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25.01.2022 Today's historic photo of the day: An impressive lineup of vintage Alco diesel power - at left 4424 and 4425 head train S38 the Canberra Monaro Express and at right 4439 on the Up Southern Highlands Express at Canberra railway station, Kingston, ACT, 35 years ago today, December 8 1985. Whilst on Mondays to Saturdays in the 1980s the Canberra Monaro Express was a DEB set that ran Sydney to Cooma via Canberra, on Sundays it was timetabled as a loco-hauled train Sydney to Canbe...rra and return. The Southern Highlands Express (on the right) departed Canberra on Sunday evenings just half an hour or so after the departure of the Canberra Monaro Express. The locomotive and non-aircon carriage set had run down on Saturday evenings as an extension of the train that on every other day of the week ran only as far as Goulburn. The NSW Government Railways purchased 100 of these locomotives from AE Goodwin in two tranches: the first sixty between 1957 and 1961, then another forty between 1965 and 1967. Powered by Alco 12-cylinder engines, they were examples of Alco's 'World' model, developed from their FA series in the USA. Similar locomotives were delivered to the South Australian Railways (930 class) and in Pakistan, Argentina, Greece and elsewhere. All three locos seen here were from the first batch, so they had been in service, when this photo was taken, for about 26 or 27 years. These days, most 44 class locos (including all three seen here) have been withdrawn, but quite a few have been preserved and a couple of the later variants do still survive operating in minor roles for private owner rail operators. These days, Canberra station is still connected to Sydney by three times daily NSW TrainLink XPLorer railcar services.

24.01.2022 Today's historic photo of the day: 4908 and its Wallangarra-bound special tour train call at Tenterfield, NSW, August 4 1985. Tenterfield is in the New England region of Northern NSW, 774km north of Sydney on the Great Northern Railway. Until the North Coast line was completed in the 1930s, this was the main railway between Sydney and Brisbane. It was however still possible to travel between the two State capitals on this route until about 1970 with a change of trains at the ...State border. Regular passenger trains continued to run as far as Tenterfield until November 1988 after which services were cut back to Tamworth. Today, a daily passenger train runs from Sydney as far as Armidale, though that is still 196km short of Tenterfield. This spectacular line north of Armidale to Wallangarra is effectively (although not legislatively) closed. A number of the formerly 18-strong 950hp Co-Co EMD-engined 49 class locos built for the NSWGR in 1960-1964 have been scrapped, but a few, including 4908, remain in active service today with private operators.

24.01.2022 Today's historic photo of the day: VLine locomotive A77 heads Melbourne to Geelong train no 8247 at Laverton, Vic, November 8 1986. 34 years ago today. Laverton is in Melbourne's western suburbs, 21km from the city by rail on the suburban electrified Werribee line. In addition to suburban electric trains, in 1986 this track carried VLine broad gauge goods and passenger trains between Melbourne, Geelong and Warrnambool. In 1995, a new standard gauge track was constructed to t...he left side of this scene to carry interstate trains between Melbourne and Adelaide, and today that is part of the national interstate rail network. In 2015, a new broad gauge railway from Deer Park to Werribee West opened and, since then, VLine Geelong and Warrnambool trains have run via that route leaving the tracks here dedicated to suburban electric trains (and the occasional freight). The train seen here is hauled by one of VLine's then newly-reconstructed A class locomotives. Built as B class locos in 1952/53 by Clyde Engineering, these GM EMD powered double-ended streamliners were re-built in the early 1980s to give them another three decades of service. The last A class was withdrawn from service just last year, and whilst a few have been preserved or stored, many have been lost including A77 which was scrapped in January 2019. Just this month however, locomotive A66 was retrieved from storage and re-activated. If A66 re-appears on VLine passenger trains soon as appears likely, it will be the only classic GM bulldog nose locomotive hauling regular passenger trains anywhere in the world.

24.01.2022 Today's historic photo of the day: Diesel loco 8172 hauls train S2, the Southern Aurora from Melbourne, into Central Station, Sydney, NSW, August 2 1986. The Southern Aurora was arguably Australia's premier passenger train of the era. Nicknamed 'The Snora' because it was an all-sleeping car train, it was introduced in 1962 when the standard gauge line was completed to Melbourne making it possible for the first time to travel without having to change trains at the State border.... It was the fastest and most luxurious way to travel between Australia's two largest cities short of flying. Departing every evening from each city, it travelled overnight and offered an early arrival in the heart of downtown at the other end. Unfortunately, the explosion of cheap air travel took a devastating toll on interstate rail travel, so that by the mid '80s, demand had reduced so much that two overnight trains between Melbourne and Sydney were no longer justified. The Aurora was amalgamated with the Spirit of Progress from August 4 1986 to run as the Melbourne Express and Sydney Express (depending on the direction of travel). The photo here was the penultimate northbound Aurora. The last ever Southern Auroras departed later that same evening, and the following evening the first ever Melbourne and Sydney expresses ran. The Melbourne and Sydney Expresses in turn were replaced by XPT services in the early 1990s which continue today to run twice daily between Sydney and Melbourne.

24.01.2022 Today's historic photo of the day: 48139 spews out traditional Alco diesel exhaust fumes as it hauls a northbound goods including two cars labelled 'Australian Museum Train' through Tuggeranong siding, NSW, 35 years ago today, October 7 1985. Not to be confused with the large suburban area in the ACT, Tuggeranong was a small station and siding south of Queanbeyan, 335km from Sydney on the railway to Cooma and Bombala. The line and station here opened in 1887 when the railway... was extended south from Queanbeyan to Michelago. There was never really a town here, the little station on the slopes of the Melrose Valley served local farms and it was probably only rarely that passengers boarded trains here. In 1911 when the Australian Capital Territory was created to be the seat of Federal Government, its eastern border was defined to be the boundary of railway land. So, at this point, this is the State border. The train, tracks and station property are all in NSW, and the fence near the eucalypt on the far right marks the State border. Whilst Tuggeranong station had closed to passengers ten years before this photo was taken, at this time there were still regular passenger trains through here from Sydney to Cooma and also goods trains right through to and from Bombala. On this day, the regular mish-mash of goods wagons on this train was supplemented by the two 'Australian Museum Train' cars which were later dropped off at Queanbeyan. The Australian Museum Train was an initiative of the Sydney-based Australian Museum. Launched in March 1978, the train comprised two carriages: The first carriage housed exhibition material and the second a classroom/theatrette, specimen display area, small bookshop and accommodation for two Education officers. As the train travelled for 12 weeks of each school term, spending from days to weeks at one station, a few domestic conveniences for the dedicated staff on board were a necessity. The last passenger train through here ran in 1988, and the last goods train in 1989. This section of track as far south as Michelago was maintained for some years as a tourist railway, but no trains have run into Queanbeyan from the south for some years now.

23.01.2022 Today's historic photo of the day: N458 and N453 double head VLine broad gauge passenger train no 8325 before departing for Albury from platform 2, Spencer Street station, Melbourne, Vic, 33 years ago today, Saturday, November 14 1987. Note the blue wooden-bodied carriage near the front of the consist. It seems like a double consist. Could this have been a combined Albury/Cobram train? I know that the Cobram train was normally combined with the Albury train between Melbourn...e and Seymour in that era on Sundays, but this was a Saturday and I'm not certain that this was normal on Saturdays. These days, VLine Albury trains run on standard gauge. Cobram trains were truncated to Shepparton in the early 1990s, and today still run on broad gauge. Trains on both lines still run from this same station (the same platform in fact), but these days it's beneath the overall roof of the redeveloped Southern Cross station. In those days, N class locos were VLine's frontline locos, but there was plenty of variety on show. Note the streamlined A class locos partly out of frame on the far left and far right of this photo. These days they would definitely be in the centre of the photo, but at that time they were apparently not my focus. How times change.

