Episode description
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! - history@qr.com.au.
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!
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Podcast transcript
Introduction
Annette: Good day, and welcome to another episode of the Queensland Rail History podcast. I'm Annette, and as always, it's great to have you along with us today as we dive back into the Queensland Rail history vaults. In today's episode, we'll discuss how two electric tilt trains revolutionised the train services between Brisbane and Bundaberg and then on to Rockhampton.
Greg: The tilt train, in the 1990s, it was very much the future. The future was coming here, and QR was to be in the lead of that in bringing it in. Still one of those things in this day and age, even a quarter of a century on, it's still pretty remarkable.
Annette: We'll also chat with one of the project managers involved in the recent upgrades of these electric tilts.
Jack: This new technology does give us a lot more reliable and a better performing traction package on our trains.
Male: Be that as it may, we, in common with the whole community, hail with pleasure the inauguration of the railway in Queensland.
Female: An old woman in our carriage was very proud of this little bit of railroad.
Annette: I'm here in Toowoomba with Greg, our historian. How are you today, Greg?
Greg: Oh, good day to you, Annette. How lovely to be talking to you again and embarking again on some more of the exciting stories of the Queensland Railways, and also looking forward and recognising that we're heading towards 160 years of the railways being first opened here in Queensland, and the first construction work starting on them as well too. So I'm looking forward to it. I hope you are anyway.
Annette: So, we're going to talk about inventions and how Queensland are innovative and how Queensland have pioneered through the times. What are we going to talk about today, Greg?
A Story of Innovation
Greg: Right, Annette. Well, we're actually going to be talking about a very significant event in the story of rolling stock here in Queensland. You mentioned about innovations, innovative concepts that Queenslanders have pioneered. We go back to the 1,067 millimetre railway gauge, of course, the narrow gauge here in Queensland. We're going to take this, though, into the latter part of the 20th century and we're going to talk about Queensland Rail's tilt train. The first one that was introduced, which is the electric tilt, it was designed and manufactured here in Queensland, although it also involved other partners from around the world as well. And it used technology that was designed, manufactured and delivered by the Hitachi Company.
The idea was that the tilt train would use, to a large extent, existing tracks or existing alignments that were on Queensland, on the North Coast line, but also enable trains to travel at a higher speed as well, maintaining as well a higher level of comfort for passengers and everything like that. So it was a compromise to ensure that Queensland Railways, QR, in the latter 20th century could develop a train that could run at a higher speed and also an electric train as well. And it was to bring that innovation as well, which is tilt train technology, which was utilised in a number of very large railways around the world.
But what was specifically – it was brought home here to Queensland, and it was a first for Australia, of course, as well too. QR was ahead of the tracks, or ahead of the game yet again. 2023 was when Queensland Rail's tilt train, the electric tilt, it actually turned 25. People don't think about it when they think about fast trains and things like that overseas. They talk about the TGV trains in France, Japan's famous Shinkansens, the bullet trains, and things like that. But first things first, the tilt train, the electric tilt train here in Queensland, it does actually hold the record for the fastest train speed that was ever recorded in Australia – that was 210 kilometres an hour. That was on a test run that was organised in about 1998, 1999. It was done under supervised conditions and things like that. And it did set the Australian rail speed record at that stage.
I think the thing that went into it too was not only – they talk about the speed and that – but it was the comfort angle that went into the electric tilt train as well too. A bit of the background story was, in the early 1990s, Queensland Rail decided new trains were needed on the Brisbane to Rockhampton route. At that time, there were existing trains that did run. There was the old Sunlander, of course. There was the Spirit of Capricorn services, which is an electric service; it was introduced in about 1988, 1989, and was running between Brisbane and Rockhampton.
The Sunlander was, for many years of course, diesel electric hauled. After electrification in 1989 between Brisbane and Rockhampton, electric locos were used to haul the Sunlander train. Spirit of Capricorn was the inter-city express carriages, the ICE carriages. That was specifically run from Brisbane through to Rockhampton. The tilt train was the next step up, and it was to take that experience between Brisbane and Rockhampton, but basically to provide a faster timetabled service than was currently in place.
The background story of the Electric Tilt Train
Annette: Sorry, Greg, I just want to interrupt for a second. We've talked about the life cycle of trains many times over our podcast.
Greg: Of course.
Annette: So if the Spirit of Capricorn was introduced in 1988 or 1989, and then in the 1990s we start looking at a replacement, it had a really short life.
Greg: It did, actually. I think it was part of that thing in the 1990s. You mentioned about technology and innovation and those sorts of concepts that were coming into it as well. It was also looking at developing something for Queenslanders, and it was literally taking that next step up. We had a service between Brisbane and Rockhampton and Brisbane to Bundaberg, of course, very popular train routes there on the north coastline. But it was actually being able to deliver something again which would provide a much, much improved timetable and things like that as well.
