COFFS HARBOUR RAILWAY- HISTORY AT ITS BEST Peter Leonard When I arrived at Coffs Harbour Railway on the 8th of May1967 I was a young man of 20 years, my wife Fran was 19 years old and our daughter Jackie was 8 months old. I never thought I would still be there 40 years later. There were approximately 25 men on the station staff- now, in 2011 there are five. Neville King was station master at this time and I was quick to learn that this man took his job seriously and taught me to have pride in my own. Neville was involved with the service clubs, like Rotary and Chamber of Commerce and he was reinforcing to them, and our ten thousand people community, what an important part that the Railway played in our countries development.

PETER AND FRAN LEONARD (4 MONTHS PREGNANT WITH MARION) AND JACKIE...APRIL 1968 In 1967 the Railways conveyed nearly all freight and people mostly travelled by train. Our goods shed operated efficiently under the leadership of Tony Prothero, who was assisted by Eric (Possum) Hutchison and staff from the station. There were two shunters, Bill Lipscombe and Allan (Blue) Robertson. Lindsay Walters a former shunter was working as a guard on the Glenreagh to Dorrigo trains. This line was still operating at this time but did cease to do so on the 27th of October 1972. Les Sherlock was a relief shunter/ safe working station assistant who had been at Coffs Harbour as a relief staff member since 1949. The station master was assisted/ supported by two assistant station masters – Lance Titcume & George Solomon. Neil Morris was a relief station master. My position was coaching clerk, replacing Wally Newlyn who had recently resigned. Bill Shipman was in charge of the very busy parcels office since 1950 (he took over from

Max Colbran) Bill resigned in late 1967 and took up a position with the MSB which was not far from the station. Mick O’Neill was also working in the parcels office as a station assistant with Robin Hamilton and also Ian Brown. Terry Russ was also working in the position of junior station assistant. Mick moved into the position that Bill had held and Robin took over the leading station assistant position in the good shed when Possum retired. Charlie Mac Mahon was the examiner. To the South of the station was a timber mill managed by Mr Bob Dunn. North Coast Bulk Freights was operating a freight delivery service around town as it was in those days.

COFFS HARBOUR RAILWAY STATION c1935 .RNSW: NRS17420 Over at the station side where the parcels arrived off the passenger trains, they were delivered by a carrier called James Selby. Around the year 1990 James sold his business to Richard and Beverley Campbell. The Jetty area in the vicinity of the railway was a very busy precinct of industry: The PDS bulk food business, Murray Baileys Caltex depot and cement agency, Shell had a depot near the overhead bridge, and BGF operated on the Northern point of the yard with Pacific Plywood further to the north. Now for the all important TRAINS – there was the air conditioned North Coast daylight express operating Mondays to Saturdays in both directions, departing Coffs Harbour at 9.19am and arriving back at 4.40pm. In addition to their rail ticket passengers needed to have a blue $0.30c reservation ticket. The North Mail train departed for Sydney around 5.30pm Monday to Saturday and returned departing Sydney Sunday to Friday nights arriving here around 8.30 am, terminating in South Grafton. This train was not air conditioned and to keep warm in the winter people shook the foot warmer which contained sand. The second division of the Brisbane express ran daily between Brisbane and Sydney and return. This train was not air conditioned in 1967 but proved very popular with the public making the overnight

journey to Sydney and return. Both the North Coast Mail and the second division of the Brisbane Express provided sleeping berth class of travel for the additional fee of $2.50, in addition to the first class rail fare. There was also a first division of the Brisbane Express called the Brisbane Limited which was air conditioned. Unfortunately this train did not stop at Coffs Harbour in either direction. On occasions people would drive to Grafton to entrain there. To obtain entry onto the platform if you were not travelling you had to be in possession of a platform ticket and the cost was $0.02c. In the early 1970s the Gold Coast Motor Rail Express commenced running between Murwillumbah and Sydney on the 4th of March 1973. This train replaced the second division of the Brisbane Express which in the past had to be a split train at Casino, allowing a service to operate on the branch line between Casino and Murwillumbah. In the late 1970s a second passenger service operated between Murwillumbah and Sydney and return. This train was called the North Coast Overnight Express. To take

you back prior to 1967 the section of the North Coast line from Raleigh to Coffs Harbour opened on the 30th of Aug 1915. From Coffs Harbour to South Grafton after the construction of five tunnels through Red Hill the line opened 17th of July 1922. Upon leaving Coffs Harbour the train would stop at Park Beach and when you were close to Mackays Road there was a signal box called Scolds which allowed an additional steam engine to be attached to the train to enable it to climb Red Hill. Landrigans signal box is just north of number 5 tunnel with stations at Karangi, Coramba, Nana Glen, Glenreagh, signal box at Kungla, a platform at Lanitza, (used during the war years) signal box at Braunstone then South Grafton station. This platform was used for people from Grafton and Kempsey to picnic at Park Beach Reserve each weekend. The Annual Railway Picnic for the North Coast area was held at Park Beach reserve and thousands were in attendance until about late 60’s.