23.01.2022 Today's historic photo of the day: Loco 42211 heads train S38 the northbound Canberra Monaro Express near Mount Fairy, NSW, 35 years ago today, November 10 1985. Mount Fairy is in the NSW Southern Tablelands, 276km by rail from Sydney on the Bombala/Canberra line between Tarago and Bungendore. Whilst the station at Mount Fairy closed in 1975, the line remained open for trains to Canberra and Cooma/Bombala. Whilst on six days per week in the 1980s Canberra was served by the C...anberra Monaro Express DEB set that ran between Sydney and Cooma, on Sundays only, a loco-hauled air-conditioned train that ran only as far as Canberra where it spent the afternoon before returning to Sydney on the evening. We see this train here on its afternoon return to Sydney. These days, three NSW Trainlink XPLorer railcar passenger trains each way pass through here each day on their way between Sydney and Canberra. Twenty of these GM powered 422 class diesel locomotives were built in 1969/70 by Clyde Engineering for the NSW Department of Railways. They were used on passenger and goods trains predominantly in the southern and south-western parts of regional NSW. Whilst some remain in operational service today, some have been stored, some exported and some scrapped. 42211 itself was exported to South Africa and was subsequently scrapped in 2015.

21.01.2022 Today's historic photo of the day: H type 373 runs a Glenelg to Victoria Square service between Glandore and South Road tram stops, Glandore, SA, June 6 1987. Glandore tram stop is visible in the distance. Adelaide once had an extensive network of electric street tramways, but, like many other cities, it was progressively closed down through the 1950s so that by 1958 only the Victoria Square to Glenelg route remained - presumably because it ran mostly on reserved track, a le...gacy of its heritage as a broad gauge steam railway prior to 1929. The Glenelg line survived and a fleet of 30 'H' type trams, the newest and biggest cars in the Adelaide network, was retained to operate this sole route. Today, this tram route still operates, but the wonderful old H type trams have been withdrawn and replaced with a fleet of Alstom Citadis and Bombardier Flexity trams. The line has been extended northwards through the heart of the city to the inner northern suburb of Bowden, and a short second route was added in 2018 along North Terrace to the Botanic Gardens. This location nowadays looks a bit different. The tram track here is now part of the western approach to a large flyover that takes the track up and over South Road on a viaduct. Whilst a few of the 30 H type trams were scrapped, many survive as museum exhibits, and a few remain in operational condition. 373 herself is one of the lucky ones. Although she does not operate, she is today preserved at the Tramway Heritage Centre in Bylands, Victoria.

21.01.2022 Today's historic photo of the day: Exactly 31 years ago today, Double-ended GM streamlined diesel locomotive B75, still in traditional VR blue and gold livery, sits on the run-around track at platform 1, Melbourne Spencer Street station whilst the Melbourne Express, recently arrived from Sydney sits at the platform, November 6 1989. The buffet car at right in the consist of the Melbourne Express appears to be 233VRS. Three VRS buffet cars were built by the Victorian Railways... in the late 1930s. Originally assigned names derived from Victorian rivers, this car was named Tanjil when built. Prior to 1962, Tanjil operated on broad gauge VR trains between Melbourne and Horsham and Warrnambool. When the standard gauge line opened to Melbourne in 1962, these three buffet cars were converted to standard gauge to provide meal service on the Melbourne-Sydney Spirit of Progress. At first numbered VRS1, 2 and 3, they were re-numbered in the mid 1980s to VRS231, 232 and 233. These cars were withdrawn in the early 1990s. 233VRS was later moved to Seymour for restoration and use on heritage train tours. 26 B class locos class were introduced in 1952 to kick-start the replacement of steam power on Victorian Railways. Built to the classic GM streamlined nose design so common in the USA, these were unique among standard-shape GM bulldog locos worldwide to be fully double ended - ie to have two classic rounded cabs. There were some double-ended GM streamliners built by NOHAB in Europe, but their shape was somewhat different due to the more restricted European loading gauge. Eleven of the B class locos were rebuilt and upgraded to more powerful A class in the early 1980s, but many of the remaining Bs just kept on going. Indeed, whilst all except one of the rebuilt A class have now been withdrawn, a handful of the original un-rebuilt B class, including B75 herself, remain in active freight train service today even though they are now 67 or 68 years old. The Melbourne Express train was the successor to the more famous Southern Aurora and Spirit of Progress trains. Running 7 nights a week between Sydney and Melbourne, it commenced in August 1986 and, using rolling stock from both its more famous predecessors, it ran for only 7 years until in 1993 it was replaced by XPTs which still serve the route today. The location has changed significantly too. Melbourne Spencer Street station was significantly re-built in 2006 as Southern Cross station and it continues to serve today as Melbourne's primary regional and long distance rail terminal.

20.01.2022 Today's historic photo of the day: SW5 class tram no 682 running a route 64 East Brighton service heads south along Dandenong Road, Armadale, Vic, 32 years ago today, November 12 1988. Route 64 in 1988 started from the Victoria Street terminus at the top of Swanston Street, then ran down Swanston Street and St Kilda Road to St Kilda Junction where it turned left into the reserved track along the median of Dandenong Road (as seen here). After parting ways with route 5 to Malv...Continue reading

20.01.2022 Today's historic photo of the day: GM12 and GM13 head a westbound standard gauge freight train on the outskirts of Peterborough, SA, April 11 1985. Peterborough is about 250km north of Adelaide in the mid-north region of South Australia. It was a railway town that housed a depot serving railways of three track gauges radiating in all four compass directions. When this photo was taken, it was not only a passenger station on the east-west transcontinental standard gauge line, i...t was also the northern terminus of a broad gauge passenger line from Adelaide and the southern terminus of a goods-only narrow gauge line to Quorn via Orrorroo and Eurelia. You can see some dual (Standard/Narrow) gauge track in the foreground. Whilst narrow gauge trains were still operating at this time, this section of narrow gauge rail seems to have not been used for some time. In late 1988, the narrow gauge line closed. Peterborough lost its broad gauge connection to Adelaide around the same time and nowadays east-west transcontinental standard gauge trains are all that remain. So what was once a triple-gauge yard with depot, station and workshops is now not much more than a crossing loop, although there is an excellent railway museum at Peterborough that is very much worth a visit. Between 1951 and 1967, Commonwealth Railways purchased a fleet of 47 GM class diesel locomotives to enable the replacement of steam haulage on the standard gauge Trans Australian Railway between Port Augusta, SA and Kalgoorlie, WA. Based on the American EMD F7 design, the GMs were delivered as two distinct sub-classes: GM1 to GM11 were delivered in 1951 and 1952 as A1A-A1A 1,119kW locos, whilst GM12-GM47 were delivered between 1955 and 1967 as Co-Co 1,305kW locos. As the national standard gauge network grew, these classic beasts travelled more widely, including to Alice Springs, Broken Hill and Adelaide. Today, most GMs have been withdrawn and scrapped, a few have been preserved, and a couple of the later models actually remain in active service in secondary roles. GM12 is today stored, but GM13 has been scrapped.

19.01.2022 Today's historic pic: Ballarat tram no 43 on display in a park in Belmont, Vic, 34 years ago today, November 4 1986. But it says number 40 you say? Well yes, but stay with me here. This tram was built in 1914 by Duncan & Fraser of Adelaide for the Prahran & Malvern Tramways Trust who numbered it 40 in their fleet. In early 1920 when the P&MTT was taken over by the newly formed Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board, this tram was integrated into their fleet, was classified... E class and retained its fleet number 40. It was retired from service in Melbourne in 1951 and sold to the State Electricity Commission of Victoria who sent it to Geelong to modernise the fleet on its network in that city. In Geelong, it retained its number 40. The Geelong system closed in 1956 and the SECV transferred it to Ballarat where it became No 43. The distinctive 'zebra stripes' and white apron seen here were added in Ballarat to improve the visibility of the tram in the poorly lit provincial streets. The Ballarat tram network closed in 1971, and this tram was then acquired by the city of Newtown who mounted it in this park in the suburbs of Geelong. To commemorate the former Geelong tramway network, they re-numbered the tram to the number it carried when running in Geelong. Whilst they re-numbered it, they didn't otherwise re-paint it and in 1986 when this photo was taken it still sported its distinctive 1960s/70s Ballarat livery. In fact, whilst this photo doesn't show it, whilst sitting in this park, the other end of the tram was not re-numbered and retained its Ballarat number 43. The tram was recovered shortly after this photo was taken and transported by the Tramway Museum Society of Victoria to its museum at Bylands. Their intention is to restore the tram to its original Melbourne E class layout.

