Today on Facebook, a good friend posted this YouTube clip and it struck a very familiar chord.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZe0R5aVDoM[/youtube]
This is the Johnny Cash version of the famous song which was recorded in 1974. Unfortunately, despite its value, for some reason, Cash leaves out the middle verse which is most annoying.
While Willie Nelson may not be everyone’s cup of tea, I find his version of the complete song to be a much more convincing rendition and stands alone without the need of supporting video.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0lpss9MZEc[/youtube]
In any event, this is not a post about the value of songs and those who sing them but rather a thank you to Humphrey Poole who reminded me of trains and, in the process, brought up some great memories.
You see, as I have often said, I was born in the first half of the last century and, as such, I was privileged to be part of the great era of railways in Australia, the age of steam. Indeed, I watched and took note of the extinction of the romantic steam trains and their replacement by the cheaper and utterly boring diesel locomotives. Perhaps I should explain.
My dad was born and grew up on the land, in the Hunter Valley of NSW around Aberdeen. He didn’t move to the city until he was in his 20’s and so he would have done a large amount of travelling by train in his youth. Dad’s elder brother, Robert Wynne who, strangely went by the name Peter for reasons that were never explained, was a devoted fan of the railways, owning a huge collection of books and literature on the subject (as well as being the possessor of a huge body of literature on battleships). And Uncle Peter undertook as part of his avuncular duties, to educate his nephews about trains. And he chose to do it in a very practical way. Each Christmas holidays he would take Paul and I on an extended railway tour of NSW. Uncle Peter worked at Claude R Ogdens, the furniture manufacturers, and though, on reflection, he probably was not well off, compared to mum and dad, he certainly was. So, at his expense, the train trip would take several days and he would pay for it all.
All of these journeys took place on steam trains, in non-airconditioned carriages where you could hang your head out of the windows and get your hair encrusted with coal dust for free. The big locos that pulled the mail trains on the country runs were the C36 and the C38, examples of which are now preserved in railway museums. The famous 3801 that used to pull the Newcastle Flyer now lives at Thirlmere.
These enormously powerful locomotives were the pride of the NSWGR and pulled the most important trains. I remember coming home to Sydney one night from Dubbo on the Dubbo Mail. It was being pulled by a C36 AND a C38 coupled together and, even as a pre-teen school student, the sensation of speed as we rocketed through the towns and the countryside was amazing and left a permanent impression on me. I had never experienced speed like it at that stage.
As a teenager living in Newcastle, it was a constant delight to stand on the pedestrian bridge over the line just outside Newcastle Station and watch the Newcastle Flyer pull out of the station heading to Sydney. It seems funny now, but standing there, enveloped in the steam and the smoke as the 3801 passed below was a pleasure that was rare and memorable.
But, times were moving on. The advent of the diesel electric loco, against which my uncle and my father railed interminably, was upon us. Mutterings about vested interests, American interference and predictions of the doom of the railways were a constant and, in one respect at least, they were right. The phasing out of steam and the advent of diesel was a precursor to the death of long-distance travel by train. The fact that the airlines were also making great inroads into long-distance travel was a double whammy for the age of rail. Some specialised routes remained and, indeed, still do. The XPT staved off the inevitable for a while and The Ghan and the Indian Pacific were always going to be an alternative to flying for those who wanted their travel to be more relaxed and unhurried. At the same time, the arrival of more powerful and faster trucks and the tar sealing of major rural routes was the third king hit for the railways that all seemed to arrive one on top of the other.
With more and more freight being carried by road, more and more people flying to destinations and more and more people being disenchanted with the dirty and smelly diesel trains, the writing was on the wall.
And so we arrive at today where the few specialised routes still exist but where railway operators struggle to compete. Services have been cut, the network is a fraction of what it was and the infrastructure that remains is degenerating at an increasing rate. Oldies like me bemoan the great age of steam knowing full well that it is gone and will never return.
As Willie says in the song, “This town has got the disappearing railroad blues.” I love the song, I love to sing it and play it, and, every time that I do, I am reminded of the glory days of rail, the days that are now a part of history.
dunc says
so true about trains
next time you venture north you may have to go to dorrigo
http://www.dsrm.org.au/
im putting it into my agenda to go by and have a look
theres a road you can drive into which is right next to them
google earth is ya friend
Phil Hall says
Done the Dorrigo and the surrounding area many times. Wonderful roads and wonderful scenery. Looking forward to getting up the North Coast again soon.
jeffb says
You may be interested to know,Phil, that there is a steam train scheduled to run from Sydney to Nowra on 21st March. http://www.fotoz.com.au/ My brother is booked with his wife and some friends. Hope to get some good shots as it travels across the Gerringong Omega flats area with Mt Pleasant in background. I’m going to meet them in Berry. Jeff
Phil Hall says
VERY interested, thanks very much.