South Australian Railways

Last updated

South Australian Railways
IndustryRailway operator
Founded1854
Defunct28 February 1978
FateSold to the federal government
Successor Australian National
Headquarters,
Area served
South Australia
Parent Government of South Australia

South Australian Railways (SAR) was the statutory corporation through which the Government of South Australia built and operated railways in South Australia from 1854 until March 1978, when its non-urban railways were incorporated into Australian National, and its Adelaide urban lines were transferred to the State Transport Authority.

Contents

The SAR had three major rail gauges: 1600 mm (5 ft 3 in); 1435 mm (4 ft 8+12 in); and 1067 mm (3 ft 6 in).

History

Y71 steam locomotive on display at the Western Australian Rail Transport Museum Bassendean rail museum gnangarra 25.jpg
Y71 steam locomotive on display at the Western Australian Rail Transport Museum
The horsedrawn Goolwa to Port Elliot railway, in 1860 Goolwa-Middleton Tramway ca1860.jpeg
The horsedrawn Goolwa to Port Elliot railway, in 1860

Colonial period

The first railway in South Australia was laid in 1854 between Goolwa and Port Elliot to allow for goods to be transferred between paddle steamers on the Murray River and seagoing vessels. The next railway was laid from the harbour at Port Adelaide, to the capital, Adelaide, and was laid with Irish gauge 5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm) track. This line was opened in 1856. Later on, branch lines in the state's north in the mining towns of Kapunda and Burra were linked through to the Adelaide metropolitan system. From here, a south main line extended to meet the horse tramway from Victor Harbor to Strathalbyn, and towards the South Australia/Victoria Border.

With the metropolitan systems being broad gauge, the mid north and south east of the state were originally laid with 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) narrow gauge track. These systems were closely based on British practice, as was the broad gauge system prior to 1926. Locomotives and rolling stock were bought from the United Kingdom and United States, from builders such as Beyer, Peacock & Company, Dübs and Company, North British Locomotive Company, and Baldwin Locomotive Works. Nine broad gauge tank locomotives plus the frame of a tenth were bought second-hand from the Canterbury Provincial Railways in New Zealand when it converted to narrow gauge.

Rehabilitation

William Webb, who transformed South Australian Railways in the 1920s William Alfred Webb photo portrait, signed 02.jpg
William Webb, who transformed South Australian Railways in the 1920s

In 1922, after the SAR's worst financial deficit, the government appointed American railroad manager William Webb, from the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad as Chief Commissioner. When Webb arrived in Adelaide with his young family, he found a railway system unchanged since the late 19th century. The locomotives and rolling stock were small, wagons and carriages were of wooden construction, the track and bridges were unsuitable for heavy loads, the workshops had antiquated machinery and the signalling system was inflexible. These attributes drove up the ratio of operating costs to revenue.

Webb introduced a rehabilitation plan based on American railroad principles of large, standardised locomotives and steel bodied freight wagons, with automatic couplers to enable a significant increase in productivity. Lightly patronised passenger trains would be replaced by self-propelled rail cars, enabling faster, more frequent and more efficient services. He recruited Fred Shea as his Chief Mechanical Engineer and had him prepare specifications for this new equipment. This resulted in orders being placed for 1,200 wagons of four types from American Car and Foundry, 12 petrol mechanical railmotor cars from the Service Motors Corporation, Wabash, Indiana, and 30 locomotives based on American Locomotive Company plans but built by Armstrong Whitworth & Co in the United Kingdom. These were of the Mountain, Pacific and Mikado wheel arrangements, 10 of each type, which became the 500, 600, and 700 class locomotives. [1] [2]

To carry the heavier trains, the rehabilitation plan included the strengthening of track and bridges, and the conversion of the mid north 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) narrow gauge system (the Western division) to 5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm) broad gauge. The antiquated Islington Railway Workshops were demolished and replaced with a thoroughly modern railway maintenance and manufacturing works, a large new round house was built at Mile End, near Adelaide, and several 85 foot turntables were installed throughout the state to enable the much larger locomotives to be turned. Efficient train operations were facilitated by the adoption of American train order working on country lines, and Adelaide railway station was replaced with an imposing new building, opened in 1927. [1] This grand building has been partially taken over by the Adelaide Casino.

