By Train Around Hobart Moore's Guide Takes to the Rails

The Times October 2005 A journal of transport timetable history and analysis

By train around Hobart Moore’s Guide takes to the rails

By train to the footy– when the Mayblooms played the Same Olds

RRP $2.95 Inside: Moore’s Guide, to Tasmanian rail, 1953 Incl. GST Via Wattle Park– 3 decades of buses When the big men fly Repeated repeated repeated names The Times Journal of the Australian Association of Time Table Collectors Inc. (A0043673H) Print Publication No: 349069/00070, ISSN 0813-6327 October 2005 Issue No. 259 Vol 22 No. 10

—Contents— Moore’s Guide, part 3 3 Via Wattle Park 7 The Times they are, uh, a’changing 14 What’s in a train name? 15 Bus trial result deflates 16 Kyle pulls out all stops 17 When the Big Men fly– for a timetable 18 Letters Melbourne-Geelong Rivalry 19 More famous TT collectors 19 Repeated words 20

On the front cover

(Top) In Hobart, as in Launceston, trains ran over a 100 metre long single line staff section between the station platform and the yard entry point. Here we see the time honoured staff delivery taking place for a Hobart suburban rail-car. The times for these trains appeared in Moore’s Guide, a description of which is concluded in this issue

(Bottom) And in Melbourne, in 2005 the “Victorian Railways” were still running football trains like these to matches between teams with names like the “Shinboners” and the “Mayblooms” Don’t believe it?- turn to page 18.

Contributors Jim Stokes, Jim O’Neil, Geoff Lambert, Victor Isaacs, Duncan MacAuslan. The Times welcomes articles and letters Send paper manuscripts or word-processor files on disk or via e-mail to the editor at the address below. Illustrations should be submitted as clean sharp photocopies on white paper or scanned GIF or TIF format images with at least 300 dpi resolution on disk or via e-mail. Reproduction Material appearing in The Times or Table Talk may be reproduced in other publications, if acknowledgment is made. Disclaimer Opinions expressed in The Times are not necessarily those of the Association or its members. We welcome a broad range of views on timetabling matters. The Times on-line AATTC's home page: http://www.aattc.org.au has colour PDF versions of The Times

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2 The Times October 2005 Moore's Guide, part 3 Jim Stokes rounds out his story of Moore’s Guide, with a description of how it handled train services in Hobart and the rest of the state.

