Episode description
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.
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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. 1952 was one of the revolutionary years for the Queensland Railways. It was in November that year that the first DEL or diesel electric locomotives entered service. In this episode, we’ll chat through how this forever changed our railways landscape.
Greg: The introduction of those diesels – the power was always there. You think about an accelerator on a vehicle, you press it, you’ve got power. And the interesting thing, Annette, you got that power from the word go. Steam locomotives, you literally have to build up the momentum. This was continual power.
Annette: That would have made a huge difference to passengers travelling by rail.
Greg: It still makes a difference today, yes.
Annette: We’ll also chat with today’s special guest and hear about how some of our legacy DELs are being given a new lease on life.
Mel: And the end result is, we get a new locomotive, a much fresher, cleaner, and newer environment for our train drivers as part of continuing Queensland Rail’s presence right across the state of Queensland.
Male 1: Be that as it may, we, in common with the whole community, hail with pleasure the inauguration of the railway in Queensland.
Female 2: An old woman in our carriage was very proud of this little bit of railroad.
Annette: Live in the studio here from Toowoomba today, I am joined by Greg. Greg, how are you today?
Greg: As always, great sharing another story of the Queensland Railways history with you, Annette. Yes, great to be talking with you, as always.
Annette: Oh, thanks Greg.
Greg: Pleasure.
Annette: So, I’m wondering, what’s our topic for today’s podcast?
The diesel electric locomotive revolution
Greg: We’re looking at what was really the diesel locomotive, or the diesel revolution, here in Queensland, and just look back at the very beginning of those years because it’s just over 70 years ago. And they really made such a great impact in the story of the Queensland Railways, and they were really a big step into the future for the Queensland Railways.
Annette: So, are we talking diesel locomotive or diesel electric locomotive?
Greg: Well, we’ll talk about diesel electrics, which came in ‘52, but we’ll also delve back to 1939 and the diesel locomotives, which are not the diesel unit powering an electric traction engine; they’re the strict diesel locomotive.
Annette: Oh, I’m very interested to learn the difference.
Greg: Thank you very much. Hopefully we’ll be able to demonstrate that to you today, indeed.
Annette: Fantastic.
Greg: Okay, so let’s look back, November of 1952 was one of the truly revolutionary years for the Queensland Railways. It was in that year that the first DEL, diesel electric locomotive, entered service. And that new mode of power was to forever change the railway landscape of Queensland and it overnight demonstrated the economic and operational benefits of modern DEL locomotives.
Annette: Oh, see, now I’m interested because our last podcast we were talking about steam trains and how they changed from being wood burning to coal burning. So how did the change to diesel change? What happened to all of our steam trains?
Greg: We’ll get into that a little bit later, but we’ll start off with why they came about, I’d suppose you’d say. We’ll backtrack to our previous podcast, and the Second World War. The Queensland Railways ended that period a very rundown state. And it was really that new mode of power. In the post late ‘40s, early ‘50s, they were introducing, I guess what you’d call second generation steam locomotives. Improvements came after the Second World War. What was also interesting was in the early – late 1940s, early ‘50s, they started looking at diesel electric locomotives. Now, these were being used pretty much in the transition stage already in the United States. We’re moving away from steam operation and that.
So Queensland actually looked at it and decided to enter into that field and see, well, what could be the great changes or what could be the economies that could be made. Because as you’d appreciate, Annette, operating a steam locomotive, they can only go for about 10 days, have a boiler washout, overhaul, they burn coal, consume water. They were very, very labour intensive. Three hours to get up steam on a locomotive and things like that. Limited speed, limited haulage capacity. Diesel electric locomotives, which had really been around since the – technology goes back to the early 20th century – but they started to come in in the 1930s in the United States and places like Germany. And 1940s, there was a transition. Even by the 1950s in the United States, diesel electric locomotives were coming in. They were very much the way of the future. The steam era was being set aside. So it was a revolution in a way for the Queensland railways.
Annette: Okay. I might be jumping a little bit ahead here, but where did we get our diesel electric locos from?
Our first diesel electric locomotives came from the United States
Greg: All right. Yes, well, the first ones that came into Queensland were actually supplied by the General Electric Corporation, GE. And they came in the 1300 Class, if memory serves me correct, were their original designation. They later became known as the 1150 Class, but they were supplied by the General Electric Corporation, GE. General Electric, a very big company in the United States. In fact, they also built nuclear submarines.
Annette: Nuclear submarines, wow! And GE is still around today, so that’s pretty amazing.
Greg: It certainly is, yes.
Annette: So, Greg, you just said three hours to get a steam train up and running. With the diesels, did it take a shorter amount of time?
Greg: That was one of the great economies that was demonstrated, and it was demonstrated relatively quickly. A steam locomotive, basically, to go from coal to producing steam is about two and a half to three hours, especially if going from what they call cold. There’s also the thing about at the end of the run, steam locomotive literally has to be stabled; you drop the fire out of it. It’s a time-consuming process. They were dirty; they were labour-intensive. A diesel locomotive is very much like a diesel engine because basically you could start, and once you engaged the diesel locomotive, it produced power. So there was no major preparation time or anything like that. Virtually the crew could step onto it and literally start that engine and be ready for service. So straight away, Annette, you can see the economy and also the benefits of that form of – mode of power that was going to be introduced.
