Brisbane suburban trains was an interesting mix of rolling stock for quite some years after the overhead went up as there were not enough electric trains to cover all peak services.
Thankyou for this fantastic posting. I was a kid starting to get into trains. QR were so relaxed. My mate lived near Altandi and we use to catch trains everywhere. In school holidays we went to Mayne see the officer in charge signed one of those metho indemnity forms and we wandered all around the loco sheds and yards. We even climbed into locos and had. A look around. This was a working yard with two 14 and 15 yo wandering around. The best was going to Redbank. We signed a form but told sorry you can't wander around but if you have someone they'll show you around. They sent a first year apprentice. Saw everything! Load shed, engine change ours the works. Thankyou for posting.
I was growing up in Brisbane through that period... I remember diesel hauled sets in morning peak. If I were to model Queensland rail it’d be this period
Also thankyou for the Runcorn shots. Bradken siding might have still been connected then. Again I did a tour of Braken this time with a group. They use to supply wheels etc. The Beenleigh goods still operated in the 1980s and primarily had a few FJS or HJS with a van going to Bradkken. Thankyou for posting brought back so many memories. An easier time to be a rail fan.
+Jason Grandcourt Thanks for both your comments. You Railways depot experiences were much the same as mine in Sydney around 1960. A friend and I wandered into Enfield loco depot and started looking around. "Hoy! What are you doing?" We told the person. I think an indemnity form had to be signed then an apprentice came and kept an eye on us.
I lived in Brisbane 1983 through 1990 and rode a lot of the trains. Brings back memories. Was back in 2019 to visit. Yeah Runcorn station - bought my first house in Runcorn. Would commute from there to Albion every day, occasionally in one of the red rattlers.
note the single gauge on the Merivale bridge(it was designed for, pps was non electrified when built also and does now carry standard gauge traffic) around 5:15 in 1986 was modified to carry dual gauge traffic from Roma St to the new standard gauge 3rd road just before South Brisbane station. tressteleg1, for a number of years the entire line beyond eagle junction was closed to passenger service(bus service in lieu to Pinkenba), then later passenger services recommenced to as far Doomben only (Doomben to Pinkenba continues to be serviced by bus).
Memories of getting off the Brisbane Limited from Sydney at South Brisbane and walking bags in hand over to Roma Street to get the Queenslander heading further north..
Thanks, I remember taking part of that trip every day for 7 weeks back in October/November 1976, when I was doing my first-year college at Eagle Farm. I started from Oxley and would change trains somewhere between Roma Street and Bowen Hills to continue out to Eagle Farm.
That journey would have taken quite a while in those days. I used to start at Oxley and go to school at Indooroopilly that would take about 30 minutes with the old diesels and the silver and red wooden sets. So slow to accelerate and long times on the brakes barely getting to 40-50kph on the short stops.
Back in the 80s I would go from Bowen Hills station to South Brisbane and your shot of the train ending at South Brisbane brought back memories. The old wooden carriages where each row of seats had their own door got me thinking how today that would be so dangerous to our safety conscious society. Thanks for sharing.
Most of these dangers are imagined by health and safety zealots thinking up more and more rules just to keep themselves in a job. The more people are wrapped in Cottonwool, the less they think for themselves which is where we are today.
More great footage. I only ever went to pinkenba once in all the years I lived there - there were only 2 trains a day, those Loco hauled 7 car stainless sets. I caught one of those rail motors when they were duplicating the Beenleigh line from kuraby. I can’t believe they rebuild those emu’s they look mangled!
Great video. You were correct that was Albion, the flour mill siding was on the left. It's now been developed into units. Also loved the South Brisbane part. Could see the other platforms and Interstate sidings on the right. Can still remember the interstate railway station had long ramps and station covered in ferns. Caught the Limited there many times till they put the dual gauge to Roma St. Interstate and extra platforms became amusement park and disco for Expo 88 and of course now is convention centre. Could also see old South Brisbane TAFE buildings where I did my apprenticeship block training as Electronics Tech back in the 80's. Thanks for jogging some happy memories.