The Tilt Train was the future
The Spirit of Capricorn, as you said, was only introduced in 1989. The success of that electric service was quite literally the doorway in for the tilt train. It was very, very popular on that line. The tilt train in the 1990s, it was very much the future. The future was coming here and QR was to be in the lead of that in bringing it in. It actually was over 30 years ago that Walkers actually were – Maryborough, they began building two electric six-car tilt train services. So that's 30 years ago, in 1994. Testing began in 1997. There were 12 months of test runs before they were actually introduced formally into service, and that was in November of 1998.
Annette: Quick question again – you may not know, but why do they test it for a whole year first?
Greg: Oh, that's easy. Annette, it was all new technology, the tilt mechanism itself. And there were a whole host of other things that went with it as well too. There was – the other things that they introduced along the way was looking at – they introduced things that were actually GPS based. There was also an electronic system that they used which would actually identify through GPS and things like that for the trains, like a transponder. So it actually also worked out when they're coming up to curves and things like that, and the computers on board would actually start preparing to tilt the train and things like that. So it wasn't just the train itself which was entirely new; it was also the familiarisation that went with it, the driver trainings that went with it. And there was also the support that went with it, new service depots and everything like that. It was an entirely brand new concept.
But the other thing that went with it too was signalling. That was also – had to go with it as well. So it was just an entire new way of bringing into service an entire new train. And 12 months of trial runs and everything like that, just to make sure that basically, it was all fit for service, as they say in this day and age.
Annette: I'm interested to know – you said that Walkers in Maryborough built the train.
Greg: Yes.
Annette: Was there a tender process here? I know as Queensland Rail we love to manufacture in Queensland as much as possible, but did we go out to tender for these?
Greg: Oh yes, they went through a full tender process and everything like that. Walkers, of course, who worked on it, and EDI later on, but Walkers and that, they actually went into partnerships with this. And that was working with the Hitachi Company for the tilt train. Because the mechanisms that went with it, the computer work and all the technology that went with it as well, so it was actually a very big – it was a consortium approach that went with it as well too. Completely different from the old days that we've spoken about, where one company built all, basically. In this sort of environment, it was very much like a consortium; it was partner based and everything like that.
Annette: Fast forward to today and that consortium is still very much alive and well, with our regional rolling stock team working hard to keep our ETT fleet running smoothly.
Jack Wong (Queensland Rail) - Our guest interviewee
Jack: What we were trying to achieve was to leverage the most recent technology in Japan. So, we're trying to leverage the new technology there, but retrofit it as a plug-and-play piece into our trains.
Annette: That's Jack. Jack is an Alliance Project Delivery Manager here at Queensland Rail. I recently met up with Jack to hear all about the Electric Tilt Train Traction Upgrade Project – wow, what a mouthful – that has recently been undertaken. Hi, Jack. Thank you so much for joining us today on the Queensland Rail History podcast. How are you?
Jack: Hi, Annette. Thank you, and thanks for your invitation. Very good, thank you. It's my first time doing a podcast, so a very different experience to what I'm used to.
Annette: Don't be nervous, you're with friends. Jack, could you please tell us a little bit about your career so far at Queensland Rail, and how long have you been with us?
Jack: I started in September 2022 and during this time I've worked on six to seven projects. They've ranged from changing the North Coast Line timetable, which was one of the initial initiatives, and that was to really help support the ETT Traction Package Project that we'll talk about in a bit. I've worked on the DTT Overhaul Project.
Annette: What's a DTT?
Jack: Very good question. So, in Queensland Rail, we've got a fleet of tilt trains and we've got two types of tilt trains. We've got the diesel tilt trains, and we call that DTTs for short. Externally to Queensland Rail, they're also known – they've got a few names – they're also known as the Spirit of Queensland, and these trains run up all the way to Cairns. And then we've also got the ETT, so that's the electric tilt trains. These trains run up to Rockhampton and Bundaberg. So ETTs are more traditionally known as the tilts, but they're all tilt trains. And what really surprised me when I first joined Queensland Rail was that we've got three DTTs and two ETTs in the fleet.
Annette: Okay, you would think it would be the other way around, because the ETTs run almost daily, don't they?
Jack: Yes, which is – it's quite amazing how we manage such a long distance and such a large timetable with the fleet. The difference is that the DTTs can run all the way to Cairns, and the ETTs can only run up to Rockhampton because of the electrification. So, we don't actually have the infrastructure that goes all the way north. In my mind, that's why we've only got two ETTs and three DTTs.
The Traction Package upgrade and the electric Tilt Train
Annette: Can you tell us a little bit more about the upgrades your teams have undertaken on the electric tilt trains?
