Aus Rail Historian
@ausrailhistorian.bsky.social
Independent railway historian. Neither an Academic, Royal or Bulletin historian. Email me at: transporttextbook@hotmail.com
Even contemporary speculative fiction set in the 2050s knows High Speed Rail in Australia is a bust, as stated in this excerpt from Andrew Roff’s ‘These are my demands’ (2025).
November 12, 2025 at 9:38 PM
Even contemporary speculative fiction set in the 2050s knows High Speed Rail in Australia is a bust, as stated in this excerpt from Andrew Roff’s ‘These are my demands’ (2025).
Another item from the auction: A reproduction VR poster from Harold Freedman’s ‘Men of Service’ series. Freedman was a war artist in WW2 and later the state artist for Victoria. His major works include the
‘cavalcade of transport’ & ‘the legend of fire’ murals in Melbourne.
‘cavalcade of transport’ & ‘the legend of fire’ murals in Melbourne.
November 11, 2025 at 9:58 AM
Another item from the auction: A reproduction VR poster from Harold Freedman’s ‘Men of Service’ series. Freedman was a war artist in WW2 and later the state artist for Victoria. His major works include the
‘cavalcade of transport’ & ‘the legend of fire’ murals in Melbourne.
‘cavalcade of transport’ & ‘the legend of fire’ murals in Melbourne.
Another auction haul: a 1989 map of rail infrastructure in inner Melbourne including the now gone Melbourne Freight Terminal, Hump Yard & the now cut line to Webb Dock & rail sidings in the Port of Melbourne.
November 11, 2025 at 1:28 AM
Another auction haul: a 1989 map of rail infrastructure in inner Melbourne including the now gone Melbourne Freight Terminal, Hump Yard & the now cut line to Webb Dock & rail sidings in the Port of Melbourne.
It wouldn’t have been a 1970s childhood in Sydney unless you saw this ad…” Electronic Sales & Rentals, 6-4-8-0… 1-double 0!”
youtu.be/wPFnaTf36Es
youtu.be/wPFnaTf36Es
November 8, 2025 at 12:05 PM
It wouldn’t have been a 1970s childhood in Sydney unless you saw this ad…” Electronic Sales & Rentals, 6-4-8-0… 1-double 0!”
youtu.be/wPFnaTf36Es
youtu.be/wPFnaTf36Es
Picked up at auction recently what looks like a full set of CountryLink A4 size holiday brochures from 1998. All bar the North West brochure feature the XPT. A bonus was the ‘welcome aboard’ brochure pre-1994 (no mention of sleeping cars). Enjoy! P.S. they might be for sale if people are interested.
November 8, 2025 at 8:20 AM
Picked up at auction recently what looks like a full set of CountryLink A4 size holiday brochures from 1998. All bar the North West brochure feature the XPT. A bonus was the ‘welcome aboard’ brochure pre-1994 (no mention of sleeping cars). Enjoy! P.S. they might be for sale if people are interested.
Did a flying visit to Melbourne over the weekend. Only rail action of note was this video of a late running ST22 XPT out of Southern Cross station bound for Sydney races out of twilight into the night as it passes the Beckett St level crossing at Glenroy in Melbourne’s north on Saturday 1 November.
November 2, 2025 at 9:37 PM
Did a flying visit to Melbourne over the weekend. Only rail action of note was this video of a late running ST22 XPT out of Southern Cross station bound for Sydney races out of twilight into the night as it passes the Beckett St level crossing at Glenroy in Melbourne’s north on Saturday 1 November.
Reposted by Aus Rail Historian
I wouldn't tell anyone I'd won the lottery, but there would be signs...
www.bbc.com/news/article...
www.bbc.com/news/article...
Mystery US donor gives £1m to Strathspey steam railway
Aviemore-based The Strathspey Railway said the donation had secured its future.
www.bbc.com
October 30, 2025 at 2:48 PM
I wouldn't tell anyone I'd won the lottery, but there would be signs...
www.bbc.com/news/article...
www.bbc.com/news/article...
Transport Canberra bus #400 having a bit of an identity crisis today: TC at the front, ACTION on the back & sides.
October 27, 2025 at 6:47 AM
Transport Canberra bus #400 having a bit of an identity crisis today: TC at the front, ACTION on the back & sides.
OTD in 2014: in your own time Ablo…
October 27, 2025 at 4:19 AM
OTD in 2014: in your own time Ablo…
Reposted by Aus Rail Historian
Remembering Sonny Terry on his birthday 🎂
At Pete Seeger’s cabin in Beacon, New York
📷 David Gahr, 1958
"In them days I just as soon died - except for my harmonica. It was like a friend who didn’t give a damn if I could see or not."
