The Times - Inside: Over the Northbridge bridge Stonington&Providence 1853 ETT Cowra-every which way
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The Times January 2021
A journal of transport timetable history and analysis
RRP $4.95
Inside: Over the Northbridge bridge Incl. GST
Stonington&Providence 1853 ETT
Cowra—every which way
The Times
A journal of the Australian Timetable Association Inc. (A0043673H)
Print Publication No: 349069/00070, ISSN 0813-6327
January 2021 Vol 38 No. 01 Issue No. 444
The Times welcomes all contributions. Our Authors’ Guide is available on our web-site at https://www.timetable.org.au/
Reproduction Provided a Creative Commons acknowledgement is made, material appearing in The Times may be
reproduced anywhere.
Disclaimer Opinions expressed in our magazines are not necessarily those of the Association or its members.
Editor Geoff Lambert 179 Sydney Rd FAIRLIGHT 2094 NSW email: thetimes@timetable.org.au
The Times is posted in full colour to our website https://www.timetable.org.au/times.html, two months after
publication in paper and to the National Library website 6 months after publication.
Colour PDF versions of previous issues of our magazines are at https://www.timetable.org.au/
—Contents—
James T Wells BY BUS TO THE CITY 3
Kent Hannah STONINGTON AND PROVIDENCE 6
Geoff Mann EVERY WHICH WAY TO COWRA 12
Letter from Derek Scrafton
Congratulations to you and the authors for a superb December 2020 edition. Permit me to make a few comments.
On James Wells’ Broken Hill article:
The comparatively short-lived ANR passenger service to and from Adelaide was one attempt by AN to determine whether use
could be found for the ex-CR Budd cars; another was a service between Adelaide and Whyalla. As to the interstate bus
service, James is correct in saying that Section 92 of the Australian Constitution means passengers from Broken Hill could be
dropped off anywhere en route (or picked up for Broken Hill) should the carrier wish to encourage such traffic. Also, there is
no reason for a SA regulator to protect any section of route for carriage of intrastate business if there are no other services on
the days that the Broken Hill bus is operating, e.g. between Adelaide and the Peterborough turn-off.
On bus route numbering in SA:
I would just like to clarify a point on Adelaide’s public transport in President Hilaire’s article: The ‘public discontent’
concerned far more than just the removal of bus stops mentioned in the article, though that plan was bad enough. The main
opposition was to route changes required to create the proposed new network; they could not be described as user-friendly.
Many routes were altered and some were discontinued completely – it was current passengers on these routes in particular
who expressed their strong opposition to the plan. Certainly the proposed new numbering system might be user-friendly, but
the network and services would not be, except for those users who live along or close to major corridor bus routes.
Reply from Hilaire Fraser
Many thanks to Derek Scrafton for his clarification on the proposed new Adelaide Bus Network. I agree with Derek that the
proposed network was not user friendly, even though the route numbering might have been easier to understand.
2 The Times January 2021
By Bus to the City
James T Wells and article notes
D
addy. There’s no bus at 8 No From To Via
o’clock. What will I do?”
Father “That can’t be right,
202 N'br - CPk City
it’s the height of the peak hour. Show
me.” 203 C'crag Mil. Pt.
Here tis (below):
204 N'br - CPk City F'way
True, no bus between 6:50 and 9:03.
Father: “Go and look at trip planner”. 205 E. W'by City F'way
“Thank you. Yes, there is one at 8:02
but it says the route number is the 206.
206 E. L'field City F'way
There’s an earlier one at 7:37 which
means a change from the 209 to the 209 E. L'field Mil. Pt.
205. Don’t want that!” The inbound services are the only Castlecrag, provided by the 203. This
Let’s look at the geography. The 200 ones, apart from the 263, that use the operates only M-F peak hours and
series buses, the 207 being the prime Cahill Expressway to access the City. runs to North Sydney and Milsons Pt.,
off peak service, connects the City of There used to be a stop on the not the City. The ‘branch’ is about 1.5
Sydney with Cammeray, Northbridge, Expressway; there isn’t one now. km long. The area is also served by the
Castlecrag, East Roseville and East The M-F inter-peak pattern is as 275 to Chatswood: 4 trips M-F, 5 on
Lindfield, suburbs to the east of the follows, both half hourly: Saturday.
