The Times January 2019 A journal of transport timetable history and analysis

RRP $4.95 Inside: That Scrofulous Cad Incl. GST Timetables of Australia and New Zealand

The Times A journal of the Australian Timetable Association Inc. (A0043673H) Print Publication No: 349069/00070, ISSN 0813-6327 January 2019 Vol 36 No. 01, Issue No. 420 The Times welcomes all contributions. Our Authors’ Guide is available on our web-site at https://www.timetable.org.au/ Reproduction Provided a Creative Commons acknowledgement is made, material appearing in The Times may be repro- duced anywhere. Disclaimer Opinions expressed in our magazines are not necessarily those of the Association or its members. Editor Geoff Lambert 179 Sydney Rd FAIRLIGHT 2094 NSW email: [email protected] The Times is posted in full colour to our website https://www.timetable.org.au/times.html, two months after publi- cation in paper and to the National Library website 6 months after publication. Colour PDF versions of previous issues of our magazines are at http://www.austta.org.au

—Contents— Various THE BLUE CHEESE THEFT 3 Geoff Lambert & Noel Farr ANZR PTT 7

There is no such a font The Art Deco style timetable shown on our pages 7-12 has many interesting aspects—one of which is the typography. The “What the Font” web-site cannot identify it. Art Deco fonts were all the rage for railways of that era - most notably Gill Sans, which was actually created for a railway—the LNER—by Eric Gill. The text illustrated above appears to be an attempt by the Victorian Railways printing works at North Melbourne to create its own font style. In this, it was possibly egged on by Richard Hughes, who I think wrote the copy. Hughes had written for the glossy Victorian Railways Magazine, sometimes under the pseudonym Hugh Richards. The VR Magazine was a cornucopia of Art Deco and other interesting fonts. Hughes left VR two years before the first known ANZR timetable appeared. The outline version of the font (which I have tidied up a bit) must have been hard to create– it almost seems like some poor soul had to dab the green colour inside the letters with a paint brush after printing—in the 21st century they could have used a green highlighter. It was a devilishly difficult thing to scan. When the Depression really began to bite in mid-1930, the VR Magazine was scrapped, but North Melbourne, forever after, was always prone to use “interesting” fonts for publicity material.

2 The Times January 2019 The blue cheese theft and other stories of a Scrofulous Cad (about) , by David Hill, the other David Hill, David Dale, Mr. Jus- tice MacInerney, Wikipedia, Dave Kelly, Geoff Lambert, Ross Dunn, Ken Andrews, Len Regan and others who had better remain nameless.

