THE TRAINS - Weekly Notices
SOUTH AUSTRALIAN RAILWAYS WEEKLY NOTICES
This index to Weekly Notices is a selective index, concentrating of items considered relevant to researchers on aspects of railway operations in South Australia.
A typical Weekly Notice contained the following that are not included in this index:
- List of placards etc. issued.
- Season tickets and passes lost.
- Registered schools and name of person authorised to sign certificates.
- Vacancies.
- Appointments.
- Temporary reduction of speed of trains.
- Ambulance lectures and competitions
- Missing (and surplus) goods, parcels, and luggage.
Weekly Notices commenced in 1906 and it was a requirement that they be kept. As stations and departments of the South Australian Railways closed during the 1970s complete collections of Weekly Notices (either bound or neatly bundled) found their way into public and private collections. Although Weekly Notices did have their own annual indices, they have not been found useful when conducting historical research.
The most accessible public collection of Weekly Notices is held at the Port Dock Railway Museum.
This index will be of limited use to researchers seeking information on an individual employed by the South Australian Railways. Weekly Notices contain this information, generally within the 'Appointments', 'Ambulance examinations', and 'Commendations'. We understand that the Port Dock Railway Museum is in the process of compiling such and index.
Points of relevance relating to this index.
For most volumes, there are some copies either missing, or incomplete (in the writer's collection). It is intended to complete these listings by accessing the Port Dock collection.
Some of the years are shown as an 'interim listing'. The writer had indexed these volumes many years ago. The volumes indexed more recently have included more substance, and the intention is to eventually re-do the volumes of the 'interim listings'.
Accessing the index.
The index is a chronological listing of each year. A researcher dealing with a broad topic (For example the Morgan line) would be best to scroll through the index of each volume, because there will be frequent references to either the Morgan line or its stations.
For a very specific research (for example the local history of Gulnare), it will be easier to use the website 'search facility', but in this case we would also recommend a search of 'Gladstone line' and 'Western System'.
Locomotive classes. Within weekly notices engine classes are shown as 'T' class or 'Rx' class. In this index they are shown as T class or Rx class. The change has been made to suit the website search facility.
Many of the instructions relate to the Pinnaroo railway that had been opened the previous year. The light construction of that railway required that goods for its stations be loaded only in N trucks, and goods loaded in heavier vehicles had to be transferred at Murray Bridge. In later years both administration and employees of the South Australian Railways became deeply involved in First Aid instruction and competition, and this involvement is reflected in the Weekly Notices of those years. In 1907 we see the start of the First Aid movement with the call for staff to undertake St John Ambulance education. Railway telephones had to be disinfected on a daily basis, and a recipe for mixing dilute Formalin for that task is included. Card tables were provided for long distance trains at a cost of six pence per trip, and some stations were selling railway postcards in packs of twelve for a shilling. New Joint Stock carriages were introduced on the Melbourne Express, and special instructions were issued relating to ticket inspection of passengers in the lavatories. The Exhibition siding had a low tunnel that went under King William Road. The railway from Port Lincoln to Cummins was opened.
Double-line working to Mitcham was the great achievement of 1908. The South Terrace to Glenelg Railway features prominently in the instructions for that year. Remember that the South line (to Mitcham) and the Glenelg line, crossed on the level at Goodwood.
We see here instructions for one of the great innovations of rail passenger comfort, that was destined to survive to the diesel era - McLaren's patent footwarmers. And there are references to 'motor cars', which were not rubber-tyred road conveyances, but steam motor coaches of the of the 'Coffee Pot' type. Railway Commissioner, Alan Pendleton retired and in his honour, the employees subscribed the 'Pendleton Railway Cot', in perpetuity, to the Adelaide Childrens' Hospital, to provide hospital accommodation for the children of railway employees.
One of the recurring features of Weekly Notices records the changes of names of stations and sidings. We can only wonder at the logic that drove the Railways Department to abandon Dismal Swamp and Blackfellows Creek, which were respectively changed to Suttons and Nilpena.