Wow the memories alright..did my pre apprenticeship decorating at Sth Bris early 90's .. Used to catch the old small silver trains n have a cigarette on the way home 👍
In the late 80's I used to visit my Grandparents. Electric from Caboolture to Ipswich and then a railmotor to Grandchester and later Rosewood as I believe Grandchester stopped passenger stops. Thanks for the upload and memories.
Rob D 😊👍. Quite some years ago, as you say, electric trains extended to Rosewood but there is no suburban service beyond there. I guess that buses meet some of the trains at least, to reach Grandchester.
Great footage. Thankyou for sharing. We used to catch the rail motor from Dakabin before it was electrified and much like a bus you needed to hail the driver or he would roll right past if nobody rang the bell to get off.
Another fair-dinkum beauty video clip from yesteryear mate, thanks for posting. Gee, this one brings back some fond memories (sadly not from the drivers' cab like the footage though, ha ha) however, as a young fella, I can remember catching the old 2000 class rail motor or diesel hauled stainless steel suburban SX sets down to Pinkenba and back to town from time-to-time, thank you ;)
The 1st 12 minutes are pure gold. Thank you. It's an outrage that no Evans sets were preserved in Qld. Interesting set 33 (a later set of 1950s vintage) had an earlier car in the middle there. The 1984 scenes must have been very late in the year with EMU's displaying Beenleigh - the wires energised officially beyond Kingston on 3.11.1984.
+WorldOfTransit I believe that I spent Christmas at Runcorn (Brisbane) in 1984. I suppose the safety zealots thought that the many doors on Evans Sets made them too dangerous to run as people could open doors and fall out.
What impressed me the most is you've captured the 2000 class's signature tune of the jingle jangle on track joints - no one has ever been able to explain to me what is in the springs/bogies of these fine railcars that makes it.
+WorldOfTransit I could not hear the sound myself but I have no doubt that you did hear it. One possibility is that many rail carriages have a chain between the bogie and the body so that in the event of a derailment, the bogie is prevented from rotating too far. So if the 2000 the cars have a chain for that purpose maybe that is the jingling noise. Hopefully you can find out if they have chains.
Nice. It is interesting how many of my viewers tell me of family connections with my videos. Just tonight one guy saw his dad driving a Melbourne tram in my movie/video.
as well, my mother, and both of her brother's, and i all worked for qr at various points of time. my father tells me that one of his forbears worked on the construction of the Ipswich to Biggs Camp (later Grandchester) railway construction, prior to commissioning in 1865. I would be pleased to assist if you want any further info about qr (S.E.D)
that was awesome....such a flashback to the days of catching the train to school. The old RED RATTLERS......but by far my fave was the silver bullet.....wish i could own one :)
For my first job I commuted from Eagle Junction to Central. Always caught the Pinkenba train because it was less crowded. Back then there would have been at least one every 20 minutes in the morning and I guess around one every 40 during the day. Great memories of a lost world.
Thanks for having soo much memories of the 90's heritage of trains. I love the sound of the EMU trains in this video. Shame that the New Generation Rollingstock is replacing them soon.
+Harish's Metro and Suburban I agree with you completely on the great sounds of the EMU trains. They are best on the long straight lines where they max out at around 100 km/h. It's just a pity that Brisbane doesn't have any lines with long steep climbs. Even Ferny Grove doesn't have much.
Yes. Now that all tracks have changed to concrete sleepers, it doesn't sound like that anymore. U may hear abit of clatters on the interchanging lines but apart from that it's just a smooth noise on the tracks. Also do you know about the track closure in the Brisbane CBD between Roma Street to Bowen Hills? For example Central station Brisbane platforms 1-4 closes between 10am-2pm and all train services divert to platform 5-6 and it's the other way around the next day. It's just silly to do track maintenance at a weekday that confuses commuters.
+Harish's Metro and Suburban I just enjoyed a ride a ride on a first series EMU train. Great sounds as usual. I had not heard about the weekday shutdowns. I wonder why not at weekends?
