Railways - Australia: books - history and rolling stock

Rails Across Australia : A Journey Through the Continent

An album of photographs taken by David Cable, a well-regarded British author of several albums of train pictures throughout the world.
The photos were taken initially during the period between 1967 and 1973 when David lived in Adelaide, and then during several visits around the Commonwealth during the twenty-first century.

The photos cover a wide variety of trains in the mainland states, from Queensland to the Pilbara region of Western Australia, and include pictures showing trains in the landscapes, as well as close-up photos of locomotives for the modelling enthusiasts.
The well-known problems of different gauges originally established in the various states are illustrated by the individual classes designed for them, in addition to the newest designs for the standard gauge tracks now linking them.

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Australia's Last Steam Railways - The South Maitland and Richmond Vale Railways

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The South Maitland and Richmond Vale Railways formed a large standard-gauge network serving coal mines in New South Wales. The first section opened in 1893 for coal transport, with passenger services added in parts of the SMR system from 1902. Due to heavy traffic, some sections were double-tracked and signaled.

The New South Wales Government Railways ran passenger services from 1930 to 1961, after which SMR continued with diesel railcars until 1972. RVR operated passenger trains for miners until 1959. The railways used British-built steam locomotives, including saddle tanks, locomotives originally from the Mersey Tunnel, and thirteen ROD tender locomotives built for World War I in France. The last locomotives in use were Beyer Peacock 2-8-2 tank engines.
Steam operations on the South Maitland system ended in 1983, while Richmond Vale was the last commercial steam railway in Australia until its closure in 1987. Part of the Richmond Vale Railway is now a museum line, and many locomotives have been preserved.

John Woodhams documents the history of these railways with a vivid collection of previously unpublished images.

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