oore’s coverage of Hobart suburban trains was fairly M cryptic, although the TGR did display full timetables at stations. The pocketbook format was too small for tables, so Moore’s listed departures for the main suburban destinations only. The other stations (except for Botanical Gar- dens and Chigwell) were listed in the fare table, but there was no information about journey times. In earlier days most ‘inner’ suburban services terminated at Glenor- chy, but between the wars the opening of Cadburys chocolate fac- tory on a short spur from Clare- mont and the gradual spread of housing had resulted in the majority of trains being extended to Claremont or Cadburys. By 1953 Glenorchy had only 4 terminating services on Mondays – Fridays, compared with 17 to Claremont/Cadburys. Most services were run by 2 car diesel railcar sets, but the 7.15 am and 3.45 pm services were big locomotive- hauled trains for the Cadburys day workforce. The 11.00 Mixed and 5.12 pm Passenger were also locomotive-hauled. The 11.30 pm railcar continued to Austins Ferry and was extended to Brighton on Fri- days. The Risdon branch diverged at Derwent Park and essentially served the very large workforce at the Electrolytic Zinc refinery. The 7.10 am, 3.10 pm and 11.15 pm trains covered changes of shift. The 7.10 am was a very big double- headed train conveying both day and day shift workers. In the afternoon there was a separate train at 3.35 pm for the day workers. The 8.30 am and 4.35 pm trains were Parattah railcar and to Bridgewater Launceston had morning and eve- for office workers. and intermediate stations on the ning services. The morning service 5.30 pm train. Brighton was also was either a diesel-hauled train or Beyond Claremont the service was served by the 9.00 am Launceston articulated railcars and on busy much sparser and most trains ran train and a railcar at 1.00 pm. days the railcars ran a limited stop for specific purposes. The 5.15 am Bridgewater had additional termi- first division. The evening service and 6.15 am Brighton trains re- nating services at 9.50 am, 5.30 was a diesel-hauled fast mixed in- turned respectively with Zinc work- pm, 6.20 pm and 10.00 pm, plus cluding several express freight ers and with students and com- the New Norfolk railcars (which vans. The morning service had re- muters. Brighton and Risdon mainly carried workers to Austra- freshments, but in the evening trains exchanged passengers at lian Newsprint Mills to Boyer) at passengers had to make do with Sunderland St. The students and 6.05 am and 2.20 pm. the hotel at Parattah station. A Zinc workers returned home on the railcar ran a service from Parattah 4.30 pm Brighton. Commuters re- TGR country trains to Hobart and return for shoppers, turned to Brighton on the 5.25 pm The Main line between Hobart and stopping at numerous farm gates The Times October 2005 3 and level crossings en route. to Burnie and Railton. composite) to give passengers off the morning Main line trains a On the Western line railcar sets The Wynyard trains were nice for connection to St Marys. On the ran between Launceston and railfans who enjoyed leisurely jour- North-Eastern line a railcar ran Smithton, omitting some of the neys behind locomotives burning from Scottsdale to Launceston and minor stations. The eastbound ser- Tasmanian coal, but they were not return, the Monday morning trip vice connected at Western Jct with so attractive to the general public. running earlier to get people back the evening train to Hobart. The R- On 5 April 1954 the articulated to work in Launceston and the Sat- class Pacifics worked a slow all- railcars introduced the Tasman urday afternoon return trip run- stations service leaving Wynyard at Limited limited-stop services be- ning later to give people an after- 6.45 am and Launceston at 1.25 tween Hobart, Launceston and noon at the football or races. There pm, connecting with Hobart trains Wynyard and between 1956 and was also a Mixed from Launceston at Western Jct. On days that the 1958 all other passenger trains on to Herrick and return. The Roland Bass Strait ferry Taroona called at the Main and Western lines were branch had an unusually good Devonport or Burnie an additional withdrawn apart from the Hobart – railcar service for a minor TGR service was timetabled from Launceston weekday evening and branch, in order to serve school Launceston to the relevant port, Sunday services, the Parattah rail- traffic and the town of Sheffield. connecting with the morning train car and the Devonport – Burnie Services were arranged to connect from Hobart. However this service local workers’ service. as far as possible with Western line had in fact ceased early in 1953. On the Fingal line a railcar ran trains in both directions. The St The 5.10 am Launceston – Wyn- Marys, Scottsdale and Roland rail- yard train was a fast goods. from St Marys to Launceston and return and there was an afternoon cars were all withdrawn in 1956- Moore’s did not include the steam- 57. worked local trains from Devonport service (consisting of a string of empty coal wagons and a brake