A 500 class locomotive introduced by Webb to haul heavy trains over the Adelaide Hills SAR 500 Class Steam Locomotive, 1953.jpeg
A 500 class locomotive introduced by Webb to haul heavy trains over the Adelaide Hills

When the two shiploads of new locomotives arrived in 1926 they caused a sensation with the public and throughout the railway industry in Australia. The 500 class "Mountain" was over twice the size of the biggest pre-Webb engine, and was the most powerful locomotive in Australia. Henceforth double heading 5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm) broad gauge trains became a rarity in South Australia. The massive locomotives were unloaded at Port Adelaide and taken off the pier by horses (the locomotives weight alone exceeding the dock's maximum loading capacity). Apart from some initial teething problems (mainly to do with overheating bearings and rough riding due to excessive play allowed on driving axles) the new locomotives settled in nicely to their assigned positions. After the success of the original locomotives, ten more 700 class locomotives, with larger tenders, were locally built using the facilities of the new Islington Workshops. These were the 710 class. [1]

The 500 class was rated to haul 400 tons over the Mount Lofty Ranges immediately east of Adelaide, where a 19-mile (31 km) continuous 1-in-45 (2.2%) gradient faced trains heading for Victoria. Two years after their introduction, the class was modified by the addition of a booster engine which required replacement of the two-wheel trailing truck with a four-wheel truck. This altered the wheel arrangement from 4-8-2 to 4-8-4, but the term "Mountains" stuck with the locomotives. Reclassified 500B class, their maximum load to Mount Lofty was increased to 600 tons[ which? ], or eleven passenger cars. In the pre-Webb era the Rx class - a 4-6-0 with a Belpaire firebox was rated at 190 tons for this line, with three of them required to lift a heavy Melbourne Express - two at the front and one banking from the rear. [3]

The 5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm) broad gauge system was the main focus of Webb rehabilitation scheme. The 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) narrow gauge systems north of Terowie and on the Eyre Peninsula remained untouched, as did the 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) gauge South Eastern division (although it was subsequently converted to 5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm) broad gauge in the early 1950s).

Webb decided not to extend his contract in 1930 and returned to the US, having revolutionised the SAR.

Post-Depression period

In 1936, the SAR owned 365 locomotives, 51 railcars, 408 passenger carriages, 38 brake vans and 8,219 goods wagons. [4] The following year, ten 620 class 4-6-2 Pacific type locomotives, designed and built at the SAR's Islington Works – were introduced. Their axle load enabled them to traverse the many rural lines laid with 60-pound rail, but they were also usefully deployed on the East-West Express between Adelaide and Port Pirie following the extension of the broad gauge line north from Redhill to Port Pirie in 1937. [2] [ failed verification ]

Other additions to the locomotive fleet after the Depression included the 2-8-4 720 class, a further development of the 700/710 class locomotives, and the 520 class, a 4-8-4 locomotive, externally styled after the Pennsylvania Railroad T1; it had the same light axle load as the 620 class but a 30% higher tractive effort, achieving higher speeds on all mainline passenger services.

In 1949, the diesel era started, tentatively, with two Bo-Bo 350 class shunting locomotives, designed and built by Islington Works and incorporating British components. [5]

The SAR 900 class diesel-electric locomotive, built by the SAR and designed particularly for the demanding Adelaide Hills route, entered service in 1951 South Australian Railways 900 class locomotive number 900 at Mile End locomotive depot before transfer to museum.jpg
The SAR 900 class diesel-electric locomotive, built by the SAR and designed particularly for the demanding Adelaide Hills route, entered service in 1951

Two years later, the SAR's first mainline diesel-electric locomotives entered service: the 900 class, also designed and built by Islington Railway Workshops. Their styling closely followed that of the Alco PA diesels in the United States. Subsequently, and coincidentally, the SAR exclusively purchased American Locomotive Company products made under licence in Sydney by AE Goodwin: the 930, 830, 600 and 700 classes. In the 1950s, railcars were introduced: the 250 and 100 class "Bluebirds" for regional services and the 300 and 400 class "Red Hens" for Adelaide suburban services.

A major change occurred in 1970, when the remaining 400 kilometres (250 miles) length of the Sydney-Perth rail corridor that was not built to 1435 mm (4 ft 8+12 in) standard gauge, the Port Pirie-Broken Hill line, was gauge-converted.