North Shore railway. To the east of the
202 Northbridge Clive Park via North The peak hour is best summarised in
area is Middle Harbour Creek.
Sydney. the Table above.
The journey is an interesting one
207 East Lindfield via North Sydney. There are various imbalances between
because both the Sydney Harbour
inbound and outbound services with
Bridge and the Long Gully In railway terms, the 202 would be a these routes and some short working.
(Northbridge Suspension) Bridge are ‘branch’ service. Clive Park is about 2 For example, the 204 has more starters
crossed; the latter’s unofficial name
km from the junction. at Abbott St. at Cammeray than
stemming from how it was originally
starters at Northbridge. These Abbott
built. Subsequently it became a A noteworthy variation on this, is that
St. starters pick up at only one stop on
massive concrete structure. the early morning and late night
their journeys. I wonder how crowded
services are combined to run as the
The journey is far from continuous on they are!
208; i.e. passengers travelling through
one main road. Inbound from the East Northbridge have to endure the out In the evening, there are no
Lindfield Community Centre, there are
and back of going to Clive Park. terminations at Abbott St., but there
about sixteen 90 degree turns that need
are three at Bellambi St. in
to be made. Another ‘branch’ service is that to
Northbridge.
The Times January 2021 3
also the two services a day 594 from
North Turramurra.
The 194 provides a far superior
service. The 202 off peak, as far as
Cammeray, is six buses an hour versus
two (four after Northbridge) via the
freeway routing (which saves about
seven minutes), and direct access to
the heart of the City at the QVB.
I have two questions about all of this.
The first is whether this structure
should be rationalized. The second is
about information for the customers.
There would be a strong case to
number 205 services (East
Willoughby) as 206. This would make
it compatible with the 209 which does
feature starters from East Willoughby,
as well as those from East Lindfield.
Not included here—but perhaps it These parallel the 207, etc. from Is there a need for the 209? Perhaps
should be—is the recently-introduced Archbold Rd., East Lindfield, all the these services could be numbered 202?
Forest Coach Lines direct service from way to Cammeray. Access to Sydney The only difference with the 202s
St Ives to the City- the 194 and 194X. QVB is then via the freeway. There is would be terminating / starting at
Milsons Pt.
With the availability of Trip Planner,
the information situation has now
changed dramatically. Prior practice
with published timetables would have
been to include all the 200 series
routes in the one timetable. Some
would prefer this today, but it’s not
unreasonable to keep the PDFs to one
route and keep them simple.
What is needed is some
cross-referencing. The 202 timetable
should indicate on the front page that
it is not full time, i.e. not daily from
about 5 am until midnight, and it
should make reference to other
timetables as appropriate.
A word about maps. Some, but not all,
PDFs have a very diagrammatic
“weedy” map, e.g. the map at left. It is
difficult to get an overview with these
even if zooming helps with the detail.
There is a useful on-line map showing
all the stops [https://transportnsw.info/
routes/details/sydney-buses-
network/202/26202]. This is for the
202. Stops are listed on the left hand
side. [bottom map, page 5]
4 The Times January 2021
The Times January 2021 5
The Stonington and Providence Railroad—ante Standard
Code of Rules by Kent Hannah These two towns indicated by the
red stars in the map on page 11
R
ecently, I picked up a water- dealing with a 167-year old employee Railroad (note incorrect name) broke
stained copy of a Stonington timetable. As a backgrounder, I have ground at Stonington on August 14,
and Providence Railroad written an article on the Inland and 1833 and completed the line to a pier
Employee Timetable (below) which Shore Line routes between New York in South Providence, Rhode Island on
was evidently from a scrap book, and Boston [see following article]. The July 29, 1844. Only the first 5½ miles
judging from the remains of the paste Stonington & Providence eventually of the road was in Connecticut and the
on the back. It was on eBay and had became a segment of the “Shore Line” balance was in the Rhode Island
no other bidders. I actually had put in although, in 1853, tracks did not Plantation. On May 1 1848, it is
a rather high bid for it because I extend west of Stonington, CT. referenced that the New York
wanted to read the notes under the Providence & Boston opened an
The New York & Stonington Railroad
train columns, which were not legible extension into Providence Union
was chartered in Connecticut in May
from the online image. Station. I should add that the
1832 and the New York, Providence
traditional historical source-book for
Timetable No. 17 of April 25 1853, and Boston Railroad was chartered in
New England Railroads, The
would appear to the reader to be from June 1832 in Rhode Island. On July 1
Formation of the New England
the first series. However, this is an 1833, the two companies were merged
Railroad Systems-A study of Railroad
example of a timetable that raises to form a second New York,
Combination in the Nineteenth
many more questions than there are Providence & Boston Railroad Co.