Annette: Just visually, for me, Greg, so I see old steam trains; you’re chugging along and they’ve got the smoke trailing behind them. So they would have been a lot cleaner as well.
Comfort for the locomotive crew
Greg: They were, actually, diesel locomotives. That was the other thing [. And for the crews, they were, again, something that they weren’t used to because sitting in the cab of a locomotive, a steam locomotive, you’re very much open to the elements. It’s hot; when it rains, it blows. It was very uncomfortable running at night, limited lights in the cab. And it’s not heated, and it’s not air conditioned. So when those first diesel locomotives came in for the crews, it was an absolute revelation because, again, they’re sitting in an enclosed cab with fans, not air conditioning in that era. They did have heaters. And it was remarkable for them, because they’re sitting in an enclosed cab and basically, isolated from the elements to an extent and everything like that. So, again, it wasn’t a case of getting all hot and sweaty on the job; it was a whole new level of comfort that was introduced for those crews who were used to the steam locomotives.
Annette: So a bit of a step up for our drivers.
Greg: Indeed. It’s all just part of this new generation that was coming. And there was a level of comfort that they just weren’t used to.
Annette: How did they feel about the changes? Do we know?
Greg: There was pretty much two schools of thought. At the end of the day, a lot of the train drivers and that, a lot of them were very unsentimental, when you think about it. There’s a lot of romance around the steam era. But at the end of the day, I guess if you’re driving and firing a locomotive, it was hard work, there’s no two ways about it. But with the introduction of diesels, there were – I’m going back to my own research and talking over the years – there was an inevitability about it, but there were actually drivers and firemen I know, up until the 1960s refused to touch diesel. They stuck with steam.
They were of a certain age group and everything like that, and coming towards retirement, but they chose not to. So a lot of the younger ones said, oh, well, it’s part of the evolution, it’s part of the change and everything like that. And a lot of them were quite happier too because, when you’re driving a steam locomotive, it can be an incredibly difficult time and difficult job. Here’s something with the reliability and also the pulling power, and the general level of comfort with a diesel locomotive, diesel or electric, something completely different and accepted.
Was there a big change from driving a steam locomotive to the new diesel electric locomotives?
Annette: So, I’m trying to think, if you look back and you go – so is it like going from a horse-drawn cart to a car? Or is it like going from, say, a 1950s station wagon to a car of today? What kind of big change would you have seen?
Greg: Again, it was just one of those things; it wasn’t foreign technology. Everyone knew about it, but I think it was just the experience. And there was a fair amount of introduction that went with it. The locomotives when they were brought in, there was very much almost like a publicity drive by the Queensland Railways. There was a lot of introduction to the new mode of technology, because they had manuals produced for them. It was something new that they had to be trained in, because it’s not like a steam locomotive, you’re thinking valves, you’re thinking levers, fire; you’re thinking things like – we’re talking about electric components and we’re talking about throttles, and we’re talking about voltometers. So that’s an entirely different way of driving; it’s an entirely different way of producing power. So there had to be a shift with it as well too. So a lot of training that went on with it as well, and, that was begun from the 1950s onwards.
Annette: I just think now, today, you have to go back and you have to have a special qualification to drive a steam train. Back then, they had to have a special qualification to drive the diesel.
Greg: They certainly did. Anyway, it was all part of the classification, Annette. Very, very much so.
Podcast interviewee Melanie Fyfe, Manager of Regional Train Service Delivery, Queensland Rail
Annette: Today’s guest interview is with Melanie Fyfe, Manager of Regional Train Service Delivery here at Queensland Rail. Greg and I recently called Mel to hear about her involvement with the Regional CAB Committee, where regional train drivers across the depots are contributing to the 2900 DEL upgrades. We also chatted with her about her career in the railways so far, and hear what it’s like to work within the regional team. Mel, thanks for joining us today on the Queensland Rail History podcast.
Mel: Thanks for having me.
Annette: Greg and I were just chatting about the changes train crews would have gone through with the introduction of the DELs. Are there any special qualifications required for our drivers with these new 2900 locos?
Mel: No additional qualifications. At the end of the day, they are still a diesel [Clyde] 00: 10: 58 locomotive. What we have been doing as part of the safety change activities for introducing the new locomotives is, we have developed driver familiarisation training. And that includes theory-based side of things. But most importantly, the opportunity for the practical aspect, because we know that many of our drivers, they learn by seeing and doing and touching, to see what it’s like out in operation, as opposed to learning purely from a classroom-based training.
But the benefit of having both is we’re able to go through a lot of the details as to what is different, why it’s different, explain some of the different aspects. For example, the braking using an electronic brake, which is a new type of braking system in Queensland Rail’s operations. And then, the opportunity to get out on track and put that into practice to build their familiarity with the locos.
Annette: I can imagine it would be a really different feeling going from the old brakes to the new electrical brakes.
Mel: Most definitely. One of the key differences is, with the older locomotives the braking is air pressure based. And a lot of drivers talk to me about when you learn, you learn about hearing. And even a tutor driver’s perspective, they talk about listening for the noise and the pressure of the air in terms of the brake applications and different driver train handling methodology. One of the key differences now is that detail is on a gauge, an electronic screen in front of them that they need to monitor, as opposed to driving by what they’re hearing. So it is a different way. It’s just something to get used to. Not significantly different, from some of the feedback I’ve got from some of our drivers who have completed their training, but as with any change, it will take a bit of getting used to.