Jack: One of the most significant heavy maintenance upgrades that we've recently undertaken is the Traction Package Upgrade Project. For those listeners who may not know what it is – and a disclaimer for those who may know, because I'm not technical in background – the traction package is essentially, if you imagine a box that sits underneath the train, on the undercarriage, it's fitted to the undercarriage, which contains a number of components that are required to accelerate the train and brake, and help the train brake.
It's, I guess, using an analogy, you can imagine something like an engine. Or, I was talking to my engineers because I was trying to understand what it was when I first started the project – an engine or a muscle. We're trying to still figure out which one is the best analogy for it. But yes, think either your muscle or an engine of a vehicle. That's what the traction package is. It's like putting a new graphics card in your PC. You can't physically see the difference, but you can feel it, if that makes sense.
Annette: Yes, because Hitachi originally had something to do with our tilt trains as well. So it's great to know that they've done the upgrade on our trains that are 25 years old now.
Jack: Yes. So we've managed to leverage without changing the rest of the train; we've managed to pretty much manufacture a new piece of traction package equipment using the technology into our trains.
Annette: That's fantastic, because when we first bought Hitachi, we basically bought it off the shelf with their programs, and it fit to our trains, but it would fit trains around the world. So the fact that they've custom built this to upgrade is just amazing.
Jack: Yes, it's really cool. And even the equipment, when we had to retrofit it, we've noticed that it's a lot lighter. So we had to put more weight bearing into it. So the technology's actually shrunk down quite a bit, which is really cool. If you think mobile phones, they've shrunk. They're getting bigger again, but generally technology shrinks. And that's what's happened with the traction package. So the new equipment's actually become more condensed and lighter. And this is my assumption, I'm not an engineer – because the train works on tilting, you need to manage the weight. And this is part of that weight management to make sure that it weighs the same, so we're not impacting any of the other train systems.
I was like, “Whoa! Didn't know we had to do that." In terms of benefits, we now know that our parts aren't obsolete. The original parts are about 20 years old, over 20 years old. So there was the risk of if anything fell apart, we would be quite at strife. This new technology does give us a lot more reliable and a better performing traction package on our trains. But then, it's kind of a cost benefit piece because we know we have to do it, because say with the traction package, they're obsolete, we know that they were going through a phase where they were starting to not perform as well and were starting to fail. And if we had a significant failure on the fleet, you permanently lose maybe a train. And that's a bigger issue than being able to control that change through a timetable change and doing the maintenance work to safeguard the services.
Testing the new technology on the Tilt Train
Annette: Yes. Proactive maintenance work, always better than reactive maintenance. Can I ask – sorry, this isn't a question I had on my list – what kind of testing period have we had with these? The original tilt train, when we were introducing that on our network, we tested it for a whole year before it went out to customers. What kind of testing has gone on with all this new equipment that's gone on?
Jack: Because we've got two, in terms of testing for the first set of traction packages that we installed onto the trains, we did a type test based approach. That was about, from memory, about three months of testing, just for the Traction Packages. A lot of late nights for the team. A lot of long days, I think. And essentially, after we did the testing for the first one, for the second train, because we did type testing it was only about two weeks, plus a bit more, like reliability running after that.
Annette: So, when you were doing the testing, were you going all the way to Rockhampton?
Jack: No, we had segments booked out for the testing. So the feed markers was kind of over my head. I just sat in the train before I did join them. And it's just literally back and forth for like 10 kilometres.
Annette: Oh, wow!
Jack: A lot of walking. I lost a lot of calories, I reckon, on that one.
Annette: Will our customers notice a difference with this upgrade?
Jack: No, our customers should not notice any differences to this upgrade. And if they haven't noticed a difference, that's a very big tick for the project. That's a win for us. This is a type of upgrade that is to safeguard our operations, and there shouldn't be any impacts to the customers. And even the quality of ride should maintain the same.
Annette: We'll hear more from Jack about his career and involvement in the tilt train a little later on. Now, back to my conversation with Greg, where Queenslanders are about to be introduced to their brand new ETTs and immediately reap the benefits of a faster timetable.
The two electric Tilt Trains are introduced
Greg: When they actually came in, those new trains, the two electric tilts, they were actually named one after the city of destination, and one after the city of construction. So the driver units in them, one was called the City of Rockhampton; the other was the City of Maryborough. The daily services commenced between Brisbane and Rockhampton. Because of the new tilt design technology that came in, the timetable was improved and that made it two hours quicker than the older Spirit of Capricorn service. So, the Spirit of Capricorn used to take nine hours and the improved tilt train service was taking seven hours.
I guess you'd say it did mark the end of the line for the Spirit of Capricorn service, the trains that used to operate from Brisbane to Rockhampton. With the withdrawal of the Spirit of Capricorn trains and that, they became ICE trains that used to run Brisbane-Nambour and other places as well. People would be very, very familiar with those as well.