Century, by George Pierce Baker in
easy answers—especially when Today, Wikipedia states that the
1937, did not list the Stonington &
subsidiary Providence & Stonington
6 The Times January 2021
Providence Railroad. There is no upon the boat connection.
Extra or Work Trains will always
reference to the Stonington &
calculate for the Boston Extra
Providence in the early Henry V. Poor FREIGHT TRAIN: Stonington to
Freight.
railroad manuals, either. I suspect that Providence in 2¼ hours, keeping out
the Stonington & Providence Railroad Now, these are a sparse number of of the way of all other trains. Note:
was more of an advertising identifier, general rules. In fact they are too Again, no times are shown due to the
because the actual company did not sparse, so I assume that there was a steamboat connection.
serve New York or Boston. When the separate rule book for employees in
ACCOMMODATION TRAIN:
New Haven leased the property in force. These early rule books were
Departed Stonington at 700AM
1899, they leased the NYP&B. So the quite small and the rules not
arrived Providence 1015AM
timetable on page 6 is probably the standardized. One would be correct in
second series with the first series assuming that they are very hard to ACCOMMODATION TRAIN:
started under the NYP&B name until find. I still kick myself for not buying Departed Stonington at 345PM arrived
sometime in the late 1840s when it an 1851 Erie Railroad rulebook that Providence 545PM
was decided that the Stonington & had a rule requiring trainmen and
conductors to wear shoes. (It was ACCOMMODATION TRAIN:
Providence was a more logical name.
beyond my budget at the time). Departed Providence at 715AM
(I think this may be before interline
arrived Stonington 915AM
ticketing was in general use, so it was
Now ... the fine print in the train
possible for someone to walk up and FREIGHT TRAIN: Depar ted
columns is quite interesting. First off, I
demand to purchase a railroad ticket to Providence at 130PM arrived
suspect you cannot read the print
New York or Boston—something the Stonington 440PM. If the
above [it helps to turn the page
agent could not sell.) Accommodation Train from
sideways– Ed]. Well, I needed a
magnifying glass and I wonder if this Stonington has not arrived on time,
What interested me in the timetable
timetable was an eye test for you will wait 15 minutes and then
was the lack of standard rules. There
employees with its tiny print. I will proceed, keeping 15 minutes behind
are only 3 general rules:
reproduce the notations below, starting table time until it is passed.
No Train will be allowed to leave a from the left side Mail Train. The ACCOMMODATION TRAIN:
Station before the time specified in trains were not numbered in this Departed Providence 415PM arrived
this Table, as regulated by the clock timetable. Stonington 630PM. If the
at Providence Station.
Accommodation Train from
MAIL TRAIN: Stonington to
Afternoon Trains from Providence Stonington has not arrived on time,
Providence in 1¾ hours, keeping out
not passing the afternoon Trains of the way of all other trains. Note: you will wait 15 minutes and then
from Stonington at the usual places There are no departure or arrival proceed, keeping 15 minutes behind
of meeting, will move round curves times, because the mail train depended table time until it is passed.
slow with a good lookout for signals.