The broad-gauge leg of the Broken Hill Express was now lit by "Stone's" electric light, and for an extra two shillings passengers could travel in the parlour car with its observation end at the rear of the train: but what was there to observe from the rear of an express that left the Adelaide Railway Station at 7.00 pm? Uniformed staff were eligible, on application to the General Traffic Manager, for puggarees. Special instructions related to the discovery of remains of aboriginal natives on Crown Land, whilst corpses on wharves paid two shillings. The not yet dead could use the ambulance car provided they gave 24 hours notice. The Railways Commissioner introduced an annual garden competition for stations, and the Angaston line was opened. Victor Harbour had a suburban tramcar service to the Hindmarsh Bridge. What, you ask, was a puggaree? A shade cloth hanging from the back of a hat.
CLICK ON THE BLUE 'YEAR' OF EACH ENTRY TO OPEN UP THE FULL LIST OF HISTORICALLY USEFUL ITEMS CONTAINED IN THE WEEKLY NOTICES OF THAT YEAR. MOST YEARS HAD 50 OR 51 WEEKLY NOTICES; OCCASIONALLY THERE WERE 52.
Whilst the year opened with a small stretch of double-line working on the Glenelg line, the greater part of the railway system was single-line working, for which a fail-safe system of operation was required. During 1912, the electric-staff system of single-line safe working was introduced on the main routes. As a safe-working system it survived another 70 years, during which time it functioned with perfect reliability.
The line to Paringa was opened, and the South Australian Railways got serious with the internal combustion engine, with its solitary Caldwell Vale rail motor car. Meanwhile the South line trains snorted their way to Mount Lofty with one engine pulling and another pushing.
A momentous year in world history, but on the South Australian Railways the most notable occurrence was the closing of the railway from Victoria Square to South Terrace. On the Western System, castor oil as a remedy for boiler prime was declared a failure, and on the metropolitan lines the collection of any dead animal along railway routes required only a call to the abattoirs.
Now here's a trivia piece of Australian history. When was the first Anzac Day commemoration? OK, we know that the troops landed at Gallipoli on the 25th of April that year. Well, Anzac day was on October 13th. In the suburbs the station staff were slack and apathetic, whilst on the expresses, ladies were causing havoc by occupying smoking compartments. Now, Adelaide folk could travel to Chicago without going overseas, and automatic chocolate machines appeared on platforms.
The people of seaside Glenelg were connected to the gas supply but the gas came by train. There were two 'gasholder' coaches that were filled from the gas main at the Morphett Street platform of the Adelaide station, and these were attached to trains to be taken along the Holdfast Bay (North Terrace to Glenelg Railway) line to the St. Leonards yard. We can only assume that the Commissioner of Railways was comfortable that this was a perfectly safe operation, and note that there is nothing in the pages of history noting the disastrous consequence of engine and 'gasholder' coaches coming into collision.
This was the year that the railway between Port Augusta and Kalgoorlie was opened, and the goods shed at Eurelia turned into a refreshment room for the convenience of the interstate travellers. At Exeter, on Semaphore Road the tramcars competed with the trains, and a tramway crossing, complete with signal cabin was built to cross the railway line. Meanwhile, in the Murray Lands, there was chaos, with goods for Toora being sent to Koora, and rather than change then name of one, both got changed.
Three years and more into the Great War, the way to victory was to obliterate the German place names from the map of South Australia. Railway employees were invited to France to build and operate military lines. The Clare line was opened, and at Semaphore, the stationmaster, each day at noon, waited for the time-ball signal, and telegraphed the correct time to other stations.
This was not a good year to travel on trains. First there was the Spanish Influenza epidemic that put quarantine restrictions on interstate travel, and required all carriages to travel with windows open. The latter was probably little inconvenience when imposed in the summer, but it appears that the requirement persisted to mid-winter. Then the coal supplies became scarce, and it was hard to know which train services had been cancelled, and which hadn't.
