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Posted (edited)

Thanks for posting Middy. 

That video is a bit sad actually.

As a kid growing up in the 70's, those trains were so much fun to ride. They were rattlers alright. Stinking hot in Summer and freezing cold in Winter. I loved hanging out the open doors and watching ahead, particularly through the City Circle underground. I was a teenager and not inherently aware of the dangers, although I was never a risk taker. I was always a good kid and if anything, always erred on the side of caution.

Compare that to today's trains in the video below. Turn the sound up. They are so quiet and comfortable. Almost sterile. But I love them too.

I wish a couple of those old Red Rattlers were still doing suburban runs just for the fun of it but it would never happen due to O H and S requirements these days. I'll just have to enjoy my ever fading memories of these old trains. Good memories.

 

Sydney Trains Vlog 1795: A Trip to Olympic Park from the Western Line - YouTube

Edited by Wanderboy
Posted
On 21/11/2020 at 5:25 PM, Smoggy said:

Remember the red rattlers.

Train from Riverstone to Richmond was diesel red rattlers when I was at High School, have to change at Riverstone to join the electrical line.

 

Posted
5 minutes ago, StringerBellend said:

Train from Riverstone to Richmond was diesel red rattlers when I was at High School, have to change at Riverstone to join the electrical line.

 

Yeh, I went for a ride on one of those once. Just for the fun of it.

Posted
8 minutes ago, StringerBellend said:

Train from Riverstone to Richmond was diesel red rattlers when I was at High School, have to change at Riverstone to join the electrical line.

 

In 78 I got married and we moved from Fairfield to Marayong and that old diesel train often did the Blacktown to Richmond run...

My all time fav train [red rattler]  was the 5:36 from Town Hall after work, it was Central, Redfern,....Blacktown and all stations to Richmond... 

Many times people got on expecting it to stop at Strathfield and its sailed thu... one day in winter school holidays two sisters about a year apart around 12 say 11 & 12 or could have bee 12 & 13... anyWho they got up out of their seats and when to the doors at Strathfield and when it speed thu they got worried and when told it went to Blacktown before it stopped one of the girls started to sob and said Mum is waiting for us .. it was pitch black outside... so the entire train population around them comforted them and told them to go and see the station master at Blacktown ... one of those rare times when two kids in this case made a mistake and we all felt for the Mum waiting on her girls ... and I am talking about 78 so phones and communication were limited ... so the carriage almost as one decided to look after the two young girls ... 

Posted

On 22 May 1975, the electric train arrived at Riverstone, and electrification was finally extended to Richmond and opened on 17 August 1991. The line was extended by 2.0km to Nepean Sand & Gravel on 18th April 1925.

I'm glad I'm not that old must be the late 80's 90's I remember getting the diesel train from school Richmond to Work McGrathsHill Maccas (Mulgrave)

Posted

Old Train joke first heard about it for the Richmond line...

AnyWho, a "single box man" working at the Riverstone Single Box wanted a promotion, so he wrote to City Rail State Rail or I guess way back then NSW Railways seeking a promotion.

NSW Railway wrote back and said you have to pass a piratical test ..

Fine said the old single box operator.

So out comes the test inspector.

The inspector said you look up at your box and see two trains are heading in the same direction on the same  and will have a head on crash...What do you do..

The Single Box man said, I would grab the automatic gear levers and and manually move the train coming from Richmond to a siding...

The inspector fired back suppose its jammed and won't work.

The Single Box man said then I would grab a manual lever and run down to the rail spilt and manually change the track to diverts the train coming from Richmond.

The inspector fired back... suppose the switch breaks and that won't work...

The Single Box man said well I would run back to the single box and hit the electric switch that turns all signal's to Red and stops all trains on the Richmond line..

The inspector fires back... suppose there is a power outage and you cannot send the signals to stop all trains..

The Single Box man says, well I would run down the road and grab my uncle Leo...

The inspector ... says why would you get your uncle Leo...

The Single Box Man said... Uncle Leo has never seen a train wreck and I am sure he would want to...

Posted

I saw an article yesterday (and now I can't find it) but it was in regards to Sydney trains postponing on having the electric trains running down to the Southern Tablelands.

I thought it was already underway as they have were going to have some electric trains travel down to Menangle Park to make it easier for passengers to get to the racecourse?

Posted (edited)

For anyone interested in the "evolution" of Sydney's rail system, this is an absolute must watch. There's some funny stuff amongst this lot of news reports. Also some great footage of parts of Sydney - for instance - a completely un-developed Darling Harbour.

It's also amazing how much our system has evolved. I've lived through most of these reports.

 

Trams and Trains in the News 1985/6 - YouTube

Edited by Wanderboy
Posted

a few bits and pieces of David HIll in there too.

It's striking how different the news is too, not quite as sensational as today.

Where do you reckon that crash was? Looks to be emu plains or heights or leonay or somewhere?

 

Posted
16 minutes ago, marron said:

a few bits and pieces of David HIll in there too.

It's striking how different the news is too, not quite as sensational as today.

Where do you reckon that crash was? Looks to be emu plains or heights or leonay or somewhere?

 

Emu Heights 30th September 1985..

https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/emu-plains-train-crash-september-30-1985-news-photo/1080114642

Just where the line starts rising up behind the suburb...

Posted (edited)
2 hours ago, Wanderboy said:

For anyone interested in the "evolution" of Sydney's rail system, this is an absolute must watch. There's some funny stuff amongst this lot of news reports. Also some great footage of parts of Sydney - for instance - a completely un-developed Darling Harbour.

It's also amazing how much our system has evolved. I've lived through most of these reports.

 

Trams and Trains in the News 1985/6 - YouTube

Ahhh monorail.......when it was the future

Image result for Simpsons Monorail Meme

They ask the fella in Seattle if he thinks the monorail in Sydney will be a white elephant? lol

Edited by Smoggy
Posted
58 minutes ago, marron said:

Dad would have been going to work down the mountain that day, wonder how he got on  :lol:

Just reading through the wiki page...apparently there was a Glenbrook train disaster in 1999.l involving the Indian Pacific and a commuter train...not heard of that one before.

Posted
1 hour ago, Smoggy said:

Just reading through the wiki page...apparently there was a Glenbrook train disaster in 1999.l involving the Indian Pacific and a commuter train...not heard of that one before.

That one was pretty bad. Signal mix up/failure from memory.

 

Posted

Friend of mine at the time, that was her usual school train and carriage but she'd just finished her HSC so wasn't on it.

From memory yeah it was a signal **** up, the controller waved the train through via radio when it should have stopped or something. 

Posted

On the news article posted in the video it said a signal failure. Pretty certain there were changes to the signalling system as a result of this crash.

Posted

Yeah there were.

When I first started catching the train down the mountain I was hesitant to ride in the end carriages. I do now but I often think of that crash.

Posted (edited)

They were testing one of the new intercity V Set replacement trains between Parra and Central this morning..it was running along side us between Burwood and Redfern..looked OK...must be getting close to full service now...

Edited by Smoggy
Posted

I'll always remember that my train to the city was the last one to get through before the Bold St bridge got hit and collapsed by the train just behind us....how lucky. .......had some former school mates that died in that crash.

Posted
51 minutes ago, Smoggy said:

They were testing one of the new intercity V Set replacement trains between Parra and Central this morning..it was running along side us between Burwood and Redfern..looked OK...must be getting close to full service now...

Better start looking for a cushion I guess.

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