19.01.2022 Today's historic photo of the day: The railway station at Bungendore, NSW, exactly 37 years ago today, December 10 1983. Bungendore is 293km from Sydney on the Goulburn to Bombala railway. It was formerly the logical junction for the branch line to Captain's Flat which until 1968 branched to the south at Bungendore Junction 5km south of town. In 1983, when this photo was taken, Bungendore was served by passenger trains from Sydney to Canberra and Cooma. There were two or thre...e trains each day to Canberra, one of which, the Canberra Monaro Express, also continued to Cooma. There was also the Cooma Mail, which didn't run to Canberra, but ran down the former mainline from Queanbeyan to Cooma. The last regular passenger train to Captains Flat ran in 1960 and the last goods train in 1968. The Cooma Mail ran for the last time in early 1986 and the last passenger train to Cooma ran in 1988. The line south of Queanbeyan is now closed, so Bungendore finds itself today on the Goulburn to Canberra railway. The station is nowadays served by the three daily Sydney to Canberra NSW Trainlink XPLorer trains in each direction.

19.01.2022 Today's historic photo of the day: Silverton Tramway Company Y class steam locomotive no 1 at the former Sulphide Street station, Broken Hill, NSW, 36 years ago today, 30 October 1984. Broken Hill is a city in far western NSW near the border with South Australia on the main east-west transcontinental railway 1125km west of Sydney and about 570km north-east of Adelaide. Railways first reached Broken Hill in 1888. But, rather than coming from the East, the first line was a nar...row gauge line from the West connecting to the South Australian Railways network just over the border at Cockburn, SA. Whilst Broken Hill is in NSW, it is geographically and culturally much closer to Adelaide than to Sydney, so there was some logic that the city's first rail link would be to the closest capital. However, due to the vagaries of Australian politics of the era (remembering this was before Federation), the South Australian Railways were not permitted to run into NSW. So, the last 57km of railway from Cockburn, SA to Broken Hill, NSW, was built and run by a private company, the Silverton Tramway Company. They were clearly a railway operation, so why were they called a 'tramway'? Anecdotally, that was for legal reasons to avoid restrictions and obligations that applied to railway operators in NSW. NSW Government railways didn't reach Broken Hill until 1919, and the line was not connected to Sydney until 1927. Even then, there was a break of gauge and most traffic still went West. The two railways served different stations: the line from SA ran to Sulphide Street station, whilst the line from the east served Crystal Street station on the other side of town. Silverton's Y class locomotives were built between 1888 and 1907 by Beyer Peacock & Co and James Martin & Co. They were built to the same design as South Australian Railways' Y class steam locos. 21 of these locos served Silverton until 1961 when Silverton replaced the last of them with diesels. In 1970, a new standard gauge railway opened from Broken Hill Crystal Street westward to Port Pirie and Port Augusta, and the 57km narrow gauge Silverton line and the Sulphide Street station closed. Later that same year, the former station re-opened as a museum exhibiting local artefacts and featuring a number of former Silverton Tramway vehicles. The museum is still there today and Y1 is still on display along with other Silverton and NSW railways exhibits.

19.01.2022 Today's historic photo of the day: DERM 58RM towing a BCPL carriage running an enthusiasts day-tour crosses from Victoria into New South Wales on the combined road/rail bridge over the Murray River at Tocumwal, NSW, 34 years ago today, November 15 1986. Tocumwal is situated on the NSW/Victoria border on the Murray river and was the terminus of two railways. It is 251km north of Melbourne on the Victorian Railways broad gauge line via Shepparton, and 764km south of Sydney at... the terminus of the NSW standard gauge branch line from Narrandera via Jerilderie. The broad gauge line from Victoria opened in 1908 and the standard gauge line from the north reached town in 1929. Passenger and goods services were provided by both the NSW and Victorian Railways, however the VR withdrew its passenger train service in 1975 when trains were diverted to Cobram and passenger railmotor services on the NSW line were withdrawn in late 1983. When this photo was taken, both lines were open for freight only. Trains from the north were infrequent though, and when this photo was taken, there hadn't been a train from the NSW side since June. Whilst we didn't know it at the time, that train in June 1986 was to be the last ever train into Tocumwal from the north, and the line was effectively closed in 1987. However, the broad gauge line from the south remains open to this day, and there is a regularly scheduled container train between Melbourne and Tocumwal operated by Qube Logistics. These trains still run over the bridge seen here, however, since 1987, when a new road bridge opened just upstream, this unusual combined road/rail bridge has been exclusively a rail bridge. Nine of the ten 1928-1931 built DERMs from the original Victorian Railways fleet have survived into preservation. 58RM is now preserved by the Seymour Railway Heritage Centre and is still used to run rail tours on Victoria's broad gauge rail network.

19.01.2022 Today's historic photo of the day: Double-headed 81 class locos with 8172 in the lead haul a southbound freight train through Moss Vale, NSW, 35 years ago today, November 9 1985. Moss Vale is a town in the Southern Highlands region on New South Wales, 145km by rail from Sydney on the main line between Sydney and Melbourne and at the junction of the line down the hill to Wollongong. The station is served by regular diesel railcar trains to and from Campbelltown where passenger...s connect with Sydney Trains electric trains to and from Sydney. It is also served by NSW TrainLink long distance XPT trains between Sydney and Melbourne and also XPlorer trains between Sydney and Canberra and Griffith. It also sees heavy freight trains between Sydney or Wollongong and Melbourne and southern NSW. The 81 class locos were fairly new in 1985. Eighty of these 2460kW turbocharged EMD engined locos were built between 1982 and 1985, and a further four were constructed from spares stocks in 1991. They were the most powerful locos of they day and were regularly found at the head of interstate freight and passenger trains. 83 of the 84 are still operational today, but they have long been surpassed as the unit of choice at the pointy end of mainline trains.

17.01.2022 Today's historic photo of the day: N458 hauls VLine Cobram to Melbourne train no 8324 just south of Numurkah, Vic, November 22 1986, 34 years ago today. Numurkah is 215km by rail north of Melbourne on the broad gauge railway to Tocumwal. Trains first reached here in 1881 when Victorian Railways extended their 1600mm gauge railway from Shepparton to Numurkah. The line was further extended to Strathmerton with branches from there to Cobram and Tocumwal. Passenger trains were ...truncated from Cobram to Shepparton in 1981, although one daily train did ran through to and from Numurkah. Passenger trains through to Cobram were re-instated in 1983 and this was the train seen here. However, in 1993, passenger trains to and fromCobram were once again trunctated to Shepparton, and since that time, no regular passenger trains have operated through this point. The line does however remain open for freight trains, and notwithstanding a current lull in that traffic due to an unfavourable year for local agriculture, freight trains do run between Tocumwal and Melbourne. N class locomotives as carriages such as those seen here still run services around rural Victoria, and indeed are regulars today further down this line on services between Shepparton and Melbourne.

16.01.2022 Today's historic photo of the day: QR diesel hydraulic locomotive DH22 hauls a single van off the Yeerongpilly line into Corinda, Qld, July 16 1986. Corinda is an inner-middle suburb of Brisbane, 12km south-west of Brisbane by rail on the 'Main Line' to Ipswich, Rosewood and Toowoomba. The station is served by suburban electric trains between Brisbane and Ipswich, and is also served by the twice-weekly Westlander train to Charleville. Corinda is also the junction for the cr...oss-suburban line to Yeerongpilly, which, in 1986 when this photo was taken, was served by suburban shuttles trains. Passenger trains on the Corinda-Yeerongpilly line were withdrawn in 2011, but the line continues today as a freight line. Between 1966 and 1974, Walkers of Maryborough built 73 DH class B-B diesel hydraulic locomotives for Queensland Railways; DH1 was a prototype, and DH2 - DH73 were the production series. These Caterpillar-engined locos became a familiar sight shunting yards across the state and running shorter distance goods and shunt trips. However, with the loss of non-bulk freight from rail, they were sold off by QR in the 1980s and 1990s. A number were exported and quite a few were purchased and re-gauged by sugar cane railways and still run in Queensland today. A few DHs have found their way into preservation including the Walhalla Goldfields Railway and Puffing Billy Railway in Victoria. In 1993, DH22 was sold to Pioneer Sugar Mill, near Ayr, for use as spare parts for other ex-QR DH locos on that mill's sugar tram network.

