This
was the huge train set that was on display at the Royal Easter
Show for much of the 1960's and 70's. Back then, it was owned
by the NSW Government Railways and was one of the most popular
attractions at the show. It now lives (though showing a little
age) and still operates at the Cowra Fun Museum.
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Information
displayed at the museum indicates that the train layout was
built over a period of four and a half years by three men and
two boys in the early 1950's. This layout was a major
attraction to the Royal Easter Show for three decades.
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From
what I can remember of seeing this layout at the Royal
Easter Show as a child and looking at it now, it seems that
much if not all of the original rolling stock is missing. All
of the original rolling stock was based various Australian
trains from the era and I guess were all handmade. From what
I can also remember from the time, no commercial model train
manufacturers produced Australian rolling stock as they do
now. All the available stock was based on either British, some
European or American stock.
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The
entire layout was auctioned at Chullora in the 1980's, eventually
finding its way to Cowra to be restored by a local identity,
Doug Stewart over a period of three years. There was also mention
during a discussion with the guy running the museum that there
was a fire at Chullora where the layout was stored after the
auction, but it was unknown as to what was lost as a result.
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In
the foreground of this shot are two other layouts that are
not connected nor I think related to the big one at the back.
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From
the early 1920's, the Darling Harbour railway yard's bundy
clock. Each round circle within the outer disk contained a
number that represented each employee. At the start and end
of both their shift and lunch breaks, each employee had
to turn the leaver around until it lined up with a hole in
line with their number and punch the pin at the end of the
device into the hole to record the time on a sheet located
within the clock housing.
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The
ultimate source of inspiration to my photography. For many
years as I child and teen, I caught the train each day to from
school. All the carriages I had traveled in had these wonderful
framed black and white landscape photographs, mounted either
at each end of the carriage or above the seats on each side
of a compartment.
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Another
one of these magnificent prints. I guess this was early marketing
by the NSW Government Railways, ultimately to promote train
travel around the state in times when one could travel almost
anywhere by train. Seeing all these wonderful far-away places
each day as a kid really inspired me to travel and take wonderful
photographs like this.
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