AVID HILL is an English -born Australian business D leader and author. Born in Eastbourne, East Sussex in 1946, into an impoverished family of four boys, Hill and his twin brother spent time in Dr Barnardo's children's home in Barkingside in Essex after their father ran away. Hill's early years of schooling were at Bourne Junior Primary School. He migrated to Australia together with his elder brother and twin brother, and departed from Tilbury Docks, London in April 1959 aboard the SS Strathaird. His mother arrived in Australia a few years later. Prior to departing England, from 1987 to 1995, head of Soccer who he knows or who he doesn’t Hill and his brothers had enrolled to Australia, chairman of , know, or where he’ll appear”. attend Fairbridge Farm School in director of the Australian National Molong, near Orange in the Central Right up until last October, he’d Airlines Commission and Chairman of West region of . Hill appear not only at unexpected places CREATE, a national organisation has since written a book about the around Transport House, but at responsible for representing the experiences of the pupils there. The railway stations where he’d invite staff interests of young people and children documentary The Long Journey Home for a meal; at workshops for informal in institutional care. A former North was aired on ABC TV on 17 meetings; at disputes, where he’d Sydney rugby league junior, Hill was November 2009, detailing some of the settle grievances on the spot and; on president of the North Sydney Bears history associated with Fairbridge trains, as they trekked along the Rugby League Football Club between Farm School and other orphanages of State’s 10,000 km of track. 1989 and 1992. Hill was an that time. unsuccessful ALP candidate for the At our second meeting yesterday, I Prior to his rise to prominence in Division of Hughes at the 1998 federal asked him did he still intend popping business circles, Hill was variously a election. up everywhere? hardware shop assistant, a sandwich –Wikipedia [errors corrected] “Change?- no not at all, I don’t see cutter, a labourer on building sites, a ______any need for a change in style. The refuse collector and gardener, he sold overwhelming majority of fellows in tennis coaching courses, worked as a I was standing in a corridor of the railway are the same as everybody barman, waiter, pub bouncer, delivery Transport House in Sydney in July else out there in the community. They agent, tutor at the University of 1981, talking to a couple of SRA staff are saying ‘this is a bloody dreadful Sydney, was a journalist, worked in when this fresh-faced stocky young period we’re going through, not just in investment banking, as an accountant, man wandered up and joined us … he the railways, but the whole state’. I and was in charge of the NSW held out his hand and said “I don’t just happen to be one of the fellows Government Ministerial Advisory think we’ve met—David Hill” … who are trying to fix its problems and Unit. That was back then in the honeymoon they don’t hold that against me. While In 1980, at 33 years of age, Hill was days … when the whizz-kid was well we’re bogged down we just don’t have appointed as the chief executive of the into doing what he set out to do, the time to be travelling all over the New South Wales State Rail getting the trains to run on time—well, state, but I want to get back and mend Authority, serving until 1987 and he most of the time—and cutting the a few bridges as soon as we can”. was later re-appointed as a director of gigantic cost of the system. It was a forthright reply, the kind you State Rail in 1997. Hill served as Later one of the staff who’d been would expect from a kid with a chairman and managing director of the present apologised, “The trouble is, he working-class background. Australian Broadcasting Corporation pops up everywhere. We never know