16.01.2022 Today's historic photo of the day: The station at Stockinbingal, NSW October 26 1985. Stockinbingal as a small town in the South-West Slopes region of NSW, 454km from Sydney by rail via Cootamundra on the line to Griffith via Temora. The station is the junction for the cross-country Cootamundra to Parkes railway. Railways first reached Stockinbingal in 1893 when the line from Cootamundra to Temora opened. That line was later extended to Griffith and out along numerous branc...hes to the north-west serving grain growing areas. In 1916, a new line opened from Stockinbingal northward to Caragabal, and in 1918 that line was further extended to Forbes where it connected with the existing line to Parkes thereby creating a cross-country connection between the main South and main West line. Passenger trains last served Stockinbingal in 1983 when railmotors between Cootamundra and Griffith via Temora and Cootamundra and Lake Cargelligo were withdrawn. Both lines however remain open today for freight. Traffic on the line to and from Temora is primarily grain, but the line up to Parkes via Caragabal has in more recent years had a very significant revival and it is now the route taken by most interstate freight trains between Sydney and Broken Hill, Adelaide, Peth and Darwin. In 1985 Stockinbingal had two platforms; unusual for a country station on a single track railway. Today however, whilst the station is still there, only one platform still exists. The platform and buildings on the right of this photo have been demolished.

16.01.2022 Today's historic photo of the day: A San Diego Trolley set with car 1047 on an El Cajon service in C street at India Street in downtown San Diego, California, USA, 31 years ago today, October 31, 1989. The Santa Fe sign in the background sits atop the downtown San Diego passenger rail station- the terminus of what was then known by Amtrak as the San Diegan service between Sand Diego and Los Angeles. The San Diego Trolley is an electric streetcar or light rail system connect...ing San Diego to surrounding areas in southern California. Whilst seven or so cities in the USA had retained some of their 'first generation' tram, streetcar or cable car networks, when the first 22km-long section of the San Diego Trolley opened in 1981 between downtown San Diego and San Ysidro on the Mexican border, it was the first new light rail or streetcar system to open in the USA for many many years. Since that time, the San Diego Trolley has thrived, and its success has spurred the revival of light rail in the USA. More than 20 other cities across the USA have subsequently built new light rail systems, so we have much for which to thank the San Diego Trolley. These days, the San Diego trolley system serves 53 stations and has 86km of track. The system was extended in 1986 when the first part of the East line was opened. By early 1989 when this photo was taken, it had been extended to El Cajon, and it has subsequently been further extended. Today, there are four lines in operation, known nowadays as the Blue, Orange, Green and Silver lines, although the Silver Line is a part time downtown loop that serves stations that are also served by the other lines. The original fleet of Duewag/Siemens cars of the type seen here has been retired and replaced by more modern US-built vehicles. The area around here has been significantly redeveloped since 1989, but the Santa Fe station still serves as the Amtrak station today (although this view is now partly obscured). The San Diegan train service has been upgraded and re-branded by Amtrak as the Pacific Surfliner.

16.01.2022 Today's historic photo of the day: Broad gauge AN Bluebird railcar no 255 'Curlew' prepares to run the evening passenger train to Peterborough via Burra at Platform 2, Keswick Terminal, Adelaide, SA, April 25 1986. Another Bluebird - no 252 'Blue Wren' is visible in the background. The Bluebirds were built in the 1950s by the once great South Australian Railways to run quality train services from Adelaide to regional destinations across South Australia. They were an excellen...t railcar; solid, comfortable and very stylish, a real 1950s design classic. Bluebird railcars were double-ended, meaning they were all fitted with driving compartments at both ends, but there were three distinctly different types: - Eleven 250-class cars were powered economy class saloon cars with buffet and baggage areas. - Seven 100-class cars were non-powered first class saloon cars - Three 280-class cars were powered full baggage cars with no passenger seating. Every 100 class and 250-class car was named after a species of bird found in South Australia. Because of this and their distinctive deep blue livery, these cars were known universally as Bluebirds. The name was so entrenched that locals in towns around the State often didn't catch 'the train', but rather 'the Bluebird'. By the time this photo was taken, SAR had been taken over by Australian National (AN) and all railways in SA were under federal government control. Long distance trains had been banished from the magnificent Adelaide station to this uninspiring 1980s Keswick terminal. This was the final year of operation of Peterborough trains, they were withdrawn later in 1986. Bluebird railcars did remain in passenger service on both the broad and standard gauge until withdrawal of all other remaining intra-SA country passenger trains at the end of 1990. Today, all Bluebirds have been withdrawn or converted to crew cars for operation on transcontinental freight trains. This car was one of four Bluebirds twice sent to Victoria for ill-fated passenger services. In 1998, 255 was refurbished, painted in VLine red and blue and numbered 802. It was sent to Traralgon to operate Traralgon to Melbourne VLine services, but the first passenger carrying service failed at Warragul just 60km into its run, and that was the end of that venture. The four cars were once again sent to Victoria in 2003 to run a proposed Melbourne to Mildura service, however that never eventuated and the cars returned to SA. 255 is still in use having been converted by CFCLA to a humble freight train crew car (CDBY255). In this form it travels across the continent attached to freight trains. All rural passenger trains in South Australia (apart from interstate trains) have been withdrawn so this scene has well and truly disappeared into history. This station, nowadays known as Adelaide Parklands Terminal still serves as Great Southern Railways' Adelaide terminal for The Overland, the Indian Pacific, The Ghan and the Great Southern.

15.01.2022 Today's historic photo of the day: Diesel locomotives H3, H2 and H1 stabled at the depot at Geelong, Vic, January 1 1987. Other locomotives visible in include S313 at far right facing right, S310, partly obscured coupled back to back with S313, X42 at far left and another B or S class cab unit obscured behind X42. The H class diesels were a bit of an oddity. Built in 1968/69 by Clyde Engineering of Granville, these five locos were delivered as T class locos. In fact they we...re originally numbered T413 to T417 (following on from the last of the T class - T412). They were modified from the standard T class design by the addition of low speed controls and ballast for extra weight for operation of the Melbourne Hump shunting yard. The H classification probably reflects their Hump shunting role and as such, they spent most of their operational lives in Melbourne yard. Following the decline of mixed freight and a reduction in the need for shunting, the five H class did see use more widely around Victoria and it appears that at least numbers 1,2 and 3 were based at Geelong in early 1987. These days, H1 and H4 have been scrapped, but the other three still exist: H2 is stored and H3 and H5 are both preserved operational by 707 Operations,

15.01.2022 Today's historic photo of the day: The railway station at Berrigan, NSW, April 6 1987. Berrigan is a small town in the Riverina region of NSW. The station was located 723km from Sydney on the Narrandera to Tocumwal branch line. The railway first reached town in 1896 when the line was extended southwards from Jerilderie. It was further extended to Finley in 1898 but didn't reach the State border at Tocumwal until 1914. Regular passenger trains in later years were operated by... diesel railmotors (either CPH or NPC/NTC pairs) connecting at Narrandera with the overnight South Mail train to and and from Sydney. The last passenger railmotor through here ran in late 1983, so when this photo was taken it had been three and a half years since a passenger train had called here. The line was still technically open for freight trains at this time, however, no trains had run through here for about six months. Whilst railways in rural NSW are not closed without an enabling act of Parliament, this line was placed out of service in late 1987, so by the time of this photo Berrigan had seen its last train. Today, the platform at Berrigan remains but the station building has gone and the tracks are heavily overgrown.

14.01.2022 Today's historic photo of the day: The closed station at Chakola, NSW, with track maintenance machines parked in the siding, back in the days when the SRA was still maintaining the track, late November 1984. Chakola was a small station 417km from Sydney on the Bombala railway, just north of Cooma. Whilst it was closed to passengers in 1976, passenger trains continued to run through here to and from Cooma until 1988. The railway was closed to all trains in 1989 due largely to ...the structural failure of the large Chakola trestle bridge immediately north of here. After closure, the Cooma Monaro Railway, a tourist railway based in Cooma was founded, and for many years it ran regular tourist rail motors the 14km between Cooma and Chakola. Sadly, due to the deteriorating state of infrastructure, the CMR have not operated any trains for a few years now, however they do aspire to restore services between Cooma and Chakola. Today, Chakola platform still stands, and there is a new building on the platform which is similar to but appears to be a replacement for the one seen here.

