The Sydney Express was a passenger train which operated between Australia's two most populous cities, Melbourne and Sydney, between 1883 and 1937. The service commenced when the Victorian (broad gauge) railway was extended across the Murray River to Albury to link with New South Wales' standard gauge line. The Sydney Express was superseded in 1937 by the Spirit of Progress, which also terminated at Albury until 1962, when the North East railway line was converted to standard gauge allowing it, and the new Southern Aurora to operate through to Sydney.
In 1868 definite plans were made by the Victorian government for continuation of the North East railway line at Kilmore to the Victorian town of Wodonga on the opposite side of the Murray River to Albury, an important town for river transportation[1] and the customs posts which regulated commerce between the two colonies. Extension of the railway, which passed through Benalla, Wangaratta, and Chiltern, was completed in November 1873.[2] The tiny township of Wodonga (population 788) profited little from the arrival of the railway, most travellers preferring to continue on by stagecoach to Albury, with a population (1881 census) of 5,715.[3] Before 1883 passengers to Sydney were obliged to take the Cobb & Co coach to the furthest southerly extent of the NSW railways, which for some time was Bethungra.
The Sydney Express, between Australia's two most populous cities officially began on 14 June 1883 when the broad gauge line from Melbourne was extended over the Murray to Albury via the Albury-Wodonga Railway Bridge and passengers and goods were able, customs permitting, to cross from one side of No.1 platform to the other, and continue their journey.[6]
The first rail crossing was by a temporary wooden bridge erected by the Victorian government, while the permanent structure was to be a NSW responsibility, the cost of both being shared by the two colonies.[7] The components for the massive iron bridge had to be ordered from England.[3] The piers were 9 feet (2.7m) diameter cast iron cylinders, sunk deep into the river bed and filled with concrete.[8] Construction of the iron bridge began in 1883[9] and it was open to rail traffic in August 1884. Initially the bridge carried both standard and broad-gauge lines so that the south-bound train could terminate at Wodonga, but this hated[6] practice was discontinued from 1 March 1886 and Albury became the transfer point in both directions for passengers and freight. As a concession to Wodonga, transfer of livestock would be made on that side of the river.[10]
Customs
Before Federation, customs duties and excise were a major source of revenue for the individual colonies, and each had its own scale of charges for goods crossing their border, depending on producers they wished to protect or vices to discourage. Dutiable goods and the tariff charged on each was subject to change with every change of government; the schedule of charges for 1200 classes of goods in the Australian Year Book occupying 30 closely printed pages.[11] New South Wales and Victoria each had two customs houses through which every traveller and his luggage had to pass.
The service
From August 1883 the Sydney Express left Spencer Street station, Melbourne at 18:55 every weekday and arrived at Albury 22:50 the same night, a journey of 198.5 miles (319km) in 5 hours 55 minutes.[a] There was a break of half an hour and the train for Sydney left at 23:45 and arrived at Redfern at 13:45 the following day, 475 miles (764km) in 14 hours, total 576.5 miles (928km) in 21 hours; four hours quicker than the regular service,[12] with stops at intermediate stations.
The Melbourne Express or The Overland,[b] as the reciprocal service was variously named, left Sydney at 17:00 and arrived at Albury at 07:00 and Melbourne at 14:00 the following day. The timetable was designed specifically for the convenience of those who had to transact banking business at the other city. The timetable also had to minimize interference with ordinary traffic.[13]
The service was popular, especially with the sport-loving community, and great strides were made in comfort with six-wheel bogie carriages and Pullman sleeping cars, and with some improvement in times — Albury to Sydney had been cut by nearly an hour by a P6 class locomotive in New South Wales from 1901 (when the Wagga bridge was upgraded), while Victoria went for the Dd class, followed in 1907 by the A2 class (which was not replaced until 1928 by S class), but any gains in time were offset by additional stops, and that part of the journey was actually lengthened by 20 minutes.[6]
The Sydney Express was superseded in Victoria in 1937 by the Spirit of Progress.[14] The New South Wales portion continued to be named the Sydney Express until superseded by the Riverina Express in 1949.[15] After the North East line was converted to standard gauge in 1962, the Spirit of Progress was extended to Sydney and complemented by the Southern Aurora.[16][17]
↑ "Opening of the Railway to Albury". The Evening News (Sydney). No.4255. New South Wales, Australia. 2 February 1881. p.3. Retrieved 11 May 2021– via National Library of Australia. References to piers being sunk to 120 ft (37 m) may be disregarded.
