December 1924

Read below as Bob Newham, Loco Division Passenger Organiser, explores some of the incredible history behind rail in New South Wales. As you will discover, the month of November has many stories to tell… December 1924 The Dorrigo rail line was originally part of a grander scheme to link Coffs Harbour and Grafton with the Northern and North Western lines and was eventually opened on 23 December 1924. The Dorrigo line was one of the costliest branch railways built in NSW. It had some of the steepest gradients and tightest curves on the system and experienced high maintenance and running costs owing to the terrain and high rainfall of the area. The line experienced repeated losses throughout its existence. Although goods, other than timber were carried, timber was the main revenue source for the railway. Most of the logs and processed timber were sent to Sydney and in the early days of the line the NSWGR obtained sleepers for the north coast region from this area. The line lost its passenger service on 1 December 1957 and goods services were suspended on 27 October 1972 after flood damage. By the end of 1972 it became apparent that the Public Transport Commission at the time would not be re-opening the line. Parts of the line are still used by various heritage railways. December 1957 The Far West Express was an Australian passenger train operated by the New South Wales Government Railways from December 1957 until September 1975 from Dubbo to Bourke, Cobar and Coonamble. It connected at Dubbo in the morning with the overnight Western Mail from Sydney, returning in the afternoon to connect with the return Mail in the evening. The train was formed of an air-conditioned DEB set with a van off the train from Sydney attached to the rear. It operated to Bourke thrice weekly, Cobar once weekly and Coonamble twice weekly. It ceased in September 1975 when the Public Transport Commission introduced a fleet of six Denning road coaches to operate the services radiating from Dubbo. The Far West Express at Coonamble December 1963 The X200 class were a class of rail tractors introduced in 1963 and operated by the New South Wales Government Railways of Australia. They were a development of the smaller and less numerous X100 class. The X200 class remained in service until 1990 when they were either withdrawn or sold off to private companies, and some remain operational today. The Mark 1 series of the X200 class were 3 times more powerful and twice as heavy as the X100 class. Six examples were built and numbered X201-X206.They were built using a number of steam locomotive spare parts. They were built on the inner bogies of the AD60 Beyer-Garratt class locomotives, and used spare C36 class locomotive windows in their cabs and were rated at a top speed of 24 mph. The rounded shapes of the hoods and cab gave it a baby-brother appearance to the main line 42 and 44 classes. X201 was the first of the class entering service in December 1963. The six Mark 1s were initially used in the Sydney metropolitan network, but did later find their ways beyond this region. The Mark 2 series of the X200 class were different again. Twelve examples were built and numbered X207-X218.They were built on the outer bogies of the AD60 Beyer-Garratt class locomotives. Their engines were more powerful and they had a higher top speed of 32 mph. This made them more practical for light line use. One was even rostered on to the Yass Tramway, previously the domain of the Z13 class tank locomotives. The exterior design of the Mark 2 was squarer, giving it the appearance of a baby-brother to the 49 class diesel locomotives. The first six were built in 1967. The second six being an additional order, were placed into traffic from May 1968, with the final member of the class entering service in December 1968. The X200 class must be considered largely successful, as they began to replace the various ageing steam shunting locomotives in various depots of the time. They were cleaner, more efficient to run, requiring less maintenance, and also giving locomotive crews more comfortable working conditions. Another indicator of the class' success is that several examples are still operational even today, at an age of around 45 years! X202 on the Yass tramway at Yass Junction in December 1970 December 1987 In July 1986 the Government of New South Wales awarded A Goninan & Co a contract for 450 carriages. In 1993 it was decided that the last 80 carriages of the order would be built to a modified design to operate peak-hour services on services to Wyong, Port Kembla and Dapto. In 1996 five spare driving trailers were ordered. The first train was unveiled at Sydney Central in December 1987, entering service in April 1988. The final T set was delivered in February 1994 and the final G set in October 1995. When first introduced, the T sets were fitted with passenger door release handles to prevent loss of air conditioning at stations. These were later disconnected (and later removed) due to passengers not getting used to opening the doors for themselves when needed. The seats originally had fabric upholstery, but this was gradually replaced by blue vinyl. They were also fitted with front destination displays although these have rarely worked. Since 2003, all Tangara’s have been updated with a new CityRail corporate appearance. This involved the fitting of yellow panels on the front, yellow painted passenger doors and the end carriages receiving yellow paint surround for the benefit of visually impaired passengers. In August 2015 a further major maintenance program was announced to extend the life of these trains and bring technology into line with newer trains. This was awarded to UGL Limited and expected to be completed by July 2018.New facilities will be introduced which include video screens, CCTV cameras, intercoms and others. T88 in the modified colour scheme .

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