The Times January 2021 7
MAIL TRAIN: Depar ted and Engineer had to do, calculate the However, the Master Mechanic was in
Providence 700PM arrived Stonington potential arrival time of opposing or Providence, which meant that all the
845PM. To run by table time until it following trains However, the rather repairs were done there and I suspect
passes all Trains due. Note: This accurate term fell out of use and this is all the engineers lived in Providence.
sounds like verbal authority to break the first time that I have seen Providence did not became a major
rule 1, if they had met all trains then “calculate” in a timetable. The single locomotive manufacturing centre until
could then proceed as fast as they word appears to have been replaced by after the American Civil War, so that
wanted to? Although 105 minutes for “keep out of the way” or “clear the would have no bearing on making
50 miles was not too shabby in 1857, time of”. There also was no formal Providence the mechanical centre of
they must have been able to make up superiority of trains by direction. the road. How did the extra
time if needed. Another early usage of a very common locomotive return to Providence?
American term, “Extra train” appears (probably double headed, but it was
BOSTON EXTRA FREIGHT: not scheduled.) How were the extra
here. I think if one were lucky enough
When on the road will leave train crew handled? We never shall
to access employee timetables dated
Providence at 4 P. M. or on the know.
1853 from 50 different railroads, the
arrival of the train from Boston if all
words “W ild Train” would have been The earliest reference to equipment of
trains are due in; will pass the
the predominate name for an extra the New York, Providence & Boston
regular Train from Stonington on the
train. For instance, very early train was from 1868 Poor’s Manual, which
accommodations time, and will in no
orders would instruct Conductor Jones has been reprinted and copies of the
instance run more than 15 minutes in
and Engineer Smith “run wild from reprint are around. The road had, in
advance of the Accommodation
Bombay to Baroda”. Then a light bulb 1867, 16 locomotives, 17 passenger
Trains Time, and if following the
went off and the following helpful cars, 5 baggage cars, 110 freight cars
Accommodation will keep out of the
term was added: Engine No. 9 and 18 “steamboat crates”. I deduce
way of all other trains.
Conductor Smith and Engineer Smith that a steamboat crate is an early form
Telegraphic train dispatching was not run wild from Bombay to Baroda. Of of container, but I wonder how they
developed until 1851 (on the Erie course, in these very early days the really worked and how large were the
Railroad). From the above notations numbering of engines was not crates. The crate had to be some sort
on the timetable, the Stonington & practiced. The early engines were of less-than-car- load contraption to
Providence Railroad had not yet named after people, animals and hold smaller miscellaneous packages
adopted train dispatching. One places. which could be moved from the boat
wonders how often the to the freight car to expedite the
Another notable feature of this
accommodation train arriving transfer and loading of the freight.
timetable is that there were crew
Providence at 1015AM delayed the Was the NYP&B the first road to
balancing issues as early as 1853.
415PM accommodation departure develop an intermodal container? The
They ran four trains out of Stonington
from Providence. (i.e. 5 hours 45 Boston & Providence and the Old
and, if the freight train from Boston
minutes late). From a grammatical Colony and Newport, the other two
appeared, they would run five trains
standpoint, the railroad used “passed” major steamship rail connections, did
out of Providence. The Superintendent
instead of “meet”. Also quite not list steamship crates.
(and later General Superintendent) of
interesting are the instructions for the
the road was located in Stonington, To give you some idea of the
extra train or work train to calculate
CT. I suspect the train crews very well frequency of name changes, the
for the Boston Extra Freight. That is
may have lived in Stonington. NYP&B Official Guide entry on the
certainly something that the Conductor
8 The Times January 2021
prior page was dated May 1868 and Corridor (between Washington, DC is 150 MPH for Acela equipment. This
the Stonington & Providence is dated and Boston, MA) at MP 136.4, MP spot and two other locations on the
Dec 20, 1869. 136.7 and MP 140.6 all between former Boston and Providence are
Stonington and the Rhode Island state good for 150 MPH. These are the only
The Stonington & Providence line. Stonington does not appear as a three spots with this speed limit. One
(whatever its real corporate name was) station in the Amtrak Employee can get a cheap thrill at the Kingston,
has long disappeared. However, its timetable. Parts of the S&P were in a RI or Attleboro, MA station (which is
original location has had some impact straight line. Today between MP 154.3 closed) when you are on the platform
on today’s Northeast Corridor. There and MP 171.7 (south of Kingston), RI and a train zips by at 150 mph (Rear
are 3 grade crossings on the Northeast to south of Packard, RI the speed limit cover).