Annette: Can you tell us about the 2900 rebuild process that’s currently underway?
Mel: Sure can. The 2900 locos are in the process of being refurbished, using existing, what we call donor locomotive frames. So these were existing locos that were part of the Queensland Rail fleet. They go into Progress Rail and go through an absolute strip back to the bare bones and the flatbed of the loco itself. And the team at Progress Rail go through a range of activities to check welds, rebuild, repaint. They absolutely rewire the whole locomotive so it has all new wiring. It is really stripped back to the bare bones and rebuilt again, but using the solid and sturdy frames that have been in our business for many, many years.
One of the really good things about the process that we’ve worked through with the 2900 project is, we’ve had the involvement of the Regional CAB Committee members to be part of initial site inspections, providing feedback from a driver’s perspective on different positioning of equipment, lights, gauges and other facilities that are within the cab environment or within the design of the loco itself. Some of these we’ve been able to make a change on, and it has been a good pick- up that Progress Rail have taken on board and been able to change for us.
Some of them require more significant design change requirements and aren’t necessarily then within the scope of the project, because as part of this engagement we’ve really tried to buy the product off the shelf as much as we can, rather than customise it too much, but still ensure it meets all of the requirements of our drivers, but also our safety management system and also our rolling stock maintenance team, who will be the ones who will continue to maintain these locos once they come into operation. So a close working relationship with members of the project team and also our CAB Committee members, which is a driver or two from each of our depots around the state, to be involved in those discussions, safety change risk assessment, other project related activities along the way, has been really good to get that driver input and also gives our drivers the early visibility as to what the end product may and will look like, that they will see out in their workplace.
And the end result is we get a new locomotive that is a much fresher, cleaner and newer environment for our train drivers, and starting to introduce an element of technology to what was once, and still is in other parts of our business, the old diesel locomotive operations.
Annette: I love that we are following along with the reduce, reuse, recycle motto by rebuilding instead of just replacing.
Mel: Yes, instead of turning it into scrap metal.
A progressive phasing in of the diesel electric locomotives
Annette: So, Greg, with the introduction of these new DELs what happened to our beautiful steam trains?
Greg: Well, that’s the good thing about Queensland. Because it was unlike other parts of the world where there was an en masse introduction and an en masse scrapping. Queensland actually – it took 17 years to fully dieselise Queensland. So it was a staged process, it was done progressively. There was even trying out between American design like General Electric; the next lot of locomotives that came in were built by the English Electric Company, so they were British. So again, there was a bit of – I suppose you’d say mixing and matching – but there was a comparable thing between various forms of motor power produced by different companies.
So in Queensland, when they introduced the DELs, it wasn’t en masse; there was no whole scale scrapping of steam locomotives, because we had many modern locomotives. And that happened on other railways throughout the world. The transition, it took 17 years to fully implement, and it was progressively done. It was done first of all with the depots in the north west and other parts of Queensland. You’re thinking the hot parts of Queensland, they’re very humid parts of Queensland. So that’s where they’re introduced, because you’d understand, running a steam locomotive in those conditions would be pretty difficult.
Annette: Those poor firemen.
Greg: Exactly. Drivers and everyone, and even passengers, when you think about soot and cinders and things like that. The steam actually began almost like a slow withdrawal, and it withdrew – I guess you’d say from the north, from the north west and the far west – and slowly progressed down to the – eventually down towards the south east areas and also the sugar seasonal depots, because in the sugar seasons there was so much work. Places like Mackay, Bundaberg, you’re thinking around you know Ingham, those big sugar areas. There was so much requirement you know for cane traffic as well. Steam reduced, fell back to those areas.
The first diesel locomotive on the Queensland Railways in 1939
But I guess, can we take a back step? We’re really good at doing these things, Annette, so let’s step back a little bit more. The story goes back now over 80 years, when the first diesel locomotive – not diesel electric – entered service in Queensland. The DL class were the first diesel powered locomotives in the state and that’s not including the rail motors. We’re talking about rail motors in another podcast, Annette. And DL No. 1 is the oldest of those and was built in 1939 at the Ipswich workshops.
Annette: So, we had one built in Australia?
Greg: Exactly, yes. And it was the first diesel locomotive that was built in Australia. It was built at the North Ipswich workshops.
Annette: Sorry, I know this is going to be a little bit. Why did we then – if we built the first diesel loco in Australia – why did we then source the diesel electric ones from overseas?
Greg: Well, at that stage we really had no manufacturing capacity in Australia, at that stage. That came later though, from the late ‘50s and 1960s and 1970s we were able to build these locomotives here in Australia. To that point, Annette, we hadn’t actually developed that sort of industrial capability, engineering capability. But when we started building, Annette, more diesel electric locomotives, they were built here in Queensland. They were built in places like Eagle Farm, at Rocklea in Brisbane, by English Electric, and then eventually up in Townsville. So yes, that was into the ‘60s, the ‘70s and the 1980s that they were able to build, and even to the 1990s in certain cases as well.
Annette: With the Queensland built DL1, where did they get their ideas from? Was it thought up in Queensland? Was it a copied idea? Was it –
Greg: It was very much a local innovation, DL1, and the interesting thing is, when you look at the plans and the drawings from the late 1930s, you can see that transition or that inspiration from the steam locomotive, So it had basically six driving wheels, similar to a steam locomotive, and two leading wheels as well. So, you can see a transition from the steam locomotive to the diesel. It was very much a homegrown design. It was very much a Queensland design as well. So, it was innovation, innovation by Queensland Railways at the beginning there.