14.01.2022 Today's historic photo of the day: NSW SRA Alco diesel locomotive 8009 heads an express freight train at Coffs Harbour, NSW, November 7 1984, 36 years ago today. Coffs Harbour is a major provincial city on the North coast of NSW. The station is on the main Sydney to Brisbane interstate railway 608km north of Sydney. In 1984, as today, this line carried heavy freight traffic between Sydney and Brisbane. 8009 is one of fifty 80 class locomotives built for the NSWGR between 1978... and 1983. Essentially a development of the 442 class, these were used mainly on heavy interstate freight services, and they were quite common on the North Coast line. Today, a dozen or so of the 80 class remain in operation, and quite a few more are in storage but many, including 8009, have been withdrawn and scrapped. Although the yard and crossing loop at Coffs Harbour were removed in the 1990s, this line remains a busy interstate railway today and three daily passenger trains in each direction call at Coffs Harbour station.

13.01.2022 Today's historic photo of the day: The station at Lyndhurst, Vic, 34 years ago today, November 29 1986. Despite this photo portraying an apparently rural location, Lyndhurst is just 38km by rail from Melbourne. It was the first station on the South Gippsland line after it diverged from the main Gippsland line just east of Dandenong. The line through here opened in 1888 and this station was served by Leongatha and Yarram passenger trains until their withdrawal in June 1981 an...d then by Dandenong to Lang Lang railmotors until their withdrawal in October 1981. Passenger trains between Melbourne and Leongatha were restored between 1984 and 1993, however I believe that Lyndhurst station was not re-opened as a passenger stop for those trains; the decrepit state of the platform and lack of nameboards in this shot tends to support that. Following withdrawal of Leongatha trains in 1993, the line between Dandenong and Cranbourne was electrified, and since 1995 this section of line has been served by suburban electric trains to and from Cranbourne. There is however no station at Lyndhurst - the nearest station today is Lynbrook which is just over 1km south of here on a new crossing loop. Whilst Lyndhurst was not a passenger station when this photo was taken, it was an active freight location. The loop in the foreground served the nearby Boral cement mixing plant. Until 2009 this plat was served by regular block cement trains from Waurn Ponds. Today, the environment here has changed almost beyond belief. Whilst the gum trees still exist (you can actually recognise the individual trees on Google SteetView), the background is now heavily industrialised and the M780 South Gippsland Freeway crosses over the line just to the right of this shot and blasts through the background. The Boral plant (out of sight to the left) still operates, but today, although some of the siding tracks still exist, the plant is no longer served by rail. Frequent electric passenger trains run through here on their way between Melbourne and Cranbourne.

13.01.2022 Today's historic photo of the day: Two-car CityRail Endeavour DMU set LE2857+TE2807 running a northbound Bomaderry to Kiama shuttle service passes the home signal on the approach to Berry, NSW, January 25 2006. Berry is on the NSW South Coast, 141km south of Sydney on the South Coast line to Bomaderry (Nowra). Whilst most of the South Coast line was electrified in the 1980s, the southernmost 34km from Kiama to Bomaderry has never been electrified and services here remain ope...rated by diesel multiple units. In years gone by, there were direct trains between Bomaderry and Sydney, most notably the South Coast Daylight Express, but since the wires reached Kiama, all passenger trains to that point are run by interurban electric trains, and all trains between Kiama and Bomaderry are run by connecting DMUs such as this. Endeavour railcars were built by ABB Transportation at their factory in Dandenong, Victoria and delivered to Sydney Trains between 1994 and 1996. The fleet, as delivered, comprised 15 two-carriage sets, each comprising a TE car and and LE car. Endeavours were used by CityRail on outer urban and lower patronage interurban routes on the South Coast, Hunter, Southern Highlands, and for a while on the Wollongong to Moss Vale weekend services. Their introduction enabled the replacement of the venerable 620/720 660/760 class two-car diesel trains. Endeavours still run today, although they are now in NSW Trainlink ownership. These days, in addition to the routes listed above, Endeavours also run the Bathurst Bullet services between Sydney and Bathurst. Because Endeavours are fundamentally similar to XPLorer railcars, they can inter-operate and in fact one set has been converted to an XPLorer which has enabled the operation of NSW Trainlink services to Griffith and Broken Hill. Whilst Endeavours are nearing the end of their operating lives (they will be replaced by new CAF trains to be delivered in the next few years), they have proven themselves, and their legacy will live on through their influence on the design of Victoria's successful VLocity railcars.

13.01.2022 Today's historic photo of the day: The little station at Gwabegar, NSW, January 30 1983. The station name has been informally inscribed on the platform coping in the absence of any official station nameboard. Gwabegar is a tiny settlement in the Piliga scrub in north-central NSW. It was the northern terminus of a 432km-long branch line that junctioned off the main West line at Wallerawang. In total, Gwabegar was 603km from Sydney by rail. The line opened in 1923 and carried ...goods and passenger trains until withdrawal of passenger services in the 1970s. The line remained open for occasional goods trains and specials (such as this) until services were suspended in 2005, and no trains have run up this way since then. This photo was snapped during a grand rail tour of western NSW spanning the three day Australia Day long weekend (29-31 January). Early on the morning of the 29th, the train left Sydney behind a 46 class electric locomotive which took the train to Lithgow. At Lithgow, the 46 detached and 4910 dropped on for the journey up to Coonabarabran. and the following morning the train ran up to Gwabegar then back to Coonabarabran and across to Dubbo for another overnight stay. Then on the holiday Monday, Jan 31, the train, now hauled by two 49s headed west to Narromine then via Wyanga and Peak Hill to Parkes and back along the main West line to Lithgow where another 46 class electric took over for the trip down to Sydney.

13.01.2022 Today's historic photo of the day: SW5 class tram no 744 running a route 10 service to St Kilda Beach enters a section of temporary track laid on top of the road during track renewal work in Park Street, St Kilda West, 32 years ago today, November 26 1988. This tram route runs, which is very much the least known of the three tram routes between downtown Melbourne and St Kilda, runs through the back streets of South Melbourne, Albert Park, Middle Park and St Kilda West. As ro...ute 10 it ran from West Preston then through the city along Collins Street and along Clarendon Street South Melbourne. In 1995 route 10 was split into two separate routes; route 11 running the northern part and this section to St Kilda became route 12. In 2000 the two routes were re-combined but numbered 112 instead of the 10 it had been previously, and then in 2014 it was once again split into two separate routes numbered 11 to West Preston and 12 to St Kilda Beach. When this photo was taken, the tracks in Park Street were being renewed. In those days, a major track renewal took quite some weeks and the approach was to re-lay one track at a time and to lay a temporary track on the top of the roadway so that tram services could continue. Modern construction techniques mean that work like this is more likely today to be approached on a blitz basis with a total road and tram shutdown over just a handful of days. Whilst we no longer see wonderfully exotic temporary track like this (other than perhaps portable crossovers), to be honest, modern tram track relaying projects are more efficient and less disruptive. Tram no 744 was built in 1935 as a W5 class, and was converted in 1984 to an SW5 by the fitting of sliding doors in the dropcentre section. All SW5 class trams have since been withdrawn and 744 is now in storage. Route 12 trams still run regularly along these tracks today.

13.01.2022 Today's historic photo of the day: Melbourne SW6 class tram 918 running an inbound route 3 service from East Malvern at Caulfield, Vic, November 19 1988, 32 years ago today. The tram is on reserved track in the median of Princes Highway and is about to turn left into Derby Street where it will pass by Caulfield railway station. The third tram track in the foreground is the stabling siding used to hold special trams serving crowds attending events at Caulfield Racecourse (whi...ch is a few hundred metres away to the left on the other side of the railway). After passing Caulfield station, the tramway passes beneath the railway line and heads to Balaclava. You can see an overhead wiring gantry on the railway on an embankment at right. The Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board built 120 of the SW6 class trams between 1939 and 1951; a remarkably long duration for a model to remain in production. It's even longer if you include the almost identical W6s (which followed the SW6s); a further 30 of them were built until 1955. Most SW6s remained in active service around the streets of Melbourne into the 1990s. A handful remain in service today on Melbourne's City Circle tram route having been converted to W8 class by upgrading traction motors, suspension and braking, improved crash-worthiness and lighting. 918 was withdrawn from regular service and along with so many other W class trams placed into storage in the late '90s. 918 has however found a new life. In 2005 she was sent to Bendigo where she was restored and for a while ran as tram no 34. She has subsequently been re-renumbered back to 918 and today is a regular on the tourist tramway line in Bendigo.

