Steam to Broken Hill and Menindee June 1968

Back in 1968, the Victoria Australia based group, the Association of Railway Enthusiasts, organised a special excursion from Melbourne.
The official name for the tour was "Steam to the Silver City". After an overnight journey on the Overland to Adelaide, we changed to a steam special hauled by 523 which took us to the break of gauge station of Terowie.
After changing to the 3ft 6in gauge, we departed for Peterborough from where we departed at different times for separate sections of the tour radiating to Port Pirie, Broken Hill and Black Rock.
So from Terowie, a double headed narrow gauge 3ft 6in gauge set of carriages in the charge of initially a Y and a T class.
This train was waiting at Terowie and it became our accomodation for most of the rest of the journey.
The narrow gauge locomotives used on the tour, were a Y class number 97 and a T class from Terowie to Peterborough, and two other members of the T class for the Peterborough to Pt Pirie and return sections.
The double headed T class locomotives that took us to Port Pirie and back to Peterborough were changed for Garratt locomotive 409 which took us to the South Australia New South Wales border at Cockburn from where Silverton Tramway steam locomotive W22 took over for the run along the Silverton Tramway line to Broken Hill.
From Broken Hill to Menindee and return along the NSWGR standard gauge. The locomotive used was a 32 class based there at the time, together with some NSWGR standard gauge cars .
The Silverton Tramway Locomotive W22 took us back to Cockburn and the SAR Garratt was again attached to take us back to Peterborough where that Garratt was changed for another Garratt 406, for a return run to Black Rock and then the run back to Terowie to join our broad gauge train with 523.
There are various shots of all these locomotives and trains at photo stops and other locations.
The section from Terowie to Peterborough, after this film was taken, was converted to broad gauge; completed in 1969, which made Peterborough for a while into a three gauge location with a unique three gauge turntable which still exists there as part of the Steamtown Museum.
Since standardisation of the railways in the area, the railway to Peterborough via Terowie is no longer in use.
It was closed in 1988 with tracks having been pulled up between Peterborough and Hallet in 1989 and to Burra later; while on the Adelaide side of Burra, the rails are still in place but overgrown (May 2011).
Y97 and 523 used on the "Steam to the Silver City " tour,are now in the National Railway Museum at Port Adelaide and can be seen there on another video posted at 'reidgck'. Terowie was once the major transhipment point for all goods and passengers from Adelaide to the north and west from 1881 to 1937 when a standard gauge line was completed to connect Port Augusta and Port Pirie obviously making Port Pirie a three gauge town but which allowed the break of gauge location of Terowie to be by-passed by trains heading west. Trains trains then ran on broad gauge to the break of gauge station at Port Pirie. This would have cut out one of the break of gauge locations for goods and travellers to the west.
According to a plaque on the now lonely and long disused Terowie railway station island platform, the great stategist of World War II, General MacArthur, changed trains at Terowie on his way from Alice Springs to Adelaide. Apparently, he and his wartime party set out from Darwin on two Australia National Airways DC3 planes. So bad was the experience for Mrs MacArthur and their son, that on arrival at Alice Springs, she refused to go any further by air. That is the reason they passed through Terowie. They arrived at Terowie at 2PM on March 20 1942. General MacArthur was met by reporters from Adelaide and was assured that the words of the speech he made there on the platform, which included the words "I shall return", would reverberate around the world. A special narrow gauge train was provided from Alice Springs and a broad gauge train from Terowie; and the journey is said to have taken some 60 hours. He joined his party that had continued by air from Alice Springs, after arriving in Adelaide.

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[jslasher1]

This video has been RUINED by the dreadful music, which completely ruins the ambiance. I am a composer; I know. Next time find some proper train music on iTunes.

[reidgck]

@jslasher1 It is a silent movie anyway so to bring it back to original all you have to do is turn the sound off. I didn't edit the video but will one day. Thanks for the itunes tip.

[dj17q]

@reidgck G'day, thanks for getting back. Yes will keep in mind re. your video.

[reidgck]

@dj17q The actual email address is reidgck @ gmail . com not the other I mentioned

[reidgck]

@dj17q The farmer didn't survive the crash. We lost a lot of time. There was a heap of people on board who had to catch the Overland to Melbourne and the schedule was tight. It is consequently in memory as one of the fastest steam trains I have ever ridden. Passengers gathered around the engine after arrival in Adelaide and cheered the driver and shared the sadness of the accident. The engine 523 is in the rail museum at Adelaide now. I have posted a youtube video including it there.

[dj17q]

@reidgck that the train arrived Adelaide almost 10 minutes late. Something like that. Anyway thanks for sharing, wouldnt mind having a copy on dvd thou.

[dj17q]

@reidgck Looking at your footage once more, I realised what you have is pure gem. Yes, it is amazing how much has changed over the last 20-30 years. It is sad really. Always loved the old days when trains, especially the broag gauge giants, could run wild and free all over the state. Completely impossible today. I wondered if you may remember the bad accident when loco 523 struck a farmers ute on the return leg, and with an hour delay from cleaning up the mess the driver on 523 made up so much

[reidgck]

@dj17q It was a great trip and exhausting too. I put the film on without editing it. Might do that some day. Was in Terowie earlier this year where the change of gauge from broad to narrow was made. The difference is incredible with the rails nearly all having been pulled up and the rail yards area having gone back to the wild. I posted some pictures on the - youtube/reidgck - channel of the Terowie railway station area and town area as they are at present. - Mayby I met your Dad on the trip.

[dj17q]

Fabulous footage. Heard so much about this train trip. My dad was on that train.