A spectacularly boring year of railway events. On the Commonwealth lines, there were restrictions placed on the travel of dogs, pigeons and Afghans. The pigeons were restricted to 16 crates on a train, dogs were not allowed in the brakevans of passenger trains, but the poor Afghans were totally banned from any train out of Port Augusta. If the Afghan ban had remained, the story of the solitary Afghan who got off the first Marree sleeping-car train would not have happened, and Australia's most legendary named-train would have been named by something almost as boring as 1920 itself. But officialdom relented after a couple of weeks, and decreed that Afghans were banned only from the Trans-Australian line - they were free to ride on the Oodnadatta trains.
1921
Yet to be indexed
In the history of the South Australian Railways, this was a turbulent turning point when the choice of an American as Chief Commissioner of Railways, caused lasting political bitterness. Yet Weekly Notices of 1922 seem to have plodded on as if nothing had changed. The year started with the opening of the railway to Spalding. Licensed luggage porters were introduced at the Adelaide railway station. On the Commonwealth Railways dogs could now travel on passenger trains and be fed from the dining car.
Chief Commissioner W. A. Webb was now in control, and in 1923 we see the administrative overhaul of the South Australian Railways, but the public would have to wait until 1924 before the visible changes would begin.
One of the great legends of of Australian railway history occurred in this year. A sleeping car service commenced between Marree and Quorn, and when the first sleeping car train from Marree arrived in Quorn, a group of curious railway workers was eager to see who had travelled on the new service. From the sleeping car there emerged a sole occupant resplendent in his arabic garb. One of the onlookers commented to the effect that they'd have to call the new train the Afghan express. From Weekly Notice Number 35, we can be confident that this historic event took place on the morning of 5th September.
The press and parliamentary criticism of the money being consumed by the Railways Department was obviously having an adverse effect on staff morale. But finally the public could see things starting to happen with the improved passenger services provided by the Model 55 rail motor 'service' passenger cars. Engines got electric headlights, the train-control system was introduced, and snakes paid double - fare.
A year of cleaning out a lot antiquities (including some septuagenarian employees) and smartening the system ready for the big engines, of which a new Murray bridge was the most visible sign. Improvements to the North Terrace to Glenelg railway included three-position signalling and indicate that the line's demise was not then on the agenda. The opening of the Red Hill and Yinkanie lines respectively epitomised the useful and the useless expansion of the railway network.
For the South Australian Railways, this will always be regarded as its 'annus mirabilis'. This was the year of the big engines, and marked the turn around, as far as morale was concerned, for both railway staff and South Australian public, both of which had long laboured with a backward railway system.
Acting Engineman Smith was the hero of the year, in charge of train No. 240 (the Up Melbourne Express) when the throttle jammed open near Keith. Yet he courageously let the 600 class Pacific have its head, to deliver the express to Tailem Bend on time. History does not tell us how he stopped the beast when it got there!
The gauge-conversion of the former Western System eliminated break of gauge problems at Hamley Bridge, Bowmans, and Snowtown, and replaced them with one at Gladstone. Railways Commissioner James McGuire, who had had been a loyal and respected ally of Chief Commissioner Webb, died just five days short of his intended retirement. There was much ado about engine 706 being fitted with a locomotive booster (a low speed gearbox) until it was found that the modification had made the engine too heavy for the tracks it was supposed to work.
Weekly Notices of the Webb era were notable for their homilies on the front cover, but who was writing them? Was it the Chief Commissioner himself, or were they a steal from elsewhere. Take the example of 'Perhaps of all actions into which the evil passions of humanity are led, there is none more base than that of writing an anonymous letter', to which we can only attribute it to 'Anon'! The great achievement of 1928 was the charity 'King of Transport' quest, that found a use for both the General Traffic Manager (Mr. A. N. Day), and the brand new banqueting hall of the new Adelaide Railway station. There were new lines to Barmera and Rumbala (north of Oodnadatta), double track to Belair, and a new marshalling yard at Dry Creek. The Melbourne Express got its new Pullman sleeping cars, and they, in turn, got a special gadget to roll the toilet paper.
