The Queensland Rail History Podcast

A short rail tale about Queensland’s first Station Master…

Sir Charles Fox and Son, Agents for the Queensland Government based in London, were appointed as consulting engineers to the colony of Queensland and were given the job to find administrative staff for the Southern and Western Railway, then under construction between Ipswich and Grandchester (Bigges Camp). On 12 January 1865, the agents distributed the copy for an advertisement to seek men to fill the following positions: ”Traffic Manager, Locomotive and Rolling Stock Superintendent, Station Master, Accountant, two Railway Clerks, two Head Porters and two Signalmen”. The advertisement appeared in Engineer on 20 January 1865. Each applicant was required to enclose testimonials, state the salary required and be prepared to leave for the colony before the end of February.

Despite the short time available to prepare them, about 700 applications were received for the ten positions. Having carefully studied their testimonials, Fox and Son selected the most eligible for a personal interview to choose staff for Queensland.

One of those selected was John Scorra. Scorra worked on the Great Northern Line in Great Britain before moving to the London, Chatham and Dover railway. In 1865, he was a highly recommended Station Master. Scorra sailed as a single man but was married on 11 September 1866, to Sarah Trickey Garrett and they were to have four children. Unfortunately, by 1873 their only son and one of three daughters had died.

John Scorra was employed at the Class IV level in the then Queensland Public Service and was appointed as Queensland's first Station Master. 

The then brand-new Ipswich station building he was to occupy was first begun in April 1865 with a frontage to Ellenborough Street and built of materials largely imported from England. It was an impressive terminal station for the then fledgling Southern and Western Railway. The station officially opened on 1 August 1865 and Scorra, as Station Master, lived in the upstairs part of the building. The upper floor included not only the residence for the Station Master but also offices for the traffic department.

Scorra moved into this residence on 19 January 1866, and was granted an allowance of £28 for his previous accommodation. After being appointed as Ipswich’s first Station Master, John Scorra rose through the ranks. By April 1869, Scorra was Station Master in Toowoomba. Shortly after this, Scorra took up the role of Pay Clerk and Station Auditor, Southern and Western Railway, that was based in Brisbane. In September 1873, the Scorra family had an address in Kent Street, Brisbane. Scorra was promoted to the position of Clerk in the Locomotive Department. It was while in this role that John Scorra fell ill and died on 28 October 1879, reportedly “much regretted by officers of the department who held him in high regard”.

Sarah and her remaining two daughters travelled to England in 1882 but returned to Queensland where her daughters later married. Sarah Scorra passed away in 1945 and was buried with John in Toowong Cemetery.

Have a question about our railway's history? - email Greg: [email protected]

From the mid-1860s until 1924, travel in Australia involved trains hauled by steam locomotives, sailing and steam ships, paddle steamers, cable cars in the big cities, bicycles, and later the motor car. Plus, one of the great icons of transport in Australia - the horse-drawn coach services called Cobb & Co. 

As the railways grew, and other transport evolved, the legendary coaches and their magnificent horse teams, withdrew to places longing for transport, rather than compete with the new forms of travel. The vast distances of Queensland, and its people, maintained a solid demand for coaching, with routes here peaking at more than 7000km in 1900. 

Our podcast today, is a special one – we step beyond the steam locomotive footplate, and the carriage steps, and swing up onto the box seat to share the story of Cobb & Co, and its shared connection with the Queensland Railways.

Hosted by Annette, and our Queensland Rail Historian, Greg Hallam, we are also joined by Curator for Transport, Cultures and Histories, Amy Goldston. Recorded at the Cobb + Co Museum, we talk about the roaring days, and reflect on the last run of a Cobb & Co coach in Australia, from Yuleba, to Surat in August 1924. We also discover Amy's railway heritage. 

Here is the historical image referenced during the episode. 

Here is a great link to a series of images on the Cobb & Co services in Queensland.

Discover more about the Cobb & Co Museum here.

