The Clyde Engineering Company Pty. Ltd., largest supplier of diesel locomotives to Australian railways, delivered the first Australian-built mainline unit to the Commonwealth Railways in September, 1951. This article reviews the progress made in dieselisation of the railways systems since that date and the success of the programme.
     By the end of 1968, several of the Australian railways systems had achieved complete dieselisation of their locomotive fleets, and target dates for the remaining States are not far off.
     Where Railway Annual Reports show steam locomotives still in service, these are probably held ready to meet special contingencies and heavy seasonal demands — such as handling the annual wheat harvest.
     An indication of the economies made by using diesel electric power on Australian railways systems is given by a comparison of numbers of locomotives in service and freight tonnages hauled.
     In the 1949-50 financial year, the seven systems operated a total of 3,508 steam locomotives, and carried an aggregate of about 40 million tons of freight. Fifteen years later, in 1964-65, the combined fleets of diesel and steam locomotives numbered 2,350 — a reduction in numbers of 33% — which handled a freight tonnage of 64 million tons, an increase of 60%.
     An Australian paper presented in Bangkok during November, 1964, to the Railway sub-committee of the Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East (ECAFE) was based on the operation of one of our major railways systems after 12 years of diesel locomotive experience. The paper pointed out that the most significant feature of dieselisation is the reduction in operating cost per locomotive mile — a minimum of $1.30 for main line operation.
     In 1964, diesel locomotives hauled 97% of the passenger and 76% of the freight business, although one-third of the diesels then in use were fully engaged on shunting operations.
     Since these figures were published, the programme of dieselisation has continued, until at the end of 1968, 1,312 diesel electric locomotives of 600 h.p. and over are in service or on order. In addition, diesel locomotives of under 600 h.p. are in service on shunting duties.
     Apart from 161 locomotives imported in the early days of dieselisation, all now in service have been built in Australia — 529 of them by Clyde Engineering.
     Clyde-GM locomotives are currently in service with the N.S.W., Victorian, Queensland. Western Australian and Commonwealth Railways systems. They have also been supplied to New Zealand, Pakistan and Hong Kong. Diesel hydraulic locomotives built by Clyde operate in Fiji and Nauru.

LATEST DELIVERY TO NSWGR

     On January 24 the New South Wales Government Railways accepted delivery ahead of schedule of the first of 20 Model J26C 2200/2000 h.p. Clyde-G.M. mainline diesel locomotives to be built for that system.
     The semi-streamlined "422" Class locomotives are equipped with twin cabs and are the most powerful diesel electric units to be supplied to the NSWGR.
     The 16-cylinder General Motors—E.M.D. Model 645E engine in the locomotive develops 2200 brake horsepower, allowing 2000 horsepower input to the Model D32 main generator for traction purposes. The output power from the main generator is applied to six axle-mounted Model D77 traction motors geared to the axles to provide the propulsive force.
     High adhesion bogies are incorporated to ensure efficient operation even under adverse rail conditions. Geared for a maximum operating speed of 77 m.p.h., they are suitable for high speed passenger and express freight services.
     Each locomotive has a total serviceable weight of 108 tons and includes both dynamic and Westinghouse Type 26L braking equipment.

