Is the date of this clip known,please.I worked for the Railways for 23 years from 1968,and I can't remember seeing a train like this;mainly because to and from work were travelled on the Northern (Upfield and Broadmeadows) lines to Spencer Street.
@spoofa20 Don't know the exact date but it would have been in the early 1980s. These cars were converted from single end drive cars and were run also as part of longer trains in the peak periods. The one car setup was run on quiet lines on Sundays and probably Saturday afternoons. I have now added 'early 1980s' to the text. Other contributors have added other info too. Thanks for writing.
What a classic train! Double-roofed and big pantograph. It's body color is good, too. I'd like to learn about this car. It seems like "42001"(JNR) in Australia.
@takofuumi Thanks for your comment. The one car train originally had a driving cab at the main end but was modified so as to be driven from each end as a single car at off peak periods on quiet lines. There is more and more information about this type of train at the reidgck youtube channel on another video. Just type - Electric Suburban Tait Trains - in the search and you should find it. There should be more, and more pics too on the net if you use google search. All the best GR
That would be pretty good though I'm now on the other side of the planet so postage could cut into your Christmas present fund! But definitely ping me if you find it- .BTW do you know when the first Harris trains came into use?- watched 'On the Beach' the other night (made in the mid fifties) and Gregory Peck sees Ava Gardner onto a Harris train at Flinders Street heading for Frankston- I thought we still had dog boxes then, maybe it was a prototype?
@kangaroogroundboy The Harris trains came out about the mid 1950s. The one in On the Beach would have been fairly new. At that time there were dogboxes and Taits running. The dogboxes lasted to about the late 60s or 70. I have a couple of videos posted from 8mm film of dogboxes ar reidgck channel if you want to see dogboxes. It used to be good to be able to open the windows, get some fresh air and maybe put your head out. Its not quite the same now.
Like it, brings back memories of getting the last train to Hurstbridge out of town on a Sunday night in the seventies. One driver of the single Tait they would run on Sundays told me that if they put the kettle on at Eltham they could be out to Hurstbridge and back in time to make a brew- the way they used to hammer them I believe it. Used to be great on a summer night with the doors open and a someone else posted the chug of the compressor under the floor. Stefan
@kangaroogroundboy I have a video in amongst the tapes I have taken of the Eltham line Sunday one car Tait going along with a crew member holding his foot in the air outside one of the open doors because he saw me taking the video. I thought it spoiled the shot but when you think of it, it was one of the sort of things that happened that made life more interesting on a human level than it generally seems now. If I ever come across the shot in my vast tangle of tapes, I'll post it if I can.
Love the moan as it takes off reminds me of the comeng traction wine up, Harris trains were the same as well but Hitachi's are abit different as they're quiet.
Use the Ashburton quite frequently and I always wondered why there was a 3rd track..Because it used to house standby Harris and Tait trains...Pretty cool see a Tait train being run backwards..You wouldn't see anything like that now days...
@TheAxelay That then solves the third track mystery. The 2 car Tait seen there was joined to the one car train, and with the driver trailer (parked at Alamein) made up a 4 car train for the peak. The 2 car and one car Tait together with driver trailer formed two seperate trains for use on Saturdays. I once saw the last train from Alamein, connect the two cars at Ashburton and run as a 3 car train with the modified end leading on the return to Alamein to there be connected to the drive/trailer.
Once again, great work! One slight correction: There were in fact four double-ended Tait M cars, 470-473M. The car in this video is 470M, identifiable by it's 'Mordialloc Cab' (the different shape of the marker-light area on the No.1 end). The other cars were used on Newport-Altona and Eltham-Hurstbridge (originally Heidelberg-Hurstbridge) shuttles, leaving one spare car.
