Tea and Sugar Train

Last updated

Tea & Sugar
Tea and sugar.jpg
Residents of trackside camps along the Trans-Australian Railway enter the Provision Store wagon on the Tea & Sugar train
Overview
StatusCeased
First service1917
Last service30 August 1996
Former operator(s) Australian National
Route
Termini Port Augusta
Kalgoorlie
Distance travelled1,692 kilometres
Train number(s)4205/4280
Line(s) used Trans-Australian Railway

The Tea and Sugar was the nickname for one of two dedicated Commonwealth Railways trains that were the sole source of provisions for the isolated settlements of the 1691-kilometre (1051-mile) Trans-Australian Railway between Port Augusta and Kalgoorlie.

Contents

History

The Tea and Sugar began in 1915 as a provision train for workers constructing the Trans-Australian Railway. They and their families depended on the train for every necessity since the rail link was the only form of transport into the region. When the railway was completed in 1917, settlements had been established along the route at which many railway operational, locomotive maintenance and track repair employees lived with their families, and there was a need to transport food, water and goods to them. This was achieved by two single-purpose weekly trains, the eastbound counterpart being known as "The Bomber". [1] Sheep were brought on the train, which had its own butcher. There was a car that allowed railway families to view the latest films (or at least, at the smaller stations, part of them) while the train was in the siding, and a welfare car staffed by a nurse. [2] : 152, 212  [3]

Each time the train crossed the Nullarbor Plain, it included carriages to suit the different needs of residents throughout the year. On some trains there was a bank car, which allowed residents to make financial transactions, and a post office car; and in December there was a Christmas car, with a much-anticipated Santa who brought presents.

Former railways commissioner Dr Ron Fitch, who was the engineer for the Trans-Australian Railway early in his career, observed that the Tea and Sugar was the "most over-glamorised train in Australia ... whose real claim to fame was that its start-to-stop average speed must have made it the slowest train in the world". [3]

The train originally operated on a 1692 kilometres (1051 miles) journey from Port Augusta to Kalgoorlie. A 1985 timetable showed the westbound service leaving Port Augusta at 12:00 on Wednesday and arriving at Kalgoorlie at 14:15 on Saturday, with the eastbound service departing at 15:00 on Wednesday arriving at 18:55 on Friday. [4] The schedule was later cut back to an 822 km (511 mi) journey from Port Augusta to Cook.

The Tea and Sugar was withdrawn in August 1996. Some carriages have been preserved at the National Railway Museum, Port Adelaide. [5] [6] [7] [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adelaide–Darwin railway line</span> Railway line in Australia

The Adelaide–Darwin railway line is a railway line in Australia, between the South Australian town of Tarcoola and the Northern Territory city of Darwin. Preceded by a number of other shorter railways, a line through to Darwin was fully realised in 2004 when the final link from Alice Springs to Darwin was opened. Forming the main section of the 2,975 kilometres (1,849 mi) rail corridor between the cities of Adelaide and Darwin, the line is used by The Ghan passenger train and interstate freight trains operated by Aurizon.

<i>Indian Pacific</i> Passenger train service in Australia

The Indian Pacific is a weekly experiential tourism passenger train service that runs in Australia's east–west rail corridor between Sydney, on the shore of the Pacific Ocean, and Perth, on the shore of the Indian Ocean – thus, like its counterpart in the north–south corridor, The Ghan, one of the few truly transcontinental trains in the world. It first ran in 1970 after the completion of gauge conversion projects in South Australia and Western Australia, enabling for the first time a cross-continental rail journey that did not have a break of gauge.

<i>The Overland</i> Australian passenger train between Adelaide and Melbourne

The Overland is an interstate passenger train service in Australia, travelling between the state capitals of Melbourne and Adelaide, a distance of 828 km (515 mi). It first ran in 1887 as the Adelaide Express, known by South Australians as the Melbourne Express. It was given its current name in 1936. Now operated by private company Journey Beyond, the train undertakes two return trips a week. Originally an overnight train that stopped at large intermediate stations, it now operates during the day, stopping less frequently.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trans-Australian Railway</span> Railway between Port Augusta, South Australia and Kalgoorlie, Western Australia

The Trans-Australian Railway, opened in 1917, runs from Port Augusta in South Australia to Kalgoorlie in Western Australia, crossing the Nullarbor Plain in the process. As the only rail freight corridor between Western Australia and the eastern states, the line is economically and strategically important. The railway includes the world's longest section of completely straight track.

<i>The Westland</i> Train operated by the Western Australian Government Railways

The Westland was the name given in 1938 to the overnight train operated by the Western Australian Government Railways (WAGR) with sitting and sleeping cars between Perth and Kalgoorlie, where it connected with the Trans-Australian service to Adelaide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rawlinna, Western Australia</span> Town in Western Australia

Rawlinna is an isolated locality on the Trans-Australian Railway in Western Australia, about 900 kilometres east of Perth and 350 kilometres west of the Western Australia / South Australia border. It is on the Nullarbor Plain, about 50 kilometres from its western fringe; the topography is flat and well grassed, with saltbush and bluebush, with small belts of myall and myoporum trees. Annual rainfall is 288 millimetres. Maximum daytime temperatures are typically 38 °C (100 °F) through summer and 19 °C (66 °F) during winter. In 2016, the population in the area was recorded as 30 people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Commonwealth Railways</span> Australian railway operator (1912–1975)