If you have any questions about our rail history, please email our Historian, Greg Hallam– he’d love to hear from you! - [email protected]  

Also - if you're enjoying what you’re hearing, please leave us a review. We’d love to hear from you, what you love about the podcast, and what you’d like us to feature on a future episode!  

In today's episode we look at how over 25 years ago, Queensland Rail began its ‘tilt to the future’ with an innovative technology and a number of Australian rail firsts, and how two trains revolutionised the train service between Brisbane and Rockhampton. 

We also chat with Jack, one of our Regional Rollingstock Project Delivery Managers involved in a recent traction package upgrade for the ETTs (Electric Tilt Trains).

Here's a collection of images looking back at the Tilt Trains over the years.

If you have any questions about our rail history, please email our Historian, Greg Hallam– he’d love to hear from you! - [email protected]   

Also - if you're enjoying what you’re hearing, please leave us a review. We’d love to hear from you, what you love about the podcast, and what you’d like us to feature on a future episode!   

There were two events in the 1960s and early 1970s that led to a massive change in South East Queensland’s passenger railways. The first was the replacement of steam with diesel-electric locomotives by 1969. This inevitably led to faster and cleaner trains. The next big step forward was the introduction of modern electric trains for the suburban system in Brisbane with the first services in November, 1979. 

On 8 May 1979, the first section of the new system was energised, from Roma Street to permit testing and driver training. On 17 November the same year, the Darra to Ferny Grove sections were officially opened. Today, in Queensland the suburban passenger services in South East Queensland are operated by Queensland Rail electric multiple units, as well as electric tilt train services as far as Rockhampton. The Queensland network is the largest in Australia with over 2,000 kilometres under wires. 

Today we look at how these electrifying times began for Queensland Rail. We also chat with Neil, he's a Maintenance Group Leader working in our electric train depot at Mayne Yard. 

If you have a question about the history of our railways in Queensland, send an email to our Historian, Greg Hallam. He would love to hear from you! email: [email protected]

Christmas time and the school holidays would bring back memories of long train journeys to far flung parts of Queensland, for many people. The link between country and regional towns, and the smaller townships, was the railmotor. For many decades in Queensland, the small red painted 45 horsepower AEC motors (based on a London bus design), ‘red rattlers’, or the later incarnations of the ‘Tin Hares’, through to the streamlined 2000 class ‘Silver Bullets’ provided an important connection for many Queenslanders to the railway townships. School children made their journey to school on the ‘RMs’, special stops in regional towns were made for intending passengers, and places such as Cooktown, and Normanton became a ‘railmotor’ dependent railway from the late 1920s. Our Queensland Rail History podcast, ‘Red Rattler’s and ‘Silver Bullets’, will look back on the distinctive petrol- and diesel-powered railmotors that were such an iconic part of the Queensland Railways throughout the 20th century.    

In this episode of the podcast we talk with Glen Watson who at the time was Officer in Charge at Normanton and driving the Gulflander. He shares many stories and personal experiences to do with his time both in Queensland and around the world for Queensland Rail.

You can find images to go along with the episode here:
 
https://queenslandrail.intelligencebank.com/customshare/index/0MXzp?trackingId=JnpAl

Today, we’ll be looking at the era in the late 1880s and into the early 20th century, when many towns close to the South Coast (now known as the Gold Coast) all wanted their own railway to their own ‘slice of paradise’. When taking the train to your favourite holiday spot on the beach, or the bay was all part of the adventure. 

We’ll also chat with special guest, Deni, Assistant Station Master at Varsity Lakes station and hear about how the Gold Coast line was renewed as a modern, world class railway in the 21st century.

1953 was one of the truly revolutionary years for the Queensland Railways, with the introduction of air conditioned trains on our long distance services in Queensland. The Sunlander commenced service on the 4th June 1953. This new air conditioned train was hauled by a diesel locomotive and by eliminating steam locomotive servicing stops, the transit time from Brisbane to Cairns was reduced from 45 to 41¼ hours.