Backgrounder—the Land Route versus the Shore Route
A
long-forgotten competitive double track line between Boston The NY & NH and H&NE finally
route between New York City, and Albany with the City of merged on August 6, 1873 to form
NY and Boston, MA is today Springfield, MA, 98 miles from the New Y ork, New Haven &
overshadowed by the winner being Boston, becoming the terminal and Hartford. F rom that time on, the
part of the “Northeast Corridor” with also the connecting point of the NYNH&H was a very aggressive
its Acela service. Although the present land route to New York City. purchaser of other connecting
day reader thinks of the New Haven railroads to protect and dominate
That connection was the Hartford &
Railroad as the dominant route with its entry into New York City.
New Haven, which opened a 36
“Shore Route”, historically this was
mile line between the two An 1873 map of the “Land Route”
not the case. Early American railroads
Connecticut cities in 1839. The from a September 1873 Rand
were very much locally-backed affairs.
H&NH, in turn, organized the McNally Railroad Guide appears at
The first “longest railroad” in the Hartford and Springfield, which the top left of page 11. This route
United States was the Western opened a 26 mile line on Dec. 9 was 234 miles long. This may be the
Railway of Massachusetts—a section 1841 and operated the combined first published map of NYNH&H.
of the “Land Route” which opened a lines as the New Haven, Hartford &
line between Worcester, MA and Springfield Railway (62 miles). The “Shore Line”, as a through rail
Greenbrush, NY (across the Hudson Evidently that name was used route, was slower in materializing.
River from Albany, NY), 166 miles, in mainly to inform passengers where The steamships on Long Island
1842. Considering how geographically the road operated because the Sound could still provide effective
small Massachusetts is, it is ironic that surviving corporation name was and more comfortable competition as
the State had the first “Longest still the “New Haven and late as 1937 on parts of the route. Fall
Railway”. The Western Railway Hartford.” The New York and New River, MA and Providence, RI were
connected with the Boston & Haven reached New Haven and only an hour and half or so from
Worcester. The latter road opened its made a connection with the Boston by rail. Stonington, CT was
line between Boston and Worcester in Hartford & New Haven in January another major port which was a
1835 (44 miles). Although the B&W 1849 … thus was created the longer rail trip which had the
was a financial supporter of the “inland route”, via Springfield, advantage that it was sheltered
Western, the two roads were separate MA. completely by Long Island from
companies and at times pursued rough seas. Once a boat passed Point
There was a lot of competition for Judith, RI, they were exposed to the
opposing policies. The B&W was an
rail at the time in the form of Long open sea.
early enough railroad that they had a
Island Sound steamboats. The
monopoly clause in their charter for
“Land Route” was an alternative to The New Haven, before its downfall,
passenger and freight traffic between purchased competing railroads,
the various steamboats to various
Worcester and Boston. This meant that interurban trolley operations, and
shoreline railroad connections that
the B&W could charge higher prices established the dominant steamboat
operated south from Boston to
due to the lack of competition and that company to protect its monopoly in
Atlantic or Long Island Sound
they strove mightily to protect their Southern New England. The early
piers. Although there were through
monopoly. That monopoly was so
New York to Boston sailings, these disadvantages to the Shore Line
unpopular with the locals that the route, when completed as a rail route,
were not popular because the boats
Western was able to obtain state were the three separate ferry
had to navigate around Cape Cod,
approval to build a parallel line to operations required to make the trip
which took much longer and
Boston around 1866 and break the between Boston and New York. One
exposed much of the voyage to the
monopoly. That threat forced a merger
open seas. “Vomit comets” were in Providence, RI from India Point of
between the Western and the B&W on a mile across Providence River to
just as unpopular in 1850 as they
Sept. 4, 1867. The new company, The West Providence, another across the
are in 2020.