In the 1972 election, the Whitlam Federal Government made a commitment to invite the states to hand over their railway systems to the federal government. The Government of South Australia took up the offer, but elected to retain the Adelaide metropolitan services, which were transferred to the State Transport Authority. Financial responsibility for the remaining services passed to the Federal Government on 1 July 1975, although the SAR continued services until operations were formally transferred on 1 March 1978 to the Australian National Railways Commission. [6]

The penultimate head of the SAR, commissioner Ron Fitch, reflecting on the end of the railway administration, wrote: "The merging of the major part of the SAR into the Australian National Railways Commission, and the remainder into the South Australian State Transport Authority, cannot but tend to consign the former state railway system into eventual oblivion. But posterity should not be allowed to forget its achievements:

  • The Goolwa to Port Elliot railway, the first public railway in Australia.
  • The first publicly owned railway in the British Empire; that between Adelaide and Port Adelaide.
  • The Darwin to Pine Creek and the Port Augusta to Oodnadatta railways, built ... as part of the grand concept of a north-south transcontinental rail link.
  • Its gesture, together with the gentlemen of the Silverton Tramway Company, in providing a rail connection to Broken Hill, at a time when NSW declined to do so.
  • The introduction into the Australian railways in the 1920s of large steam locomotive power.
  • The installation of the nation's first train control system.
  • The design and construction of what were then the world's finest sleeping cars.
  • The placing into scheduled service on the mainland of Australia the first mainline diesel-electric locomotive." [7]

Locomotive and railcar classes

Broad gauge steam classes
ClassQtyBuilderIntroducedWithdrawnNotes
Locos 13 3 Fairbairn 18561871–1874Locos Adelaide, Victoria and Albert preceded class system;
eventually numbered 1, 2 & 3
A 3 Stephenson 1868, 18731893–1924
B 2 Stephenson 1856, 18581935, 1938
C 2 Stephenson 1856, 18571906, 1926
D 8 Stephenson 1856, 1862–18671896, 1904, 1932
E 7 Slaughter, Grüning; Avonside 1862–18821886–1929
F (1st) 2 Avonside 18691892
F (2nd) 43 SAR; Martin; Perry 1902–19221956–1968[NRM]
G 8 Beyer, Peacock 1869, 1880, 18861904–1923
Ga 1 Stephenson 18991915[c]Bought second-hand; built 1874
Gb 2 Stephenson 18991904, 1916[c]Bought second-hand; built 1874, 1878
Gc 1 Stephenson 18991905[c]Bought second-hand; built 1879
Gd 2 Beyer, Peacock 18991925[c]Bought second-hand; built 1880
Ge 2 Beyer, Peacock 18991929, 1935 [c]Bought second-hand; built 1897
H 9 Stephenson 1870–18771888–1930
I (1st) 1 Neilson 18791909Bought second-hand; built 1873
I (2nd) 1 Beyer, Peacock 19101929Bought second-hand; built 1888
J 2 Beyer, Peacock 18751932, 1934
K 13 Beyer, Peacock 1879–18841936–1956
L 4 Beyer, Peacock 18801928, 1931
M (1st) 5 Avonside 1880, 18811913–1917Bought second-hand; built 1868–1874
M (2nd) 20 Phoenix; David Munro & Co.1920–19221925–1935Bought second-hand; built 1889–1894
N 2 Baldwin 18811925, 1927
O (1st) 2 Baldwin 18811904
O (2nd) 1 Stephenson 19121929Bought second-hand; built 1868
P 20 Beyer, Peacock; Martin 1884, 18931929, 1957[NRM]
Q 22 Dübs; Martin 1885, 18921923, 1956
R & Rx 84 Dübs; Martin; SAR; North British;  Walkers 1886, 1895, 19161927–1969From 1899, all R class (rebuilds and new builds) became Rx class, denoting  Belpaire fireboxes [NRM] [SR]
S 18 Martin 1893, 1903–19041942–1960
Tx 78 SAR; Martin; Walkers 1903–19171957–1961Five narrow-gauge T class converted from narrow gauge 1929; reverted 1949.
500 10 Armstrong Whitworth 19261958–1963[NRM]
520 12 SAR 1943–19471961–1971[NRM] [SR]
600 10 Armstrong Whitworth 19261958–1961
620 10 SAR 1936–19381963–1969[NRM] [SR]
700 10 Armstrong Whitworth 19261962–1968[NRM]
710 10 SAR 19291962–1968
720 17 SAR 1930–19431958–1960
740 10 Clyde Engineering 1951–19531963–1965
750 10 North British 19511961-1969Bought second-hand. [NRM]
Other broad-gauge locomotives purchased by the SAR but not given a classification were as follows: [8]
Notes:
[c] = date condemned; date withdrawn is unknown.
Codes in the Notes column show the locations of preserved examples of classes (operational or on static display) as of 2021:
Narrow gauge steam classes
ClassQtyBuilderIntroducedWithdrawnNotes
300 6 WAGR, VR 19521955–1956Bought second-hand; built 1943–1945
400 10 Société Franco-Belge 1952–19531970[NRM]
K 1 Dübs 18841938
T 78 SAR, Martin, Walkers 1903–1917?–1970[NRM] [PRR]
U 8 Beyer, Peacock 18761924–1929
V 8 Beyer, Peacock; Martin 1877, 18931930s, 1940s
W & Wx 35 Beyer, Peacock 1877–18821929, 1959From 1903, 18 were rebuilt as Wx class with upgraded boilers.
X 8 Baldwin 1881–1882?–1907
Y & Yx 129 Beyer, Peacock; SAR;  Martin 1885–1898Mainly 1960sBetween 1904 and 1924, 48 were rebuilt as Yx class with Belpaire fireboxes [NRM] [PRR]
Z 10 Martin, SAR 1895, 19111956
Other narrow-gauge locomotives purchased by the SAR but not given a classification were as follows: [9]
Notes:
Codes in the Notes column show the locations of preserved examples of classes (operational or on static display) as of 2021:
Diesel (locomotive and railcar) classes
ClassQtyGaugeBuilderIntroducedWithdrawnNotes
350 2Broad SAR 19491979[MHRM] [SR]
500 34Broad & standard SAR 1964–1969Most 1990s[NRM] [SR]
600 7Standard Goodwin 1965, 1969–1970Mainly 1990s
700 6Broad & standard Goodwin 1971–1972Mainly 2010s
800 10Broad English Electric (NSW)1956–1957Early 1990s[NRM]
830 45Broad, standard & narrow Goodwin 1959–1969See noteIncludes 7 DA conversions
900 10Broad SAR 1951–19531979–1985[NRM]
930 37Broad Goodwin 1955–1967Most 1986–1994[NRM] [SR]
Brill Model 55 railcars 12Broad Brill, SAR 1924, 19251971?[NRM]
Brill Model 75 railcars 39Broad & narrow SAR 19271971[NRM] [PRR] [SR]
100, 250 & 280 class Bluebird railcars 21Broad & standard SAR 1954–19591989–1995See note. [NRM]
300 & 400 class "Red Hen" railcars 111Broad SAR 1955–19711996[NRM] [SR]
Notes:
The post-SAR dispositions of diesel locomotives and railcars were very diverse and are not easily summarised. Further details are in the articles.
Codes in the Notes column show the locations of preserved examples of classes (operational or on static display) as of 2021:

Commissioners

John A. Fargher, a mechanical engineer by profession, became the Railways Commissioneer in 1953. He was Assistant to his predecessor in 1949 on an inspection of gypsum loading facilities at Kevin, on the narrow-gauge Port Lincoln Division. South Australian Railways Commissioner John A Fargher on inspection at Lake MacDonnell gypsum loading plant, 1949 (EPRPS rp 127).jpg
John A. Fargher, a mechanical engineer by profession, became the Railways Commissioneer in 1953. He was Assistant to his predecessor in 1949 on an inspection of gypsum loading facilities at Kevin, on the narrow-gauge Port Lincoln Division.

Publications

In June 1965, Rail News was launched as a quarterly staff newsletter. [20] It was published monthly from January 1970. [21] The last edition was published in March 1973, with Keeping Track superseding it the next month. [22] [23]

See also

Related Research Articles

Australians generally assumed in the 1850s that railways would be built by the private sector. Private companies built railways in the then colonies of Victoria, opened in 1854, and New South Wales, where the company was taken over by the government before completion in 1855, due to bankruptcy. South Australia's railways were government owned from the beginning, including a horse-drawn line opened in 1854 and a steam-powered line opened in 1856. In Victoria, the private railways were soon found not to be financially viable, and existing rail networks and their expansion were taken over by the colony. Government ownership also enabled railways to be built to promote development, even if not apparently viable in strictly financial terms. The railway systems spread from the colonial capitals, except for a few lines that hauled commodities to a rural port.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Break of gauge</span> Meeting place of different width rail lines

With railways, a break of gauge occurs where a line of one track gauge meets a line of a different gauge. Trains and rolling stock generally cannot run through without some form of conversion between gauges, leading to passengers having to change trains and freight requiring transloading or transshipping; this can add delays, costs, and inconvenience to travel on such a route.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rail transport in South Australia</span>