4 The Times October 2005 Won’t you come home

The Times October 2005 5 6 The Times October 2005 Via Wattle Park A brief look at the bus routes that have operated via Wattle Park in Melbourne, by STEVEN HABY

attle Park is perhaps most well known for the large W tract of bushland adjoin- ing the suburbs of Box Hill and Burwood in Melbourne that is served by the route 70 tram from the city. The tract of land was for many years managed by the Mel- bourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board, later The Met, and featured performances by the Transit Band during summer months. Wattle Park is also the name given to the small strip shopping centre at the tram terminus that has been and still is served by a number of bus routes from Box Hill station. As a side note Wattle Park shops are well known for having an excellent cake shop and Indian restaurant. This article will focus on a brief history of a number of bus routes (using timetables drawn from the author’s collection) that service the area and is written at a time when there have been a number of changes made to bus routes in Box Hill. Route 735 Box Hill – Blackburn South This route, operated by Ventura Bus Lines, commenced on 10 Au- gust 1987 however the route number and part of the route was in existence long before this time. Previously 735 was allocated to the Box Hill to Upper Ferntree Gully route which ran along a section of this route prior to August 1987. Following a reorganisation of where it turned right (joining the 732. The route then terminated at routes the Upper Ferntree Gully 767 route from Box Hill to Chad- the corner of Burwood Highway route was given the number 732 stone and Southland). From here it and Blackburn Road. This location (which previously was for the route travelled up a very steep hill to Sta- is notable for the fact that the first from Box Hill to Burwood terminat- tion Street where it turned right “K-Mart” shopping centre in Aus- ing at the corner of Warrigul Road and travelled along Station Street tralia was built here (and still oper- and Burwood Highway) and 735 to Eley Road (following the 732 to ates albeit on a much larger site) was given to the Blackburn South Upper Ferntree Gully). At Eley and was until recently the termi- service. Road it turned left and travelled to nus of the route 75 East Burwood The 735 commenced from the Box Middleborough Road where it tram. Hill Central shopping centre inter- turned left again joining the 733 The first timetable [see Figure 1] change and followed the 700 route bus from Oakleigh and Monash provided an hourly service from to Mordialloc (as far as Mont Albert University. Heading north along 0630 when the first bus departed Road) via Carrington Road, Station Middleborough Road it turned right Blackburn South until 1900 with Street, Cambridge Street, Thurston at Fulton Road, then travelled the last departure from Box Hill. Street, Carrington Road to Elgar along Holland Road, Grange Road, There was a 2 hour gap from 1100 Road. The route turned left at El- rejoined Eley Road, travelled along to 1300 presumably for the bus gar Road and continued to Rivers- Royton Street then left into Bur- driver to take a lunch break or for dale Road at Wattle Park shops wood Highway where it rejoined the The Times October 2005 7 a shift change to occur. One bus was needed for the service with a one way trip taking 28 minutes allowing for a two minute recovery time at the terminus. Four services each day operated via Kingswood College, a major P-12 school in Box Hill. The 0800 and 1600 services from Box Hill deviated down Can- terbury Road from Elgar Road, right into Gibson Street, then right again into Piedmont Street to Kingswood College then continuing up Piedmont Street to rejoin the route at Elgar Road. These services were marked “A” in the timetable. The 0730 and 1530 services from Blackburn South ran the reverse of the above deviation and were marked “S” in the timetable. No services ran on weekends. This timetable was issued in the mid- 1980s Met plain style A4 sheet with no maps and very basic information [See figure 2] Throughout its life 735 has never really attracted significant patron- age. However it did provide people wishing to travel to Wattle Park shops or the tram an additional option from Box Hill (as it took 8 minutes compared to around 10 minutes of the 767 route to South- land covered later in this article). It