Boston & Albany, soon completed a Thames River at New London, CT
The Times January 2021 9
and a last across the Connecticut River Stonington, CT. connect with the New Haven & New
east of Old Saybrook, CT. London Railroad. The New Haven
The New York, Providence & Boston
A trip along the “Shoreline Route” and New London Railroad was an
was chartered in Rhode Island in June
from Boston to New York [map upper earlier corporation chartered in May
1832 and the New Y ork and
right, page 11] would involve five 1848 to connect New Haven, CT and
Stonington was chartered in
segments and a historically complex the soon-to-arrive New Y ork and New
Connecticut in May 1832. It should be
mélange of railroads: Haven. Construction began in 1850
noted that for many years a railroad
1. Boston—Providence and the line was opened on July 1
had to obtain a charter for each state in
2. Providence—Stonington 1852 between New Haven and the
which it operated. On July 1 1833 the
3. Stonington—New London Connecticut River at Old Saybrook.
two companies merged and, on August
4. New London—New Haven Later that month, the line between Old
14 1833, construction started at
5. New Haven—New York Lyme and New London was opened,
Stonington CT. The line to South
with a train ferry connection across the
The Boston & Providence Railroad Providence RI (where they constructed
river. On March 6 1857, the New
organized in 1831 and completed a 40 a dock) was opened Nov. 17 1837.
London & Stonington merged with the
mile line between Boston, MA and Steamships to Stonington avoided
New Haven and New London to form
Providence, RI at Fox Point on July 28 going around Cape Judith, RI. The
the New Haven, New London &
1835. The Canton Viaduct (still used first boat connections at Stonington
Stonington- i.e. it took a fresh
by Amtrak) held up the completion of went directly to New York and, in July
infusion of money from the merger to
the road. The B&P later built the India 1844, a steamboat service was
finish the NL&S, commonly known as
Point Railroad, to reach the India established between Stonington and
the Stonington Extension. The first
Point Dock. After the New Y ork, Greenport, NY, at the tip of Long
“Shore Line” passenger service began
Providence and Boston built their Island to a connection with the newly-
on Dec. 12, 1859 and the first night
terminal in South Providence in 1837, arrived Long Island Railroad. On May
trains on Aug. 19, 1861.
a ferry operation between the two 1 1848 the NYP&B opened a mile
roads began. This later turned into a long connection to the new Union Meanwhile, the New York, Providence
railroad car ferry operation. A railroad Station in Providence. & Boston leased the New Haven, New
that still exists, the Providence and London & Stonington on Nov. 1, 1859
Another company, the New London &
Worcester, opened a line from which gave it a through route between
Stonington was chartered in May
downtown Providence to Worcester, New Haven, CT and Providence. In
1852 to build the twelve mile stretch
MA in 1847. The Boston & 1864 the NYP&B purchased the
between Stonington, CT and Groton,
Providence built a branch to reach the Stonington Extension and reorganized
CT on the east bank of the Thames
P&W at Central Falls RI, and started the New Haven to New London line as
River opposite of New London, CT.
using the joint station in Providence. the Shore Line Railway. The New
The project was a separate company.
The New York, Providence & Boston York and New Haven leased the Shore
The New London & Stonington did
extended their line to this station from Line Railway on Nov. 1 1870 and
not open this line until Dec. 30 1858.
the simply named “Junction” in 1848 constructed the Connecticut River
A railroad ferry operation was
to establish a through rail route to Bridge. In 1892 the NYNH&H leased
established across the Thames to
the New York Providence and Boston
10 The Times January 2021and merged with it on Feb. 12 1893.
The New Haven built the Thames
River Bridge which opened in 1889
and in the 1890s double tracked the
Shore Line. The Shore Line Railway
was merged into the New Haven on
March 17 1897.