Annette: Quick question – sorry, I'm going to stop saying quick question.
Greg: No, Annette, they're great questions from you. Let's just call them great question, please.
Annette: You mentioned the technology that Hitachi provided. Was that dedicated to Queensland Rail only? Is it installed anywhere else around the world, or did they manufacture it for us?
Greg: It was – again, it was like a built to design thing. But Hitachi had been involved and there were other tilt trains that run around, that have been in operation throughout the world. Even in Sweden they've been operating tilt trains and things like that as well. So it's one of those things that's like – well, we go back to the 1860s, the technology that was around the world being used in the initial construction of the railways here in Queensland. Again, it was adapted and brought in specifically for here in Queensland. When the electric tilt came in, it actually made it some of the fastest timetable runs in Australia over distance.
And from 1998, they started moving passengers between Brisbane, Bundaberg and Rockhampton. They're based from Bundaberg with train crews and things like that. They were running up to 160 kilometre an hour on the North Coast line. For the Rockhampton tilt train, the electric tilt, Hitachi provided technology systems, as we mentioned about tilting system. There's also the traction system in there, the auxiliary power and fault management subsystems. So basically, all the computer hardware and everything like that.
Annette: The brain of the train.
Greg: That's great, yes, the brain of the train. I like that. The Spirit of Queensland services, as we call them today, the diesel tilts, Hitachi actually provided the tilting system on those as well. With the tilts, they cover the 351 kilometres between Brisbane and Bundaberg in four hours and 30 minutes. That's a huge improvement. During the steam era, it used to take about 10 hours to go from Brisbane to Bundaberg by steam train. And it wasn't improved much when the diesels came in as well, Annette. So that's a huge improvement that went with it. And the 639 kilometres between Brisbane and Rockhampton, it was seven hours and 30 minutes. And so as you can see, it was a huge improvement over the timetables.
They were incredibly popular and always booked out ahead as well. The marketing that went with it, the design, the philosophy, it's the central key to their performance. Basically, Annette, when the train heads into a curve at high speed, the entire body of each carriage tilts towards the centre of the curve. And that compensates for the centrifugal force that otherwise pushed passengers towards the outside of the curve. I'm sure we've all been in those situations with cars or something like that; you go into a curve, and as I said – at a speed – and you feel yourself pushed.
The idea of the tilt train is, it leans into the curve, okay? It pivots and it leans into the curve, and that ensures that you don't get that sideways centrifugal force that then comes to you as well too. Because it tilts, because it leans, because it [“I-leans, it diesel-leans"] because it leans into the curve, it does also enable the train to travel at that higher rate of speed into it as well.
Annette: Now, I did a little bit of homework here, and I find it really interesting that we have a train that tilts into the curve, whereas a lot of other countries have banked the tracks, so that the train goes with that. Why didn't we go with this method? Why are we so different?
Greg: There are a couple of things involved. One was the distances involved. It wasn't like in shorter distances in other parts of the world. And there was also the economics involved. There was a major amount of realignment that went with the introduction of the tilt train on the North Coast Line, especially between Brisbane to Gympie and especially Gympie through to Rockhampton and Gympie to Maryborough, and also to Bundaberg. There was a lot of realignment that went on. There was also straightening of sections of the North Coast Line that went with it. So it wasn't just the train itself. It wasn't the fact that it was electrified and all the other technology, but there was realignments and changes to the tracks that went with it as well too.
There was also a cost that was involved too. So to run trains at a higher speed, the philosophy is a straight level track is a great way to run a train at a higher speed if you need it, dedicated to it. The tilt train represented a compromise. So with alignments, but still working with the existing infrastructure that was there at that stage, you could achieve that high timetable speed for your train. And also with the use of the tilt, it also allowed for that improvement on the timetable. So it was a compromise, there's no two ways about it. But it was an innovative compromise as well too, especially at that stage.
I know it all sounds simple in principle; it's very technically challenging to achieve in practice. I mentioned before about GPSs and that. There's sensors on the track that are needed to tell the train its position, and that's based on a database that's actually within the train itself. And that database that links back to the sensors and the line and everything like that, and further back to GPS, it actually tells you which curve is coming up, and where. So it knows – basically, the train knows that there's a curve coming up at this location or somewhere like that. And also, to start putting the tilt mechanism into operation.
Annette: Sorry, I have a question. Markers that tell the train it's coming into a curve, do they have them staggered along the way, or are they literally just when you're coming up to a curve? Like, it goes, here we're coming up to a curve. It's not going to give you, we're at the 900th kilometre mark – and I know we don't go to 900 kilometres – but yes, so are they just on curves?
