RIGHT: English Electric H class Bo-
Bo shunting locomotives H1 and H3
are set aside in Avon Yard in 1965
following their use on Avon Valey
line construction. A Grunbach photo,
ARHSnsw Railway Resource Centre, 203529Although the story of changing
motive power from 1950 to the 1970s
was essentially that of steam being
replaced by diesel and electric engines,
there were other aspects that impacted
on the demise of steam, such as the
allocation of railcars and electric
multiple-unit trains. All Australian
government railway systems used
railcars on passenger services. Some
services that had previously been
provided by locomotive-hauled steam
trains were replaced not by diesel
or electrically-hauled trains, but by
railcars. Additionally, in Victoria and
New South Wales the electrified systems
expanded and electric suburban and
interurban trains replaced numerous
locomotive-hauled trains.
During the middle of the 20th Century
Australian railways faced considerable
threats from the motor car and air
transport. Railways responded by
introducing modern trains in an attempt
to retain passengers. New rolling stock
was introduced for passenger and freight
services. Tracks were upgraded and
standard gauge lines reached Melbourne
and Perth. Passenger trains were faster
and freight trains carried heavier loads.
Thus, Australian railways in the 1970s
were considerably different from those
of 1950.
Government railway systems in
Australia changed dramatically over
the two and a half decades from 1950
to 1975. The replacement of steam by
diesel and electric engines brought
efficiency, faster running times, larger
loads and numerous changes in
working conditions. Modern motive
power eventually resulted in the demise
of steam.
Some steam locomotives from all
Australian government railway systems
have been preserved by museums
and heritage organisations. A small
number are maintained in working
order for special workings. These
engines provide a link to the past and
a reminder of the era of steam, before
the change to diesel and electric
motive power.
End Notes
- ‘Harold Clapp anniversary’, Newsrail, Vol. 3,
No. 7, July 1975, p148 - ‘VR diesel loco’s fast inaugural trip impresses
public and operating staff’, Railway
Transportation, Vol. 1, No. 11, August 1952,
p31. - Scott, J, Power to the rails: a history of Victoria’s
diesel and electric locomotives, John Scott,
Melbourne, 2011, p44. - ‘Clyde-GM D.E. first Australian built loco to
reach 1 million miles, Railway Transportation,
Vol. 7, No. 2, February 1958, p19. - ‘Loco and railmotor locations’, Newsrail, Vol.
4, No. 4, April 1976, pp75–76. - ‘Here and There’, Supplement to ARHSnsw
Bulletin, No. 263, September 1959, p2. - ‘Locomotive notes’, Divisional Diary,
September 1963, p2; K Turton, ‘Locomotive
roster, 1957-1967’, Divisional Diary, November
1967, pp11–12; Oberg, L, Locomotives of
Australia: 1854 to 2007, Rosenberg, Sydney,
2007, Oberg, p201. - ‘The decline of steam since 1964’, Divisional
Diary, November 1967, pp12, 17. - Here and There, Supplement to ARHSnsw
Bulletin, No. 335, September 1965, p3. - ‘The decline of steam since 1964’, Divisional
Diary, November 1967, p17; Turton, K,
Steam’s last decade: the story of the last ten
years of steam operation in Victoria, Australia,
1958-1968, and its aftermath, Australian
Railway Historical Society, Victorian Division,
Melbourne, 1981, p22. - ‘Where to find steam’, Divisional Diary,
October 1966, p10. - K Turton, ‘End of steam in the Hamilton area’,
Divisional Diary, July 1967, p2; ‘The decline of
steam since 1964’, Divisional Diary, November
1967, p17. - ‘Steam: where to find it’, Australian Railway
Enthusiast, Vol. 4, No. 4, December 1966,
pp10, 15. - ‘The end of steam’, Divisional Diary,
September 1968, p2; ‘Here and There’,
Supplement to ARHSnsw Bulletin, No. 373,
November 1968, p3.- ‘Steam movements’, Divisional Diary, January
1969, pp4-5; ‘Steam locos’, Divisional Diary,
February 1969, p7; ‘Australian steam survey:
1969 edition’, Australian Railway Enthusiast,
Vol. 6, No. 4, December 1968, p9. - ‘V.R. steam locomotives’, Divisional Diary,
February 1970, p11; ‘Here and There’,
Supplement to ARHSnsw Bulletin, No. 399,
January 1971, p3. - ‘Locomotive notes’, Divisional Diary, July 1971,
p11; ‘The last steam era’, Newsrail, Vol. 7, No.
6, July 1980, p152. - Dare, J, A changing decade, Australian
Railway Historical Society, Victorian Division,
Melbourne, 1986, p10. - Dare, J, as above, p10.
- ‘The last steam era’, Newsrail, Vol. 7, No. 6,
July 1980, pp150-2; J L Buckland, ‘Crane tank
locomotives in Australia’, ARHSnsw Bulletin,
No. 572, June 1985, p127. - ‘The last steam era’, Newsrail, Vol. 7, No. 6,
July 1980, p150. - Armstrong, J, Locomotives in the tropics, Vol.
3 , The Workshops Rail Museum/Australian
Railway Historical Society Queensland
Division, Brisbane, 2003, p21. - ‘How far have we dieselized...how far to go?’,
Railway Transportation, Vol. 8, No. 3, March
1959, pp46–47. - Here and There, Supplement to ARHSnsw
Bulletin, No. 256, February 1959, p3. - Webber, B (Ed.), Recalling Queensland railways
in the ’60s: the last decade of steam, Australian
Railway Historical Society, Queensland
Division, Brisbane, 2001, p64. - ‘Here and There’, Supplement to ARHSnsw
Bulletin, No. 272, June 1960, p3.
2 7. ‘Here and There’, Supplement to ARHSnsw
Bulletin, No. 275, September 1960, p3. - ‘Here and There’, Supplement to ARHSnsw
Bulletin, No. 347, September 1966, p4. - ‘Steam: where to find it’, Australian Railway
Australian Railway History • December 2017 • 23