8 The Times October 2005

also gave people living between Sta- tion Street and Elgar Road an additional bus service to choose from to get to Box Hill. Significant improvements were made with the 23 August 1993 timetable when services were dou- bled to a half-hour frequency right across the day. The exception was late morning to just after lunch when an hourly service operated. This service pattern with the exception of a few minor deviations and timing changes has remained the same every since. The Kingswood College deviation was reduced to one trip – the 0805 from Box Hill – with no deviation from Blackburn South. Furthermore presumably to ease delays due to traffic the deviation ran via Station Street then Piedmont Street back to Elgar Road. The timetable issued on 30 Janu- ary 1995 introduced a new deviation serving the Blackburn Lan- guage School with the 0830 trip from Box Hill and the 1500 trip ex Blackburn South scheduled to service the school. Trips were marked

The Times October 2005 9 “B” on timetables. timetable I have in my collection Road and Warrigal Road. dates from May 1979 when the Timetables remained static for route acted as a feeder to the route Apart from the two tram routes the many years apart from design 70 tram to Wattle Park and the 74 route served a number of nearby changes to the paper timetable Burwood tram which terminated at schools including Wattle Park High with the most significant change the corner of Toorak and Warrigal School and the prestigious Presby- with the timetable issued on 1 Feb- Roads. terian Ladies College (PLC). A de- ruary 1999 [See Figure 3]. This viation was also made on certain timetable featured a new cover At this time the service was oper- trips to the Burwood Teachers Col- with the Ventura logo and a photo- ated by F. H. Rennie & Son (the lege to the east of PLC. graph of a low floor bus represent- original operator of the route), ing the new vehicles being deliv- which also traded as Rennie’s Bus The May 1979 timetable was pub- ered at the time. The Kingswood Lines. Rennie’s was a relatively lished to the then standard design College deviation was dropped and small but well-known bus com- issued by the Ministry of Transport an additional deviation was made pany in Box Hill with an interest- and Bus Proprietors’ Association. to the Blackburn Language School. ing fleet of buses comprised of One such feature of these timeta- Every second trip was marked “LF” lightweight Albions through to the bles was the hand drawn maps indicating that a low floor bus was heavier models such as Leyland [see Figure 5]. rostered on [See Figure 4]. Leopards. They were also well The first weekday service com- known for their Leyland Worldmas- menced with the 0630 from Wattle The 2 April 2001 timetable did ters that originated from the MTT away with the traditional “memory” Park to Box Hill which then pre- in Adelaide. Rennie’s buses were sumably formed the 0645 to Bur- timetable (with departures at 00 painted in an attractive livery of and 30 past the hour) and times wood (Rennie’s also operated route cream with green bands with grey 768 which ran from Box Hill to were adjusted to suit traffic condi- and red lining. tions. The adjustment of timetables Chadstone but the author does not away from the memory style of tim- Route 767 commenced from Box know if buses were through routed ings has been a feature of other Hill station and ran via Station between services at this time). A services operated by Ventura in Street to Riversdale Road then very intensive service operated recent times. This timetable re- along Riversdale Road to Wattle from 0730 to 0850 with a bus mained more or less the same until Park tram terminus and shops. every 10 minutes from Box Hill a further reorganisation of bus From here it travelled via Elgar with most travelling via Burwood routes occurred in July 2005 Road passing alongside Wattle Teachers College indicated by “T” which will covered later in this arti- Park and housing built soon after on the timetable. A similar number cle. World War Two. At Burwood High- of trips operated from Burwood. Off way the route turned right and peak services ran every 20 minutes Route 767 Box Hill – Chadstone - headed towards Burwood along requiring two buses. The afternoon Southland Burwood Highway before turning peak had trips running every 15 into Central Avenue then Loudon minutes with the last through ser- Route 767 has undergone a num- vice at 1833 ex Box Hill and 1850 ber of iterations in its history and Road then Warrigal Road before terminating at the corner of Toorak ex Burwood. The last two runs at has had three operators. The first 1850 went as far as Wattle Park