Greg: They're pretty much along the entire route. So they're like waypoints and things like that. And it also tells the train where it is at a certain time. So, when it's working within the timetable, train knows where it is, what location it's coming to, stations, structures and all those sorts of things. It's more like a transponder system in a lot of ways that aircraft have as well. It is a transponder system. So at all times the train basically knows where it is and what's coming up. We mentioned curves and things like that, but there's other things. It might be crossing loops or stations and things like that.
So, in a world of automated intelligence and things like that, the train's working out where it is all the time, basically, and thinking where it is. So “I-lean" knows these things and knows where it is at all times. So the train uses that information about each curve, as I said. It's stored in that onboard computer and it adjusts the timing, the amount of tilt precisely, so as to ensure that maximum passenger comfort is still maintained. So it knows, this curve will require this amount of tilt and it enacts it accordingly. I'm still astounded, as a historian, because I was around when it was being introduced and all the work that went into it. And it's still one of those things in this day and age, even a quarter of a century on, it's still pretty remarkable.
In 2003 there was the next major revolution that took place in train travel. They introduced the Brisbane to Cairns and back to Brisbane diesel tilt train, diesel link. The new ones, which are now the Spirit of Queensland or the diesel tilt, as they used to be called, it had seven passenger cars. There were two high performance, low weight power cars. One at the front, one at the back and they operated in a push-and-pull configuration. So one would pull at the front, one would push at the back. So that would provide the power and everything like that.
The beauty of that, because you've got one at the front, one at the back pushing and pulling you along, it did away with all the jolting you used to get traditionally from trains that have just got a locomotive up the front – steam, diesel or electric – it pulls and everything goes – there's a jolt. When it stops, there's that jolt again sort of thing. If you've got push-and-pull, it's much smoother and braking is much easier as well too. We had tilt technology, we had the track improvements we spoke about. That allowed your train to travel at a higher speed. You tilt the train body, the speed around the curves then can be increased by 25% and you've still got very comfortable passenger levels on board. So there you go. So that's the secret. Tilt, you get faster into the curves, come out of the curves faster and your timetable improves as a result.
Annette: I went on the Spirit of Queensland last year.
Greg: Oh, good for you.
Annette: I can say that I did not notice feeling the tilt on any of those curves as we were going along.
Greg: Isn't that great? Technology is doing its job, Annette, I'm glad to say in that case, yes. While you were sitting back, hopefully enjoying your journey and watching Queensland roll past the window at a nice rate of knots and that –
Annette: Oh, and I want to say listening to our podcast too. You can actually listen to our podcast while you're on the train.
Greg: Oh, thank you. Did I put you to sleep, Annette, on the journey or something like that?
Annette: I may have played it for my daughter, to knock her out. No, just kidding.
Greg: Oh, I'm glad to hear that, Annette. I do serve a useful purpose after all. I'm glad for this anyway. So while you're sitting there enjoying it, hopefully watching the rest of Queensland roll past your window, at that time, on-board computers, they're controlling the tilt angle and that's activated by compressed air cylinders. Now, underneath the train body and around the bogeys, they've got compressed air cylinders and these are the things that actually push and then contract, and that moves that train body into the tilt and that. But that's it. So it's compressed air that pushes and then pulls, and then pulls the carriage around and everything like that.
Why are these Tilt Trains so important to Queenslanders?
Annette: This push, pull and tilting calculation is happening constantly, the customers on board, totally unaware and busy enjoying the scenic views. As I chatted with Jack about the ETT upgrade, I heard about one of his experiences on board the train, and the customers he interacted with on his journey.
Can you tell me why you think these electric tilt trains, and even the DTTs, are important to Queenslanders?
Jack: I didn't really appreciate how much these trains meant to Queenslanders until I did a project to the North Coast Line Operational Readiness Project, which was done to enable us to take one of the ETTs out to service. And to do that, we've actually had to look at the whole timetable and interact with the staff, and also our customers, to let them know that the timetable was changing. And it's through that process that I really appreciate that a lot of our customers do rely on the trains for hospital services, especially from Rocky and Bundy, to come down to Brisbane. So that's something that really stood out to me.
Also, these trains are used for a bit of tourism. But also, I did catch the trains early on, when I first started, for one of the projects up to Maryborough, and I did meet some of the passengers. I met an old lady who was travelling, who does an annual trip to see her sister in Tasmania. And she would catch the ETT to the airport in Brisbane to fly out. I had a really good conversation with her, and what it meant to her to catch a train and to travel to see her sister. She said that she would always catch the ETT. That was her journey, pretty much. That was her routine and pattern.