Lots of new signals, but otherwise it seems that all the things that had needed to be fixed under the Railways Rehabilitation Scheme had been done. The Superintendent, Adelaide, wrote a treatise outlining the improvements in efficiency of freight transportation. The colourful era of the Glenelg railways came to an end, and the Central Australian Railway was completed to Stuart (now known as Alice Springs). Flashing light level crossing signals were introduced.
Commissioner W. A. Webb departs, and C. B. Anderson is the new Railways Commissioner. The Melbourne Express loses its dining car 'Adelaide' as the hard times bite in. Now Central Australia, with its new railway, has become so respectable, as a tourist destination, that even ladies are welcome. Train Controllers have Sunday mornings off - cost cutting or a desire to involve the Almighty in the safer working of the system? Environmental issues emerge with a prohibition on the transportation of sandalwood.
Any excuse to make some money and save some money. Spare space in railcars was sold for advertising, issue of free timetable folders to children was prohibited, and government employees were urged to use the railways for all official travel. Ladies were causing a problem in the smoking compartments of railcars, and petrol fumes were causing a problem in the driving compartments. Fast freight between Melbourne and Perth took eight days.
Any train enthusiast with a box full of pictures from the 50s or 60s will be familiar with the designation discs on the front of trains. There was a diagonal cross for south line trains, a yellow diamond for the Willunga line, and vertical stripes for the Outer Harbour line, to name some examples. How did this system originate? We think the answer is contained herein. On the matter of railway terminology: 'Engine' or 'Locomotive' - which is more correct? Hitherto Weekly Notices generally used the former term, but in 1932 the latter seems to prevail, well certainly for the big engines - sorry, the big locomotives! Now from the big to the small! On the Penong line they did it all with a fortnightly run of a Casey-Jones trolley!
Austerity prevails. A lean list of capital acquisitions was headed by some signalling improvements on the Outer Harbour line, but also included a penny in the slot lock for the lavatory at Cummins.
Now there are a few signs that the worst of the great Depression was over. First there was the Easter railway 'cruise' by sleeping car to the Murray settlements, then there was the successful distribution, by rail, of the first run of "The Australian Womens' Weekly". In the Railways Department the staff of the timetables office seem to have been the busiest little railway bees, fiddling schedules in all directions and completely eliminating Sunday morning services in the suburbs. Not as busy was the Refreshment Rooms service, so the price of a meal was dropped by sixpence to encourage more business.
This was the year that the Melbourne Express became "The Overland".
Time for a party! What better excuse than 100 years of European settlement of South Australia. One of the presents was a brand new light-pacific passenger engine, the 620 class, that came complete with streamlining and a bit of chrome plating. And whilst the system couldn't deliver brand new carriages to match, what better way to knock up the "Centenary Limited" train for the new engine, than by doing a rebuild and a paint job on some old carriages.
The direct line from Adelaide to Port Augusta was opened, and created the world's only three-gauge railway yard (at that time) at Port Pirie. And paying the price of progress, the goods-shed refreshment rooms at Eurelia came to an end.
One of the more colourful operations in the history of the South Australian Railways was its small fleet of Faegol railcars that were originally road buses converted to rail.
Terowie lost its dining room and Orroroo lost its triangle. Between Peterborough and Belalie North they were running double-headed T class engines.
For the war effort, new railway lines are constructed to Hendon and Salisbury Munitions Works.
Another munitions line, to Finsbury. Rowland's Flat and a few other places lost their possessive 's'. The "Overland" Express got its roadside car, and there was a 'save coal' campaign.
The isolated and anachronistic little railway between Port Broughton and Mundoora was closed. Wartime measures included a new siding near Terowie, and arrangements for removing station name boards in case of air-raid. Sleeping cars were discontinued.