10 The Times October 2005 Station Street where it turned right and ran alongside the 768 to Chadstone. A new timetable [See figure 7] was introduced which saw 767 and 768 buses through routed particularly during peak services. 767 services in the morning peak terminated at Bennetswood shops and returned to Box Hill as route 768 presumably to avoid making a difficult U turn at Burwood Highway and Sta- tion Street. 767 buses on Box Hill bound services commenced in the morning peak from the 768 intermediate terminus at the corner of Waverley and Huntingdale Roads. The first through service to Chad- stone on the 767 was the 0900 from Box Hill. Services on each route during the peak ran approximately every 15 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes in the afternoon. Off peak services were every 40 minutes allowing for a twenty minute service to Chadstone. Unfortunately, as a result, the service to Wattle Park was reduced by half during the off peak. Early evening services were combined with the last service for the day which departed around 1900 from Box Hill and tradition- ally had terminated at Wattle Park now ran as a combined service with the 768 running via Canter- bury Road, Haig and Foch Streets. On Saturdays services basically ran every 40 minutes in the morning with no Saturday afternoon service. The last two trips on the 767 combined with a portion of the 768 whereby the 1230 and 1300 ex Box Hill ran via the 768 route de- scribed in the previous paragraph before rejoining the 767 and termi- then back to the depot and at 1905 ing to the timetable may have been nating at Bennetswood shops. which ran only as far as the depot. a different bus to those that oper- Interestingly Rennie’s depot was at ated in the afternoon. The 1220 Reform 285 Station Street that is just and 1300 services ex Burwood In 1986 the Victorian Government south of Devon Street on the map. both terminated at the Depot after was keen to reform Melbourne’s Perhaps passengers knew where travelling via Wattle Park. Pre- private bus industry. This reform the depot was and could determine sumably the 1345 bus from Box included the consolidation of a if they could travel on these last Hill ran empty from the depot to number of smaller operators. In services accordingly [See Figure 6]. Box Hill to commence the after- June 1986 Hawthorn Bus Service noon shift. On Saturdays services commenced acquired the services of Rennie’s at 0700 from Box Hill and from Combination with 768 Bus Lines and Willis Bus Service, 0800 a 20 minute service operated which operated the 765 Mitcham until 1200 then 1215; 1245 and On 2 March 1981 to coincide with to Nunawading service. Soon the 1345 then every 30 minutes until the recent extension of the former attractive cream and green livery 1745. Saturday afternoon bus ser- Burwood tram to East Burwood, was being replaced by the equally vices were quite rare in the eastern Middleborough Road the 767 was attractive livery of light blue and suburbs at this time although as re-routed to follow the 768 from red of the Hawthorn Bus Service the route served two tram routes Bennetswood to Chadstone Shop- fleet. there was probably sufficient pa- ping Centre. The 767 still served The bus industry was not the only tronage to justify the service. One Wattle Park shops and the tram industry undergoing reform at the bus was required for the afternoon but at Burwood Highway the route time – the retail trading laws in service on a Saturday that accord- turned left and headed down the highway to Bennetswood shops at Victoria were changed to allow for The Times October 2005 11 Saturday afternoon trading in Mel- tura as the traditional memory Street including the old 768 route bourne. A result of this was a timetable has been replaced with via Haig and Foch Streets and by- number of bus routes had their times that reflect travelling times passes Wattle Park altogether [See routes extended to operate Satur- at certain times of the day. Figures 10 and 11] day afternoons. One of these was the 767. The timetable dated 20 Major reorganisation One result of these changes is the June 1988 showed Saturday after- loss of a Saturday service to Haig In July 2005 a major reorganisa- and Foch Streets as the 735 does noon services running every hour tion of several Ventura bus routes from 1300 to 1500 then 1630 with not operate on weekends. The from Box Hill occurred with coin- other result is that Wattle Park the last service being the 1730 ex cided with the recent introduction Box Hill to Bennetswood. Oddly gains the route 700 SmartBus from of the SmartBus concept for route Box Hill to Mordialloc which is now enough the 1210 ex Box Hill which 700 and the extension of the East terminated at Bennetswood did not rerouted to omit travelling via Sur- Burwood tram to Vermont South. rey Hills and Mont Albert stations. continue on to Chadstone nor did Routes 767 and 735 were not im- the 1220 from Chadstone which mune to these changes which in- The improvements to route 700 terminated at Wattle Park extend volved basically swapping the Box services now makes it possible to onwards to Box Hill. Hill to Wattle Park portions over travel to Wattle Park via bus 7 days In December 1987 Ventura Bus between the 735 and 767. That is, a week from early to late in the Lines acquired all the routes oper- the 767 now travels via Elgar Road evening. to Wattle Park then continues ated by Hawthorn Bus Service and Happily it is still possible to travel set about reorganising a number of along the original route to Burwood Highway. The 735 conversely now via the 767 which faithfully serves services. The 768 and 768 were the community of Wattle Park. combined into one service with the follows the old 767 along Station 767 number retained. The Canter- bury Road, Haig and Foch Street portion of the 768 was retained as a deviation but the section along Station Street from Riversdale Road to Burwood Highway was dropped. Furthermore the former 636 route from Chadstone to Southland was joined up with the 767 to form the new route Box Hill to Southland via Chadstone [See Figure 8]. A number of short work- ings such as to Wattle Park were withdrawn as the timetable was streamlined. The 23 August 1993 timetable [See Figure 9] shows peak hour services operating every 20 minutes and off peak services every 30 minutes. Interestingly the Haig and Foch Street deviation is serviced with buses from Box Hill from 0900 whereas most Box Hill bound buses from the first service run via Foch and Haig Street. This is re- versed in the afternoon peak. Of further interest is that the 1430 service from Southland runs via Kingswood College but it is not indicated whether the bus runs via Piedmont Street. Late night services operate Friday evening only from Southland to Chadstone only. Saturday services ran every 30 minutes in the morning and 40 minutes in the afternoon. Every second trip ran via Haig and Foch Streets. Over the years the services have remained relatively static with mi- nor changes here and there to reflect changed train connections or traffic conditions. The timetable dated 14 February 2005 is typical of many services operated by Ven-