↑ "Siftings". The Corowa Free Press. Vol.22, no.657. New South Wales, Australia. 5 March 1886. p.3. Retrieved 11 May 2021– via National Library of Australia.
Albury is a major regional city that is located in the Murray region of New South Wales, Australia. It is part of the twin city of Albury-Wodonga and is located on the Hume Highway and the northern side of the Murray River. Albury is the seat of local government for the council area which also bears the city's name – the City of Albury. It is on the Victoria–New South Wales border.
Wodonga railway station is located on the North East line in Victoria, Australia. It serves the city of Wodonga, and it opened on 25 June 2011.
The Riverina is an agricultural region of southwestern New South Wales, Australia. The Riverina is distinguished from other Australian regions by the combination of flat plains, warm to hot climate and an ample supply of water for irrigation. This combination has allowed the Riverina to develop into one of the most productive and agriculturally diverse areas of Australia. Bordered on the south by the state of Victoria and on the east by the Great Dividing Range, the Riverina covers those areas of New South Wales in the Murray and Murrumbidgee drainage zones to their confluence in the west.
The Australian state of New South Wales has an extensive network of railways, which were integral to the growth and development of the state. The vast majority of railway lines were government built and operated, but there were also several private railways, some of which operate to this day.
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AMV is an Australian television station licensed to, and serving the regions surrounding Wagga Wagga and Albury-Wodonga in south western New South Wales and north eastern Victoria. The station was, for many years, merged with RVN-2 as the Riverina and North East Victoria Television Service.
The Rock is a town with a population of 1,347, in the Riverina region of southern New South Wales, Australia, in Lockhart Shire. It is 32 kilometres (20 mi) south-west of Wagga Wagga, on the Olympic Highway.
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In New South Wales, Australian rules football dates back to the 1860s colonial era, with organised competitions being continuous since the 1880s. It is traditionally popular in the outback areas of the state near the Victorian and South Australian borders— in the Murray Region, in the Riverina and in Broken Hill. These areas form part of an Australian cultural divide described as the Barassi Line. To the west of the line it is commonly known as "football" or "Australian Football" and to east of the line, it is promoted under the acronym "AFL" by the main development body AFL NSW/ACT. There are more than 15 regional leagues though some are run from other states, the highest profile are AFL Sydney and the Riverina Football Netball League. With 80,572 registered players, it has the third most of any jurisdiction.
The Spirit of Progress was the premier express passenger train on the Victorian Railways in Australia, running from Melbourne to the New South Wales border at Albury, and later through to Sydney.
Wangaratta railway station is located on the North East line in Victoria, Australia. It serves the town of the same name, and opened on 28 October 1873.
The North East railway line is a railway line in Victoria, Australia. The line runs from Southern Cross railway station on the western edge of the Melbourne central business district to Albury railway station in the border settlement of Albury-Wodonga, serving the cities of Wangaratta and Seymour, and smaller towns in northeastern Victoria.
Albury railway station is a heritage-listed railway station at Railway Place, Albury, New South Wales, Australia, adjacent to the border with Victoria, in Australia. It was designed under the direction of John Whitton and built from 1880 to 1881. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register in 1999.
The Main Southern Railway is a major railway in New South Wales, Australia. It runs from Sydney to Albury, near the Victorian border. The line passes through the Southern Highlands, Southern Tablelands, South West Slopes and Riverina regions.
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In the Riverina, Australian rules football is the equal most popular football code and has a long history since the establishment of the Federal Football Club with the earliest recorded interclub match occurring in 1881 against the Albury Football Club. Unusually for New South Wales, Australian rules football is quite popular in the Murray and Southern Riverina especially in the larger cities of Albury and Wagga Wagga. The region is considered to form part of the Barassi Line which divides areas where Australian rules and rugby are popular. There are many clubs and leagues in the district, including the Riverina Football League, Farrer Football League, Hume Football League and Northern Riverina Football League. In addition, many clubs along the border play in Victorian leagues such as the Ovens & Murray Football League, Murray Football League, Picola & District Football League and the Golden Rivers Football League.
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