The Times January 2019 3 —Ken Anderson, Daily Telegraph is perhaps a little quieter. "My view is 22-Jan-1983 that, at 37, I have been to every good ______party," he said. On a Sunday night in 1976, Mr. Hill Ross Dunn SMH 30-Apr-1984 was called to Parliament House by Mr. ______Peter Cox, then the Opposition spokesman on transport matters. He An illustration of the problems arrived about 5pm and met both Mr. associated with the 1996 [rail] reforms Cox and Mr. Wran. Mr. Wran asked is in relation to Network Control. Mr. Hill if he could write the policy Network Control is concerned with the speech. The following day, Mr. Hill day to day management of the agreed, believing that "they were movements of trains through the rail going to tell me what they wanted in network and includes the work it". performed by train controllers and signallers. It also includes train "So I turned up at 9 o'clock in the monitoring, train timetabling, incident morning and Cox was there to help management, track possession and he had an outline - but Wran just management and the preparation of left me with all his research staff and operating statistics. Under the 1996 said I'll see you later”, Hill recalls. reforms. Network Control was to be understanding of the requirements for "I didn't see him from 9 o'clock in the the responsibility of RAC [Rail Access Network Control services developed, morning until early evening, he came Corp.] as infrastructure owner. but this has not occurred. The in and said ‘that looks good’, However, RAC was not provided agreement was due to expire on 29 disappeared again and came back at under the restructure with the expertise June 2000 but this term has been midnight—after midnight—we in terms of staff, intellectual property extended to allow RAC and SRA to finished about 3 in the morning''. and equipment to undertake all aspects finalise negotiations. It is not clear of Network Control directly, and it On the Tuesday, Mr. Wran delivered what has happened, if anything, in this thus had to contract that function to the speech. "Transport was the big regard. the SRA. Once again this contract was issue. That won the election," Mr. Hill negotiated in a tight time frame and The arrangement by which Network said. required the parties to anticipate how Control services were subcontracted Mr. Hill was appointed Chief the railway system would function by RAC to SRA has created Executive of the SRA in 1980 and after disaggregation. There were also difficulties within SRA. Under the reluctantly agreed to a standard seven- problems in determining whether legislation SRA was to be exclusively year term. But Mr. Hill said he did not some services should be classified as a train and station operating think he would last the full term. "I Network Control and therefore an organisation. Otherwise SRA could don't know any job harder," Mr. Hill RAC responsibility, or as an activity potentially monopolise Network said. He said he had no idea what he inherent in the provision of passenger Control services at the expense of would do if he left the position. services and therefore a responsibility other operators. of SRA. It was then decided that the Mr. Hill came close to resigning in The response to this was to create agreement should include a 1982 (and has some regrets that he restrictions on communication mechanism whereby the terms and didn't) in order to make a financial between Network Control and the conditions could be reviewed as study of New York City which he likened to "old traditional public utilities". Mr. Hill is more concerned about trains running on time than about strikes. When there are delays, the public complains. He said the SRA had “improved efficiency in this area from 70% to more than 90%.” When serious problems arise, Mr. Hill makes a point of "getting off the grog" and doing a lot of exercise. "I don't regard myself as fit but I've got the beast under control," he said. During his younger "larrikin" days, Mr. Hill was known as a great organiser of parties. His lifestyle now 4 The Times January 2019 remainder of SRA, which was by far the largest user of the rail network. SRA employees, contracted to RAC because controllers and signallers working in Network Control are therefore expected to operate with a notional barrier between them and other SRA employees engaged in the rail system. This is obviously an artificial and unsatisfactory state of affairs. The unsatisfactory nature of that arrangement was illustrated by an experience that Mr. Hill related in his evidence. Mr. Hill was Chief Executive of the from 1980 to 1987 and from April to October of 1997. He stated: When I arrived in 1997, I tried to ascertain how the railways, with 140 years of experience, could introduce a timetable that couldn’t work…I went to Network Control and I thought I the exclusive use of myself, David Hill 11 November 1982 owned them. I said: ‘Look, you own Stay-in-Touch was not previously The name of the man who purports to timetabling, how come we introduced aware of the exquisite culinary tastes run the State Rail Authority in NSW a timetable that couldn’t work’. They of the Man Who Runs Our Railways. has been banned from this column said: ‘No, no, we got a specification until he comes to his senses about from CityRail down the other end of We shall not forget it. providing a real sleeping and dining the corridor. They told us what they Public transport service for the public. However, we wanted. We simply drew a timetable to must mention him again today, meet their specifications. It is there’. 