12 The Times October 2005

The Times October 2005 13 The Times they are, uh, a’changing Well, we seem to have heard that line from CityRail but, as PATRICK MCGEEHAN explains, the same thing is happening in “Joisey”.

or more than 20 years, com- yesterday morning, John Cherian, Brian Sisco of Two Twelve, who muters in New Jersey have a Bloomfield resident, took one oversaw the redesign, said the new F been carrying the same train glance at a new schedule and gave timetables looked more like those schedules around in their pockets his immediate approval. used in Europe and Australia. One and purses like letters from old goal, he said, was to shrink them friends. Really old friends. Friends "This makes much more sense," he "because they had become very who scrawl an ancient code that said. "The font is good. The letters big." causes readers to hunch over and are good. It's much more readable." squint. Indeed, the old schedule for the By comparison, said Mr. Cherian, Morris and Essex lines covered 16 New Jersey Transit is making a 36, an electronic-messaging engi- sheets of paper that, unlike most break with its cryptic past and dis- neer, the old schedules - with rows other train schedules, had to be tributing timetables that have been and columns of data that look "all folded and stapled together as a redesigned for the first time since the same" - were puzzling. He said booklet. The Northeast Corridor the early 1980's. The revised he might even try to decipher the line was rapidly approaching the schedules take effect on July 3, fine print now because it was not threshold of requiring staples, Mr. two days after fares are to go up an as intimidating. Redeker said. average 11.5 percent. Dense blocks of black words spell- The new editions of those sched- For a switch, the railroad turned to ing out rules and regulations have ules now fit onto a single 27-inch- outside consultants who said they been condensed and rewritten in a wide sheet of recycled paper, had the mind-set of riders, not en- conversational tone. Gone are whose 18 panels fold like an accor- gineers or train buffs. The result phrases like "Only rail passes and dion to fit into a breast pocket. was a standardized set of sched- tickets imprinted with 'SEC-NY' as Having found a way to eliminate ules for all eight of the state's main a junction point or 'via' include the the staples, and the consequent commuter lines that are more col- transfer." need to send schedules to outside ourful and less verbose. Mr. Redeker acknowledged that the printers, saved New Jersey Transit railroad had gone too far in its de- at least $150,000 a year, Mr. Rede- In a radical departure from old ker said. black-and-white tradition, they are sire to publish a comprehensive printed in navy blue type and guide that would answer all ques- Asked to evaluate the redesign, shaded in varying hues. The focus tions and head off most disputes. Michael Bierut, a partner in Penta- changed from individual trains to "We listed all the trains but also gram Design in Manhattan, said the places people want to depart tried to get across every single rule, that mixing the blue ink with the from and reach. every single policy and every single signature color of each line - yellow fare," he said. "It got out of control, for the Bergen line, orange for Rari- "The railroad cares about trains, so tan Valley - was a neat trick. the old-fashioned timetables were frankly." about trains," said Jim Redeker, an For help, New Jersey Transit "They're really getting a stupen- assistant executive director of New turned to Two Twelve Associates, a dous amount of mileage out of Jersey Transit. "But people want to design firm in Manhattan that spe- these two colours," said Mr. Bierut. know about stations." cializes in conveying complicated Still, he said, "these are really big, information. (It created the city's daunting pieces of paper" that con- Waiting at the Broad Street station tain "everything you need to know in Newark for a train to New York 600-page bid book for the 2012 Olympic Games.) to go to Penn Station and direct the

14 The Times October 2005 trains yourself." a receptionist at the Morris County Department of Transportation and it's actually easier to read." Mr. Bierut said he thought "having Management in Morristown, did She worried that she would not everything on one surface is better just that. than turning pages." But he added have enough elbow room to unfold that he could predict "with meta- "I like the old style better, even the new edition. "If you want to physical certainty" that some com- though it is bulky," said Ms. Fitz- look up something in the new one, muters would complain about the patrick, who picked up a new time- you won't be able to do it in the type having been squeezed to fit. table on the train she has been one-seater or two-seater, you'll riding to work from Dover for more have to sit in the three-seater." Right on cue, Erin Fitzpatrick, 20, than a year. "It's easy to flip open,

What's in a train name? Ever wondered how trains get their names? A peek into railway timetables provides some interesting insights. Thanks to TONY BAILEY for un- earthing this rather exotic piece by PANKAJ SEKHSARIA

ecently I was checking the Many Indian rivers — nearly 40 — Mumbai to Mysore; the Lucknow- railway timetable for a Pune- lend their names to ourtrains. It's Delhi Gomti Express, Bilaspur- R Chennai trip. There were probably an apt usage. Trains Bhopal Mahanadi Express, and the three trains to choose from — train crisscrossing the landscape, also Faizabad-Ahmedabad Sabarmati no 6011 Mumbai-Chennai Ex- crisscrossed by the rivers: the Express. press, 1063 Dadar-Chennai Ex- Mandovi Express from Mumbai to press and 6009 Mumbai-Chennai Madgaon; Sharavati Express from Apart from these inter-state trains, Mail, all passing through Pune. there are others within states too: Though this was not the first time I was travelling on this route, something about the train names caught my attention. They appeared rather uninspiring, even unexciting — actually these were not names at all! Particularly so, as my other most-recent journey was from Delhi to Pune on the Jhelum Express. Ever wondered how trains are named? And why? I spent an interesting half-day scanning Trains At a Glance, that Bible of all train travellers in India. Interesting names popped up, as also categories. Guess which is the category with the most number of trains? Yes, most trains in India are named after the originating station and the destination: so you have `express' trains like the Mum- bai-Chennai Express, Dhanbad- Hatia Express and Bangalore- Gorakhpur Express, and `mails' like the Mumbai-Howrah Mail, Howrah-Kalka Mail and Chennai- Trivandrum Mail. Nothing more to these names, except of course the unique train number given to each train. But while a majority of trains have these rather uninteresting names, there are several exceptions too. Do you know which feature of the In- dian landscape most trains are named after? Our rivers, of course.