In this episode we’ll chat about how these air conditioned trains and their steel bodies coaches, with showers, hot and cold running water and special dining cars revolutionised travel for many people regionally, allowing passengers to keep their cool during Queensland’s summers. We'll discuss where the 'Lander' name for our travel trains originated from and also the marketing campaigns the Railways used to promote these luxury tourist services.

We’ll also chat with special guest, Jen Cahill, and hear about how her career has progressed into becoming a regional train driver. We chat about her time at Queensland Rail, and hear what it's like driving the Kuranda Scenic Railway and the Spirit of Queensland between Townsville and Cairns.

We've also pulled together a collection of images that Greg and Annette discuss, you can find these here.

If you have any questions about our rail history, please email Greg – he’d love to hear from you! - [email protected]  
And, if you're enjoying what you’re hearing, please leave us a review. We’d love to hear from you, what you love about the podcast, and what you’d like us to feature on a future episode!  

1952 was one of the truly revolutionary years for the Queensland Railways. It was in that year that the first DEL (Diesel Electric Locomotives) entered service. The new motive power would forever change the railway landscape of Queensland. Almost overnight, it demonstrating the economic, and operational benefits of modern diesel locomotives. 

In this episode we’ll look at how Queensland Railways progressively transitioned from steam to operate with diesel for the next three decades, on long distance, suburban, and freight trains.

We also chat with Melanie Fyfe, Manager of Regional Train Service Delivery at Queensland Rail. Mel discusses the new 2900 diesel loco upgrades, the team of regional train drivers her team oversees, and her career in the railway so far. 

A10 No. 6 is one of the oldest steam locomotives in the world, still capable of operating on a main line. The tiny locomotive has a long, and remarkable history. It was there (well, almost) to witness the beginnings of the railways in Queensland.

Today, we will talk about the story of this steam powered time traveller, how in 1965, it was the showpiece of the centenary celebrations of the railways in Queensland, and how important it still, in the third century of its existence.   

We also chat with Train Operations Inspector (TOI) Matthew Bushnell and find out first-hand what it was like to drive the A10 No.6! Matt had the great opportunity to drive the A10 back in 2015 for the 150th anniversary of Queensland Rail. We also chat about how his father drove the A10 back in 1991, after the loco had been completely restored.

Greg refers to numerous photographs of the A10 No.6 throughout the episode, we've pulled together a gallery of images to view here.

If you’d like to see the A10 No.6 in person, head to the Workshops Rail Museum website – www.museum.qld.gov.au and book yourself a ticket!

If you have any questions about our rail history, please message us on the Queensland Rail Instagram or Facebook accounts or just email Greg himself: [email protected]

And, if you're enjoying what you’re hearing, please leave us a review. We’d love to hear from you, what you love about the podcast, and what you’d like us to feature on a future episode.  

Once upon a time, three little letters, ‘’R R R’’ would bring a smile to any weary traveller’s face. Those three letters stood for the Railway Refreshment Rooms, and for 140 years it also meant passengers could hopefully enjoy a hot cup of tea, coffee scones, or even a full three course meal in all of 20 minutes! 

It was a full dining experience at big stations with trains arriving at strange and possibly odd hours for many places throughout Queensland. It really was a case of miles and meals to go! 

In today’s episode we’ll talk about how these Refreshment Rooms satisfied the hunger of the long-distance traveller, how a veritable army of women performed miracles in dispensing iron rations during World Wars and we’ll find out why these catering facilities slowly disappeared.  

We’ll also chat with a chef who worked at the last of Queensland’s Railway Refreshment Rooms and find out how he’s continuing to satisfy customer’s hunger today.  

Footnotes:
Bowen Refreshment Room photo:
https://www.qhatlas.com.au/photograph/refreshment-room-bowen-proserpine-railway-1922

Gympie Railway Refreshment Room photo:
https://www.pinterest.com.au/pin/348395721144751138/