DL1 a true survivor
Annette: Fantastic. Do we still have DL1?
Greg: Yes, well, the DLs actually, they had a fascinating career. They were first used initially on the Etheridge Railway, which is in Far North Queensland, between Almaden and Forsyth, due to the lightly laid rails out there. There’d been floods after a cyclone after 1927, and there was bridge work that was done but it was minimal. So, they used converted rail motors for a period to operate the train service on that line. But then the DL design came out of that, basically to provide a more powerful locomotive. The thing about them too, it only required one driver to operate. So it was just one driver, no requirement for a fireman or anything like that.
So DL1, it came into service in 1939. There are photographs in the historical collection, showing its trial run to Shorncliffe with one or two carriages. Remarkable. And it went to Cairns in 1939 there, and I think it took about five or six days to get up. It was run up under its own power, Annette, so with stops along the way and everything like that to get up there. There were four members of [BIL] 00: 21: 28. They were later used for shunting elsewhere in the state and they were primarily used as shunting locomotives and that included places like Wallangarra, border of Queensland and New South Wales; Townsville; and here in Toowoomba as well. So they were shunt engines moving things around in their railway yards.
Annette: Well, I imagine, with what we talked about before, how it took three hours to warm up a steam train, that if you could jump into the diesel train and start it up, it would be great for shunting if you just needed to move things around.
Greg: Very, very much so. Interestingly enough, Annette, all four members of those DLs, they still exist. DL1 is at the Workshops Rail Museum at North Ipswich. DL No. 2 is on display at Forsayth.
Annette: So Greg, where is Forsayth?
Greg: It’s on the Etheridge line. That’s where these DLs were originally built to operate on. So it’s the end of the line, basically. If you travel on the Savannah Lander from Cairns, you go to Forsyth. So that’s the end of the line there. DL No. 3, I think, is at the Rosewood Rail Museum, and DL4 is actually still in service with Queensland Rail and it operates on the Normanton to Croydon line. It went up there in 1988, and it serves as a backup for the Gulflander Rail Motor, RM93. We’ll talk about rail motors in another episode. And it also hauls work trains and things like that. Still very much operational, DL4.
The other DL class locomotives
Annette: That’s fantastic. Do we know what year DL4 was built?
Greg: DL2 was built 1951 by Robert Stephenson and Company in England. And the other two – 3 and 4 –I think, were built by Walkers Limited of Maryborough, and they entered service in 1961. So it’s a period from 1939 to 1961. Might be a case of if you’re on a good thing, you stick to it, I think, Annette.
Annette: Yes, I know, but that’s still, what, 23 years it’s taken them to build four trains?
Greg: Yes, it would – maths is not my strong point, I am a historian – but yes, obviously it was a good and proven design for the work that it was required to do, which is there on that line out to Forsyth. The other thing too, they could operate in multiple units. So you could put – lash up, as the Americans say – put four together and it could provide power on one train with one driver. That was called multiple unit operation. That was something new as well, which came about with the diesel electric locomotives as well.
Annette: I was going to say, I think the freight trains do that still today.
Greg: They certainly do, Annette, they certainly do.
Annette: So, if they could link them up, did they link them up?
Greg: Yes, they did. They used to operate in multiples quite often out on the Etheridge line from Mount Surprise and Almaden and those areas out to Forsyth. They used to operate up to four on the one train for cattle trains and those sorts of trains. So yes, they used to operate multiple units very, very much.
Annette: Did they use the diesels for passenger trains or purely for freight?
Greg: Well, out on the Etheridge line, it was mixed trains. So, as we’ve spoken about in the past, there’s a mixture of a freight goods train and also passenger carriages as well, or a passenger carriage. So, the whole box and dice, Annette, very, very much so.
Podcast interviewee Melanie Fyfe, Manager of Regional Train Service Delivery, Queensland Rail
Annette: Fantastic. Mel, do you have any childhood memories of the railway? I
Mel: I remember my grandparents would travel up to visit us in Mackay on the long distance trains, and it was a very exciting time to go and pick them up from the train when they arrived in Mackay. And they would always be very happy and relaxed, and always speak highly of their travel on the train. And the important thing for us was, it enabled them to still come and visit us when they no longer were able to drive the long distances in the car, but they were able to come on the train and still spend time with us as a family.
Annette: So, what made you want to join the railway?
Mel: For me, it was an opportunity to work in an organisation that had just a lot of different aspects to it, and a lot of different jobs that made up what was the railway. I think when I very first started, I probably had one percent appreciation for just how many roles and different activities happened in a broader railway environment. And at the time, that was just purely Queensland. That obviously became even more broader and encompassing when I was part of Aurizon, which was a national rail company and had operations in multiple states on the east coast and west coast of the country, and learnt a lot about just how many roles and activities that took place in that operation as well.
Annette: You must have really fallen in love with it to go to from one rail company to another rail company. Have you ever thought of straying outside of the railways? Or is it now a love?
Mel: People often ask me that, if I’ll ever leave the railways. And I think I do have a bit of a love for the railways; I do enjoy so many aspects of what the railways is, and has been over many years. Growing up, essentially, through the railways has been an important part of, and shaped a lot of my life and my life experiences, and opportunities that have come along the way. When I was in Aurizon, they had a program which was aimed at people in corporate areas who might be interested in getting into operations. And so I took the opportunity to put my hand up to be part of that project. At the time my role was crisis and emergency management, and one of the things that I enjoyed the most about my role at the time was when I would be able to get out to site and get involved in operations and the real running of the railway.
