1977 December - South Australia & Semaphore Railway
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- čas přidán 7. 09. 2024
- Bert Scales Rail Archive - Digitally transferred from Movie film to HD.
Over Christmas holidays of 1977 Bert Scales and wife Heather travelled from Sydney to Adelaide in their VW combi camper van to experience Adelaide City and and South Australia in general. Bert was an avid film rail enthusiast, taking film of rail history where ever it presented itself. Berts combi which can be spotted in various scenes in this home movie film.
Opening film scene demonstrates the engineering marvel of multiple gauge tracks, to support the movement of broad and standard and narrow gauge rail vehicles, ironically the result of the Australian colonies (later to be known as states) building railways to suit each's own individual needs, prior to Australian federation in a 1901.
Port Augusta was host to multiple stabled maintenance worker accomodation trains which housed perway maintenance crews whom worked in remote areas of the state, often away from their families and homes for periods of time.
Moving to the South Australian capital of Adelaide in the final days of 1977 we see a variety of trains typical of the late 1970s; goods trains with guards vans and self propelled diesel rail cars.
The new year of 1978 is celebrated by visiting the railway sea port of Semaphore, a unique railway branch line where where rail traffic and motor vehicles share the road, with the branch line terminating at the sea side platform of Semaphore.
On the 7th of January 1978 the Semaphore Railway line celebrated its Centenary.
Celebrations were lead by an offical train train from Adelaide City to the branch line with steam engine 224 in the lead. Celebration push pull services were then conducted on the line.
Semaphore railway line was located in the north-west of Adelaide servicing the suburbs of Semaphore and Exeter.
The line closed 29 October 1978.
Priceless scenes of South Australian Railway history.
Thankyou wonderful memories flooded back, its something i can share with my grandkids thank you so ❤ it
Your very welcome.
Loved the Semaphore rail line. Wish it was still there!
Wonderful little line. If only our love of the car was so great the line may have survived.
I can smell the diesel. I like the red hens. When I traveled in them as a boy you could pull the doors wide open and wander from carriage to carriage freely.
I USED TO RIDE THE TRAIN ALL THE TIME FROM GLANVILLE TO SEMAPHORE
THE GOOD OLD DAYS
Absolutely brilliant!! Thankyou for posting that😃👍
So please so many have enjoyed this old film. 😃
Thanks for posting this footage.
So wonderful it can be enjoyed all these years later.
Boy I grew up at Brighton in Adelaide. We travelled by train everywhere. I remember riding on the old puffing Billy.
I was on RX 224 for the Centenary Train, fantastic day, even got to ride in the cab from Glanville to Semaphore...I was 16. Thanks for the excellent upload...cheers
Mark i am absolutely delighted to hear that this movie film which sat dormant for close to 45 years can be shared and bring back good memories for you. Appreciate your comments and glad you enjoyed the film.
@@nswrailvideos7113 I miss the "once-everywhere" railways we had in this state...As a teenager on a Sunday, I would catch the train from Semaphore to the City and then Catch the train up to Bridgewater...thanks for posting this video
First time to see Semaphore line. Great to see where platform was and streetscape. GT falcon in brown/black, bonus!. Thanks.😅
Classic 70s Australiana right there !
This is fantastic. Thank you for the upload
Glad you enjoyed it.
4.23 is my Toyota Tiara 😂. Loved the Adelaide to Semaphore steam train.
That's amazing. Some good memories for you.
2:11 I.C.I. doing a duet with VR in a phosphate haulage contract. Some of those boxcars are so grimy because they were first painted in 1973. Before then the logo was applied in small scale in the top corner of the door.
Thanks for sharing the info.
I remember travelling to Adelaide from WA on the Indian Pacificin the early 70's and then transfering to another train at Port Augusta pulled by an SAR Alco and also remember that the train went down the main street of Port Pirie which I found truely bizzare.
A genuine XR GT Falcon @ 7.34!
Yes and it was possible to identify many other different car types, unlike today, where they all look the same1
Awe.
Good footage.
Just a point about the description though. Where you've said "In this 1977/ 1978 film Port Augusta celebrates the engineering marvel of multiple gauge tracks, to support the movement of broad and standard gauge rail vehicles", the scenes at the beginning of the film are of triple gauge track (broad, standard & narrow) & look to be filmed at Gladstone, not Pt Augusta. Port Augusta never saw any broad gauge. Cheers.
Wonderful - updated thank you.
What is the purpose of the overlapping double track seen at the beginning of the video?
Allowed the operation of multiple gauges.
Those Redhens were dirty noisy trains and fare evasion was a piece of cake.
Yep they were great
Fare evasion still is if you don't leave the platforms at Adelaide
I remember riding the Red Hens as a kid - you could sit next to the door with the door wide open. Used to catch them all the time from Croydon to Grange Beach in the summer.
I still have my return ticket from Adelaide to Semaphore. Its 44 years old now.
Shame we can't post pics here !
Is that the old semaphore red?
3 questions-
1) & 2) Where was that bridge at 3:28? Does it still exist?
3) Is that your Kombi in every other video?
unsure of the locations as limited information was written within film reels. The Kombi belonged to Bert Scales, the person whom took the film. He and his wife would sleep in the Kombi lineside whilst away on rail filming trip, hence the Kombi is shown in most movie films !
It is the railway bridge over the Murry River at Murry Bridge SA, It is still in use and it was converted from Broad gauge to standard gauge in the late 1990s
Excellent mate!!
Thanks for whackin this up!
In 77 it was the centenary at Terowie, my grandad told me an old steam train was coming in.. "how's about you climb the overpass to get some photos?".
Got covered in steam and soot, all for a cpl of blurry pics!
Grandad thought it was the height of humour!!
Was this filmed with 8mm film?
Yes it was. Professional uploaded through DVD infinity Five Dock Sydney.
@@nswrailvideos7113 where did the sound come from
@@aussie_trainspotting_videos 1980s JVC handycam recordings.
1977???
This was filmed in 2018
Nonsense...930 class diesels weren't hauling freight on a broad gauge line through the Adelaide Hills in 2018.
@@Kiwigeo8339
It was a joke…
Adelaide looks the same now as it did then 😊
I reckon the person who filmed this drove a Kombi Van...it's in a few scenes.
Bert and his wife toured Australia in it. You will see it in various films.