This gave the New Haven control of
the “Shore Line” between New York
and Providence, RI. The real goal was
Boston, which required obtaining
control of the Boston & Providence. In
1888 the Old Colony Railroad had
leased the B&P. The Old Colony was
a 617 mile system mainly in
Southeastern Massachusetts. To obtain
the B&P, the New Haven leased the
Old Colony on March 1, 1893, which
brought the “Shore Line” under one
ownership for the first time. An 1873
map of the Shore Line Railroad Route
between New York and Boston is at
upper right.
When the “Shore Line” fell under full
control of the New Haven, it became
NH’s preferred route since the NH had
to divide the revenue of the “Inland”
route with the Boston & Albany. In the
early days, the Inland route was faster The advent of Amtrak saw the Inland
and in fact, never fell too far behind route connection at Springfield cease
the timings on the “Shore Line. as Amtrak put all funding into
extending and upgrading the
Table 74 (Shore Line) and 75 (Land Northeast Corridor of the former
Route) from the June 1868 Travelers PRR to include the former New
Official Railway Guide appear at the Haven all the way to Boston.
tops of page 8 and the rear cover and
illustrate the timings in the days of Today finds the highest speeds in the
river crossings and Long Island Sound United States (150 mph) achieved by
ferries respectively. the Acela equipment on the old
Boston & Providence and the
One had a choice, although much Stonington Line.
reduced in later years, of the two
routes between New York and Boston.
The Times January 2021 11Every Which Way to Cowra
Geoff Mann again delves into the NSWGR 1955 Timetable, one of his
favourites.
I N THE MID 1950S, from Sydney, six days per week, 8:20 pm and arriving Cowra at
Cowra, located in the mid- conveyed a through sleeping 8:02 am and a corresponding
west of NSW, had a carriage plus sitting cars. This train overnight train to Sydney via
population of about 6,000. Cowra continued to Grenfell. On Sunday Harden that departed Cowra at
and Young are the largest towns on mornings, a Mixed train from 5 pm as a Mixed.
the currently-moribund cross- Blayney provided a connection off There were additional services to
country line from Blayney to the late Saturday night (11:08 pm) and from Young, both daytime and
Harden. This line had a most service from Sydney. overnight.
interesting and rather complex
A similar pattern in the reverse All fairly logical and
timetable in 1955.
direction provided a Mon-Sat “day straightforward— although one
Cowra was best served by trains to service”, plus a daily overnight would need to know what day it
and from Sydney via Blayney. The train with a through sleeping car— was, because there was
8:00 am air-conditioned Central except apparently on Sunday considerable variation in day to
West Express from Sydney Mon – nights from Cowra. day operations.
Sat arrived at Blayney at 2:10 pm.
From the southerly direction, there But hang on ... a study of the
The connecting train departed 30
was also an overnight service four timetable shows mysterious
minutes later and arrived Cowra at
days per week departing Sydney at
4:20 pm. An overnight Mail train
12 The Times January 2021overnight trains along the line, four week, via the Southern Line, there Byrock, then continuing as a
nights a week. Northbound, the are two trains to and from Sydney. Passenger or Mail. It arrived at
train that departs Harden at One of these reaches Cowra at Blayney at 11:10 pm. From Cobar,
10:05 pm has a connection shown 8.02 a.m. and consists of a through there was a Mixed on Tues., Thurs.
from Sydney, but there is a wait of carriage (ACX) off the Temora and Sats., connecting into the Mail
over three hours at Harden from Mail, with two “box” carriages at Nyngan whilst on Fridays a
6:55 pm, so not at all appealing. and van added at Harden. The Diesel Train from Cobar connected
other leaves Harden at 10.05 p.m. into the Mail at Dubbo.