The first railway in colonial South Australia was a line from the port of Goolwa on the River Murray to an ocean harbour at Port Elliot, which first operated in December 1853, before its completion in May 1854.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rail gauge in Australia</span> Railway gauges of Australia

Rail gauges in Australia display significant variations, which has presented an extremely difficult problem for rail transport on the Australian continent since the 19th century. As of 2022, there are 11,914 kilometres (7,403 mi) of narrow-gauge railways, 18,007 kilometres (11,189 mi) of standard gauge railways and 2,685 kilometres (1,668 mi) of broad gauge railways. In the 19th century, each of the colonies of Australia adopted their own gauges.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Narrow-gauge railways in Australia</span>

Rail transport in Australia involves a number of narrow-gauge railways. In some states they formed the core statewide network, but in the others they were either a few government branch lines, or privately owned and operated branch lines, often for mining, logging or industrial use.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Railway Museum, Port Adelaide</span> Railway museum

The National Railway Museum, Port Adelaide, South Australia is the largest railway museum in Australia. More than 100 major exhibits, mainly from the South Australian Railways (SAR) and Commonwealth Railways and their successor, Australian National, are displayed at its 3.5 hectares site. A very large archival collection of photographs of those railways and records created by them is also managed by the museum. The museum is operated with a large number of volunteers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bogie exchange</span> System for operating railway wagons on two or more gauges

Bogie exchange is a system for operating railway wagons on two or more gauges to overcome difference in the track gauge. To perform a bogie exchange, a car is converted from one gauge to another by removing the bogies or trucks, and installing a new bogie with differently spaced wheels. It is generally limited to wagons and carriages, though the bogies on diesel locomotives can be exchanged if enough time is available.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">5 ft 3 in gauge railways</span> Railway track gauge (1600 mm)

Railways with a track gauge of 5 ft 3 in fall within the category of broad gauge railways. As of 2022, they were extant in Australia, Brazil and on the island of Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Australian Railways 700 class (diesel)</span> Class of 6 Australian diesel-electric locomotives

The 700 class is a class of six diesel-electric locomotives based on the Alco DL500G model, built by AE Goodwin, Auburn, New South Wales for the South Australian Railways. They are virtually identical to the New South Wales 442 class locomotive.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Australian Railways 600 class (steam)</span> Class of Australian 4-6-2 locomotives

The South Australian Railways 600 class was a class of 4-6-2 steam locomotives operated by the South Australian Railways.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GE U26C</span>

The GE U26C diesel locomotive model was introduced by GE Transportation Systems in 1971. All examples of this model are six axle units, and have the wheel arrangement C-C or Co'Co'.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Australian Railways W class</span> Class of Australian 2-6-0 locomotives

The South Australian Railways W and Wx class was a class of 2-6-0 steam locomotives operated by the South Australian Railways. Some were used by the Commonwealth Railways in the Northern Territory and by contractors.

Numerous narrow-gauge railway lines were built in Oceania, most in 3 ft 6 in, 2 ft 6 in and 2 ft track gauge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Australian Railways 700 class (steam)</span>

The South Australian Railways 700 class was a class of 2-8-2 steam locomotives operated by the South Australian Railways.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Australian Railways 710 class</span>

The South Australian Railways 710 class was a class of 2-8-2 steam locomotives operated by the South Australian Railways.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Port Pirie railway station (Mary Elie Street)</span> One of Port Piries six railway stations, in operation from 1967 to 1989

Port Pirie railway station (Mary Elie Street) was the fifth of six railway stations for passengers that operated at various times from 1876 to serve the small maritime town (later city) of Port Pirie, 216 kilometres (134 miles) by rail north of Adelaide, South Australia. As with several of Port Pirie's other stations before it, the station was built to accommodate a change of track gauge on railway lines leading into the town.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Australian Railways I class (first)</span> Class of 1 Australian 0-4-0T locomotive

The first South Australian Railways I class locomotive was built by Neilson and Company, Scotland for the Canterbury Provincial Railways, New Zealand in 1873 and numbered 9. In May 1878, the South Australian Railways (SAR) purchased it. The ship that transported it to South Australia was wrecked, but the locomotive was salvaged and entered service on the SAR in April 1879 as number 38. In 1880 or 1881, it was renumbered 48. It was allocated to "I" class – which was ultimately to be known as the "first I class" – in 1887 or 1888. In October 1905, the SAR withdrew it from service, then sold it in May 1906 to the South Australian Harbours Board for use in the construction of the Outer Harbour breakwater. It was scrapped in August 1909.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Australian Railways K class (broad gauge)</span> Former South Australian Railways broad-gauge steam locomotives

