Railway Digest Magazine August 2019 Back Issue

The last ride of Sydney’s S Sets
Commuters heading to work on Monday morning 1 July may not have twigged to the significance of the moment, but for the first time they were travelling to work on a Sydney Trains railway network devoid of non-air-conditioned trains. From afar this seems a historical blip, but it came at the cost of a fleet of rolling stock once considered cutting edge, and which four decades ago made Sydney’s suburban rail network the envy of the world. Chris Walters pays a special tribute to Sydney’s remarkable S Set EMUs.

Crawfords Freightlines launch Werris Creek terminal
Rail is currently undergoing a construction boom across Australia with projects including the Melbourne and Sydney Metro lines, Sydney’s light rail, Brisbane’s Cross-River Rail Link. Perth’s Airport line and the Melbourne – Brisbane Inland railway in the headlines. However, less well-publicised smaller projects such as track upgrading, new crossing loops, improved signalling and new intermodal terminals can deliver significant benefits for rail in terms of driving down costs and increasing rail’s modal share. Now Crawfords Freightlines, who already operate terminals in the Newcastle suburb of Sandgate and at Goulburn, have established a new intermodal facility in the northern NSW ‘railway town’ of Werris Creek. John Hoyle reports.

An antique heads to Ballarat
Having taken us on a trip to Swan Hill, riding in the cab of an N Class unit, in our May issue, David Campbell takes us on a very different kind of journey, crewing an ancient Y Class 0-6-0 steam loco, limited to 60 km/h, on a transfer run from Melbourne to Ballarat.

Yx141 returns
On a chilly June Sunday, Pichi Richi Railway publicly debuted the restored 1892-vintage James Martin 2-6-0 Yx141. After speeches and thanks, the locomotive shuffled its way to Woolshed Flat, crewed by members deeply involved in the lengthy restoration. Darren Tulk was there.