Perth's First Generation Diesel Suburban Trains Part 1

[Music] hello I'm Terry some of my earliest Recollections when I was 5 years old going back over 70 years ago is a P public transport system and especially the trains my primary focus was always the adg rail cars 18 of which were made by Cravens in Sheffield England and were delivered in 1954 I can remember them pulling into the wells poool station painted up in a dark green Livery with black and yellow hatching on the ends I thought that there was no color photo of this original Livery recorded anywhere to my great Delight one of our Western Australian government raway enthusiasts discovered a color photograph on the State Library Western Australia's website of the adg in its original color scream which we posted on Facebook it's been 70 years since I last saw this color scheme as a young boy I spent many an hour hanging around the wpo station watching his adg rail cast and action we also had the DD and DM class steam locomotives pulling passenger trains and shunting here we have a DD doing some shunting although not at wpol the absolute H out of my day was watching the OS and train on its journey to burey we see it here about Kenwick once it reaches burey we get a chance to get a closeup of the [Music] carriages in the late 1960s I bought a Super Rat movie camera and a Phillips open Real portable tape recorder these I took out Trackside to record raway action back then home movies were always a silent I however wanted to remember what they also sounded like as well as how they looked on the 1st of September 1979 the government closed down the per metal rubber line the week before I took my movie camera out and recorded the action on the line then but before we have a look at that I want to show you some of the action on the other two lines we will start with the avadar line first then we'll have a look at some stuff on the middle line [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] first of all we'll have a look at the Perth railway station before we catch the umale train to head south [Music] in those days he bought our tickets from the window outside of the building facing Wellington Street [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] at the Far Western end of the platforms we you can see the carriage heads to the right hand side of the [Music] [Applause] [Music] mainline just outside of the train station we can see the Perth Central bus station in action later it name to the willingness St the bus station [Music] [Music] in the 1960s there was quite a regular occurrence to see Steam holding the passenger Services as well as coming through on the center tracks holding good strains [Music] [Music] [Music] this was in the days before decentralization where all the country trains used to terminate at per station in the center of the city let's now catch a train out along the albito line in those days Claybrook station was our first stop it was originally called East Perth but was renamed Claybrook in 1969 when the new standard gaug loan was completed it station being called East Perth terminal [Music] [Applause] from the old pedestrian bridge we get a great look over the RO Car [Music] Depot the next two or later photos taken at night at the dawn of electrification with a brand new em that's an electric motor unit can be seen in the shed before entering service let's go back towards the city for about a kilometer and we'll join the cab of an XA class locomotive on a Queens Park first stop Express tra [Music] the old XA locomotive bucks about like a draft horse trying to race and pull a cart at the same time notice that the river to the left of the bridge is clear in a few minutes we'll see it again an older version where the ruins on the previous bridge is still visible claybook Station to riffell Station was originally single tracked at the time of filming the Dual track has just been commissioned from Goodwood race course to Rivervale the ballast is brand new not having enough time yet to be blackened by passing trains they have not even had time yet to remove the track laying machines [Music] we will now leave our cab ride and return back to Claybrook to watch the ostran Train on its morning run to Bunbury passing through claybook station some of the old drums I spoke to regard the x-class as an honorary steam locomotive once we pass under the East Parade Bridge we come to the old East Perth C fire power station on the left they once had their own dedicated electric locomotive but once that retired they then utiliz the diminutive zclass diesel shunter to move the coal wagons the health and safety R who hides behind the co wagons will be having kittens by now theind now goes past the railway Road bus depot before thundering down the slope to cross the Swan River by the single track of burey bridge [Music] as I mentioned previously this wooden bridge was built as a temporary structure in 1930 to replace the original Bridge the remains of which can be seen to the right of the newer Bridge the train is crossing over now [Music] whilst the osal and train is leaving Perth in the morning to go to bumbrey with another train that's leaving bumy to come back to Perth The Shopper leaves bumbury in the morning Crossing rrin on Route bringing passengers to per for shopping [Music] [Music] it has a purpose-built locomotive and two matching carriages unfortunately I never got to record the sound it made what you are about to hear is just a guess on my part [Music] [Music] the locom mters were named after Western Australian wild flowers the two I remember are gravila and jovio let's rejoin the cab of our XA class locomotive as we head south as far out street and we'll have a look at the action there O Street Station