Special sidings for I.C.I. (Angaston), Cellulose, and Tube Mills, but otherwise not a year of great railway change. They even left timetables alone, other than one change for the Beachport line.
Other than the usual offerings of timetable changes, and station diagrams, the only other item of note was a new level crossing at Woodlands.
One week we find that the national emergency required the banning of pigs to Broken Hill. The next week we find that the war was over. Was it the pigs that didn't go to Broken Hill that finally won the war? The thin end of the wedge had the South Australian Railways using Leigh Creek coal for stoves in barracks. The "Victor Harbour Limited" was introduced with an all steel car consist, but no sooner done, than we had the "South Coast Limited".
Here we see the start of the South Eastern gauge widening project. There were a few stations having a change of name, and narrow-gauge babies had their Health Car.
The Railways Commissioner thanked staff for their efforts under the circumstances of the worst coal in the history of the railways. The cafeteria car was introduced for the East- West express.
A year of lean pickings in Weekly Notices.
Oil was now a fashionable fuel for steam locomotives and there was a tippler at Terowie to transfer the Leigh Creek coal, which all smelt of supply problems with black coal.
New business with Penrice limestone, and Kowulka gypsum. Twinette cars appeared on the "Overland" Express, and on country lines the 900 class carriages were a rebuild of some ancient 'Dog-box' carriages. The Tx class engines went back to the narrow-gauge.
A diesel fuelling depot at Mile End Junction was a sign of the new times, and Naracoorte people, with their new broad-gauge service, now had a sleeping car for all the trip from Adelaide.
Three new types of steam locomotive appeared in 1952. There were the broad-gauge 740 and 750 class that gave reliable service on the South Australian Railways over the next decade. The Peterborough Division acquired the 300 class Australian Standard Garratts that gave railway staff plenty to grumble about for the next year or two until their Beyer Garratts arrived. At stations everywhere, staff were busy counting paper cups into bundles of 25 or 50 to supply carriages and railcars. The Commonwealth Railways introduced its Budd cars.
The broad-gauge system was extended to Mount Gambier. We find that the suburban F class have been elevated from 'engine' status to 'locomotive', if in fact, there is a difference. The railway to Radium Hill was opened. The lines to Mount Hope and Buckleboo provided a goods train once a fortnight. The Peterborough Division got its 400 class Beyer Garratt locomotives.
1954
Yet to be indexed.
This was the year of the new 'Red Hen' 300 class suburban railcars, and the year that the "Bluebird" 250 class railcars worked to Moonta, Morgan, and Mount Gambier. On the "Overland" a breakfast tray service was introduced for sleeping car passengers. Duplicated track was extended to Oaklands. Boiler priming was a problem in F class engines on suburban running. In the South East, broad-gauge working was extended to Millicent.
Henceforth all suburban travellers were now equal with the incursions of the 300 class 'Red Hens', and the withdrawal of first-class travel on Bridgewater trains, Tracks at Murray Bridge and Morgan went underwater in the Murray River floods. Quorn's importance declined, with the opening of the new standard-gauge line. The 800 class English Electric diesel-electrics appeared The Beachport line closed.
Closure of the Glencoe line, and the section of railway from Grange to Henley Beach. Goods services between Quorn and Port Augusta, through Pichi Richi Pass, were terminated. The gauge-widening of the South East was nearly complete with a new yard at Lucindale.
Dynamic braking was a system whereby diesel-electric locomotives running down-grade, used their drive motors in generator-mode to slow their descent, and 'burnt' the electricity in big resistors in their roofs. Instructions relating to dynamic braking appeared in 1958. With the closure of Abbeville siding, Adelaide was now able to take its rightful place as the first on the abecedarian list of South Australia's railway stations.
The gauge-widening project that took over a decade to convert the narrow-gauge railways in the South East, was finally complete with broad-gauge trains running to Kingston. The new Holden factory at Elizabeth had its rail siding. In the suburbs there was a new station at Cheltenham, and at Northfield the turntable was removed.