Reprinted from Clyde News, March, 1969

     The publication of the proposals of the Wentworth Committee for gauge conversion of the Broken Hill-Port Pirie-Adelaide lines calls for comment on these proposals because of the wide divergence in the views of the Commonwealth and South Australia on the best way of tackling the railway gauge problem in Australia.
     The policy of the South Australian Government in respect of rail gauge conversion in this State is embodied in the 1949 Standardisation Agreement which provides for the conversion of all lines comprising the South Australian Railways, excepting the isolated railways on Eyre Peninsula to 4 feet 8½ inches gauge, as well as the provision of a standard gauge railway between Port Augusta and Darwin.
     The conversion of the 3 feet 6 inches lines in the South-East of this State to 5 feet 3 inches gauge is being carried out under the Agreement as an interim step towards standardisation, and the construction of a standard gauge railway by the Commonwealth between Stirling North and Marree also forms part of the work covered by the Agreement.
     The South Australian government, however, cannot give full effect to its policy until the Victorian government agrees to the co-ordinated conversion to standard gauge of its broad gauge system. The government believes, therefore, that the next step should be the negotiation of an agreement between the Commonwealth and Victoria on lines similar to the 1949 Standardisation Agreement.
     It would then be possible to proceed with the standardisation of the gauges in South Australia and Victoria in accordance with the plan contained in the 1945 Clapp Report. This plan provides for preliminary work spread over seven years, and the final change-over to standard gauge in the short period of 13 weeks with minimum interruption to the flow of traffic.
     The South Australian government does not agree that it is desirable to convert the Adelaide-Port Pirie-Broken Hill lines to standard gauge while the remaining broad and narrow gauge lines remain unaltered.
     It would greatly increase the volume of goods to be transferred and the distance over which much freight would have to be hauled.
     This vital objection to the Wentworth Committee's proposals is based on an exhaustive analysis of the flow of traffic over the South Australian Railways system.
     It will surely be conceded that no gauge conversion proposals would be in the national interest if they resulted in an increase in obstructions to the flow of traffic over the railways. It is important, therefore, to substantiate the objection raised in some detail.
     At present transfer stations are located at Port Pirie Junction, Gladstone, Terowie and Broken Hill. Under the Wentworth proposals there would be transfer stations at Adelaide, Dry Creek, Bowmans, Snowtown, Gladstone and Peterborough.
     For the year ended 30/6/56, 404,000 tons of freight was transferred at the present transfer stations. Under the Wentworth proposals the tonnages transferred would have been 513,000 tons, an increase of 27 per cent.
     If the 55 miles longer route to Broken Hill via Port Pirie Junction rather than via Terowie were adopted, the tonnage transferred would have been 442,000 tons and an additional haulage of 7,755,000 net ton miles incurred. Moreover, 136,000 tons of freight from the Wallaroo, Kadina, Brinkworth and Gladstone areas would have had to be hauled an additional 1,158,000 net ton miles over a longer and less favourable route via Hamley Bridge than is used at present.
     It will be seen, therefore, that the Wentworth proposals which aim at facilitating the movement of interstate traffic — which represents only 8% of the total handled — would increase the number of transfer stations, the tonnage of freight transferred and the ton mileage of goods hauled. In addition, they would involve the establishment of a large terminal and transfer depot somewhere in the northern suburbs of Adelaide where all goods moving on the Adelaide-Port Pirie line would have to be handled either through transfer or terminal facilities.
     It would be only those goods originating in or destined for Adelaide itself and which could be conveniently handled by road transport that would not be required to be transferred. The proposed set-up would have a disastrous effect on the South Australian Railways.
     The conversion of the northern narrow gauge Peterborough Division forms part of the 1949 Agreement, and South Australia is prepared to fulfil that part of the Agreement provided the work is synchronised with the conversion of the broad gauge lines, which, in turn, depends on the co-ordinated conversion of the Victorian system.
     With the growth of the Australian economy, the flow of traffic over the railways is increasing year by year. There is no other form of land transport in this country which can compare with the railways in the number of staff or the quantity of fuel required to shift freight.
     The railways are therefore essential to our economic development, and it can only be regarded as a grave reflection on our national energy and determination that the decision to standardise our railway gauges has been so long delayed.