Eighteen South Australian Railways K class (broad-gauge) locomotives were built by Beyer, Peacock and Company for the South Australian Railways (SAR) between 1878 and 1884. Despite having a fundamental design flaw that affected their original role as light-line passenger locomotives, they eventually performed shunting duties exclusively. They operated for six decades.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Australian Railways O class (second)</span>

The South Australian Railways O Class (2nd) locomotive was a 4-4-0WT built by Robert Stephenson and Company in 1868 for the Launceston and Western Railway Company. It entered service with the South Australian Railways in 1912 and was cut up in 1930.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Australian Railways K class (narrow gauge)</span> Former South Australian narrow-gauge steam locomotive

The South Australian Railways K class (narrow gauge) comprised a single locomotive. The design, by South Australian Railways Locomotive Engineer William Thow, was very similar to that of the broad-gauge K class, but it was smaller and lighter. It was allocated number 52 within the sequence allocated to the larger locomotives.

References

  1. 1 2 3 R.I.Jennings (1973). "Webb, William Alfred (1878–1936)". W.A.Webb: South Australian Railways Commissioner 1922-30. Adelaide. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. pp. 71, 85, 102–134.
  2. 1 2 Burke, David (1985). Kings of the iron horse. Sydney: Methuen Australia. pp. 118–121. ISBN   0454007612.
  3. Douglas Colquhoun et al. 500: The 4-8-2 and 4-8-4 Locomotives of the South Australian Railways. Australian Railways Historical Society. 1969. pp. 4, 11, 15-16
  4. World Survey of Foreign Railways. Transportation Division, Bureau of foreign and domestic commerce, Washington D.C. 1936. p. 19.
  5. Broad Gauge 350-class diesel locomotives Chris's Commonwealth Railways Pages
  6. Australian National Railways Amendment Act 1978 Government of Australia
  7. Fitch, Ronald J. (1989). Making tracks: 46 years in Australian railways. Kenthurst NSW: Kangaroo Press. p. 135. ISBN   0864172702.
  8. Drymalik, Chris (2021). "Broad gauge steam locomotive information". Chris's Commonwealth railways information (ComRails). Chris Drymalik. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
  9. Drymalik, Chris (2021). "Narrow gauge steam locomotive information". Chris's Commonwealth railways information (ComRails). Chris Drymalik. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
  10. Fitch, Ron (2006). Australian Railwayman: from cadet engineer to railways commissioner. Dural, New South Wales: Rosenberg Publishing Pty Ltd. p. 232. ISBN   1877058483.
  11. "The New Railway Commissioners". The Adelaide Observer . Vol. XLV, no. 2427. South Australia. 7 April 1888. p. 31. Retrieved 7 December 2020 via Trove.
  12. "Obituaries". The Observer (Adelaide) . Vol. LXXVI, no. 5, 745. South Australia. 1 March 1919. p. 19. Retrieved 7 December 2020 via National Library of Australia.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Records of the South Australian railways, 1850- 1998 (Islington Plan Room Collection)" (PDF). Government of South Australia. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
  14. "Mr. C. B. Anderson To Be Railways Commissioner On May 16, 1930". The Register News-pictorial . Vol. XCIV, no. 27, 530. South Australia. 8 November 1929. p. 3. Retrieved 12 February 2018 via National Library of Australia.
  15. "New Railway Commissioner Succeeds Mr. Webb". The Register News-pictorial. Vol. XCIV, no. 27, 530. South Australia. 8 November 1929. p. 1. Retrieved 12 February 2018 via National Library of Australia.
  16. "RAILWAYS COMMISSIONER". The Advertiser . South Australia. 8 November 1929. p. 25. Retrieved 12 February 2018 via National Library of Australia.
  17. Jenkin, John. "Research papers on Robert Hall Chapman (1890-1953)". Library Rare Books & Special Collections. University of Adelaide. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
  18. "New Railways Commissioner". Chronicle. Vol. 89, no. 5, 066. South Australia. 23 January 1947. p. 34. Retrieved 12 February 2018 via National Library of Australia.
  19. Kemp, Deane; Pickles, John (1996). "Fargher, John Adrian (1901–1977)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
  20. Editorial Rail News issue 1 June 1965 page 1
  21. Staff Education and Training Rail News issue 20 January 1970 page 1
  22. Mr Fitch Says Rail News issue 58 March 1973 page 1
  23. Commissioner's Comments Keeping Track issue 1 April 1973 page 1