The Times October 2005 15 the Secunderabad-Kurnool Tun- can Queen, one of the oldest and Express takes you from Jammu to gabhadra Express, Mumbai- most prestigious trains that runs Chennai on the eastern coast, Kolhapur Koyna Express and between Pune and Mumbai daily; which is the main gateway to the Pathankot-Amritsar Ravi Express, the Gujarat Queen between Valsad Andaman and Nicobar Islands. to name a few. and Ahmedabad, and the Mumbai- Surat Flying Rani. States form an- Trains in the country's mineral Interestingly, although there are other prominent category, though heartland — all originating in several train names featuring the the North East states are largely Howrah and terminating at differ- Ganga alongside another river absent. The only exception is the ent cities in the Chotanagpur Pla- name, no train is named Ganga per Arunachal Express that runs from teau — have very descriptive se. The Dhanbad-Rajendranagar Murkongselek in Arunachal names: the Black Diamond Ex- Ganga Damodar Express, Chennai- Pradesh to Kamakhya in Assam. press and Coalfield Express — Varanasi Ganga Kaveri Express; Orissa and Rajasthan also do not both in Dhanbad, the Steel City and Surat-Varanasi Tapti Ganga figure in this group. Express in Tatanagar, the Ispat Express, are some examples. Express in Sambalpur and the Ag- With Indian trains chugging in all niveena Express in Asansol. Like the rivers, mountain ranges directions, we have a Dakshin Ex- also find their place of honour in press (Hyderabad-Nizamuddin), a And in a country that celebrates its the country's railway network: the Poorva Express (Howrah-New famous sons and daughters, Ma- Satpuras, Sahyadris, Aravalis, Delhi) and also a Paschim Express hatma Gandhi and Rabindranath Saptagiris, and Nilgiris... trains (Mumbai-Amritsar). No Uttar Ex- Tagore each have three trains hon- have been named after them all press, though; there is however the ouring their memory. There is the them. Though there is no Himala- New Delhi-Guwahati North East Howrah-Mumbai Geetanjali Ex- yan Express, we have the Garhwal Express. press, Howrah-Bolpur Shantini- Express from Delhi to Kotdwara, ketan Express and the Howrah- Kumaun Express between Agra In the other interesting categories, Nagercoil Gurudev Express. Fort and Lal Kuan, and even a both the islands systems in India Kanchanjunga Express between have trains named after them. You The Ahimsa Express (Ahmedabad- Guwahati and Sealdah. can travel from Delhi to Ernakulam Pune), Sewagram Express (Dadar- on the Lakshadweep Express, and Nagpur), and Satyagraha Express The Indian Railways boasts of sev- then presumably take a ship to the (Delhi-Raxaul) honour the Father eral `queens' too: the Nizamuddin- islands. Similarly, the Andaman of the Nation. The Sabarmati Ex- Kalka Himalayan Queen; the Dec- press could well fit here too.

Extract from the Herald Sun April 2005

16 The Times October 2005 The Times October 2005 17 When the Mayblooms played the Same-olds CONNEX got into the spirit of the Vintage Football Weekend in Melbourne this year, when it issued this S-Notice under the imprimatur of the VICTO- RIAN RAILWAYS

18 The Times October 2005 Times past and Times famous From out of The Times’ past, its mistakes come back Letters to haunt it in a letter by PAUL WESTCOTT. And ALBERT ISAACS has found another famous timetable collector.

've just come across the May public), followed by a dinner and shores of Australia. Surely others 2000 edition of your journal in Annual Meeting (both for members can help us add to the admittedly I which Graeme Reynolds intro- only). I recall that, some years ago, smaller list of TT collectors. duced his article "A credence of The First Edition, the NAOTC’s timetable and advertising graphics" journal, reporting on a Convention Yours, ALBERT ISAACS with a story about a false map pro- in California, mentioned that actor duced to mislead gold rush era Michael Gross had purchased a travellers to Ballarat. number of items at the Swap Meet. Now this is clearly a bit late, and Michael Gross (right) came to pub- may be considered by all except lic prominence during the 1980s Geelong loyalists as a minor point when he played the father to Mi- but, for the record, Graeme got the chael J. Fox et al in the television story completely the wrong way sitcom Family Ties. round! So, during the past few months He wrote "during the 1850's gold we’ve discovered that our happy rushes, the merchants of Geelong, band of TT collectors includes (has who were ever keen to direct any included) the following: gold seeker or traveller to pass through Geelong to those fields His Majesty King Frederick IX of rather than through Melbourne, Denmark published a distorted map, which Michael Gross showed Ballarat only slightly north Alfred Hitchcock of Geelong and at an exaggerated John Travolta distance from Melbourne". General Vernon Walters The correct story can be readily Interestingly, I would be able to revealed by swapping "Melbourne" compile a list of famous rail enthu- and "Geelong" wherever they occur, siasts that would reach into the and substituting "west" for "north". dozens without even leaving the Railway historians would realise The Times has occasion- better than most that Geelong was in fact the natural disembarkation ally run snippets about point for those seeking their for- crew rosters as part of the tune at Ballarat in the early timetable world. Here is a 1850's. variation on a theme from They will know that the railway from Geelong to Ballarat was one the USA timetable world of the first built in Victoria and by railroad overalls manu- opened in 1862, whereas the line facturer OshKosh B’gosh from Melbourne to Ballarat was not completed until 1889. The (we’re not making this Rowsley Fault and Pentland Hills up!). This was a notebook at Bacchus Marsh have been major for trainmen to record impediments to both road travellers and railway engineers. their hours of work and- Yours etc., Paul Westcott most importantly (because it determined lease permit me to have a second bite of the cherry and their pay) the number of P let me submit yet another miles they had run their name for the list of famous T.T. collectors. trains each day. This illus- tration is taken from a E- The major annual event of our US sister organisation, the National Bay web site, where such Association of Timetable Collectors, books are regularly sold is the Convention, which includes for high prices. a Swap Meet (open to the general

