Australian Railway History Magazine November 2023 Edizione posteriore

In November’s issue we look back at a commissioners story. John Forsayth Thallon was the Commissioner for Railways in Queensland from 1902 till his death in 1911, but we take a comprehensive look at his life prior to taking on that role and how he made many changes to the Queensland Railway system before he even became Deputy Commissioner. It is really a Railway story through and through and even though it is well over 100 years after his death he is still remembered for his tenure and the quality of service that he provoked.
In the Central West region of NSW lies Cowra on the Blayney–Demondrille railway line. The region saw many trains in the 1960s and Ray Don shares his experiences as a Driver over his steam days in the region before moving back to Sydney. It’s a summarised taste of what the trains in the region were like and perfect narrative of the region.
We don’t usually see Federal and State Governments working together easily to promote a better railway outcome these days, but in 1992 the creation of National Rail Corporation rapidly modernised and abolished many historical barriers when operating interstate rail freight over state boundaries. Frank Hussey writes about his role in the corporation and when you read the article it’s just amazing that it took Australia this long to come to terms with operating a railway system nationally. The changes and the NR Class locos are the high standards that today’s private operators use in modern operations.

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