Spirit of Progress

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The Spirit of Progress pulled by the S301 Sir Thomas Mitchell in 1938

The Spirit of Progress was the main express train on Victorian Railways , the state railroad of Victoria , and one of the most important in Australia . It operated from Melbourne to Albury , on the border between Victoria and New South Wales , since 1937 . From 1962 he operated to Sydney . In 1986 the connection was discontinued.

route

Platform of the gauge changing station Albury - longest platform in the southern hemisphere for changing between the different gauges.

The core of the Victorian railway network was built in 1600 mm wide gauge from the mid-19th century , while that of neighboring New South Wales was standard gauge . When the Spirit of Progress was set up by Victorian Railways (VR) in 1937 as a fast connection to Sydney, its route was therefore limited to the Melbourne ( Spencer Street Station ) - Albury route, the border station where passengers had to change trains. In Albury there was a connection to the Melbourne Limited Express of the New South Wales Government Railways (NSWGR), the night train to and from Sydney. This also determined the timetable of the Spirit of Progress : in the morning he drove from Albury to Melbourne, in the evening from Melbourne to Albury. It was not until April 1962 that a standard-gauge track - largely parallel to the existing broad-gauge line between Albury and Melbourne - was laid, the train was re- gauged and now operated between Melbourne and Sydney without changing trains.

Broad gauge (1937–1962)

The Spirit of Progress introduced a standard of comfort to rail travel in Australia that was previously unknown. The offer had been preceded by long-term preparations: the line had been equipped with heavier rails and an improved signaling system. The Victorian Railways had 1928 three-cylinder Pacific locomotives procured (2-C-1), classified as S-Class , which for the Spirit of Progress , a streamlining received and extra-large tender. This was necessary so that the train could travel the 300 km long route without stopping. The average cruising speed was around 75 km / h (52 mph ) and the top speed was just under 100 km / h (60 mph). The Spirit of Progress was the fastest passenger train in Australia and the one that covered the longest distance non-stop. This also placed the highest demands on the stoker , who had to shovel six to seven tons of coal onto the grate during a trip . During the return of the train to Melbourne on the occasion of the inaugural run on November 17, 1937, he set an Australian speed record on rails between Werribee and Laverton : 128 km / h (79.5 mph). It was not until 1951 that the locomotives were converted to oil firing and replaced by diesel locomotives from 1952.

The passenger carriages , made entirely of steel for the first time , were newly purchased. They were the first in Australia to be equipped with air conditioning . They had both car classes . These were differentiated by 6-person compartments in the first class and 8-person compartments in the second class. The train ran a dining car . The last car of the train, a saloon and pulpit car , was the only one with an open space . Its use was subject to a surcharge . The observation car forced that the train at both ends of its raceway with an reversing triangle respectively a turning loop is rotated to be had.

The equipment of the train was in the style spätesten Art Deco held. The offer and design of the train were influenced to a large extent by corresponding offers in the USA . The train was painted dark blue with gold trim.

The offer described remained almost unchanged for almost 20 years. From 1956, however, the train faced competition: the two railways involved set up a day train on the connection, the Daylight . The saloon and pulpit car of the Spirit of Progress has now been assigned to this new train and open-plan cars were used for the first time in the Spirit of Progress .

Standard gauge (1962–1986)

Eight of the original cars from 1937 on the anniversary train of the Spirit of Progress in Benalla on November 25, 2007

After the standard gauge track was laid between Albury and Melbourne, the train ran on this track continuously as a night train from Melbourne to Sydney from 1962, with the locomotives being changed in Albury. For this purpose, new sleeping cars were procured and two train sets were formed in order to be able to offer the connection daily in both directions, but the dining car was given up. At the same time, the train received competition from another continuous sleeper train, the Southern Aurora , which now ran as the top offer of the two railways involved, while the Spirit of Progress served other stops on the way where the competition did not stop. He also drove a sleeper train to and from Canberra three times a week . It was converted in Goulburn and from and to Canberra in a freight train with passenger transport ("Mixed"). The train was not particularly fast, nor was it distinguished by its fleet of vehicles or its special external appearance.

The End

In view of the declining number of travelers, both the Spirit of Progress and the Southern Aurora were abandoned on August 3, 1986 and they were merged into a night service, which - depending on the direction of travel - was called the Sydney Express or Melbourne Express . In 1993, this compound was then by an XPT diesel railcars of Country Link replaced.

The wagons with the original Spirit of Progress set have been preserved - with the exception of one wagon that was damaged in an accident - and were used by Victoria Rail, her successor V / Line and a private railway company. Some were still in operation until at least 2007. Some of the wagons are in the care of the Seymour Railway Heritage Center .

Web links

literature

  • Ian Brady: The Blue. The Story of the Spirit of Progress = Australian Railway History (Bulletin of the Australian Railway Historical Society) Vol. 58, No. 841 (November 2007).
  • John Buckland: Half a Century of Spirit of Progress . In: Australian Railway History (Bulletin of the Australian Railway Historical Society). November 1987, pp. 241-247.
  • Dale Butt: The First Standard Gauge Spirit of Progress: April 1962. Australian Railway History (Bulletin of the Australian Railway Historical Society). April 2002, pp. 125-135.
  • Brian Carroll: Australia's railway days: milestones in railway history . 1976. ISBN 0-333-21055-7
  • Dunn et al. a .: Super Power on the VR = Train Hobby Publications. 2006. ISBN 1-876249-94-3
  • Robert Lee: The Railways of Victoria 1854-2004 . Melbourne 2007.
  • Pearce et al. a .: North Williamstown Railway Museum . Melbourne 1980. ISBN 0-85849-018-8

swell

  1. ^ Victorianrailways.net - Murray Dining Car
  2. ^ Australian Modern - Keith Murdoch Gallery - State Library of Victoria ( Memento from May 15, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Photo of the interior of the saloon and pulpit car.
  3. ↑ Rail Page Australia: Car Set SN7 to enter service this week
  4. ↑ SRHC 70th Anniversary of the Spirit  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Railpage Events Calendar@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.railpage.com.au