So I put my hand up for that, and through a series of short-term rotations across the whole country, I had the opportunity to learn all aspects of the operational environment. And for me, that’s what really kicked me into the operational side of Queensland Rail and Aurizon, and train operations, and has been a really good foundation to tackle many other things along the way, because you’ve had the opportunity to understand or work in a different part of the business for a period of time. And today my role is the Manager of Regional Train Service Delivery, and that includes managing the train drivers at each of our regional depots, including Cairns, Townsville, Emerald, Bundaberg, Toowoomba and Roma. Maybe one day I might leave the railway, but I still think I will have something to do with the rail industry in whatever I do, going forward.
Annette: Yes, I truly think it gets into your blood whether you intend it to or not.
Mel: Absolutely, absolutely.
The first journeys with the new diesel electric locomotives in 1952
Greg: Right, Annette. So, November of 1952, those first diesel electrics, DELs, which were the General Electric engines, they came into service. And the first one, actually, the first real – I’d suppose you’d say publicity run, it ran from Roma Street Station to Mitchelton and return. It was on a special test train, and that was to highlight the new mode of power to the public and everything like that. We’re talking about a big publicity drive for this. And that was on the 6th of November 1952. At that stage, the DEL number was actually 1213. So, yes, so that was the number of the first locomotive. They went through various class changes and number changes over the years.
Annette: I was going to say, because we talked about the A10 No. 6, and he was number 1170. And then we talk about a DL train being an 1150. And now this one is a 12 something.
Greg: When it first came into service it was 1213. When they retired in the 1980s, they were the 1150 Class locomotive. So reclassifications and classifications is something the Railways have been good at for many years. 1213 is actually just a continuance number. So steam locomotives ran up to 1096 or something like that, different engine numbers. They just continued on with a continuance number until they actually came up – I guess you’d say with a class specification for the engine. So it was all like 1213 Class and that’s it, similar to the 2900 Classes today that they’re introducing as well, to class numbering with the continuance number there.
Now, if we go back to 6th of November 1952 that ran from Roma Street to Mitchelton, it had a special air conditioned train, which was a test train as well. At that stage, Annette, also the first of the Lander carriages were coming in. So that was going to be for the Inlander, for operation between Townsville and Mount Isa. So again, you can see what’s happening here. A big publicity drive. There’s air conditioned trains coming in. New mode of power. So we’re showing off to the public this modern version, these modern innovations coming to the Queensland Railways. The next day, on the 7th of November 1952, the DEL, 1213 again, it actually used on a suburban service and it ran from Roma Street out to Ipswich.
A well-publicised first journey for the new locomotives
One of the great things was there was this incredible pamphlet produced by the Queensland Railways. And that was by our Publicity Department back then. They actually put a special pamphlet out with the test runs, and if I can quote from this, I’d like to read from it. It’s fascinating stuff. “No longer are coal and soot inseparable from the railways. It’s extremely doubtful if Dr. Rudolph Diesel, who was born in Paris on March 18th, 1858, during the years of his development of the principle, visualised what a great contribution to railway traction the engine which bears his name would ultimately make." That’s the diesel engine.
The pamphlet went on to describe how the steam locomotive was “A well tried and well proved machine, which was, and still were ideal for certain classes of work." But based on the economical service life of 25 years, as compared with 85 years for a steam locomotive. So diesel locomotives, they were estimated to have a working life of 25 years, but steam locomotives are 85 years. So it does give you an idea of the longevity of the steam locomotive or the designs behind it. The diesel electric, having regard to greater availability for service, number one, operating and maintenance cost compares more than favourably with the steam locomotive.
It’s a matter of economics, Annette. The steam locomotive required to be frequently cold and watered and required those boiler washouts we mentioned before that was supposed to happen every 10 days. The diesel electric was capable of almost continuous running, crews being changed at station platforms and the locomotive is refuelled as necessary.
More economical form of motive power
Annette: So, I’m interested because you’re saying it was economical to go to a diesel train that had a third of the life of a steam train. So even replacing the train three times still made it cheaper than running coal?
Greg: That’s right. There’s not the labour involved. There’s not the fuelling costs, the time out of service for boiler washouts, as they mentioned. The entire workshop infrastructure went behind it. The preparation time’s not there, the disposal time. You could run a diesel locomotive into a station, as I said, you change your crew there and off you go again. It was quite remarkable. I think here in Toowoomba, the amount of freight traffic that used to be generated, steam trains taking time to get it out. When the first diesels came in, they’d clear the hut very quickly over a weekend of all the – of basically a lot of the rolling stock that was required in wagons. So that gives you an idea of the impact and the economics that went with it.
In the state archives – and this goes back many, many years ago – I was reading some of the documents there, and we’re talking about the 1950s and talking about the introduction of things like steam locomotives, that era, and diesels. And in those documents, they did not foresee the end of steam locomotive operations in Queensland until 1985. So they were building new depots and that in the early 1950s and late ‘40s. But there was an expectation steam would still be operating in Queensland until 1985 on a regular basis, mainly for freight workings and things like that. So having been around in 1985, I did see steam locomotives, but they were on excursion works and not in every regular service or anything like that.