When I was there they did a weekend shutdown between Roma St to Bowen Hills. Monday they did Caboolture and Redcliffe services track closure on Central platform 6 with 5 opening for Ipswich and Springfield services which is very strange as 2 platforms close at the same time. Thursday had Central platforms 1-4 close letting all services divert platform 5 and 6. Queensland Rail is stupid with their schedule of track maintenance. I was there between the 13th-18th September 2017.
+Roy Burnell Yes, they have character at least re sounds. I was lucky enough to get 2 on my rare trip to Brisbane yesterday, sitting near a power bogie.
I remember seeing them on that shuttle for a while but can’t remember whether I caught one of them or an electric on that short run. Previously they used to run in other parts of the state, including local trips around Townsville- Cairns a long time ago.
Thanks for this lovely video. I'm no train expert/fan but I'm very nostalgic for several reasons. My grandparents lived in Sunnybank Hills and had a clear view down into the valley with the line and Runcorn station and Bradken workshops in the distance. First time I ever caught a train was with my late grandad at Runcorn station, coincidentally also in 1984! What a treat that was for a 7 year-old boy. As a teen in the early 90's I used to stay with them on holidays sometimes, and the iconic sound of the old trains with their high pitched whine and the 'clatter, clatter' of the tracks was a strangely comforting sound at night as I lay in bed. These days, because of new trains and new tracks, the sounds are much reduced. But I still miss the old noises, for sure. Now, I actually live in Runcorn and go jogging on Beenleigh Rd roughly between Fruitgrove and Runcorn stations. It's really lovely to see what it was like decades ago compared to now.
I'm pleased that you liked it so much. Lucky for you, around 1984 my sister lived at Runcorn, Fairmont St maybe. So a few views around the station were natural when I visited, then living in NSW. The original electric trains certainly sounded unique and their disappearance will be missed by me, and I daresay many others.
Thanks for these ancient old videos. Very interesting seeing all that went on in Brisbane in those days. Diesels pulling suburban trains. Also saw some familiar looking "Fish and Chips" type stainless steel cars, same as here in NSW as Intercity for the Mountains and for the Northern line to Gosford I think when electrification first went that far. Seeing other comments about these stainless sellers rocking and jerking, I wonder how much worse that might have been on the narrow gauge? Looks better on the smaller screen. Blurry if opened right up.
Those QR stainless carriages were built around the same time as the Sydney U sets and the idea was that if Brisbane were electrified one day, these trains would be modified. As it turns out, the closest they came to electrification was occasionally being hauled by an electric loco in suburban service. I can’t comment about track standards, but let’s just say that QR track is often smoother than what Melbourne has, and not far behind Sydney.
From my understanding the crash at trinder park was caused by a signal failure as it displayed green but it shouldn't have displayed it, also it was shown that the train when going through the junction forced its way through
**without prejudice** from my memory of this the driver admitted he was not watching the road at the signal(picking up his billy lid or something off of the floor)
Yes, amazing about the Evans, but equally so the longevity of Swing Door and Tait Electrics in Melbourne which must have looked old fashioned when new. I trust you continue to find some of my postings of interest.
Yes, just about all the rail crews I met were a friendly lot. I think it was the inflexibility of the Rail Safety Act which turned them all into rule - following tyrants.
Yes I think the driver forgot to wait in the loop at the station for the oncoming train and proceeded without authority onto the single track where the approaching Train soon made contact.
I won’t argue with you as obviously you know the line much better than me. However while I did get out at Trinder Park to to walk to somebody at Argonaut, Kingston Rd and likely took video, especially when waiting for the train back to Runcorn, I don’t recall ever setting foot on the track anywhere near Kingston. But my memory in the past has been proven wrong by my own videos. I would still like to hear from you at tressteleg(at)icloud.com using the normal symbol instead of @ Thanks...