Reprinted from Railway Transportation, January, 1958

     Railcar design already tried in Canada is being given a wider application, and locomotive units have been developed for branch-line and yard service
     Two interesting types of pneumatic-tyred road-rail vehicle, produced in the U.S.A. by the Evans Products Company, are a passenger coach and a unit for short-haul, branch, and shunting operations, which is capable of being used as a highway tractor. Both work on the same principle, and can leave the rails for the highway, even where there is no planking or platform between the metals. This operation of changing over is carried out merely by pulling a lever which retracts small flanged steel guide-wheels and their axles.
     Pneumatic tyres on steel rails give extremely smooth riding, and the traction from the rubber tyres against steel rails with at least 7 sq. in. of contact has been shown to be six times greater than that from steel-tyred wheels of the same diameter against steel rails with their comparatively small area of contact. The traction is not seriously impaired by wet rails, because the pneumatic tyres are equipped with a special non-skid tread which acts like a windscreen wiper, automatically sweeping dry the wet rail or road. Again, it is not a serious matter if a tyre bursts at high speed, for the load is immediately transferred without jar to the rubber-cushioned steel guide wheel and the deflated tyre becomes grooved to the rail without injury to itself.
     The passenger vehicle has seats for 27, and it is operated by one man. It has six pneumatic-tyred wheels and four steel guide wheels, with the rear set of guide wheels between two sets of rubber-tyred wheels which drive the vehicle from the rear-mounted engine. The size and make of petrol or oil engine is optional. Speeds up to 75 m.p.h. are possible. The transmission gives five speeds forward and one reverse. The vehicle is 96 in. wide, 304 in. long, and 110 in high overall, and the wheelbase is 142 in. from front axle to first rear axle. Six-wheel brakes are provided, with emergency brakes on four wheels. Lights conform to both highway and railway regulations. Engine, transmission, axles, and so on, are attached directly to the all-steel body. A complete refrigerated air-cooling system is optional. This unit has been designed to enable the railways to reclaim branch-line passenger traffic lost to buses, and it is said to operate more economically than a standard highway bus of similar size. Based on a daily run of 250 miles, the average cost of working is estimated at 9.6 cents a mile, including depreciation and taxes, and operator's wages. Generally similar railcars, of both passenger and freight varieties, were introduced experimentally by the Canadian National Railways in 1937.
     The locomotive-cum-tractor has for power a 125-h.p. petrol engine with a four-wheel pneumatic tyred drive, ratio 7:3. It has five forward and five reverse speeds, and like other locomotives it works equally well both ways. Its possible speed is 55 m.p.h., and it will haul four fully loaded or ten empty American standard freight cars. Its facility for de-railing and re-railing makes it a useful machine in the shunting yard, for when it has placed its wagons in the required siding, it can leave the rails and cross directly to the next siding where shunting work has to be done. In addition, when it has delivered freight cars to remote points on branch lines, the locomotive may come home by highway if the distance is shorter. When used for private shunting around the yards of large industrial plants, the unit may be fitted with an adapter drawbar by which it can haul lorry trailers about the works, in the same way as a tractor. Its general specifications are:—

Chassis	5-ton capacity.
Engine	6-cyl., 125 h.p. at 2,600 r.p.m.
Pneumatic tyres	32 in. by 6 in., 10-ply high-pressure special design.
Brakes	4-wheel hydraulic with air application for operation on railway ; 4-wheel hydraulic with foot pedal for operation on highway.
Guide wheels	Rubber-cushioned, retractable.
Couplers	Full pneumatic, front and back.
Body	All-steel, splinter-proof glass throughout, heated and ventilated; seats for seven men and driver.
Lights	Dome light inside.

     Miscellaneous equipment includes: Re-railing mirrors and lights seen through apertures in floor from drivers seat; air compressor and engine; air whistle; 12-volt battery; 12-volt 250-watt generator; windscreen wipers; spotlight; 2 tanks holding 57 gall. of petrol; compressed air sanders, and highway turning signals.