was a great place to watch the trains running Express between Queens Park and bth [Music] [Music] we rejoined at XA class Express train as we charged through wisport station at our top speed of 80 km an hour wellsport station where I grew up had a busy Goods yard with spur lines going into the old mition Works to James Hardy several lines going to the grain soos a wheat unloading dock off 7 Oak Street and a spurline running to the forest field yards one memory on Treasure is the sound of four whe Goods wagons made as they pass pass over rail joints the distance between the wagons matched the wheelbase of the wagons so we got a clock type ticking sound tick tick tick tick tick as they moved along a final look at welshpool is to watch an XB class depart over the branch line to forestfield before we rejoin our XA class locomotive for the run into Queens Park we are now coming into Queens Park our first stop this is quin Park once we depart from here we'll be running all stops our next station where Kennington for next class to B for birth [Music] [Music] this is the kin Wick fly over where we're crossing over the single track Goods line from cell and Forest field to the cin area [Music] [Music] it looks like some young brats have Set Fire to the dry grass track side just as the ostan train bursts through [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] stokeley station was built in 1954 over the stokeley creek mton it spanned the elbery highway it was close Ed on the 15th of April 1989 and demolished within 24 hours late at night to avoid protesters who wanted it to stay open [Music] [Applause] [Music] this is kilcot station where as we prepared it apart an adg set arise on the opposite [Music] platform as we approach armadel we come to a set of points which can change a train from the the down line to the upline in preparation for its next Journey we are now approaching aradale the end of the line for the Suburban trains the OST in train however continues on right down to bumbrey here at Armadale the ostland train we saw earlier has now crossed over from the downline to the upline setting itself up for the single track working down to bub here we say goodbye to our astral end as we turn our minds to the previous generation steam locomotives the last steam locomotive in Western Australia ran in 19 1971 3 years later in 1974 the hoam valley tourist dway which wanted to preserve the Piner dwelling up line badly needed some locomotives their main challenge was that the dwelling up line is the steepest slope in Western Australia they chose the wcl class locomotive for its ability to handle this steep slope with a problem or two in wet weather the fireman of this dwelling upbound train is laying into the sand pipe with a hammer after the first looking out the driving Wheels to make sure sand is not running the crew had to cut the train in half and then double the hill this means that they left half the train behind which they came back for later as a promotional exercise sponsored by the r and i Bank they brought their newly commissioned steamer W 945 dep Perth to run special tourist trains the date is February 1979 this is the first steam train to run on Western Australia medals for 8 years from the leech Highway overpass to the accompanying sound of traffic we see and hear our wcl class approaching blowing the whistle for the Hamilton Street level crossing in queensburg [Music] oh [Music] all [Music] [Music] the following day CW 945 running 10 to First into armadel on the first of its special runs for [Music] now the W class utilizes that crossover from the downline to the upline that we saw earlier [Music] then the locomotive runs around the train in preparation for the return Journey back to Perth [Music] [Music] I'm [Music] [Music] at the if you thought I had trouble holding the camera steady on the x-class locomotive it's nothing compared to my brother who was a fireman on this wcl class locomotive has holding his handy Camp City on his fire breathing dragon [Music] at the end of the trip W 945 has cut off from the train and has taken off to the siding for [Music] servicing the yellow sign on the smokebox store is RI this stands for the rural and Industry re Bank of Western Australia in the future it will change its name to Bank [Music] West here we will leave her and head out along the bid line where we'll also catch up with her later [Music] [Music] once again we catch up with W9 45 at Mount ly subway running 10 to First on route to Midland ad midd of Junction the railway workshops are hard at work [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Music] [Music] this next footage is very old it came off a VHS cassette which was given to me I have no idea who the owner is the date would be somewhere about 1960 it show some varal Warriors departing ridland and heading for Perth [Music] good w928 is having trouble steaming the fireman opens up the smoke dock door at a station to clean the ash scen inside in an attempt to get the fire breathing again [Music] a good train headed up by an RA locomotive heading east coming from Perth freem metal turning South to go to the forest field yards [Music] now on our way back to Perth around the area of bassendine we cross a prospector heading to [Music] [Applause] cury once again w 945 is approaching Claybrook on her way to the city [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] this brings part one to an end in part two we'll travel out on the freem matter Line Traveling mostly in the cabin adg as well as going track side to see each station [Music]

Channel: Terry Mercer

Views: 1,018

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Id: 7J-Q9s__AKM

Length: 43min 49sec (2629 seconds)

Published: Sat May 25 2024