Is the date of this clip known,please.I worked for the Railways for 23 years from 1968,and I can't remember seeing a train like this;mainly because to and from work were travelled on the Northern (Upfield and Broadmeadows) lines to Spencer Street.
spoofa20 1 month ago
@spoofa20 Don't know the exact date but it would have been in the early 1980s. These cars were converted from single end drive cars and were run also as part of longer trains in the peak periods. The one car setup was run on quiet lines on Sundays and probably Saturday afternoons. I have now added 'early 1980s' to the text. Other contributors have added other info too. Thanks for writing.
reidgck 1 month ago
I can remember buying my ticket on board the single car tait train from Ashburton to Camberwell around about 1980.
kgehkfdegnmddg 2 months ago
What a classic train! Double-roofed and big pantograph. It's body color is good, too. I'd like to learn about this car. It seems like "42001"(JNR) in Australia.
takofuumi 4 months ago
@takofuumi Thanks for your comment. The one car train originally had a driving cab at the main end but was modified so as to be driven from each end as a single car at off peak periods on quiet lines. There is more and more information about this type of train at the reidgck youtube channel on another video. Just type - Electric Suburban Tait Trains - in the search and you should find it. There should be more, and more pics too on the net if you use google search. All the best GR
reidgck 4 months ago
That would be pretty good though I'm now on the other side of the planet so postage could cut into your Christmas present fund! But definitely ping me if you find it- .BTW do you know when the first Harris trains came into use?- watched 'On the Beach' the other night (made in the mid fifties) and Gregory Peck sees Ava Gardner onto a Harris train at Flinders Street heading for Frankston- I thought we still had dog boxes then, maybe it was a prototype?
kangaroogroundboy 9 months ago
@kangaroogroundboy The Harris trains came out about the mid 1950s. The one in On the Beach would have been fairly new. At that time there were dogboxes and Taits running. The dogboxes lasted to about the late 60s or 70. I have a couple of videos posted from 8mm film of dogboxes ar reidgck channel if you want to see dogboxes. It used to be good to be able to open the windows, get some fresh air and maybe put your head out. Its not quite the same now.
reidgck 9 months ago
Like it, brings back memories of getting the last train to Hurstbridge out of town on a Sunday night in the seventies. One driver of the single Tait they would run on Sundays told me that if they put the kettle on at Eltham they could be out to Hurstbridge and back in time to make a brew- the way they used to hammer them I believe it. Used to be great on a summer night with the doors open and a someone else posted the chug of the compressor under the floor. Stefan
kangaroogroundboy 9 months ago
@kangaroogroundboy I have a video in amongst the tapes I have taken of the Eltham line Sunday one car Tait going along with a crew member holding his foot in the air outside one of the open doors because he saw me taking the video. I thought it spoiled the shot but when you think of it, it was one of the sort of things that happened that made life more interesting on a human level than it generally seems now. If I ever come across the shot in my vast tangle of tapes, I'll post it if I can.
reidgck 9 months ago
Love the moan as it takes off reminds me of the comeng traction wine up, Harris trains were the same as well but Hitachi's are abit different as they're quiet.
MrJuzz1992 1 year ago
@MrJuzz1992 The thumping of the air compressor beneath the floor to was another feature to be remembered.
reidgck 1 year ago
Use the Ashburton quite frequently and I always wondered why there was a 3rd track..Because it used to house standby Harris and Tait trains...Pretty cool see a Tait train being run backwards..You wouldn't see anything like that now days...
TheAxelay 1 year ago
@TheAxelay That then solves the third track mystery. The 2 car Tait seen there was joined to the one car train, and with the driver trailer (parked at Alamein) made up a 4 car train for the peak. The 2 car and one car Tait together with driver trailer formed two seperate trains for use on Saturdays. I once saw the last train from Alamein, connect the two cars at Ashburton and run as a 3 car train with the modified end leading on the return to Alamein to there be connected to the drive/trailer.
reidgck 1 year ago
Once again, great work! One slight correction: There were in fact four double-ended Tait M cars, 470-473M. The car in this video is 470M, identifiable by it's 'Mordialloc Cab' (the different shape of the marker-light area on the No.1 end). The other cars were used on Newport-Altona and Eltham-Hurstbridge (originally Heidelberg-Hurstbridge) shuttles, leaving one spare car.
Taitset 1 year ago
@Taitset -- Thanks a lot for that information. I have added it to the main text. G.R.
reidgck 1 year ago
@reidgck Just to slightly correct myself - Both 470M and 471M had 'Mordialloc Cabs,' so the car in this video could be either one.
Taitset 10 months ago
@Taitset ---- That's OK. I have updated the main text.
reidgck 10 months ago