The last run of Alex MacDonald – a notable figure in NSW Railway History

Our ‘Flying Scotsman’ Alexander Donald MacDonald was a pioneer of the Railway Circle of Merrylands, which became the Australian Railway Historical Society and as such he is a notable figure in NSW Railway History. But prior to his involvement he had already lived an adventurous and eventful life. He was

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Goulburn by Col Gilbertson

Historic Overview As one drives into Goulburn, the roadside signs proudly proclaim it to be Australia’s first inland city, rivalling Bathurst which is the oldest inland settlement in Australia. In many respects the two cities share many similarities: • both are located approximately 200 kms from Sydney and are the

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Albany revisited and other travels! by Phil Melling

Living in Geraldton, Western Australia means normally having to drive long distances to see our various family members. On Sunday 11 August I embarked on a journey to Cuballing in the Upper Great Southern and also a planned visit to Albany on Western Australia’s South coast. The return journey was

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Light rail returns to Sydney’s centre by Bruce Belbin

It had been a long time – 61 years and 22 days – since a member of the public could travel down George Street, Sydney, past Wynyard, the GPO, the Queen Victoria Building (QVB) and the Town Hall, in a light rail vehicle (aka a tram). However, on Saturday 14

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NES equipment to NSWGR and DRTT Staff

During the Second World War, a government body was established to act as an air raid and civil defence service on the home front known as the National Emergency Service (N.E.S.). From 1939 onwards, civilians were encouraged to join up, with an emphasis on railway and civic employees. The standard

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The final SMR railcar built by Tulloch Limited

For this flashback we turn the clock back 58 years. On the 14th of July 1961 the South Maitland Railways accepted delivery of the third and final SMR railcar built by Tulloch Limited. For many years the SMR had hired the NSWGR to operate passenger trains between Cessnock and Maitland

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C38s on the Newcastle Flyer: An Iconic Pairing

May 28th of this year marks the 75th anniversary of the introduction of the C38 class locomotives to the famed Newcastle Flyer express. Initially dubbed the Northern Commercial Limited Express and commencing operation on 11th November 1929, the Sydney Central – Newcastle return services were originally the charge of C32

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The final day of the S sets

We start this Friday Flashback by turning the clock right back to 1968. On the 23rd of May 1968, experimental Tulloch double deck driving power car C3804 was rolled out of Tulloch Engineering’s factory at Rhodes. Whilst the Tulloch double deck trailer cars had been in operation since February 1964,

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The Hawkesbury River Railway Bridges [review]

In the latest Engineers Australia Heritage e-magazine this ARHSnsw publication received a wonderful review.  We thought it would be great to share this with you. Book Review: “The Hawkesbury River Railway Bridges” by Bill Phippen We announced the publication of this book in the previous issue of EHA Magazine. I

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WONDABYNE WONDERING

At the foot of the climb up to the Southern Portal of the Woy Woy Tunnel sits the tiny station of Wondabyne, The setting is idyllic, the upper reaches of Mullet Creek on the one side and rugged heavily timbered hills and gullies on the other, only broken by a

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