The Commonwealth Railways were established in 1917 by the Government of Australia with the Commonwealth Railways Act to administer the Trans-Australia and Port Augusta to Darwin railways. In 1975, all assets were acquired by the Australian National Railways Commission, branded as Australian National Railways and subsequently Australian National, trademarked as AN.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Australian Railways</span> Government department that ran South Australias railways from 1854 to 1978

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Downer EDI Rail GT46C</span> Class of Australian diesel-electric locomotives

The GT46C is a model of diesel-electric locomotive designed and built by Clyde Engineering using Electro-Motive Diesel components. A number of Australian rail freight operators purchased them from 1997: Westrail as the Q class, FreightLink as the FQ class, and Freight Australia as the single-locomotive V class. As of 2022, all 24 locomotives were owned by Aurizon following its purchase of certain One Rail Australia assets in July 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Commonwealth Railways GM class</span> Class of diesel locomotives

The GM class are a class of diesel locomotives built by Clyde Engineering, Granville for the Commonwealth Railways in several batches between 1951 and 1967. As of January 2014, some remain in service with Aurizon and Southern Shorthaul Railroad.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Commonwealth Railways NC class</span> Two light, narrow-gauge diesel-hydraulic locomotives of the Commonwealth Railways, built in 1956

The Commonwealth Railways NC class consisted of two diesel-hydraulic locomotives built by Clyde Engineering, Granville, New South Wales in 1956. The Lakewood Firewood Company, Kalgoorlie was the first owner; the Commonwealth Railways purchased them in 1965. They ceased revenue service in the early 1980s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Localities on the Trans-Australian Railway</span> List of localities on the Trans-Australian Railway

When the Trans-Australian Railway was completed in 1917 from Kalgoorlie to Port Augusta, about 50 settlements of various sizes were established along the line, from which maintenance workers kept the track in operational condition. They and their families led an isolated life, although they were supplied with provisions by a weekly special train, which also provided banking and postal facilities. Passenger trains were hauled by steam locomotives, which needed to take on water at various stopping places. The 1930s to 1940s services required regular stops on the traverse.

The Inlander is a passenger train that operates between Townsville and Mount Isa on the Great Northern railway line in Queensland, Australia. It was introduced by Queensland Rail on 12 February 1953 using new steel air-conditioned carriages built by Commonwealth Engineering, Rocklea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Australian Railways Bluebird railcar</span> Self-propelled rail vehicle of the South Australian Railways

The Bluebird railcars were a class of self-propelled diesel-hydraulic railcar built by the South Australian Railways' Islington Railway Workshops between 1954 and 1959.

<i>Trans-Australian</i>

The Trans-Australian was an Australian passenger train operated by the Commonwealth Railways initially between Port Augusta and Kalgoorlie on the Trans-Australian Railway line, and later extended west to Perth, and east to Port Pirie and Adelaide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Commonwealth Railways G class</span> Class of Australian 4-6-0 locomotives

The Commonwealth Railways G class was a class of twenty-six 4-6-0 tender locomotives of the Commonwealth Railways, Australia. The class operated between Port Augusta and Kalgoorlie on the 1435 mm Trans-Australian Railway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Commonwealth Railways carbon steel carriage stock</span> Passenger cars of the Commonwealth Railways

In January 1963 Commonwealth Railways placed an order with Commonwealth Engineering, Granville for 24 air-conditioned carbon steel carriages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ron Fitch</span> Australian railway engineer

Ronald John Fitch was an Australian railway executive and railway engineer. The majority of his working career was with the Western Australian Government Railways, Commonwealth Railways and the South Australian Railways, where he served as the Railway Commissioner from 1965 until 1973.

<i>The Kalgoorlie</i> Former railway service in Western Australia

The Kalgoorlie was a railway passenger service operated by the Western Australian Government Railways between November 1962 and November 1971.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Commonwealth Railways CB class railcar</span> Diesel multiple unit railcar

The CB class railcar were a type of Budd Rail Diesel Cars operated by the Commonwealth Railways and Australian National in Australia from 1951 until 1990.

References

  1. ↑ "Tea & Sugar Bites the Dust" Railway Digest October 1996 page 21
  2. ↑ Fitch, Ronald J. (1993). Railroading at its wildest. Dural, New South Wales: Kangaroo Press Pty Ltd. ISBN   0864174969.
  3. 1 2 Fitch, Ronald J. (2006). Australian Railwayman: from cadet engineer to railways commissioner. Dural, New South Wales: Rosenberg Publishing Pty Ltd. p. 212. ISBN   1877058483.
  4. ↑ "South Australia" Railway Digest December 1985 page 376
  5. ↑ Tea & Sugar Train ABC News 28 June 2009
  6. ↑ Tea & Sugar Butcher's Van FA640 Archived 22 December 2015 at the Wayback Machine National Railway Museum
  7. ↑ Tea & Sugar Provision Van Archived 22 December 2015 at the Wayback Machine National Railway Museum
  8. ↑ Tea & Sugar Pay Car PA281 Archived 22 December 2015 at the Wayback Machine National Railway Museum
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.