Reprinted from The Railway Gazette, 9 February, 1940

     When Their Majesties the King and Queen travelled from Paddington to Windsor on the i6th ultimo, H.M. the King sent for Mr. J. L. Wilkinson, the General Manager of the Great Western Railway, to come to the Royal Waiting Room at Paddington and expressed to him his entire approval and satisfaction with the arrangements made by the G.W.R. company in connection with the late Queen's funeral. That this commendation was well deserved everyone who witnessed the sad ceremony at Paddington Station must admit. On that occasion everything was done without any fuss or the least confusion, and with a silence that harmonized with the solemnity of the occasion. But the labours which led to this admirable result were enormous, and fell directly upon Mr. Wilkinson, whose officers and staff willingly and ably carried out his carefully planned arrangements.
     Mr. T. I. Allen, superintendent of the line, and his immediate staff, had very trying and anxious duties in connection with the running of the numerous trains, and the tasteful and appropriate manner in which the stations were draped and decorated with banks and beds of palms, evergreens, ferns, and white flowers.
     The arrangements and alterations in connection with the rolling stock were carried out under the direction of Mr. W. Dean, chief superintendent of the locomotive and carriage department. The G. W. R. Co. provided the two saloons (Nos. 223 and 229) on which the coffin and wreaths were brought up from Gosport to Victoria. These were stripped and lined with white cloth, divided into panels, with purple bands. The train used from Paddington to Windsor was the fine one constructed for the journeys in connection with the Diamond Jubilee of Her late Majesty. The end partition of the Queen's saloon was removed, and also the furniture. It was then relined with white silk and draped with purple. The outside of the roof was painted purple, and the green blinds throughout the train were replaced with ones of purple silk. The whole of this work was carried out by men from the Swindon Works under the immediate supervision of Mr. T. 0. Hogarth, assistant manager of the carriage and wagon works.
     The engine was the celebrated "Atbara," which was especially re-named "Royal Sovereign," and a word of praise should be given for the admirable manner in which it was handled. The train glided silently out of the station with hardly any steam showing. Mr. W. H. Waister, superintendent of the running department, was himself on the footplate, and thus, upon that historic occasion, rendered a service which he has performed more times than any one else, with the exception of Mr. Whale of the L. & N. W. R., and possibly of Mr. Geo. Amrstrong, though for some years before the latter retired he had given up riding on the foot-plate of the Royal Train. It was in 1842 that Her late Majesty took her first railway journey. Her last sad journey was between the same places, and it was also the first time in which a railway has had any part in the funeral of a British Monarch.

Reprinted from The Railway Engineer, March, 1901

     Completion is expected shortly of a 300-mile railway from Shahrad, south of the Caspian Sea, to Meshed, near the Soviet and Afghanistan borders, to provide a direct link with Tehran. The new line is part of an extensive railway construction program by the Iranian State Railways, which envisages, by about 1960, connecting rail links to Pakistan and Indian, and Turkey.
     Trains of German-built passenger cars, and Japanese freight cars will operate over the new line hauled by American diesel locomotives, according to local reports.
     It is expected that outside financial aid will be needed to complete the program and Mr. James Richards, President Eisenhower's special ambassador, touring the Middle East is prepared to discuss the possibilities of US aid with Baghdad Pact countries.
     The link to Pakistan and India would be completed by the construction of about 750 miles of railway, and about 230 miles of new railway would be required towards Turkey. The lastnamed project will use portion of the 5ft. gauge railway from Tabriz.

Reprinted from Railway Transportation, January, 1958

     Construction of the Eastern Suburbs Railway will be a major engineering task extending over the next 10 years.
     The new line will run from Sydney's Central Railway Station at Chalmers Street to Town Hall and Martin Place in the city, and then to King's Cross, Bondi Junction, Randwick and Kingsford — a distance of seven miles, 26 chains.
     Construction will be a joint effort. The Department of Railways will carry out the construction of the section from Central Station inclusive to Erskineville.
     Construction from Central to Kingsford will be carried out by private contractors.      The Department will lay all rail track and install signalling and substation equipment, and the overhead wiring for the electric trains on the entire project.
     Basic construction work, such as excavation and tunnelling, construction of the rail bed, platforms and station facilities, will be performed by private contractors to be selected after open tenders are called.
     The new railway will be double-track, and except for short sections at Woolloomooloo and Rushcutters Bay on viaduct, will run underground. All stations except Woollahra will be underground.
     A one and a half mile long tunnel from Central Station to join with the existing Illawarra lines at Erskineville will connect the new line with the existing electrified system.
     At Central Station, passengers will be able to take escalators to the concourse connecting to the main suburban network, and the country and interstate services operating from Sydney Terminal Station.