At Pete Seeger’s cabin in Beacon, New York
📷 David Gahr, 1958
"In them days I just as soon died - except for my harmonica. It was like a friend who didn’t give a damn if I could see or not."
October 24, 2025 at 4:47 PM
Remembering Sonny Terry on his birthday 🎂
At Pete Seeger’s cabin in Beacon, New York
📷 David Gahr, 1958
"In them days I just as soon died - except for my harmonica. It was like a friend who didn’t give a damn if I could see or not."
At Pete Seeger’s cabin in Beacon, New York
📷 David Gahr, 1958
"In them days I just as soon died - except for my harmonica. It was like a friend who didn’t give a damn if I could see or not."
A couple of minutes away from its arrival at Canberra (Kingston) station, the SP31 service from Sydney rolls through Fyshwick at 11.07 this morning.
October 25, 2025 at 4:26 AM
A couple of minutes away from its arrival at Canberra (Kingston) station, the SP31 service from Sydney rolls through Fyshwick at 11.07 this morning.
This is a valid conclusion but is not new knowledge.An understanding of modern Japanese history & a few English language sources (esp. Hosokawa’s ‘Old Man Thunder’) led many others to the same conclusion decades ago (including me).
think this by @jrurbanenetwork.bsky.social is critical bc the Shinkansen has been understood/sold as a postwar Japanese invention with no blemishes from the past Imperial state, built from conception to operation in >20 years. but turns out it had a longer runway cleared out by the previous regime
TIL in this great Substack article that earliest plans for Shinkansen was as early as 1939, and the Imperial Government was buying up land for Tokaido during WWII. Then-Japanese Government Railways bought ROW land dirt cheap thanks to the US bombings jrurbanenetwork.substack.com/p/shinkansen...
October 23, 2025 at 9:22 PM
This is a valid conclusion but is not new knowledge.An understanding of modern Japanese history & a few English language sources (esp. Hosokawa’s ‘Old Man Thunder’) led many others to the same conclusion decades ago (including me).
Who's solving the Louvre robbery? Right answers only… Good Moaning…
October 22, 2025 at 8:55 PM
Who's solving the Louvre robbery? Right answers only… Good Moaning…
A half-decent textbook on Australian geology (I recommend Laseron & Brunschweiler’s ‘Ancient Australia’) will provide a much richer insight into truly deep time before humans. This book is where I learned the Pilbara has some of the oldest known rocks in the world (c. 2 billion years).
This is clever – good use of animation to tell the story of Australia's deep past:
#australia https://www.abc.net.au/news/deeptime/time/
#australia https://www.abc.net.au/news/deeptime/time/
Australia is seen as a young country — but do you really know its ancient story?
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples' story goes way, way back… take an awe-inspiring journey into Deep Time.
www.abc.net.au
October 19, 2025 at 9:29 PM
A half-decent textbook on Australian geology (I recommend Laseron & Brunschweiler’s ‘Ancient Australia’) will provide a much richer insight into truly deep time before humans. This book is where I learned the Pilbara has some of the oldest known rocks in the world (c. 2 billion years).
Only a couple of minutes after departing Canberra station, the Sydney-bound SP34 Xplorer service passes through the industrial suburb of Fyshwick at midday, Sunday 19 October.
October 19, 2025 at 1:07 AM
Only a couple of minutes after departing Canberra station, the Sydney-bound SP34 Xplorer service passes through the industrial suburb of Fyshwick at midday, Sunday 19 October.
Today’s mail call: A bit out of my usual collecting path, this is a superb original example of a Qantas airlines poster from the 1950s advertising their new Lockheed Super Constellation airliner, the last of the great turboprop airliners before the arrival of the Boeing 707 & Douglas DC-8 jets.
October 17, 2025 at 12:26 PM
Today’s mail call: A bit out of my usual collecting path, this is a superb original example of a Qantas airlines poster from the 1950s advertising their new Lockheed Super Constellation airliner, the last of the great turboprop airliners before the arrival of the Boeing 707 & Douglas DC-8 jets.
Informed Sources say last Friday TfNSW issued an RFT for a technical adviser to determine “the minimum viable product for rolling stock for NSW Trainlink to continue to offer a sleeper service between Sydney and Melbourne” and prepare technical artifacts to support a Final Business Case (FBC).
October 13, 2025 at 1:18 AM
Informed Sources say last Friday TfNSW issued an RFT for a technical adviser to determine “the minimum viable product for rolling stock for NSW Trainlink to continue to offer a sleeper service between Sydney and Melbourne” and prepare technical artifacts to support a Final Business Case (FBC).