13.01.2022 Today's historic photo of the day: 42216 on the standard gauge having arrived from Sydney on the 'Fosters Flyer', a once-only extra train bringing patrons from Sydney to the Melbourne Cup, at Spencer Street station, Melbourne, Vic, 33 years ago today, November 3 1987. Until August 1986, two overnight trains ran each way each night between Sydney and Melbourne. The Spirit of Progress and the Southern Aurora were amalgamated into one train at that time and thereafter ran south...bound as the Melbourne Express and northbound as the Sydney Express. For a year or two thereafter though, at peak times, two trains did operate. Melbourne Cup day 1987 was evidently one of those special occasions, and this special train, named the Fosters Flyer (after the then sponsor of the Melbourne Cup), ran on this one day. In the background on platform 1 you can see the carriage set of the regular Melbourne Express that had arrived from Sydney as normal. The Fosters Flyer returned to Sydney that night after the day's festivities and as far as I know it never ran again. The Melbourne Express and Sydney Express were replaced in 1994 by XPTs which today continue to operate the overnight and daylight trains between Australia's two largest cities.

12.01.2022 Today's historic photo of the day: VLine Diesel Electric RailMotor (DERM) 58RM and an MTH trailer running an enthusiast special tour from Cressy at Poorneet, Vic, 33 years ago today, October 3 1987. Poorneet is just east of Cressy on the Gheringhap to Maroona railway in south-western Victoria. This 160km long broad gauge line opened in 1913; quite late in the railway construction era. It passes through expansive agricultural plainlands, but served no major towns along the way.... In effect it provided a secondary route from Melbourne to Ararat on the main line to Adelaide. Because of the low population served, passenger trains had been withdrawn from this line many decades beforehand, and when this photo was taken it was primarily a route for taking grain from Western Victoria to the port of Geelong, and occasional other goods trains. In 1995 however, the line received a massive status boost. With the standardisation of the Melbourne to Adelaide railway line, the Gheringhap to Maroona line was chosen in favour of the more direct Ballarat line as the preferred route largely because it has fewer hills. So, it was converted to standard gauge, and today it carries heavy interstate freight trains, and it also now sees passenger trains: the twice weekly Melbourne to Adelaide 'Overland' train now runs this way. 58RM is a DERM (Diesel Electric Rail Motor), one of a fleet of ten such self-propelled railcars built of the Victorian Railways between 1928 and 1931. They generally operated lightly patronised rural branch line passenger services, providing connecting trains into main line trains at junction stations. After the withdrawal of most branch line passenger train services in the 1970s, the DERMS got a second lease on life running short distance main line commuter trains from Melbourne to places like Werribee, Bacchus Marsh, Sunbury and Seymour. Although all the DERMS were eventually withdrawn from regular service between the late 1970s and the early 1990s, all but one have been preserved, four are operational and another four could potentially be restored to operational condition. Today, under ownership of DERMPAV, 58RM continues to run trips around Victoria for rail enthusiasts and general tourists alike.

11.01.2022 Today's historic photo of the day: A DEB set headed by HPF953 approaches Wollongong, NSW on a northbound South Coast line service, December 15 1985. This was the weekend on which electric train services between Sydney, Wollongong and Port Kembla commenced. Services further south along the main line however remained, like this one, diesel powered. Whilst electric trains operated many trains from this date, some local services continued to be diesel railcar operated for some wh...ile afterwards; indeed on the right you can see two two-car diesel sets headed by NPF637 waiting in the sidings to form a local service. The last DEB sets were withdrawn in 1995 and the last 620 class two-car railcars were withdrawn in 2007 after living out their final years serving Newcastle and the lower Hunter Valley. The South Coast line has since been further electrified south to Kiama and all passenger trains through Wollongong are nowadays run by electric multiple unit trains.

11.01.2022 Today's historic photo of the day: Melbourne SW6 class tram no 913 running an inbound route 77 service makes the left turn out of Church Street into Swan Street, Richmond, Vic, 34 years ago today, November 1 1986, the last day of operation of route 77. Route 77 is one of the relatively few Melbourne tram routes that has been withdrawn. It commenced at the intersection of Chapel Street and St Kilda Road at what was known as the Prahran terminus (though technically in St Kilda)..., and ran north along Chapel Street through Windsor, Prahran and South Yarra, then across the Yarra River and into Church Street Richmond. At this point route 77 turned into Swan Street and ran west past Richmond station, onto the former Batman Avenue and ran along the north bank of the Yarra River to the Batman Avenue city terminus at what is now Federation Square. The tram, SW6 class no 913, introduced in 1946 has since been withdrawn from service and is stored out of use. This intersection is still today served by trams on both cross routes. Route 70 between the City and Wattle Park runs east-west along Swan Street and route 78 runs north-south along Church Street from North Richmond down to the same southern terminus that route 77 one served. Whilst route 77 denoted the southern terminus as Prahran, it's now displayed on route 78 trams as Balaclava, even though no part of the route actually technically enters Balaclava. The double track curves here at the corner of Swan and Church Streets remain in place but they are not nowadays used for passenger services.

11.01.2022 Today's historic photo of the day: An outbound 2+5 Candy-liveried XPT set with power car XP2007 'City of Albury' at the rear pass through Redfern, NSW, August 2 1986. Redfern is an inner suburb of Sydney just 1.3km by rail from Sydney Central station on the Main Suburban and Illawarra lines. All long distance trains arriving and departing Sydney Central pass through Redfern just before arriving, or in this case just after departing Central. XPTs (Xpress Passenger Trains), co...mprising power cars substantially based on British Rail HSTs and passenger cars based on Budd designs, first ran regular passenger service in 1982 when they were introduced on the Central West XPT between Sydney and Dubbo. As new cars were delivered, they were deployed to routes from Sydney to Kempsey and Albury later in 1982, and then in August 1983 to the Sydney to Canberra route. For a few years they also ran between Sydney and Tenterfield and Sydney and Murwillumbah In 1990, significant rationalisation of regional passenger trains across NSW saw XPTs (together with XPlorers) replace almost all older style long distance and interstate trains. XPTs still today operate long distance trains from Sydney to Dubbo on the very first route they ever ran, to Melbourne and up the North Coast to Grafton, Casino and Brisbane. Their remaining lifespan is limited however, and a new generation of trains to take their place is currently under construction by CAF, and these are expected to enter service from 2023. The footbridge from which I shot this photo at the southern end of Redfern station was removed in 1994.

11.01.2022 Today's historic photo of the day: S class tram no 164 and T class no 180 crossing the tramway/railway level crossing in Riversdale Road, Camberwell, Vic, 29 years ago today, November 24 1991. The occasion was a special tram procession to Wattle Park on the day of the handover of Wattle Park from the tramways to the Melbourne Metropolitan Board of Works. Wattle Park was originally founded by the Hawthorn Tramways Trust, and ownership passed to the MMTB when it took over Melbo...urne's municipal tramways in 1920. The park was operated for decades by the MMTB as a sort of escape from the city that could be accessed by tram. The Wattle Park chalet and the Tramways band recitals became famous. By 1991 though, operation of a park (complete with golf course) was no longer core to the image of a modern public transport operator, so it was divested to the Parks authority. S and T class trams are nowhere near as familiar to Melburnians as their more famous W class cousins. There are a couple of reasons for this. Firstly, there were far fewer of them - just 18 S class were built between 1916 and 1922 and just 6 T class were built in 1917. Both types were built by Duncan & Fraser of Adelaide for the Melbourne, Brunswick and Coburg Tramways Trust who ran the electric tram lines from the corner of Queensberry & Swanston Streets, Melbourne along Lygon Street and Holmes Street through Carlton and Brunswick to Bell Street, and along Moreland Road to Sydney Road then up to North Coburg. The MB&CTT, (like the Hawthorn Tramways Trust) were taken over by the M&MTB in 1920, after which the S & T class trams were used more widely across the network. The S class car were mostly withdrawn from normal service by 1953 and the T class by 1961. The two trams seen here are the only survivors of their respective classes of tram and today both are on display at the Melbourne Tramway Museum in Hawthorn. Whilst they are in operational condition, due to restrictive conditions surrounding operation of historic trams they do not run these days. Trams still run along here to Wattle Park, and you can still attend free recitals by the Tramways Band that take place in the Wattle Park bandstand on Sunday afternoons six times per year: http://melbtramband.org.au/concerts.htm

11.01.2022 Today's historic photo of the day: Carriages stabled on a quiet Sunday afternoon at the former Auckland station, Auckland, New Zealand, 31 years ago today, October 8 1989. This station, located on the eastern edge of downtown Auckland was the city's second rail terminus. Opened in 1930, it replaced an earlier, much more modest station located at Britomart in the heart of the business district. Suburban trains were the primary traffic into and out of the platforms here, alth...ough it was also the Auckland terminus for long distance trains to Wellington and other destinations across New Zealand's North Island. Whilst this 1930 station was quite a grand terminus, by the late 1980s it was somewhat under-used. This particular day in 1989 was a Sunday, and at that time, on Sundays there were very few, if any, trains running in Auckland. The station was not much more than a carriage storage yard for the day. Since then, Auckland's rail network has changed dramatically. Significant investment has seen the city's network electrified and extended. The city railway has been re-extended to a new underground station at Britomart, and this 1930 station has been closed. Modern suburban electric trains now run 7 days per week. Whilst the grand terminal building remains, it has been converted to apartments. Most of the former platforms have been removed, although outer portions of a couple do remain. A new pair of electrified tracks connecting the southern line to Britomart nowadays cuts right across the site of the former platforms at right angles. A small new platform has been constructed just to the left of this site that today, known as Auckland Strand station, acts as the Auckland terminus of long distance trains to Wellington.

10.01.2022 Today's historic photo of the day: The then recently-closed side-of-road terminus station on the west side of Military Road at Grange, SA April 26 1986. Grange, a beachside suburb of Adelaide, is served by suburban trains via a broad gauge branch line that junctions from the Port line at Woodville. Originally this line extended further south to Henley Beach running alongside the road and calling along the way at a few side-of-road platforms similar to that seen here. In 1957... though, the Grange to Henley Beach section was closed and the station seen here became the terminus. Then in early 1986, just weeks before this photo was taken, the line was truncated a further hundred metres or so and a new station (just out of view to the left of this shot) was opened on the east side of Military Road, and the station and track seen here were closed. Today, regular passenger trains continue to operate to the1986-built Grange station. The old platform seen here still exists but the rails embedded in Military Road have been removed.

10.01.2022 Today's historic photo of the day: Victorian Railways electric locomotive L1172 hauls the Melbourne-bound Maryvale Paper train at Garfield, Victoria, December 29 1986. Garfield is a small town 70km by rail south-east of Melbourne on the broad gauge railway to Traralgon, Sale and Bairnsdale. The Maryvale paper train transports paper manufactured at the Maryvale paper mill in Gippsland to Melbourne. In 1986 it was pretty obviously a paper train - you can see the product in the ...open wagons. Today, the paper train still runs, although today its entirely containerised so you wouldn't really know its carrying paper. The line, which in the 1950s was electrified to Traralgon with 1500V DC overhead has since been de-electrified beyond the current suburban terminus at Pakenham, so the motive power on the paper train is diesels these days, and the classic Victorian Railways L class electric locomotives were all withdrawn by 1987. VLine today runs a frequent commuter service to Traralgon with three trains per day extending further east to Bairnsdale. Most trains are run by VLocity railcars, but there is one daily Sprinter and one of the daily Bairnsdale trains is loco hauled. The station at Garfield today serves VLine commuters, but the little wooden station building on the Up platform seen here has since been removed and replaced by a perfunctory shelter.

10.01.2022 Today's historic photo of the day: S307 'John Pascoe Fawkner' double heads a Bendigo-bound VLine freight train with a Y class loco on the approach to Woodend, Vic, 34 years ago today, October 11 1986. Woodend is 78km by rail north of Melbourne on the main Melbourne to Bendigo railway. This line, which reached Woodend in 1861, was one of Victoria's first railways, was built to high standards reflecting the importance to the Victorian economy of the Central Victorian Goldfiel...ds and Murray River trade which it was designed to capture. Note the impressive co-acting somersault starting signal at left. This photo also shows the signal wires leading to it - thrown into relief by water lying alongside the track. The train seen here was a Melbourne to Bendigo goods train. The lead locomotive is one of a fleet of 18 GM streamlined S class diesel locos purchased by the Victorian Railways in 1957-61. They ran mainline goods and passenger trains right across Victoria's broad and standard gauge networks. As is evident here, they were still going strong in the mid 1980s. Today, most (including S307) have been withdrawn and stored, but a handful do remain in service. The Bendigo line was significantly changed in the early years of the 21st century as part of the Regional Fast Rail project. The entire route was re-signalled which means the end of the semaphore signals seen here. The track speed was raised and long sections north of Kyneton were singled. The section seen here remains double track today and carries reasonably frequent VLine commuter services. The RFR upgrade was a bit half-arsed though and the west track (on which the train is seen here) was upgraded to support speeds up to 160km/h but the east track was maintained at only 130km/h. As a result, to maximise the benefit of the higher speed track, a strange operating pattern is today used which means that heavier-loaded trains travelling in the peak commuting direction always travel on the higher speed track. This means that in the mornings, the double track operates right-hand running, and in the afternoon it swaps to left-hand running. This means that commuters from Woodend, Bendigo and other stations around here will travel on the higher speed western track both on their way to work in Melbourne and again on their return home in the afternoon.

09.01.2022 Today's historic photo of the day: VLine B61 and X38 in the former broad gauge yard at Benalla, Vic, March 14 1987. Benalla is a provincial city in North-Eastern Victoria 195km by rail from Melbourne on the Victorian North-Eastern main line and the main interstate line to Sydney. Opened in 1873 as a broad (1600mm) gauge line, this railway connected Melbourne to the North-East of Victoria and to Albury on the north bank of the Murray River. In 1962 a parallel standard gauge tr...ack was constructed together with second platforms at the major stations including Benalla (out of view to the left of this shot) that enabled, for the first time, through passenger and goods trains all the way between Melbourne and Sydney. The broad gauge route remained, however, to carry VLine passenger trains to Albury, and for local goods trains and as the trunk route for numerous broad gauge branch lines. The scene here has changed quite a lot in the thirty-one years since this photo. In 2011 the broad gauge track was converted to standard gauge - effectively making this a double-track standard gauge interstate route. The signalling was upgraded and the yards rationalised. Most of the former branch lines had been closed by that time, however the Oaklands line that branches to the north here at Benalla has been retained and it too was converted to standard gauge. Today, VLine passenger trains run through here to and from Albury run on standard gauge. The impressive signal box at left still stands, but it is no longer used for railway purposes. B61 was Victoria's second mainline diesel-electric locomotive. Built in 1952, it was 35 years old when this photo was taken, and today, at 68 years of age, named 'Bernie Baker' (after star of stage and screen), she is still running in revenue service with Southern Shorthaul Railroad. X38, built in 1970, is also still in service today with Pacific National rebuilt as XR550.

06.01.2022 Today's historic photo of the day: W6 class tram no 993 running a route 64 service from East Brighton to Melbourne Swanston Street calls at the Raynes Street stop in Hawthorn Road, Caulfield South, Vic, November 19 1988. Route 64 runs from the southernmost point of Melbourne's tram network, up along Hawthorn Road to Caulfield North, then along Dandenong Road to St Kilda Junction, then along St Kilda Road to Flinders Street Melbourne, then along Swanston Street. In 1988 it ter...minated at Victoria Street, but these days it continues further north along Swanston Street to Melbourne University. W6 class trams like 993 were built between 1951 and 1955. Whilst none run today in their original condition, a few have been upgraded to the W8 class and run today on the route 35 city circle service. No 993 itself has been withdrawn. Today's route 64 is run predominantly by Z3 and B class trams.