The south bound train departs
off the 10.05 a.m. from Sydney to The Up Forbes Mail arrived at
Blayney at 11:50 pm Tues.,Thurs.,
Cootamundra. However, as there Blayney at 11:43 pm and allowed a
Fris. and arrives Cowra at 1:25 am
is an interval of 3 hours 10 minutes fairly tight connection of 7 minutes
and runs through to Harden
between the arrival of the into the Cowra and Harden train.
arriving 4:17 am. It also runs
Cootamundra train and the The Silver City Comet that
Saturday nights at 11:45 pm from
departure of the one for Cowra, departed Broken Hill at 8:55 am
Blayney and terminates at Cowra
this can scarcely be called a Broken Hill time connected into
at 2:28 am. All very odd. There
connection. The intention is that the Forbes Mail at Parkes.
are no connections shown in the
the Up Temora Mail and the Up
timetable for these trains, apart Another possible travel
Albury Mail which are due at
from the poor connection into the opportunity was from Coonamble
Harden at 8.55 p.m. and 9.54 p.m.
10:05 pm from Harden. Both on the Mail (through train on
respectively, should make a
overnight locals are passenger Fridays and Saturdays, connection
connection.
trains, not shown as Mixeds. So at Dubbo on Tuesdays and
why run them? So there we have it. These trains Thursdays), which arrived at
were intended to facilitate travel Blayney at 10:00 pm- but a wait of
The answer lies in a contemporary
from the North–west and Far-west nearly 2 hours was involved.
account by L. A. Clark published
to the South and South-west NSW
in the Australian Railway Our 11:50 pm passenger catered
and vice versa. Perhaps there was
Historical Society Bulletin of for travellers from as far afield as
sufficient parcels traffic to justify
November 1954. Bourke and Broken Hill, heading
these services if passengers were
“On Tuesdays, Thursdays and few? Given the range of travel for Cowra and Young. If staying
Fridays at 11.50pm and on options that were possible without on board through to Harden and
Saturdays at 11.45pm, a train having to pass through Sydney, arriving at 4:17 am, there was not
leaves Blayney, off the Up Through perhaps a separate table should long to wait for trains to the South.
West Mail (sic) and the Up Forbes have been provided. The first of these was the Temora
Mail, reaching Cowra at the Mail which arrived at 4:24 am and
So let us look at the possibilities. departed at 4:34 am. At Temora,
outlandish hours of 1.28 a.m. on
The Through Mail departed this train continued as a passenger
Wednesdays, Fridays and
Bourke at 9:43 am on Tues., service to Griffith via Barellan and
Saturdays and at 2.28 a.m. on
Thurs., and Sats. as a Mixed, also became a Mixed to Lake
Sundays, the latter being a
joined a Mixed from Brewarrina at
“Mixed”. Then, on four days a
The Times January 2021 13Cargelligo on Wednesdays and southern NSW branch lines on Thurs., Sats.
Fridays. The South-West Mail certain days.
However, if heading further north,
departed Harden at 5:32 am and
In the reverse (northbound) the arrival into Blayney at 2:47 am
arrived at Griffith via Narranderra
direction, fewer travel would not be pleasant—
at 1:00 pm.
opportunities were available, particularly on a winters night.
Hot on the heels of the South-West because the Up South-West Mail Let’s hope the fire was alight in the
Mail, was the Albury Mail at 5:56 arrived at Harden long after the waiting room. But, in less than 20
am. It arrived in Albury at Cowra and Blayney train departed minutes, the Coonamble Mail was
12:11 pm and connected with the at 10:05 pm. Arrival at Cowra was due to arrive at 3:05 am and depart
afternoon train to Melbourne. It a more civilised 12:30 am and it at 3:14 am, followed not long after
also connected into various continued to Blayney on Tues., by the Forbes Mail, due to depart
14 The Times January 2021at 3:43 am. If travelling to Bourke, Dubbo. A return to Broken Hill or cross-country Blayney – Harden
a connection was available at Brewarrina would require an line? These days the journey can
Dubbo off the Coonamble Mail, overnight stay en route. still be made on a Trainlink Coach,
but on Saturdays a passenger could with a change at Cootamundra, but
I wonder how many passengers did
wait for the Through Mail at not via Cowra in the middle of the
travel from Lake Cargelligo to
4:24 am for a better connection at night.
Dubbo or vice versa by using the
The Times January 2021 15You can also read