The 1150 class diesel electric locomotives
All right, so let’s go back, Annette, and let’s talk about the 1150 Class, as they were called when they were withdrawn from service. Now, they were the first diesels purchased by the Queensland railways. They had a hood design, which was basically a cab, enclosed cab. They had a short nose on the front and the long engine compartment. So they were called the hood design. They were built by the General Electric Transportation Company of Erie in Pennsylvania in 1952 and ‘53. Numberings. Okay, they were initially numbered from 1210 to 1219. Now, in 1956, they were renumbered as the 1300 Class. So we’re talking about classes and classifications, so we’re getting into that now.
In 1956, an additional three were delivered by Goninan & Company in Broadmeadow in New South Wales. So they had the capacity there to start constructing diesel electric locomotives in Australia under license. In 1962, the 1306 became the first diesel electric locomotive in Queensland to log a million miles. So you’re having a look at that, that’s just over 10 years of service. So it’s running nearly 100,000 miles a year on average. So the economics in this is incredible. And the fact that they’ve got these long legs, they can keep running. It’s basically fuel them and keep them going. There was another renumbering in 1965, and this is when they became the 1150 Class.
Annette: This sounds like a historian’s nightmare. How many times can they renumber them?
Greg: Well, it really depends on what you call it. But, yes, probably these ones, those were the most probable renumberings and things like that. So when they came into service, they were initially used for a lot of heavy freight work, I suppose you’d say. So they hauled wheat here in the Darling Downs; they went up the North Coast line; they went out on the Western line, so they were running out from Townsville to those places, to Charters Towers and things like that. By the 1980s, those original pioneered diesel electrics, the 1150 Class, they were down to about half a dozen from the original dozen. They were actually all based at Townsville. And they became fairly well known there. By the end of the 1980s, they’d all been retired. And that was the story of our first one. So they had about 35 years in service. 25 years, they thought in 1952. 35 years by the 1980s. So they certainly proved their worth, definitely, Annette.
Annette: Yes, definitely. Now, I’ve just noticed, Greg, we had the first diesel locos were still being built, the first four, in 1961, or the last two were released in 1961. But we got the diesel electrics in 1950s.
Greg: Mm-hmm. Yes.
Annette: So we were still making plain old diesel locos?
Greg: There were only four of those really came into service, when you think about up until – well, there was only one in service, two when you got into 1952. But especially after – into the 1950s, but definitely into the ‘60s, because of the large numbers of locomotives that were being produced, they were being produced here in Queensland or in other parts of Australia. But Queensland, now, Applied Engineering had works at Eagle Farm down in Brisbane; English Electric out at Rocklea. So they were all being built locally, but built under licence. Very, very much so.
What is the difference between a DL (Diesel Locomotive) and a DEL Diesel Eletric Locomotive
Annette: So, while we’re talking about this, Greg, can you tell me the main difference between a DL and a DEL?
Greg: Yes, pretty simply, a DL is a diesel locomotive. Think of a diesel car, think of a diesel truck. It’s a direct drive. So basically, you think of driving a diesel truck, it’s a straight drive. Diesel, electric locomotive is a diesel engine powers an electric generator, which generates traction to the bogies, into the motors. So it’s actually – you’d probably call it a hybrid system in this day and age – but diesel electric, it’s more economical and actually produces more – it also produces more power as well too. And it’s very good with the direct drive with traction motors as well. So it provides continuous power. Diesel is basically in many ways like a diesel engine or a diesel truck on rails.
Annette: Okay. So, which one would have been more economical to run, service and maintain long term?
And easier to maintain
Greg: For a simple place, if you think about it, if you’re running out in outback Queensland, in places like Mount Surprise and Forsyth, a diesel engine is simple, it’s pretty reliable, local fuel. However, again, with diesel electric locomotives that were coming in, you think about it, there’s a big investment in that, Annette, because you had to train your fitters, especially in a new form of traction, diesel electric; working on electric engines; working on traction engines. So they had to bring a whole level of training into these things as well too, and an ability to repair it as well. So it’s a really big investment that went with it.
So probably the easiest thing is diesel engine, fairly easy. You think of your diesel truck or something like that. Diesel electric, the technology was actually probably pioneered on submarines in the early part of the Second World War. Diesel electrics, diesel engines charging electric things and driving electric motors as well.
Annette: Now, just for my interest, the freight trains that run now, they’re diesel trains?
Greg: Diesel electrics, that’s right.
Annette: Diesel electric trains.
Greg: They are indeed, yes.
Annette: Are they still pretty similar to the original design we had in the ‘50s, or has their technology come a long way since then?
Greg: Well, basically it’s a continuance, but it’s very recognisable. It’s a diesel engine driving the electric engine, the power of the traction motors and that. Still is that same technology. Very recognisable in design and everything like that. Modified of course, for – they’ve got air conditioning now and different improved braking systems. More fuel efficient of course, and everything like that. But there is that basis that you can trace it back to the 1950s. There are a lot of similarities in the design and the concept that goes with them.
Annette: Thank you. And I have one more for you.
Greg: Of course you do. Yes.
Annette: So, we were talking about 1950s when they introduced the diesel electric trains. They had air conditioning.