PARK BEACH RAILWAY PLATORM 1970 ADVOCATE PRINT 1974

KARANGI STATION 1922

CORAMBA RAILWAY STATION 1970 ....COL SUTTON PHOTO

NANA GLEN STATION 1927 ......COURTESY IVY THOMSON

GLENREAGH RAILWAY STATION 16 MARCH 1998..... JOHN OGILVY PHOTO From Glenreagh we had the Dorrigo branch line which opened on the 23rd of December 1924. Trains departed from the back platform of the Glenreagh Island station passed through Johnson Bros. (Allen Taylors) siding and then made the uphill climb through two tunnels – No1 tunnel was 151mtrs in length, No2 tunnel was 166 mtrs long. Then came a level crossing with Thompsons Cream Stage just to the West. This very small platform was used to drop off the bread, milk and papers. Timber Top was the next stop with crossing loop and signal box and timber was loaded here as well. Along a bit further was Reid’s siding where timber was loaded and taken into Moleton which was our next stop. During the 1930s and 1940s Molten was a height of timber activity being cut and transported by rail. Lowanna is the next station and was manned by an assistant station master, not far away was the ACL Case makers siding and then we move on to Ulong. Having just crossed the Bobo river bridge we arrived at Brooklana station, again with mills close by. Heading towards Dorrigo we then arrive at Lloyd,s siding which was a busy timber area during the 1940s and 1950s, then we come to Cascade another busy timber area and in 1984 one of the old mills was burnt down to create a fire scene in the movie- The Winds of Jarrah. Moving along to Briggsvale where the biggest timber operations occurred on the Eastern Dorrigo Mountain, Briggsvale Mill had its own Tramway for moving its timber around the sight. Megan was the next stop and here the station also had a signal box but was not manned. Leigh comes next and was the highest point on the Dorrigo rail line. We then progress to Dorrigo where the last train ran on the 27th of October 1972. The driver was Vince Shipman the Fireman was Ronald Kane, the Guard was Lindsay Walters and the engine number of this last train was 4816. The line officially closed on the 20 of September 1975. I closed the accounts for Dorrigo Railway Station on the 9th of November 1979.

The two tunnels on the Dorrigo line took 2 years to build with a camp site in Timber Top. They were completed in June 1921. The line climbs up the mountain from Glenreagh to Timber Top at a 1 in 30 grade making it one of the steepest on NSW rail. Even in construction large washaways caused many delays as was the case in the 1950 floods. When the line was officially closed in September 1975, the decision to do so was based on the heavy costs of regular washaways. I have walked through both of these tunnels in 2003 and I walked briskly as the odour of bats does not allow one to loiter!!

SECOND TUNNEL ON THE GLENREAGH-DORRIGO LINE 2002....PETER LEONARD PHOTO

LLOYD’S SIDING (DORRIGO LINE) 1950......COURTESY GEORGE ROBB The Glenreagh Mountain railway now own this line from Glenreagh to Ulong and the Dorrigo Steam and Rail Museum own from Ulong to Dorrigo, when all the timber mills were in operation this Railway line was one of the most profitable of all NSW Railways branch lines.

From the South the school train operated from Macksville departing at 7am picking up the students to bring them to Coffs Harbour High School arriving at 8.30 am. This train commenced running in 1944 and the students nick named it “Misery”. It made the following stops: Newee Creek, Nambucca (changed to Nambucca Heads in 1962) then Peterkins (near Deep Creek) Valla, Dalhousie Creek, Urunga, Raleigh, Repton, Archville, Bonville, Sawtell and Coffs Harbour. The carriages were segregated with the boys in one section and the girls in the other. Note: sometimes the locks on the doors did not work. The last journey was made on the 1st of October 1958 with the driver Vic Drew and Fireman Joe Dillon. As a matter of interest there was a siding call Mahratta between Repton and just south of Archville Station, this siding was opened in 1915 and was used for loading timber transported from the surrounding mills, including Crossmaglen, by the Coffs Harbour Timber Company (Bonville) by their own Tramway. The siding was closed on the 25th of Aug 1931. There was also another siding at Hendaville which was near the Boambee Railway station located between Sawtell and Coffs harbour. Boambee station was located 6 km south of Coffs Harbour- opened the 13 of Aug 1917 and closed June 1946.