05.01.2022 Today's historic photo of the day: Diesel locomotive 42205 at the head of train S66 the Melbourne to Sydney 'Intercapital Daylight' calls at Albury, NSW, April 4 1983. Albury is in far southern NSW on the state border with Victoria. Whilst it is in NSW, it is significantly closer to Melbourne, being 646km by rail from Sydney and 305km from Melbourne. It was the changeover point between the NSW and Victorian railways and was the 'break of gauge' station before the standard g...auge was extended to Melbourne in 1962. Until 2008 the 1600mm broad gauge line still ran to Albury from Melbourne in parallel with the 1435mm standard gauge, but in 2010 the former broad gauge line re-opened as a standard gauge track and the line into Albury from the south is now double track standard gauge. The 'Daylight' was a 6 days per week passenger train between Sydney and Melbourne that, as its name suggests, ran in daylight hours. It left each city in the morning, ran through the day before arriving at its destination in the evening. Introduced in 1962 when the standard gauge line between Albury and Melbourne first opened, the Daylight was a diesel-hauled air-conditioned NSW 'RUB' set with first and economy class seats and a buffet car. The train was initially intended to carry passengers between Sydney and Melbourne, but as air travel captured more of that market in the 1980s, it increasingly became a service from Melbourne and Sydney to intermediate cities along the way. The Daylight was withdrawn in 1991, however after an absence of three years, daytime passenger rail services between Australia's two largest cities was restored by re-timing and extending the Riverina XPT, which had previously run just between Sydney and Albury, so that it runs all the way from Sydney to Melbourne in daylight. That XPT service continues today. Whilst some of the 20 GM-engined 422 class diesels remain in service today, 42205 was sold and exported some years ago to Vietnam Railways and was scrapped by them in September this year.

05.01.2022 Today's historic photo of the day: The station signboard at the entrance to a farm with the then still open railway and station site at Gooramma, NSW, 35 years ago today, November 2 1985. Gooramma station was in the NSW South West Slopes region, 382.5km from Sydney by rail on the Galong to Boorowa branch line. The 29km long Galong to Boorowa branch line opened in 1915, and Gooramma station, 11km from Boorowa, opened with the line as the only intermediate station. Other inte...rmediate stations opened in following years and the branch junction at Galong changed when the main line was diverted and duplicated, but Gooramma. Note the railway track crossing the scene from left to right in the middle distance, and the 382.5km marker post in the exact centre of the shot. Given that the station was at the 382.563km mark, it would probably have been located just above the initial letter G of the nameboard. Passenger services on the Boorowa line had been withdrawn 11 years before this photo was taken when passenger carriages on the weekly mixed train services were discontinued, but the line was still open to freight trains at this time. The last train to Boorowa through Gooramma ran in October 1987. The track has never actually been lifted, and although road crossings are sealed over and culverts are no doubt unsafe, much of the actual track remains in decrepit condition to this day. I believe the Gooramma station nameboard still stands today in this same spot at the entrance to the Gooramma poll dorset stud farm. (Get your sheep here: https://www.gooramma.com.au/ )

04.01.2022 Today's historic photo of the day: W2 class tram no 510 in High Street Kew, Vic, returns to Kew Depot after having run special shuttles between Deepdene and Mont Albert, 29 years ago today, October 5 1991. On this day, a fleet of historic trams operated special additional shuttle services along Whitehorse Road between Deepdene and Mont Albert terminus to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the extension of the tram route from Deepdene to Mont Albert. The W class trams were Melb...ourne's most type of tram. 752 trams of numerous sub-types of W class trams were built between 1923 and 1956. Number 510, built in 1928, is a W2 class - the most iconic and most numerous subtype of the W class series. She ran in regular service until 1988 when she was restored to something closer to its original condition (with single headlight) and assigned to the heritage fleet. On this particular weekend, a number of historic trams including L 104, W1 431, Y1 611, SW6 892 as well as W2 510 ran shuttle services between Deepdene and Mont Albert to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the extension of the line. These days, 510 resides at the Hawthorn tramway museum but does not normally operate on the network. No W2 trams operate regular services these days, but some of their slightly younger cousins, rebuilt as W8 class, do still operate City Circle services. Kew Depot still houses trams today, and this route has subsequently been further extended beyond the then Mont Albert terminus to its current eastern terminus at Box Hill.

04.01.2022 Today's historic photo of the day: 4821 heads the Sydney-bound Cooma Mail off of the Cooma line and into the station at Queanbeyan, NSW, exactly thirty-five years ago today, October 12 1985. The up home bracket semaphore signal protecting entrance to Queanbeyan yard from the Cooma and Canberra lines appears to be on quite a lean. The Cooma Mail was a passenger train that connected Cooma and Sydney. Named the 'Mail' because in earlier days it did in fact carry mail, by the 19...80s it ran as a purely passenger train, four nights per week from Sydney overnight to Cooma returning in daylight the following day on the northbound leg. As can be seen from this shot, by 1985 it was not a large train, generally comprised of FS and BS compartment cars modified with additional heating to cope with the cold Monaro climate. The Cooma Mail ran for the last time in early 1986, only about half a year after this photo. The last regular passenger train to Cooma ran in the late 1980s, and today no trains at all run south of Queanbeyan. Trains do still run through Queanbeyan today though. Three NSW Trainlink XPLorer trains run each way each day between Sydney and Canberra via Queanbeyan.

03.01.2022 Today's historic photo of the day: 8107 on a northbound freight at Albury, NSW, March 18 1985.

03.01.2022 Today's historic photo of the day: The railway station at Bethungra, NSW, 35 years ago today, November 16 1985. Bethungra station was 456km south of Sydney on the NSW main South railway, the main line between Sydney and Melbourne. It's unclear whether the station was still in use at this time, but if so it was in its last month. The June 4 1984 timetable shows the overnight 'South XPT' would stop at Bethungra if a passenger wished to board or alight, but the timetable that ...came in to effect December 15 1985 no longer listed the South XPT and did not list Bethungra as a stop for any trains. Today, all station buildings, platforms and signals are long gone, but Bethungra is still to this day a place well worth a visit for that great railway oddity - the Bethungra spiral.

03.01.2022 Today's historic photo of the day: The railway station at Yarra Glen, Victoria. December 21 1986. Yarra Glen is in the Yarra Valley just east of Melbourne. The railway station was 50km from Melbourne and was the major intermediate station on the Lilydale to Healesville line. Passenger services served Yarra Glen until 1980. Services were run predominantly by railmotors between Lilydale and Healesville connecting into and out of electric suburban trains at Lilydale. In earli...er years there were on occasions some through trains to and from Melbourne. Until the line closed in 1980 there were also goods train services. At the time this photo was taken, the line had been closed for 6 years and the station had been neglected and was starting to fall into disrepair. Today, however, Yarra Glen station is in a much healthier state. Some years ago The Yarra Valley Railway restored the outer few km of track from Healesville to Tarrawarra and run heritage railmotor trips from Healesville on Sundays. They are in the midst of an ambitious project to extend the heritage line the further 9km back to Yarra Glen. The station has been beautifully restored and is eagerly awaiting the return of trains to this town ideally located for day trippers from Melbourne.

02.01.2022 Today's historic photo of the day: N452 hauls VLine Ballarat-bound passenger train no 8115 through Warrenheip, Vic, 31 years ago today, December 9 1989. Warrenheip is about 110km west of Melbourne on the eastern outskirts of the Victorian provincial city of Ballarat. In 1989 there was double track from Ballarat up to Warrenheip where the line branched into two single track lines - one to Melbourne and one to Geelong. Note the spectacular semaphore signal post with a down sig...nal as well as co-acting arms for up trains - no doubt to ensure visibility above and below the overbridge adjacent to where I took this photo. In the background you can see Warrenheip signal box and another signal on the line from Geelong curving around from the right. Today there are still two tracks at this location, but they are two separate lines. The North track (on the left) is now the main line to Melbourne used for all passenger trains, whilst the right hand track is the goods only line to Geelong. There is nowadays no physical connection at Warrenheip and the signal box is gone. There remains a possibility however that this section may one day be converted back to a standard double track section to cope with the burgeoning passenger traffic between Melbourne, Ballarat and beyond. VLine's 25 N class locomotives were built between 1985 and 1987 specifically for passenger trains. They continue to run today, although they now no longer run on trains to and through Ballarat which these days are operated 100% by VLocity railcars.