Greg: Air conditioned trains, but not in the locomotives. They had fans, and they had hot plates, so they could boil the billy and that. Air conditioning actually only came in probably in the 1990s for the diesel locomotives. But a lot of them didn’t need them because they got fans, but they could open windows, going along, and it was a lot more comfortable in the seats and everything like that. They had proper seats, bucket seats, to drive in and things like that. So it was a lot more comfortable than the steam locomotive, than running around in one of those. Much more comfortable for the crews.
Quite a number of the old drivers that I spoke to over the years said the amount of weight that they put on, because compared to driving a steam train and a steam locomotive, how physically active you had to be, they said once they got on the locomotives, they put on weight because the labour wasn’t there. They weren’t labour intensive. And that was another change that they had to come through as well with the crews that went to them as well. One fellow described to me, he went from a beanpole to a well-proportioned gentleman over a period of time as a result.
Podcast interviewee Melanie Fyfe, Manager of Regional Train Service Delivery, Queensland Rail
Annette: Mel, can you share a career highlight with us?
Mel: A career highlight for me would be how we, as a business in travel and tourism, have managed many disruptions over the few years that I’ve been here. Not long after I recommenced at Queensland Rail, we went into COVID, which had a significant impact on travel and tourism patronage, as part of the broader impact across the whole economy and the world for a number of years. We also have had significant weather events, i.e. the flooding from last year and other wet weather events. And this year has been another busy year already.
Plus the seasonal challenges we get with the wonderful state of Queensland, and the weather that we see right up and down the state. And one of the things that I’m always very proud of in our business and our people is, you can never question the pride and the dedication of the team. And that’s from drivers, rail operators, managers, customers, customer service teams, to really put our best foot forward when things are out of plan or not exactly going to plan, and coming together to put a plan in place and continue some form of operations throughout those periods. So I think that’s one of the things that I’m proud of.
Annette: Yes, I agree. I’m curious. You keep calling a rail operator, and then sometimes a rail driver. What’s the difference between the two?
Mel: A rail operator is sometimes more commonly referred to as a shunter. They do a lot of the groundwork up in Cairns for us. That’s the only depot we have that has rail operators. And they control all of the movements of trains in and out of Portsmith yard and into the Portsmith maintenance facility as well there. So they play an integral role in arriving and departing and shunting within the yard to enable the rolling stock team to work on our carriages, [unclear] 00: 43: 26, and locos for travel train services to continue.
Annette: Do you have regional train drivers as part of your team?
Mel: Yes, there’s 124 drivers across all of the regional train driver depots. And they have a range of experience, not only in Queensland Rail, but in the rail industry itself. We recently celebrated a rail operator up in Cairns who has just reached a 50-year milestone in Queensland Rail, which is absolutely significant. And I know in the next 12 to 18 months, we have a few drivers that will come into that same kind of length of service, which, as we all appreciate in Queensland Rail, just isn’t something that you see in the community anymore. And it’s really something worth celebrating, from my perspective.
We also have the broad range of all the different people in between. We have drivers that are very new on their journey and have only been train drivers for 18 months or two years. And we’ve got other drivers who’ve spent time in Queensland Rail, worked for another operator, be it in Queensland or another state, and have come back and commenced work with Queensland Rail again. One of the things that I really enjoy and appreciate from the drivers that I interact with when I go out to the depots, is they really love what they do, at the end of the day. And I get the feeling that they enjoy the opportunity to be a train driver in the town where they live. And they’re very keen to see those opportunities for regional drivers in these regional communities into the future, as part of continuing the longevity of Queensland Rail’s presence right across the state of Queensland.
Choosing between American and British design
Greg: When those first DELs came in to operate in Queensland, we said they were from General Electric. The next source, they came from Britain. So, Queensland hedged its bets and went to the United States; the traditional ties to Britain as well. And they were producing English electric locomotives. So the next one that came in was the 1200 Class. Some of our listeners well remember these and they had actually a streamlined design. You would have seen photographs of those. They’ve got – it’s streamlined, it’s got the nose and it’s got windows and a full cab body in there.
I saw a designer one time back in the early 2000s, we were doing some work with the market design, and he was incredible. He said, “Oh," he said, “what a funky looking locomotive and train." And I said, “Well, funky is not a term they probably used in the 1950s", but there you go, sort of thing with it. Those 1200 Class were introduced in 1953. They were built at the Vulcan Foundry in the UK by English Electric and then imported to Australia. What was interesting, Vulcan Foundry in the late 1940s built steam locomotives for Queensland. So they built the steamies, and then they built those English Electrics for us here. They were the only full width body loco or streamliner I mentioned before used in Queensland.
Publicity for the new locomotives
And for a lot of people in those 1950s, those early ‘50s, they think of the Lander trains, the air conditioned trains, the Sunlander, the Midlander, Inlander and the Westlander. And a lot of the publicity photographs used that, because there was a nice streamlined look, full body train, I suppose you’d say. And they were introduced in 1953 to 1954. And just a couple of those earlier diesel designs, because we are talking about the beginning and the introduction in the early ‘50s and that. Clyde Engineering in New South Wales, they built homegrown ones, that was in 1955 for Queensland. They were an electromotive diesel G12 Class. They were introduced to Queensland and we also purchased it along with two demonstrators, as they called them, which were under construction.
Queensland actually took locomotives that were being built by companies, I suppose those demonstration units. You know, you go to a showroom today and get a demonstration car to drive, similar patterns, to assess them, see how they went. They also placed an order for a further 10 after that. Now, here we go with numberings and that, Annette. But those first three, those Clyde Engineering engines that were introduced, they were initially known as the 1230 to 1232 numbers. So, early days it was a bit confusing with that continuance –
Classification of the new diesel electric locomotives
Annette: Early days it was a bit confusing.