9 November 1982 because we have learnt that this Ronald Reagan of Australian rail, who I'd better declare a bias before I start So I went to CityRail and said: ‘It is condemns sleeping cars as 'an archaic this. I like trains. I particularly like yours’. They said: ‘No, no, we simply legacy', is not above taking advantage dining cars and sleeping cars. There is surveyed our passengers and gave of some of the system's archaic no more comfortable, graceful way to them the passenger loading numbers legacies himself. On the inaugural trip travel. Until yesterday. Then comes a and the generic shape of what we of the through train from Sydney to press conference by this scrofulous wanted. They designed it’. So I Alice Springs three weeks ago, this cad David Hill, who runs the State abolished them both. And there were man travelled in the luxurious Rail Authority. He announces that the good people running them…It was the Commissioner's Carriage, which had from Sydney to Perth next day I was told that what I had been specially attached to the train. will be cut to one service a week done was illegal, that the SRA did not This delicious antique has three oak- instead of four; that one of the daily own [Network Control] even though panelled bedrooms. We have no services to Melbourne will be we employed the people, it was under objection to this man travelling in such eliminated; that the dining cars will be contract to the RAC. comfort occasionally, but it does seem removed from the Brisbane Express a little churlish to deny much lesser —Mr. Justice MacInerney and the Gold Coast Motorail; and from pleasures to other long distance long distance trains. ______travellers. And the man is quite shameless about Who moved my cheese? it. He describes the sleeping car as 'a Reactions Some time in 1982? vestige of a bygone era'. Of course it 11 November 1982 is. That's why it's such fun. He says: Stay in Touch has learned of nefarious 'We can no longer support the level of The Public Relations Officer of the doings inside the Board-room of the conductors on interstate and intrastate State Rail Authority has phoned this State Rail Authority. On preparing the sleeper trains, which is frankly an column with a plea for his boss, whose room for the next meeting, the staff archaic legacy'. Okay. He wants to name has been banned from this found the following notice in the play rough. From now on, the name of column because of his plans to cut refrigerator in the attached kitchen: that man is banned from this page. dining and sleeping cars on trains. The PR person said that He Who Cannot Would the person who removed my And I'm in too bad a temper to tell you Be Named really loves sleeping cars, blue cheese from this refrigerator, any more about what they did in and uses them often. He does not want please replace it. This cheese was for Macquarie Street. The Times January 2019 5 to cut them out; but merely to reduce —————————————— allowed to stay on board on arrival. the number of personnel who work on The Cad’s STNs … or … This was a courtesy often extended to them. passengers in the Sleepers on NSW Everybody back to their own Mail Trains The PR person said that his boss's use beds of the: term 'archaic legacy' was not a -Geoff Lambert reference to the sleeping cars, but to As befits a man of style, fond of blue the number of conductors on them. He cheese and ornate Parlour Cars, the ——————————— said that yes, there is a plan to CEO was also rather fond of having I certainly do have plenty of gossip, eliminate some dining cars, but they the STNs for his Tours of Inspection scandal, rumour & innuendo about will be replaced by buffet cars. made up into elaborate little David Hill. Not a bad lad really! notebooks, which he could annotate However, in terms of my namesake I Humbug, I say. One of the greatest with information gleaned as he roamed do recall the day, way back in 1999, attractions of long distance train travel the system in the Commissioner’s when I worked for the ARA and I is the service and the comfort. If you Train. called the SRA’s Public Affairs Dept. want to eat plastic food in cramped I said ‘David Hill here’. I could hear conditions, you take a plane. If you're Some typical make-ups for the Cad’s the phone call recipient just about fall being murdered in your sleeping inspection trains are shown on page off her chair - “Yes, Mr. Hill, what can compartment, it's not much use trying 14. The standard seems to have been we do for you?”! Then there was the to get the help of a guard who's four to have all available AAH class cars, time in 1992 when he had finished his carriages away. You can't gamble that plus one or two sleepers. first stint at the SRA and my wife and Hercule Poirot will be travelling in the Timetables I left our bags at the Central Station next compartment on every journey. luggage depot so we didn’t have to And the stools of a buffet car are no Representative timetables are shown cart them around all day. The SRA substitute for crisp white tablecloths, on our pp14-15. The usual practice dude said he hoped I was nicer than monogrammed silverware, waiters in seems to have been to inspect in one the other one!! We got them back ok! I colourful uniforms, and an direction and run Express in the other. eventually met him at an ARA gig & uninterrupted view of endlessly said “Ah, so you’re David Hill. So am changing countryside. The average duration of inspections at all but the major stations seems to I”. We had a pleasant chat over a drink —David Dale have been three to five minutes. This or three! is not sufficient time to inspect the —the other David Hill ——————————— books or the Train Register, but The man in Bib Overalls probably just enough to yak to the ——————————— On the day that David Hill re-launched ASM. In theory, citizens of the towns The story, as it was told to me by a 3801 (23-Nov-1982), Dave and Judy visited were supposedly invited to cynical railwayman, relates to the time Kelly were in the main concourse at speak with the exalted ones during the in the mid 1980s when there was Central. They approached a man in bib visit, but there could hardly ever have discussion about the expansion of XPT -overalls and engaged him in been time to do more than shake services. conversation on the topic of SRA hands. David asked his senior staff how long Management and, in particular, on the Some of the inspections seem to have it would take, with the XPT travelling management style of David Hill. occurred in the wee small hours—I at its maximum speed all the way, for The man in bib overalls said, “I’m wonder if the Cad got out of bed in his the train to get from Sydney to Hill—let’s talk” … Candice Classic satin Jarmies for Brisbane. these, or whether he was waited upon When the staff came back with their —Dave Kelly [Geoff Lambert’s in his bunk? There are also some very recollection of a conversation with answer, he said: “Great, that’s what we early morning arrivals back at Central will do – non-stop Sydney to Brisbane. Dave Kelly] for some of these trips. I wonder if the sleepers on board the Sleepers were (Continued on page 13)