Pinkenba was the last station on the line. I can tell you no more than that as I don’t think I have been back there since but the line was cut back quite a few stations probably when it was electrified. Google maps may help you.
@@tressteleg1 yeah i travelled by bike to the old low level platforms the other day, unfortunetly i couldnt get into the pinkenba suburb as its too unsafe to travel through by bike due to very busy traffic that carrys heaps of huge trucks and 1 road (kingsford smith) nevertheless do you have any idea why the line was closes down? The pinkenba suburb greatly intriegs me due to it being once a home to many now 90% industrial
I don’t know why it closed down. I was not living in Brisbane at the time. As for electrification, I suppose they did not think the low traffic would be worth the cost. The line only ever had a small number of trains each day. You might find more from a Google search.
What about all the smoky stovers of the 1950s And 60s through Yernga mum always rushed to get the cloths off the cloths line when they went past the Good old Days are long gone 😥
I have no explanation. The tape sound was not modified at all. Maybe it was a crook air compressor, or even maybe the air conditioner. I am only guessing.
The big change that QR staff used to be a friendly lot, and certainly towards railfans. It’s probably the rail safety act that has turned many of them into little despots like elsewhere in this country.
Many activities in the past were not ‘unsafe’ until various bureaucrats decided that they must be. And if they did not create more and more rules, they would soon be out of a job. Many of today’s ‘safety’ rules are nothing but BS in my eyes.
Great Great Great Footage 1984 Old Diesels going Down Beenleigh Road Runcorn To FruitgroveWish I Could Jump In That Footage Great Days Thank You Any More Footage
+SAINT TONY I'm glad you enjoyed it. In their own way, just about all railways were more interesting in earlier days. Unfortunately I am just about out of vintage Aussie video.
as i recall i was rostered to work beenleigh line selling tickets the day after the trinder park crash, all i can say is thank god it was first thing on saturday morning. if it had happened on a week day, even an an early service, who knows what the toll may have been, but a lot more than 3...
It was a big story. I lived in Wollongong at the time and the TV scenes in my video were recorded from the news there. Unfortunately these things happen at times, mostly when someone was tired.
Am I right in thinking that the stainless cars at about 7:00 in are supposed to have been EMU sets ? I seem to recall the idea was to juice the lines at 1500V DC but it didn't happen, and so these cars remained unpowered, despite looking like EMU stock. Might've paid them to fit at least the cab ends out with controls to run them as push-pull sets like our old 4TC sets to Weymouth. I understand some were sold to Thailand ? They almost look like a mini U set !
River Huntingdon You are correct in thinking that not only did they look like Sydney U Sets (built around the same general time) but they were designed for eventual conversion to electric operation. However it was around 1979 that electrification came to Brisbane and by that time air conditioned trains was the way to go, so the stainless sets remained unmodified, eventually just working peak hour extras like in the video. When eventually enough electrics were built, their use was over but a set or two have been retained for use behind historic locos, sometimes even steam.
Paul Williams All the electric trains are up to scratch. The problem is that timetables are made slower and slower so that politicians can move easily brag that 99% of the trains are on time. Too bad if a ride takes 10 minutes longer than it did 20 years ago.
slower or faster is one small part of the big picture, the origination of the WHOLE system from buss meeting trains to useability of the stations (disable, security) and frequency of trains, Brisbane is lagging be hide.... walk over to Boondal station and see that the train had JUST left, you have to WAIT 30min in Perth a system just as big as Brisbane (number of suburban stations and distance) trains are FIFTEEN minutes apart, busses meet trains....
+Paul Williams Brisbane and others of our cities could learn a lot from Perth. They are aware, but 'don't want to know'. I won't use my local bus to Helensvale station as too often I see it and can tell from its time it will miss the city train. At least the tram extension will get rid of that problem.
Times change. I don’t care where people come from provided they basically fit in with our lifestyle and don’t try to change it to suit their particular preferences.
I won’t disagree with that! I think the reasoning was that it was cheaper to electrify than continue using imported oil. It’s a pity that similar thinking seems not to exist these days.
