Brian Ayling's Home Page
Brian Ayling's Home Page
As a twelve year old boy perusing the 1974 New South Wales Railways Country
Train Timetable, I was intrigued to find some passenger services listed as
"Mixed train", or "Goods train with passenger accommodation".
The prospect of riding a country goods train enticed me to embark on a
return trip from Sydney to Walgett in the May school holidays.
Thanks to my scant notes and fading memory, a full account of this trip will
never be told. However, some of my early black and white photographs and a few
impressions presented here, give glimpses of a comprehensive freight, parcels and
passenger service that the Railways once provided to rural New South Wales.
Delivering the goods
Back in 1974 no freight task was too big or small for the railways,
and deliveries to obscure locations were part of everyday operations.
In this view from the brakevan we see a new rotary plough, safely chained
to a four-wheeled KF flat truck, being shunted into an overgrown siding
somewhere west of Burren. Other loading on the train included fuel bound
for Walgett, and motive power was a 48 class diesel.
Rollingstock for every need
Mail and sundry items await loading at Walgett railway station.
The TRC refrigerator van in the background suggests
that perishables were still being moved here by rail.
Train accommodation for passengers, guard and luggage was provided by HCX632,
one of the last of a number a "dog box" style carriages
modified for use as brake vans on rural branch lines in New South Wales
- today it is preserved by ARHS at Canberra.
Outback station
Stops were made at seemingly remote and insignificant places, to pick up and
drop off mail. Apparently the wayside halt at Bugilbone was important enough
to warrant a shelter shed. Perhaps by 1974 few passengers used it,
but it still offered some protection for small goods delivered by rail,
and on this day a parcel destined for a nearby property awaits collection.
Refreshment stop
Passenger services to country NSW may have been in decline,
but in the early 1970s there was still sufficient patronage to warrant
the daily use of a two-car rail motor on the branch lines from Narrabri.
Beyond Burren the rail motor ran on alternate days to either Walgett or Pokataroo,
and on those days that it ran to the latter terminus, a connection to Walgett
was provided by the goods train.
On 9th May 1974, a 400 class rail motor with trailer waits patiently while
passengers avail themselves of the services provided by Burren's refreshment room.
If you missed my previous Feature page (The Last Regular Service Steam in NSW),
and would like to take a look, click here.
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