Central

     The excavation at Central Station stretches from Elizabeth Street at Eddy Avenue to Devonshire Street. It is about 550 ft. long, 66 ft. wide and over 70 ft. deep.
     The Department has already installed steelwork in position in the excavation to re-establish Chalmers Street on completion of the Station.
     A considerable amount of excavation has been carried out at the platform level of Martin Place Station in the heart of Sydney. The major part of the construction, however, is still to be done, including the concourse immediately below Martin Place, near Phillip Street. Escalators will move passengers from the concourse to the platform, a depth of 62 feet.
     Single track tunnels from Martin Place to the Domain portal west of Sir John Young Crescent are for the most part completed. Later in the year it is expected to have contracts finalised from Central Station (exclusive) to Sir John Young Crescent.      Tenders closed on April 8, 1968, for the construction of tunnels from McElhone Street, Woolloomooloo, to Harford Place, Rushcutters Bay, including the lower level of Kings Cross Station, 70 ft. below the intersection of Victoria Street and Darlinghurst Road.
     This contract is expected to be let about the middle of 1968.
     From the Domain portal to the McElhone Street tunnel portal the railway will be carried on viaduct. A great deal of preliminary work has been completed, and work should commence on the viaduct in the first half of 1969.
     The line is being built and opened in stages.
     Construction will be sectionalised to enable the line to Edgecliff to be in operation by 1973; to Bondi Junction by 1974; to Randwick by 1976 and to Kingsford by 1977.

Island platforms

     At each station an island platform will be built to accommodate eight-car, double-deck trains, although four-car trains will run initially.

Reprinted from The Railwayman, April, 1969

     Victorian Railways diesel-electric locomotive B62, which went into service on September 8, 1952, and the first diesel-electric in Australia to register one million miles reached that figure while hauling "The Overland" from Serviceton to Spencer Street Station on Thursday, December 19, last.
     To commemorate B62's outstanding performance passengers on "The Overland" were given souvenir cards and the locomotive carried a flag-decorated placard proclaiming its achievement.
     The second locomotive on "The Overland" classleader B60 — "Harold W. Clapp" — went into service on July 14, 1952, and would have gained the million miles honor had not its mileage performance been restricted during the 1954 Royal Tour of Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh.
     Outstanding tribute, to the efficiency of the Victorian Railways' maintenance methods in servicing their expanding fleet of diesel-electric locomotives, was paid by Mr. H. E. Limmer, General Manager of Clyde Engineering Co. who was at No. 1 Spencer Street platform when B62, with B60, brought "The Overland", from Adelaide, into Melbourne.
     "When I was in America recently" Mr. Limmer said, "and told railroad officials of B62's performance, and the high mileage recorded by B60 and other B class diesel-electrics, they were simply staggered. In U.S.A., diesel-electric locomotives generally have essential components replaced at 750,000 miles, and American railwaymen were amazed to learn that B62 had totted up one million miles with the original engine and electrical parts.
     "B62's remarkable performance highlights the efficiency of the V.R's maintenance technique" added Mr. Limmer. The train crew was not overlooked at the informal ceremony at Spencer Street to commemorate the event. Mr. R. E. Purves, Chairman and Managing Director of Clyde Industries Limited, presented Driver T. Hardwick, Fireman M. Ryan and Guard T. Halfpenny with a suitably inscribed key ring.

Reprinted from Railway Transportation, February, 1958

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