And also you hear stories like, there's apparently a guy – there's a story that there's a particular station – I will not name station names – but he will always be at that particular station waiting for the same ETT service. He'll get on, sit in the same seat and order – there's a sandwich that he'll order, a particular meal. And that was his routine. It shows how much people appreciate the service. And also, not just our customers, our staff too. In Gracemere we've got a really dedicated team there who – they treat the ETT like their baby. They do such a good job to maintain it and to look after it. I'm always amazed when I go there. It's like – you can see the pride of the train, and what it means to them.
So yes, it's got a lot of meaning to a lot of different groups. That's what I found. To me, that demonstrated how much it means for people in terms of connecting people, families as well, the value that these trains bring to our community.
Annette: Yes, I actually caught the Spirit of Queensland last year up to Cairns with my family.
Jack: Oh, nice.
Annette: And the train was totally booked out.
Jack: Oh, yes. Did you go a rail bed or –
Annette: No. No. I thought I was getting in early. Literally, I booked six months in advance and the rail beds were all booked out.
Jack: Yes, super popular.
Annette: Yes, very, very popular. But yes, there wasn't a single seat that was empty for the entire journey.
Jack: Oh, wow!
Annette: And both ways, to Cairns and back. It was just crazy.
Jack: Oh, nice. That's on my to-do list.
Annette: So, what sparked your interest to join Queensland Rail?
Jack: What sparked my interest? I'd say Queensland Rail was where I started my career in projects. It wasn't in Queensland Rail, I was working for another organisation and we were contracted in to do a project. And it was really there that I got to get my first step into the project world, really experienced what it was to deliver projects. And I really enjoyed the culture and the time there. I really fondly reflect on memories of working here. And that's what – and since then, I went on to other projects. I even moved to Western Australia. But I've always wanted to – it's always been something that I've looked fondly back on.
So when the opportunity came up to return back to Queensland Rail to become a project manager and bring in all the experience I've had throughout the years since then, that's what brought me back. Got a bit excited.
Annette: Have you been surprised by the range of different projects you've been able to have a hand in while you've been here?
Jack: Oh, yes. Yes, definitely. I was brought in on the understanding of rolling stock heavy maintenance projects, not expecting that I'll be involved in the operations side of the business, to have to manage operational changes and changing the timetable. I thought it would be just mainly on the equipment. And also, we're also supporting some of our maintenance sites like Portsmith as well. So they were looking at upgrading the TPA facilities, and they've got – one of my other – it's like a pet small project – is helping them with upgrading their shunt tractor as well for shunting in the yard. A bit different, but it's all – it mixes us up the day; it's really very interesting. Lots of learning.
Annette: Lots of learning. I love that. Queensland Rail has the best place to seriously continue to grow and learn and advance yourself. I came in as IT, and I'm currently in marketing.
Jack: Oh, wow! Nice.
Annette: So if you look at where you can take your career, Queensland Rail is the place, seriously.
Jack: That's really cool. That's good to know.
The Tilt Train specifications
Annette: Sorry, Greg. I'm just reading your specs that you've got here, and you talk about how they're light weight. It says that the power car weighs 64 tonnes and the trailer car weighs 42 tonnes.
Greg: Yes, they are light. That's light weight.
Annette: That's crazy to consider that light weight. What would a normal one, like the old school Spirit of Capricorn, have weighed?
Greg: Put it this way, a power car is 64 tonnes for that. Steam locomotives, the largest in Queensland, were 130 tonnes. And the BBs and the engines, 1079, 1089, they were 101 tonnes. An then, the AC16s, about 90 tonnes. So for the power they push out, comparative, they're light weight, and that's the beauty of them.
Annette: Okay, so we're going to have a power car at the front, a power car at the back, and then six or seven trailer cars in the middle.
Greg: That's exactly right. When you look abou,t that scale and capacity there, that's the maximum. You're looking at only about 400 tonnes, 400 or 500 tonnes of train all up, it's not much. What were the L-series cars? L-series have got about 30 tonnes or something like that, and they used to run – they could run up 15 cars or something like that, with diesels on the front. So that's about 500 or 600 tonne of train. So, it's compact and it's lightweight, but you've got these engines that deliver so much power [unclear] 00:34:09!
Annette: And that must be empty too. How much diesel do they carry?
Greg: They carry enough fuel on them, Annette, to run about 1,000 kilometres. So it's 1,000 kilometres to the tanks anyway. So that's 600 miles in the old currency. So that's about – 1,000 kilometres is probably getting close to two-thirds of the way up the North Coast line and back. The other good thing about the tilt design was, it's much lighter in construction as well too. And again, the benefit of that, of course, it doesn't mean you haven't got as much mass, it's not as heavy, so you can move at that higher timetable speed as well.