Greg: Yes, I know. Have no worries, Annette, have no worries. We’ve got good books to help us out. They were later reclassified as the 1400 Class, and these were like the big main line diesels. Interestingly enough, they were tested in New South Wales, and they put them on the standard gauge, you know, with their own bogies. And then after they were transported to Queensland, they then put the Queensland bogies underneath to run on our gauge. So that’s a standard looking design, but you make those modifications to operate in Queensland. And the last of the early introductory ones, is the 1170 Class. They were built by Walkers Limited of Maryborough in the 1950s.
At the same time that Walkers were building diesels that would help take them into future contracts with the railways, they were producing the last steam locomotives for the Queensland railways. So again, you’ve got this thing, the steam engines being built and introduced by Walkers, and they’re building diesels [since that] 00: 48: 58. They were nicknamed pawpaws, and it’s not after the fruit. It’s actually after – from a cartoon strip of the day, comic strip, I think it was in the Courier Mail. And there was a racehorse called Pawpaw. And there was actually – it was a contemporary cartoon strip, so they were called pawpaw; and I think there was mango, but for some reason they were called pawpaw.
They were also the – those 1170s, they were also the first diesel branch line locomotives in Queensland. So they could operate on branch lines, which was important. The other ones were main line diesels, to operate heavier locomotives. And they were also Walkers Limited first diesel electric locomotives that they built.
A big change with the new locomotives
Annette: So, just in summary, Greg, how did that change the rail landscape?
Greg: It changed the revolution. One of the interesting things is, down at Mayne in Brisbane, when those first diesels came in in the 1950s, there was no special depot for them or anything like that. It was sort of like – there was a shed that was eventually built there, but they were housed there and it was like a shared shed. So there was nothing special that was brought in. But as the diesels became more and more part of the railway landscape, then you think about new depots being built for them, special servicing depots, places like that in the 1960s. The Redbank locomotive workshops, eventually they had the ability to overhaul locomotives there, and to service the locomotives that went with them.
So, there was a whole new change that went with it. And as I said, that meant so much. And I think the big thing was, by the 1960s with the railway branch lines – there were closures in the 1960s, but other lines, because they bought in lightweight diesel locomotives, allowed that transition, and allowed the cost savings that went with it as well too. But yes, it’s interesting. You look back 70 years now and people – you think about the introduction of those diesels, there was a lot of publicity, as we said, that went into it, to convince people that it was clean, it was efficient, it was comfortable, and it was fast. It was a revolution in so many ways. And really, believe it or not, I think we’re still seeing elements of that today.
Annette: Yes, I think we do too. So, actually one more question, sorry.
Greg: With pleasure.
Annette: We talked about the A10 in our last episode.
Greg: We did.
Annette: And his top speed was 50 kilometres an hour on a great day.
Greg: Thank you very much, Annette, yes.
Annette: What was the speed of these diesels?
Greg: Well, actually, main line locomotives, 90 kilometres an hour, 100 kilometres an hour, very quick. And the interesting thing, Annette, you got that power from the word go. Steam locomotives, you literally have to build up the momentum and things like that. But this was continual power. That was the thing. When you drove these things, there was always specified a constant supply of power. It didn’t require momentum. You didn’t have to work with boiler pressure. It didn’t require ups and downs, momentum. The power was always there. You think about work with throttles, you think about an accelerator on a vehicle. You press it, you’ve got power. That was a great difference with them as well too.
Annette: That would have made a huge difference to passengers travelling by rail.
Greg: It still makes a difference today, yes.
Podcast interviewee Melanie Fyfe, Manager of Regional Train Service Delivery, Queensland Rail
Annette: Mel, what do you love about working here?
Mel: What I love about working for Queensland Rail is the opportunity to get out into the regions and talk with the drivers and other representatives from Queensland Rail and the regions, to really help share with them the importance of what they do and give them visibility into the impact of their activities. So we cannot continue to run services when we don’t have train drivers, track workers, network control staff that keep all of these things happening. And I like to ensure that we communicate what’s happening around the organisation, and particularly in our part of the business, so that they understand the value that they contribute to connecting communities and delivering for our passengers.
Annette: Awesome. Thank you. Yes, it’s nice to know that people feel valued and that you get out and share that with them. Do you have a favourite regional line that you’ve travelled along in the cab?
Greg: Toowoomba.
Mel: Oh, I can’t pick favourites. That could be dangerous. Only last – well, no, I can’t say I have. They’re all different. Only last week I was in a cab with the drivers heading up to Kuranda on our KSR service, which is always just breathtakingly beautiful in that environment in the tropical rainforest. I also enjoy heading west where there’s vast open plains, open areas, and the sunsets that you see in that part of the world are pretty amazing as well. So I can’t say I have a favourite; I appreciate them all.
Annette: Yes, it’s like children; they’re all different and special in their own way.
Mel: Yes.
Greg: Like me.
Annette: Yes, Greg, just like you.
Thank you so much for listening to today’s episode of the Queensland Rail History podcast, where we discussed the diesel revolution. And a special thanks to our guest, Melanie Fyfe. If you have any questions about our rail history, please email Greg. He’d 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’d like us to feature on 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.