VALLA PLATFORM 1950 COURTESY BILL VALLA TAVERN

URUNGA STATION IN THE 1920S

RALEIGH STATION AND BUSY YARD IN 1960S... COL SUTTON PHOTO

MISERY-THE SCHOOL TRAIN AT RALEIGH STATION LAST RUN OCT-1958. COL SUTTON PHOTO

REPTON RAILWAY STATION 1950S.COURTESY JANETTE SUTTON

BONVILLE RAILWAY STATION 1960S COL SUTTON PHOTO

SCHOOL TRAIN AT BONVILLE LAST TRIP OCTOBER 1958... PHOTO COURTESY COL SUTTON

SAWTELL RAILWAY STATION 1920S COURTESY COL SUTTON

MISERY THE SCHOOL TRAIN ON LAST TRIP OCTOBER 1958 DRIVER VIC DREW AND FIREMAN JO DILLON READY TO DEPART COFFS HARBOUR STATION.... COURTESY COL SUTTON

One of the most prominent historical operations of the Coffs Harbour railway station was the “Railway Refreshment Rooms” (RRR) I cannot state the year the RRR commenced in Coffs Harbour but suggest 1938. They closed in 1964 just 3 years before I arrived. There were five categories of RRR services – Coffs Harbour was one of the highest with Liquor bar, with meals and counter service. Depending on turnover RRR were classified into seven grades and Coffs Harbour was one of Five in the “Special Grade!!” on the North Coast there were RRR at Maitland , Dungog, Gloucester, Taree, Kempsey, Coffs Harbour, South Grafton, Casino and Byron Bay. During the war years the RRR’s were not just of paramount importance but extremely busy when the Troop trains arrived, sometimes serving up to 3000 meals and the young women working handled it with ease. Coffs Harbour was a very special station as the train would stop for around 35 min allowing passengers the pleasure of enjoying our RRR services and could also fit in a quick swim in the harbour. These facilities were often recalled by us matured age travellers, with breakfast at Coffs Harbour RRR being the highlight of the rail journey. Unfortunately there is no evidence left at our station of this wonderful facility – only photographs and memories. Some of the retired railway “Boys” can tell some stories about the liquor service and the competition the RRR provided for the Pier Hotel.

COFFS HARBOUR RAILWAY REFRESHMENT ROOMS- PASSENGERS OFF TRAIN ENTERING REFREHMENT ROOMS 9TH JULY 1947.....SRNSW: NRS17420

COFFS HARBOUR RAILWAY REFRESHMENT ROOMS-DINING ROOM 9TH JULY 1947 ...SRNSW:NRS 17420

COFFS HARBOUR RAILWAY REFRESHMENT ROOMS-BAR AREA 9TH JULY 1947 ...SRNSW NRS 17420

COFFS HARBOUR RAILWAY REFRESHMENT ROOMS –KITCHEN 9TH JULY 1947 SRNSW NRS 17420 Margaret Shipman (nee Gregory) worked at the RRR from 1950 until 1957 as did many other Coffs Harbour women over the duration. Another part of our history that will never be forgotten is, on Monday the 25th of May 1953 when the five Lions escaped from Wirths Circus in the area of the Coffs Harbour Railway level crossing. I mentioned this on our community radio recently and people telephoned to tell me about the drama. There were people everywhere at the Jetty as the Circus performance had just finished, as well as a Ball had just concluded. Once the news of the escaped Lions was heard there was no one to be seen. In 1970 on Saturday the 11th of April Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the second visited Coffs Harbour accompanied by Prince Phillip and Princess Anne. The Britannia was anchored in the Harbour, then our Royal visitors transferred by the Royal barge to the Jetty, from there they were very fortunate to experience rail travel for the only time in our history, by travelling in our railway pay bus from the Jetty to their awaiting vehicle on the Eastern side of the crossing. The pay bus was No. FP7 which had undergone a major refurbishment in 1970 just for this unique occasion. I walked down from the station to the level crossing to see the Royal Family and I thought Her Majesty appeared extremely elated after her only journey in a railway Pay Bus. That Bus now resides in Goulburn and still contains the red carpet used for the Royal passage and finally never since has a Pay Bus been on the Jetty. In 1987 I celebrated 20years at Coffs Harbour Railway and the media focused on the Morse code phone system that was used into the 1970s. On the 17 of September 1988 I witnessed the largest crowd of people gathered at the station. This was the 1988 bi-centennial celebrations of Australia.