The Times October 2005 19 Repeated repeated repeated words Writes DAVID HENNELL: Some time ago, I prepared the following list of Australasian repeated word station names. There may well be more.

Traffic Names: Mooney Mooney renamed Mooni North Kurri Kurri renamed Kurri Mooni (Wambidgee on the Tumut Kurri (Cessnock line) VR(15) line) NZR (2) Bet Bet (Mildura line) North Wagga Wagga (Bomen) (Main Buln Buln (Noojee line) South line) Niho Niho (Stratford - Okahukura) Cope Cope (Mildura line) South Wagga Wagga renamed Toi Toi (Stratford - Okahukura) Jung Jung (Western line, later be- Wagga Wagga (Main South line, came Jung) below) SAR (1) Kal Kal (loop b/n Burrumbeet and Wagga Wagga Showground (Main Ki Ki Trawalla on the Western line) South line) La La (the loco facilities and goods Walla Walla (Corowa line) CR (nil) yard beyond Warburton, also the Woy Woy (Short North) TGR (nil) terminus of the VR bus service) Yeo Yeo (Cootamundra - Stockin- Lal Lal (Geelong - Ballarat line, bingal) Note: Gingin on the Midland Rail- way is one word. photo bottom right) QR (6) Lang Lang (South Eastern line) Construction Names: Nar Nar Goon (Eastern line) Gin Gin (Mount Perry Branch) Nerrin Nerrin (Gheringhap - Ma- (written as one word in a few time- NSWGR: (5) roona line) tables) Nowa Nowa (Bairnsdale - Orbost) Millaa Millaa (Millaa Millaa Branch) Bang Bang (Koorawatha, south of Pura Pura (Gheringhap - Maroona O’Bil Bil (Mungar - Monto) Cowra) line) Ona Ona (Injune Branch) Burn Burn (Yethera on the Totten- Tol Tol (Bannerton on the Robin- Pindi Pindi (first station after Calen ham line) vale line) on the North Coast Line) Gil Gil (Crooble on the Boggabilla Vite Vite (Gheringhap - Maroona Wirra Wirra (Etheridge Railway) line) line) Uee Uee Creek (Wyee on the Short Wal Wal (Western line) WAGR (4) North) Woolla Woolla (Kolodong on the NSWGR (13 + 2 renames) Bindi Bindi (Miling line) North Coast Line) Murrin Murrin (Laverton line) Bong Bong (near Berrima Junc- Wagga Wagga (Wiluna line) Note: There may well be construction, Main South line) Wolla Wolla (Wiluna line) tion names in other systems, too. Elong Elong (Dubbo - Merrygoen) Eurie Eurie (Walgett line) SMR (2 + 1 rename) ....And What About?: Grong Grong (Junee - Narrandera) Kurri Kurri (formerly Stanford Mer- SAR(1) Kiel Kiel (Walgett line) thyr (3rd)) (Stanford Merthyr Kundle Kundle (Taree - Wauchope) branch) Mount Hill (Buckleboo line on Eyre Peninsula) [A bluff named after William Hill by the explorer Edward Eyre on 29th September1840.]

To which proof reader VICTOR ISAACS adds the tautologous CITY of TOWNSville– sorry.

Lal Lal

20 The Times October 2005