The 830 class and 930 class Goodwin Alco diesels could work in multiple. The incursions of the diesels meant that turntables and triangles were becoming redundant, with Marino and Mount Barker respectively losing theirs.
The transition from steam to diesel was well advanced, but was not without its problems, one of which was that the more relaxed cab environment of the diesels was conducive to the crew nodding off - hence vigilance control devices, which were trialed in a couple of diesel engines. Construction of the Port Stanvac line was commenced. On the Grange line, the golfers no longer came by train, and their unusual Golf Links step-down station was closed. A mail car still operated the Yinkanie line. On the Waikerie line, Goondooloo had more 'o's than anywhere else on the railway system, and maybe that was why it was reopened after it closed. However, on the Morgan line, Eba, which had the honour of the shortest name on the system, drifted into history.
A year of many closings; like the Karoonda refreshments rooms, Radium Hill, the ticket agency at Keswick, and sidings at Yangya and Wippilka. Yet the Weekly Notices of 1962 are a rich resource for those interested in diagrams of track arrangements of stations.
The trains stopped running to Sedan, and the Mount Pleasant railway closed. Pinnaroo passenger trains were replaced by a bus. The Hills Hoists factory at Edwardstown lost its rail siding. The Port Stanvac line was open, and the 'Overland' made a connection at Sunshine, in Victoria, for passengers to Sydney by the Intercapital Daylight.
More turntables go, at Waikerie and Hamley Bridge. Gemmells and Yantaringa were closed, but a new platform was provided at suburban Lynton.
1965
Yet to be indexed
The front page of each Weekly Notice carried the clear instruction that it was For the information of Railway Staff Only. One good reason for this advice was that within Weekly Notices, there were often photographs of jumbled goods loads and other misfortunes arising from rough shunting or other lax work practices. This was with the good intention of preventing claims, but to the outsider may have suggested that the railways system was being run by a flock of popinjays. That it was not, is illustrated by a letter of appreciation from the Director of Loxton Milling, who estimated that from 1934, his Company had sent about 150,000 tons of product to the wharves, but could only recall one truckload missing the boat, due to a hot box.
There was a new line to the Kevin gypsum deposits, and a start was made on the Chowilla Tramway. The Ambleside station closed. Thrington was closed too, but the Moonta railcar still had to stop there to exchange the mails. The Railway Refreshment Services proved their versatility by catering for the opening if the Bolivar Sewerage Works, and then planned a six-course Christmas Dinner complete with community singing. Brill model 75 railcars could haul goods vans depending on whether they had Cummins or Gardner diesel engines. At Port Pirie, narrow-gauge sheep and cattle had to change trains before they could get off. At Keswick, the junction to the Showgrounds siding was removed, and a new Keswick bridge was commenced. Locomotives and railcars kept their headlights on during the day.
Port Pirie's Ellen Street railway line and station passed into history, with the opening of the new Port Pirie station. The Railway Refreshment Rooms at Gladstone and Alawoona closed. Suburban travellers on the Tonsley and Finsbury lines had to endure the confusion of station names being changed. At North Gawler, train movements across the Murray Street crossing were still protected by the station porter with his 'Stop' disc. Broad-gauge livestock arriving at Port Pirie now had to change to the standard-gauge train before alighting. For Christmas Dinner, the old Railway Dining Room was now the "Overland Dining Room", and the menu included a vocalist, with Chaterbriand Sauce. On the South line a new siding was constructed near Kinchina, where stone for the Chowilla Dam was to be quarried.
Rail passenger services ceased on the Eyre Peninsula lines, and on the lines to Milang, Truro, Angaston, and Eudunda. Over the border, the Pinnaroo to Ouyen railcar service met a similar fate. Standardisation works of the Port Pirie to Cockburn railway saw major changes at Port Pirie, Gladstone, and Peterborough. The latter got its new platform. An emergency at the Marlin Gas Well in Bass Straight tested the railways' ability to rapidly shift barytes interstate. Trains to the seaside were coping poorly with the increased demand on long fishing rods and exposed hooks. The railways carted water to Kimba, but Noarlunga had to do without. Chinbingina was one of the more poetic name places on the system, but poetry had no place when stations had to be closed.
