Tuesday Tait Train

Old red trains are of my yoof. Some of you may think I know a lot about trains and trams, along with public transport. I don't but I probably know more that you do. Not only did I work in public transport in various roles for 41 years, I've now used it for regularly for most of those years and add five years more of intensive use since I 've retired. 

You cannot be interested in the history of your city unless you look at the way people moved around before there were cars and how that changed when public transport arrived and horses became redundant. 

I've certainly caught heritage steam trains in the past and posted about them in my blog but for me steam trains are best viewed from the outside, as the depart or arrive, and as they travel up steep banks blowing lots of smoke. 

I received a notification from Steam Rail Victoria that there would be old electric trains travelling this Sunday past between Melbourne Flinders Street and Showgrounds. They journey time was short, so why not. Come the Sunday morning, the booking process was painless and after careful examination of the timetable with its more frequent service in the morning, which would be busy, it dropped to an hourly service at lunch time but then there was a train at 1pm followed by a train at 1.40. That will do me nicely and it was a good call. It was quiet. 

Here she comes.

Of course I will travel first class. 

I'll leave 2nd Class for the prols.

I boarded with plenty of seats to choose from. I loved the way the old carriage looked. I popped out for a moment to check the carriage number, and it had a T in the carriage number which meant it was a trailer car without motors underneath. This should be the smoothest and quietest carriage. It was, as I discovered later but it didn't seem so quiet and smooth at the time. Unlike modern suburban trains, the seat did not have a body shape but it was very well padded; quite ok for a suburban train journey. 

The carriages are not beautifully restored but just well maintained originals as far as I could see. A good test of cleanliness is the lamp shades, and they passed. 

Trains are generally slow in the inner areas and this one was too, but travelled at a similar speed to suburban trains. I think it accelerated at a similar speed to our oldest Comeng suburban trains. For a short time the train accelerated hard after Kensington Station, up to 58/36 according to my app. 

The train travelled to Showgrounds where there was model train exhibition, not really of interest to me. I planned to catch the same train back to Melbourne FSS. I knew its departure time and it was enough for me to change to a carriage with motors underneath to hear them. While it sounds so nerdy, I wanted to remember the noise of the motors from my youth. Damn, what is a D carriage classification? I think it means Driving Motor, as I've now remembered but at the rear I spotted a carriage with M classification...motors. I'll have that one, thanks. It was busier travelling back to the city. 

Slumming it in second class. I couldn't tell the difference.

The motor carriage did not disappoint with its electric motor sounds. It seemed like a more active train trip. On the way out I noticed a mural and on the way back, I snapped it through an open window.

Victorian Railways used to own at least one country holiday guest house and provided services to a number of others. There used to be promotional posters for various country areas for those who wanted a holiday. I am not sure if VR provided a service to these places, but they were nice enough posters displayed in the train.

Near Lakes Entrance.

Belfield Peak, The Grampians.

Eagle Point, near Bairnsdale.

The former Customs House in Flinders Street is now the Immigration Museum, and I snapped it through the open window.  

See the air horns at the rear of the train? They would give you an ear blast. I don't know if they were the horn noise the train made.