Up the front, the power car, the drivers, there's a crew of two out there. Beyond that is also – they've got multifunction couplers, and they're fully interchangeable. The idea of that, basically, is that the couplers and things like that, should there be a breakdown or something like that, they can put a diesel to pull you out of trouble and things like that. For those who are very interested in the technology side and things like that, each power car is powered by two 12-cylinder turbocharged diesel engines and each of those is capable of producing 1,350 kilowatts. There's also hydrodynamic transmissions and axle drive gearboxes as well too. So it's pretty much like a big diesel hydraulic system that is in the power unit up the front there, and at the back.
Annette: It just sounds like a rev head's dream.
Greg: It's incredible, yes. It was described to me when they first came into usage and things like that in 2003, I did comment to one of the early drivers on it, he said, “Oh it's a very powerful beast indeed." The other big improvement, I know in the past we spoke about steam and diesel, Annette, and we talked about fuel capacity, water capacity, in the steam era and the diesels. Diesel locomotives, on runs from Brisbane through the Cairns having to refuel at places like Rockhampton and places like that. Steam locomotives are really only good for about 200 kilometres at the most, with coal and water and things like that.
It was different –fuel tanks that were introduced on the diesel tilt, of course, they limited the refuelling to once per journey. So in that 1,700 kilometre journey from Brisbane through to Rockhampton, you only had to top up once. So the people who do drive those in long distances, only having to fill up once would be a much better option for you.
Annette: Yes, they would be very happy not to have that many stops.
Greg: Exactly, yes. They also had an auxiliary power synchronisation system on board the diesel tilts, and it also gave multiple auxiliary alternators to power the train auxiliary. So basically there's whole lots of redundant and extra power units that are running at all times, supplying the power and supplying the electric power within the diesel system as well too. So it's really like an on-board powerhouse, and you've got two of those doing all the hard work, basically, and providing all the – not only providing the power, providing the speed and providing everything on board so that the likes of Annette and that can enjoy a comfortable trip on the Spirit of Queensland train.
Annette: I tell you what, it let me charge the kids' devices so they were completely entertained for our journey up to Cairns. So that was a good thing. And yes, the kids did love that trip. And it's these kind of family holidays, catching a train or a plane, that you will always look back on fondly. So with my conversations with Jack, it was a question I had to put to him as well.
Jack Wong and childhood memories of trains
Annette: Do you have any childhood memories of trains, growing up?
Jack: I used to catch the Beenleigh line for high school, up and down to South Bank from Altandi. So that used to be my daily commute way back. But I guess from a long distance point of view, an early life memory would be in the opposite direction though. From Roma Street, we caught the train to Sydney, and from Sydney we went to Canberra. That was a trip with my mum and my siblings to visit my aunty, who was working there at the time. And it's quite a fond memory because since then my mum's passed away, so it's something that I look back fondly on, on that journey and that experience.
Annette: Yes, they definitely make memories. You get enough time to sit down and have a good conversation.
Jack: Oh yes, to annoy my brother and sister.
Annette: On my trip recently, there was two siblings sitting together, a boy and a girl, and oh my goodness, they were not making happy memories. It was a long journey with them on the train.
Jack: Oh, yes.
Annette: It was good, because my husband sat one side and I sat the other, so we had a kid each.
Jack: Oh, very smart.
Annette: And then when we got tired of that kid, we swapped. [laughs]
Jack: The old switcheroo. Excellent. [laughs]
Annette: But yes, the brother and sister sat together for the whole way, and I was just like, “Mum, you need to get these two apart." So, thinking about your role here at Queensland Rail, what does connection mean to you?
Jack: To me, especially as a project delivery manager, connection means connecting people. It's about making sure people are communicating with each other, making sure people understand each other, to work towards the same direction. So we're all on the same team, we're all trying to deliver the best services as possible. And also to our customers, also connecting to customers. So it's making sure leadership understand the staff and that we're also connecting with our customers as well.
Annette: Yes, and your little old lady on the train. Seriously, I don't think you can get much more connection than that. The yearly trip to go see her sister in Tasmania. Wow.
QR, the Electric Tilt Train, and the television ad of the 1990s
Greg: Some of the people listening to this might remember the famous ad that was introduced in the late 1990s, the tilt train by QR. It features two farmers, and they're out basically in the cane paddock somewhere in Queensland, supposedly Bundaberg or somewhere like that. So, it's during the crush, it's during the cane fire burn. So, they're out there getting ready to set fire to the cane before they harvest and everything like that. And next thing, you just hear this noise. And next thing, this blast of wind goes through. And next thing, you know, all the fire's put out and everything like that. And the two farmers are left blinking. One farmer turns to the other and said, “Did you see the tilt train go through?" That was the marketing ad from QR at that stage. It was a winner.
Annette: I'm going to have to find that one. I want to see it. I vaguely remember something like that, but I never would have recalled it if you hadn't have mentioned it.
Greg: It was good. It was better than the working-class man video with Jimmy Barnes and the cane fires anyway. So, there you go.