For practical purposes, this was the last (full) year of steam operation on the system, and saw the withdrawal of many steam facilities. Steam's last great triumph saw the approval of 400 class Beyer Garratt working on the Quorn line (even though the reality only happened once). The standardisation of the Port Pirie to Broken Hill line was nearly complete, and staff were invited to suggest a name for the new Sydney-Perth express. The Willunga and Morgan lines were closed, and rail passenger services to Moonta, Quorn and Wilmington were ceased. Married female staff were encouraged to keep working. Even in 1969, we suspect that 46 cents was petty cash, yet great effort had been made to alert all staff of a missing refund voucher to that amount! The year ended with the fattest Weekly Notice ever produced, and full of instructions relating to the new standard-gauge railway.
The Silverton Tramway Company was evidently determined to make the most while it could, and started the year by increasing the ore rate, even though its mainline business would cease in less than two weeks. 'The Indian Pacific' began its twice weekly run in March. The old 'Cheer-up-hut' of the South Australian Railways Institute had to go for the sake of culture. The Milang railway closed. Special instructions related to "Overland" Club Cars, and head-end electrical supply for 'Overland' cars. On the Port Lincoln Division, the T class steam engines were not entirely extinct, and could claim the last mention of steam in the story of Weekly Notices. Christmas dinner in the Overland Dining Room was now $5.50 but with the choice of half lobster in the shell as an entree.
There was no Christmas menu for the Overland Dining Room this year. The Cambrai line goods service was reduced to an 'as required' arrangement, an arrangement that in other cases had prognosticated a line's closure - yet more than thirty years on the trains are still running north from Monarto South, even if not all the way to Cambrai. Further east the Yinkanie lined was closed.
'Overland' passengers arriving for the Festival of Arts were greeted with bunches of flowers by Railway girls. Centralised traffic control was commenced between Tailem Bend and Wolseley, and gave promise of faster movement. For a while it was on and then off again, but eventually they got it right. It was slower going on the Waikerie line, which still had a mixed train service that took seven hours from Tailem Bend to the terminus. Uniform trousers now came with the option of buttons or zips. The railway between Stirling North and Hawker was closed, and the one from Port Augusta to Whyalla was opened. And to any railway enthusiast who may have a Woodville North to Finsbury Stores, Token staff No. 1 in their collection - be warned that it is hot.
Railways Commissioner, Ronald Fitch retired, and Murray Stockley became the last Commissioner of the South Australian Railways. Everything went Metric, and the size of Weekly Notices was no exception. The old mileposts along the lines were replaced by Km posts and half-posts as well. On the Glanville to Semaphore line the old Winter's Block method of safeworking was replaced with something newer. The spiking of the points to the Chowilla siding marked the finality of a grand water scheme that was environmentally flawed. Islington Workshoops were running short of cast iron to make brake-blocks and staff were asked to contribute. On the Karoonda to Peebinga line the mail car was still running. For decades the South Australian Railways had provided a concessional service to Parachilna for the hostel for tubercular soldiers, but if there were still any old soldiers in 1973, full rates became applicable. Closures included many sidings, the Murray Bridge refreshment rooms, and the co-ordinated bus service to Port Broughton.
1974 onwards are yet to be indexed.
Weekly Notices continued to be published by the South Australian Railways, and then the Rail Division of the State Transport Authority as it became known, in the lead-up to the take-over of country services by the Australian National Railways on 1st March 1978.
Australian National Railways continued Weekly Notices covering the combined territories of the old South Australian Railways, and Commonwealth Railways, however staff material was transferred to a new publication called "Staff Notices". Thereafter Weekly Notices continued, last being issued on 17th August 1989. Thereafter the material was distributed by computerised notices.