw.com.au/australian-railway-history/

06/05/2023

Our very own birthday train and birthday XPT!!! What else would you want at 90 years young!🚂🚈🎂🎁🥳

05/05/2023

The shop will not be open on Saturday as all of our lovely staff will be operating a fantastic stall at the Great Train Show at Rosehill Racecourse this Saturday and Sunday, stocked with all your favourite publications and magazines plus some show specials. SEE YOU THERE!

28/04/2023

MAY ISSUE OUT NOW IN DIGITAL AND PRINT:
100 years ago a terrible railway crash at Springwood sent shockwaves through the Blue Mountains. Fortunately, the crew only received minor injuries, but the train was reported to have covered the ten miles (16 km) between Lawson and Springwood in less than eight minutes, which would have been an average speed of about 120 km/h. Not the kind of speeds that a steam operated goods train should have been operating on that section of track.
We are just too excited to get started on the coverage of the 140th anniversary of the completion of the Great Southern Railway from Goulburn to the River Murray in the June 2023 issue. SO we have decided to start with one of the forgotten stations along the way at Jindalee, it was typical of the railway stations that once served lightly populated districts prior to widespread motor car ownership and the establishment of an all-weather road network.
We head north then to the Yeerongpilly standard gauge locomotive depot, the only depot constructed by QR for the use of 1435 mm standard gauge locomotives.
All this and more in our May issue!
Grab your copy now!
Print and digital formats available. Order at:
arhsnsw.com.au/australian-railway-history/