A RARE REAR VIEW OF THE OLD ORIGINAL STATION BUILDING TAKEN ON 11TH APRIL 1970 ON THE SATURDAY OF THE ROYAL VISIT .NOTE THE BRITANNIA ANCHORED IN THE HARBOUR. COL SUTTON PHOTO

PETER IN 1974...NOTE THE OLD CARD TICKETS IN THE RACK BEHIND ME. THIS WAS PRE-COMPUTER DAYS. ADVOCATE-OPINION PRINT 1974

PETER HOLDING THE PHONE THAT WAS USED WITH MORSE CODE TO MAKE THE RESERVATIONS COFFS HARBOUR CODE WAS –ONE” SHORT” AND” ONE LONG’. This was used well into 1970s. Required a lot of patience! ADVOCATE PRINT 1987 FOR MY 20 YEARS AT COFFS HARBOUR The big attraction of the day was the lining up of the three Steam Engines numbers 3801, 5910 and 3642 this was a once in a lifetime chance to photograph these engines together in Coffs Harbour. Steam train excursion rides operated from Coffs Harbour to Coramba (on which I took my grandson) and from Coffs Harbour to Raleigh. There was one special excursion train to Macksville and if I recall correctly it was by invitation only and local radio icon Terry Daniel from 2CS was among the guests. Terry was the first radio personality to promote our railway over the airways which continued with 2CS and Graham Day and onto Hendo. The train times and drivers spread from 2CS down to 2MC at Port Macquarie – thanks to Mark Strachan.

Another part of our railway history is the TPO – Travelling Post Office. The TPO staff sorted the mail on the trains and placed it in the correct canvas bag vested for the appropriate Post Office. This was so efficient with mail being delivered the next day after posting. Unfortunately road transport cannot provide the same fast postal service. (Bring back the good old days) In 1990 the railway encountered a lot of changes. The old trains like Daylight Expresses and Brisbane Expresses, also Mail trains were replaced with XPT’s. The country rail became known as Countrylink. All the booking office staff had to re-apply for a position. I was successful in obtaining the Travel Centre Manager position, with travel consultants Ian Griffiths and Russell Statham. I must acknowledge the large contribution that these two men made in establishing our Countrylink Rail Travel Centre. Shortly after this we were joined by Diane Pinder from Sydney our first female employee. In 1991 we were joined by casual Travel Consultant Jackie Leonard.

Our current station was renovated into a Travel centre with modern facilities and started operating on the 30th of May 1991. The Travel Centre officially opened by Mr Bruce Baird MP for Transport. Faye Powell the General Manager of Countrylink officially opened the Countrylink station in March 1992. In 1993 on the 9th of May the TILT train was given a trial run but never got beyond that as the station platforms would all have to be modified to allow the train to run. In this same year 1993 the SRA/ Countrylink again restructured with the Travel Centre Managers being in charge at the various locations with the responsibility of managing the station operations. This became a very difficult time for all employees, with the station Master position becoming redundant. This was the same year that level crossing gates in High Street became automated with booms, flashing lights and bells – December 1993.

On the 8th of May 1997 I celebrated my 30years at Coffs Harbour Railway. Mr Allen Shanley Countrylink area Manager for the North Coast coordinated all the Travel Centre Managers from Taree to Murwillumbah to be in attendance for the celebrations. We held our managers meeting on the next day. The 16th of May 2004 was a sad day for the Railway people and those who lived between Casino and Murwillumbah. The XPT made its last journey and the line was closed, six of us Railway men took the last trip that was made on the track. The XPT drivers claim that the countryside up there was one of the best in the state to view from the engine.

There are many stories associated with my time at the station and “One Day” I hope to write a book about my term of 39 ½ years. In conclusion with this small summary we moved from the original station into a almost completed new one on the 1st of December 1971. Neville King, Station Master transferred to Gosford In November 1971 just before the station was completed. Charlie Cherry was our new Station Master arriving in December, staying only for 12 months before moving to Katoomba. Sadly he passed away five years later at the age of 50. On Friday the 9th of June 2006 was my last day as a Railway employee – retiring one month short of my 60th birthday. On that final day at 6.40am I walked from the Pier Hotel to the station accompanied by the “Bagpipes and Drummer”. We provided a sausage sizzle at the station from 7am to 5pm, then dinner and drinks at the Pier

Hotel until 11pm.It was a great day to end my Railway career of 43 years and 3 months.

1947 REFRESHMENT ROOM STAFF

NEV KING AND PETER LEONARD REMINICSING ABOUT THE OLD RAIL ERA IN JULY 2003 AT THEIR “OLD STATION”

BRIEF HISTORY OF THE COFFS HARBOUR RAILWAY BY PETER LEONARD

NOVEMBER 2011