6 The Times January 2019 Have you seen this ANZR PTT? Geoff Lambert – from the collection of Noel Farr

N PAGE 16 OF THE do not know when the first edition of information on the provenance of NOVEMBER Times, we these timetables appeared. However, these timetables, other than that both O published an image and ATA member Noel Farr had one of a were printed by the Victorian accompanying letter from Kent slightly later date in his extensive Railways print shop. The florid text on Hannah, enquiring about a 1935 collection of Commonwealth Railways the rear cover, however, suggests that timetable published by “Australian and PTTs. Scans and letters relating to the author probably WAS Richard New Zealand Railways”. Nobody on these two TTs appear on our rear Hughes, as I had speculated for the the ATA Committee had ever seen— cover. earlier TT. John Le Carre in his “The or even heard of—such a thing and we (Continued on page 10) Noel’s timetable gives us very little

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The Times January 2019 9 (Continued from page 7) Times of November 2011 and March audiences for these timetables were. It Honourable Schoolboy”, worked 2012). Only Hughes could have used all smacks of being the sort of Hughes in as his character “Old the word “encomiums” when pamphlet one might pick up at Craw”, and it is clear from the novel describing railway food. Australia House in London, were one that Hughes never lost this flair for planning to emigrate or visit the It is not clear to me who the intended colourful turns of phrase (see The Antipodes.

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12 The Times January 2019 (Continued from page 6) At a morning operations meeting, We don’t have to stop at all those where David was interrogating the on time running statistics would go up. towns along the way”. operations people as to why a specific train from Hornsby was cancelled 3 or Another said on that basis, if we cancel The impression was that the towns 4 of 5 weekdays every week. The 50% of the trains permanently, our on along the way didn’t need to have an operators explained this was the train time running will be even better ! XPT service. He may have been that was pulled out of service if adventurous and been contemplating —Anon another set failed, and was used to that the non-stop XPT would have operate the failed service schedule. been in addition to an “all-stops”

service. In any case, it was not until 3 David asked why, if it was only Comment on this article – Letter to the years after he left State Rail in 1987, sufficiently reliable to operate once or Editor, Facebook and with a change of government in sometimes twice a week, why did we 1988, that XPTs were introduced on bother having that train in the Return to Contents Page the Brisbane service, stopping at only timetable at all. some of the towns along the way. Some member of the meeting replied —Len Regan that if we cancelled it all together, our

The Times January 2019 13 14 The Times January 2019 Comment on this article – Letter to the Editor, Facebook Return to Contents Page

The Times January 2019 15 Geoff, Have you seen this 1935 form (above I have one in my TAR collection (Dec 1935) left)? It was done by the Victorian Railways featuring a b&w S302 on the cover, so at least 2 Print shop. It sounds like there was interline issues back then. My uneducated guess would be ticketing (or interstate ticketing) in Australia. a Morse/Telegram; also guessing pre-telex to However, I really wonder if that applied to The NZR reservations to confirm seats sleeper and Tasmanian system. Could one buy a Ticket in fare. Of course in 2018 Passengers do all this Sydney on NZ railways at Central? themselves. -Kent Hannah -Noel Farr