A set of Spirit of Progress carriages reached Sydney from Melbourne on 15 April 1962. At Albury, the diesel locomotive that had brought them north gave way to two New South Wales steam engines, 3830 and 3813. Railway enthusiasts had bought tickets for the special journey. [1]
The carriages could continue because a new standard-gauge route had removed a long-standing interruption. Victorian broad-gauge tracks and New South Wales standard-gauge tracks had met at Albury, where passengers changed trains and goods were transferred. Construction of the new line beside the broad gauge allowed through services in 1962. [2]
Where is this place?
Albury Railway Station, Railway Place, Albury, New South Wales. This map locates the town or region, not a verified exact historic event site.
The delivery run still had its own delays. Transport Heritage NSW’s account describes photographic stops along the route and a departure from Goulburn 29 minutes late. Driver Chris O’Sullivan made up the time; the train reached Strathfield early enough to be held there before arriving at Sydney Terminal on schedule. Regular through Spirit of Progress services began the following day, 16 April. [1]
Transport Heritage NSW later recorded firemen Malcolm Daly and Dave Thurlow and passenger Raymond Love. Jennifer Edmonds, its Heritage and Collections Manager, described the oral-history film project in 2019. [1]
Broad-gauge trains did not immediately disappear from Albury. Inland Rail’s 2024 planning response dates the end of the Melbourne–Albury broad-gauge operation to 2008. It describes retained rails beside the station platform, arranged as a display in a siding after services ended. [3]
Other old rails remained farther into the yard. The same report identified a remnant of Shunting Line No. 3 and another section between Gantry Roads 8 and 9. The display beside the platform was only one place where planners found the earlier gauge. [3]