Passenger Travel in the 60's.

Good morning,

Today is Wednesday the 12th of August, 2020.

This is a Write Up/Story about my Railway Travels in my teen years, 1963 to 1969, and my very early 20's. I was fortunate to be able to catch 3 different trains from Keith, South Australia, in the South East of the State.

The Bluebird was the day Train.

Then there was the Melbourne Express, which was an overnight train from Adelaide to Melboure. This train is now called the Overland, and, may not continue to operate. 

and

The Blue Lake Train which was overnight, from Adelaide to Mount Gambier.

The overnight Trains were hauled by Locomotives, 900 class and 930 class.

The Bluebird Railcar was a self-propelled Railcar, which were run with either single cars, two cars, 3 cars or 4.

Above is the 930 Class Locomotive.

The overnight trains were always early morning starts, 1.00 - 2.00 am was the time we caught the Train. The good part was we could sleep on the train, which would arrive in Adelaide around 8.00 am. Then it was off to work for the next 5 days. I did a Fitting and Turning Apprenticeship at Thebarton from 1967 till 1972.

The 2 Photos above were taken in May 2004, the 900 class Locomotive was used regularly on the Overnight trains. This particular Loco were very noisy when it was foggy, you could hear them miles away.

The Bluebird Railcar was the Mainstay of Daytime services all over the State of South Australia.

The above Photo was taken in May 2004 at the Port Dock Museum.

Above is the Bluebird Railcar, at Mount Gambier, on it's trip to Adelaide. Photo sourced from johnnys pages Website.

I consider myself and others very fortunate to be able to catch 3 different trains at that time, because Teenagers in Country South Australia, are not so fortunate now, as most places do not have Rail Passenger services.

The Railway Station at Keith was similar to the one in the Photo Below.

The Bluebird Train at Islington in Adelaide, Photo sourced from johnny's pages Website.

HAVE A FANTASTIC DAY EVERYBODY.