The other thing I forgot to mention, the education program was very big with communities, about train safety and that, and something that's still continued in Queensland Rail today. And there was also just the entire familiarisation with train crews and that. Originally the tilt train drivers and that had their own special uniforms. And they were modelled on airline pilots as well too, with the hats and everything like that. And the on-board staff of course had their own special dedicated tilt uniforms as well too.
So it was an entire branding exercise that went with it, and marketing design that went with it as well. Yes, it was a real statement, as Queensland Rail were moving into the 21st century delivering something like that. And I think that entire project idea is something that's very big still within Queensland Rail today. And about looking at everything, not just in isolation, but like it's an entire package that's all delivered for the traveller into the 21st century.
How does Jack see his future with Queensland Rail
Annette: So what do you think your future career looks like with Queensland Rail?
Jack: Future career? I'm only a year and a half, just under a year and a half in, but definitely where my passion is, is projects, doing new things, creating value for the business. I really enjoy some of the changes that we've been delivering and I do see quite an exciting future for Queensland Rail and some of the new initiatives that are coming into play. Watch this space. It'll be definitely around projects and making meaningful changes to the business as well.
Annette: You mentioned [Voon] 00:42:16 as one of the electrical engineers who worked on the ETT project. Can you tell us a bit about him?
Jack: [Voon] is – he actually works for SEQ. So, if we talk about one team in Queensland Rail, he's part of demonstrating this one team value where he's coming to our regional team as the traction specialist from an electrical point of view. [Voon] has actually been with this project from the very beginning. He's the one who flagged – was part of the team who flagged that the equipment's obsolete and that we needed to replace it. He's been part of the whole design, manufacturing. We sent him to Japan to do the factory acceptance testing with Hitachi as well. So he's been instrumental to the whole piece. I would say he's way more important than me, if anything.
It's like, if you have a key resource, it will be him. They have to protect and bubble wrap during the project. So he's been instrumental. And because this project has been going for about four years, during this time we have had a few project managers come through. And he's been that consistent resource person throughout the whole journey who's really been the glue to hold it all together to make sure that we've achieved such a successful outcome.
Annette: Thank you so much, Jack, for joining us today. We've learnt a lot about the project to upgrade the ETTs.
Jack: Thank you. It's been a very fun and really interesting experience. So, thank you, and thanks for the opportunity to have a chat about the project.
Conclusion and changes on the North Coast Line
Greg: I think it's remarkable, quarter of a century and the tilts are still very popular. It's over 20 years now since the Spirit of Queensland trains, the diesel tilts, have been operating. They're still very popular.
Annette: That was one thing that surprised me, and I know that sounds bad. But when we did catch the Spirit of Queensland, every seat was booked. There was nothing left. It was completely booked out. And that was only September last year.
Greg: That's good.
Annette: Totally booked out.
Greg: I think it says something about how people feel about that sort of travel as well too. The other thing, Annette, did you go to Cairns? Was that your trip to Cairns, was it?
Annette: Yes, that was all the way to Cairns. The kids and I went all the way to Cairns and back again on the SoQ.
Greg: Of course, and you had your trip on the Kuranda Scenic Railway, of course, too.
Annette: Oh, my God, I love that train.
Greg: I know. You had the best of both worlds. So you can thank Queensland Rail travel for that, very good. From Brisbane to Cairns was about 50, 55 hours in the steam era with the trains like the Sunshine Express. It took a long time because basically the steam locomotives, as you know, Annette, had to be changed for relays, different crews and reprovisioning of the train along the way, putting dining cars on, putting dining cars off and everything like that. You do it from Brisbane to Cairns on the diesel tilt, it's about half that time now anyway, about 25, 26 hours, as you remarked on. Remarkable stuff indeed.
Annette: Yes, we had 26 hours because there was some track upgrades happening.
Greg: Exactly. So you're looking literally, Annette, when you did your journey up, if you'd done it 60 years ago or something like that, or 70 years ago, the trip would have taken twice as long, with multiple changes of steam locomotives along the way, and not accounting for soot and cinders and other things that would have come in through open windows for you as well.
Annette: Yes, but like we've talked about, if I was doing this journey 70 years ago, I'd probably be going for a month to two months for my summer solstice, have a sleep away.
Greg: That's not a bad idea, Annette, anyway. We all deserve a long break when we work very hard, such as you do anyway, and it's a good thing to see.
Annette: Thanks so much for listening to today's episode on the electric tilt train. And a big thanks to our guest interviewee today, Jack, from the regional rolling stock team. If you have any questions about our rail history, please email Greg. He would love to hear from you: history@qr.com.au. 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 would like us to feature in a future episode. You've been listening to the Queensland Rail History podcast, hosted by our historian, Greg Hallam, and myself, Annette, with a new episode every month.