In honour of spooky month, share a 4 word horror story that only someone in your profession would understand:
Signal passed at Danger
Signal passed at Danger
n honor of spooky month, share a 4 word horror story that only someone in your profession would understand:
Your video is demonetized
Your video is demonetized
In honor of spooky month, share a 4 word horror story that only someone in your profession would understand:
Willful violation of 10CFR50
Willful violation of 10CFR50
October 13, 2025 at 12:14 AM
In honour of spooky month, share a 4 word horror story that only someone in your profession would understand:
Signal passed at Danger
Signal passed at Danger
Had a great day yesterday with an old friend Brad on the Botany Line which serves Sydney’s main container port & looking at traces of many sidings & branches once serving industries nearby. The main traffic these days are port shuttles from suburban & regional terminals. Captions: Alt text
October 11, 2025 at 11:14 PM
Had a great day yesterday with an old friend Brad on the Botany Line which serves Sydney’s main container port & looking at traces of many sidings & branches once serving industries nearby. The main traffic these days are port shuttles from suburban & regional terminals. Captions: Alt text
Similar to Australia right now. The non-US Anglosphere needs to focus on their own problems.
Yeah, yeah. I know. America is important. But I'm so fucking sick of it absolutely dominating the UK news cycle. I get it. You voted in a turd and now you're swimming in fascist shit. But we have our own rightwing wanklord problems that need more national coverage.
October 9, 2025 at 9:21 PM
Similar to Australia right now. The non-US Anglosphere needs to focus on their own problems.
Reposted by Aus Rail Historian
Yeah, yeah. I know. America is important. But I'm so fucking sick of it absolutely dominating the UK news cycle. I get it. You voted in a turd and now you're swimming in fascist shit. But we have our own rightwing wanklord problems that need more national coverage.
October 9, 2025 at 7:55 PM
Yeah, yeah. I know. America is important. But I'm so fucking sick of it absolutely dominating the UK news cycle. I get it. You voted in a turd and now you're swimming in fascist shit. But we have our own rightwing wanklord problems that need more national coverage.
OTD in 2018: Probably my favourite photo i took that year, with export EMD SD-40 unit C507 leading an empty grain train up Demondrille bank near Harden in southern NSW. Very atmospheric & its about as close as I'll ever get to experiencing a pre-1995 'Jet' freight blasting uphill from Bacchus Marsh.
October 6, 2025 at 8:52 PM
OTD in 2018: Probably my favourite photo i took that year, with export EMD SD-40 unit C507 leading an empty grain train up Demondrille bank near Harden in southern NSW. Very atmospheric & its about as close as I'll ever get to experiencing a pre-1995 'Jet' freight blasting uphill from Bacchus Marsh.
Reposted by Aus Rail Historian
There are some subjects that really don't require a 'take'.
October 2, 2025 at 9:37 AM
There are some subjects that really don't require a 'take'.
Sad news to hear about the man who stayed off to the side while Clapton, Beck & Page stood in the limelight. RIP Chris Dreja. Will play this off ‘Roger the Engineer’ for you tonight.
RIP Chris Dreja, player of the other guitar while we were busy listening to whoever was deemed more important than the rest of the Yardbirds at the time.
Here’s just one track he made happen at least as much as Jeff Beck did.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlif...
Here’s just one track he made happen at least as much as Jeff Beck did.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlif...
NEW * Shapes Of Things - The Yardbirds {Stereo} 1966
YouTube video by Smurfstools Oldies Music Time Machine
www.youtube.com
October 3, 2025 at 6:50 AM
Sad news to hear about the man who stayed off to the side while Clapton, Beck & Page stood in the limelight. RIP Chris Dreja. Will play this off ‘Roger the Engineer’ for you tonight.
Reposted by Aus Rail Historian
RIP Chris Dreja, player of the other guitar while we were busy listening to whoever was deemed more important than the rest of the Yardbirds at the time.
Here’s just one track he made happen at least as much as Jeff Beck did.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlif...
Here’s just one track he made happen at least as much as Jeff Beck did.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlif...
NEW * Shapes Of Things - The Yardbirds {Stereo} 1966
YouTube video by Smurfstools Oldies Music Time Machine
www.youtube.com
October 2, 2025 at 11:03 AM
RIP Chris Dreja, player of the other guitar while we were busy listening to whoever was deemed more important than the rest of the Yardbirds at the time.
Here’s just one track he made happen at least as much as Jeff Beck did.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlif...
Here’s just one track he made happen at least as much as Jeff Beck did.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlif...