Last Days on the Bankstown Line before conversion to Sydney Metro - South West Metro Update

[@RGC198]

Hi Paul, excellent video. From memory, when I was living up there prior to moving in mid 1981, the Bankstown trains all used platforms 1 and 2 at Sydenham, which is what the Metro is using now. Love seeing the red rattler heading through Marrickville. I went to work on many occasions using those types of trains over the years, catching them from Marrickvile station and heading into the city. In Station Street at Marrickville, there used to be a tailor shop, an opportunity shop, a real estate office and on the far right corner at the Illawarra Road end, there was a florist shop. All those shops now seem to be completely abandoned and covered in graffiti. Not exactly sure when all those old shops there actually closed. They all used to receive plenty of customers, especially from passengers getting out of trains at the station and heading home from work. Anyway, wishing you the very best, Rob in Melbourne Australia.

[@davidlang1125]

Sad to see the end of this line. Thanks Paul for the trip down sentimental lane.

[@7figuretraveller]

Great video Paul. It is an end of era, but you’ll soon be welcoming a new one.

[@TransportVlog]

Thanks Alex, yes indeed! Looking forward to that.

[@kazwilson425]

Those old Red Rattlers are a blast from the past - but all the doors should be open to reflect living dangerously like we did back in the old days.🤣

[@francesconicoletti2547]

They were not open all the time, just during hot days to add some forced cooling to the often overcrowded sweatboxes. Maybe the day it ran the temperature in sydney was nice.

[@aussiejohn5835]

​@francesconicoletti2547 When I was young, the doors were manually operated and could be left open at any time especially when we young daredevils would hang out in all weather conditions, narrowly avoiding the stanchions and oncoming trains. The introduction of power operated doors wasn't popular with many nor were the ugly sliding windows.

[@davederrick9431]

I rode those trains twice a day Canterbury to St James in the mid 70s

[@FlightEagle]

Thank you Paul for producing a great video which will be a living record of how the Bankstown line once was. Also, like to recognise the huge amount of footage you must have recorded to get it down to this final edited product. The time you put into recording the vintage Red Rattler and the 3265 steam locomotive at various stations is much appreciated.

[@philmcardle9031]

Great video. The crossover you mentioned at Sefton park junction heading towards Sefton is an unwired crossover installed recently for Freight train movements.

[@TransportVlog]

Thanks for that Phil. Really interesting that its unwired. I guess these tracks will continue to be used for freight trains.

[@aussiejohn5835]

Hi Paul 👋 I thoroughly enjoyed this presentation with your detailed explanation of the progress of the conversion to Metro. I think the boys at Metro should pay you for your excellent promotional videos of their product. You have certainly sold me on it and that's something I thought I would never say. Well done Paul 👏 👍

[@tinascousin]

Love the old circa-2002 CityRail blue giving way to the 90s (or older) red paint job on the seat at Hurlstone Park! Not too many remnants of the old red station colour scheme left anymore, I imagine.

[@Chadtransportvolgs]

Great video Paul

[@FromtheWindowSeat]

Great video Paul … appreciate all the details you included … I learnt a lot! Can see all the work that went into making it. 👌

[@TransportVlog]

Thanks Adam, Glad you enjoyed it! Yes this one did take a lot of time to do!

[@robertmainerd7145]

Thank you Paul. A nicely filmed tribute to the line and as always, thoroughly researched and very informative. Well sone.

[@trevormichell558]

Excellent summary again Paul. Thank you for your efforts.

[@TheCrazyOzzyAdventure]

Great Video Paul i enjoyed listening about Each T3 Station From Sydenham and Bankstown i went on the Bankstown line on the 14th of September for the final time before it got closed and i did see at bankstown just before i was heading back home up to Newy. and Looking forward for the T6 Shuttle Line.

[@Silk1970]

Absolutely fantastic Paul! This is great content and I suspect I will come back to this some years from now and appreciate it even more.

[@citylifts]

Nice one. Paul and my favourite station is lakemba with all the city rail signs are heavenly. I will miss this line.

[@LachieWappet]

Excellent as always Paul! Such fantastic documentation for the future :)

[@moontravellerjul]

great historical documentation, and as usual wonderful train footage!

[@Woodland26]

My memory of Bankstown line would be in the form of Bankstown Circle where from Central it goes to Lidcombe, take the turn to Bankstown and return to city via Sydenham, and in both directions. There was also Liverpool via Regents Park as well so the junctions would be busy switching over in both directions. I hardly ever travel in Bankstown line beyond Sydenham, but the weekend before closure I went to Marrickville for the sake of it. Never been to Marrickville before either.

[@BigBlueMan118]

There used to be a lot of circle patterns back in the day; as you said the Bankstown line did that one through Lidcombe. The Northern line used to circle through the city up to Hornsby. Campbelltown trains used to do one through the East Hills line round the City Circle and back through the Inner West down to Campbelltown again.

[@greenmagicdragon]

Excellent rundown. Thanks a lot.

[@tamworthtrainnut285]

Glad I got to travel on the T3 Bankstown line from Sydenham to Bankstown last time I was in Sydney

[@dyemanoz]

Went to school by train in the '60s. There were still red rattlers - they had build date placards on the cars from the 1920's (cant't remember - 1923 or 1927??). At the other end of the spectrum were the early double decker carriages - a big magnet for schoolboys!

[@southaussiegarbo2054]

First double deckers wre ksets

[@TransitSydney]

A pleasure to hang out with you on a lot of these! :)

[@TransportVlog]

Thanks Shayaan, it was fun hanging out with you too!

[@Steven9385-k4g]

Hello Paul Nice meeting you. It's Steven.

[@TransportVlog]

Thanks Steven, Lovely to meet you too.

[@davidmason7765]

Great work as always thank you Paul

[@TransportVlog]

Thanks David

[@peterelvery]

Thanks Paul. T6 starts this weekend. I suspect there'll be an early morning empty run from Bankstown to Cabramatta and back, just to keep the track clean between Birrong and Sefton.

[@TransportVlog]

That's good to know Peter.

[@lorraineperry8232]

ALL my childhood memories disappearing from this line and GONE from the Carlingford line......so sad.....

[@oldmanriver1955]

I lived locally and attended Canterbury Boys High School. Thatbtrain line was a major part of my Sydney years. We also lived at Concord West and later at Enfield and the main western line was our Sydney life line. Great explanation.

[@liamthompson9342]

Slightly shocked to realize there was a distinct line and I've never been on it.

[@robertcoleman4861]

Thanks Paul for another wonderful video.💯👍👍👍👍🥳

[@TransportVlog]

You're very welcome Robert

[@yimby_dog_au]

The abandoned buildings on Station St Marrickville are marked for demolition and will be replaced with an apartment building + shops

[@Clavichordist]

While I've watched the progress with excitement and fascination from a bit more than 16,000 km away in the northeastern US, I feel sadness at the same time seeing the Bankstown line turning into a metro.

[@BigBlueMan118]

Why? It will be way better as a Metro: much faster, more frequent, safer, and more reliable.

[@MainTransportvlogs]

26:51 the tracks the train were on will be only used when there is trackwork between Bankstown ad lidcombe where trains that usually goes to and from lidcombe will be diverted to Liverpool instead.

[@TransportVlog]

That's right. You might end up with a Liverpool to Bankstown shuttle when there is trackwork, with passengers using the metro to continue their journey to the city.

[@krislawry]

Great video as always Paul!! Hey, do you see any potential to extend the metro west from Bankstown to Liverpool?

[@TransportVlog]

Glad you enjoyed it Kris. Yes I think it will happen in the future, as Sydney gets bigger!

[@peterwaugh9416]

Nice to look at the past BUT what will come next for Metro. Obviously the Parramatta line & WSI line as they are being built. I'm guessing the inner West line, Newtown, Petersham, Summer hill, maybe all the way to Strathfield. Just another conversion like the Bankstown line. That would leave the T1 line separate to run outer suburban, mountains & Gosford trains. I guess the bean counters will have to work out the cost & benefits but I'm throwing that out there anyway.

[@aussiejohn5835]

I suspect that you are spot on with your predictions and only time will tell.

[@TopHat841]

That crossover at Sefton is for freight. Was only installed a year or so ago.

[@ethans-dk4bk]

That glass screen says Gadigal.

[@andrewmartin1426]

Good video but enlighten me on the advantages of driverless trains

[@nickshen2318]

Wow😊

[@ec7152]

T6 will use 4 car M sets- it has been confirmed

[@givendiau]

Do you think that short section of track from Birrong to Sefton may be used from the east by the Metropolitan Goods Line or will they be diverted to Regents Park (if they go through the junction rather than the freight underpass)?

[@TransportVlog]

I'm sure it will still be used for freight trains, and possibly passenger journeys when there is trackwork. The freight underpass does not appear to have a connection with the Liverpool T3 line, so I suspect that will continue to be used as it is now.

[@southaussiegarbo2054]

K set are apparently sydney trains oldest still in service trains

[@WRX2001]

Why doesn't the Cronulla line (Illawarra Line) get the Warratah trains?

[@TransportVlog]

I believe its related to the power supply, which isn't sufficient for Waratah Trains. However, I believe this is being upgraded.

[@alexisdespland4939]

where are the steam trains going to go when thevmetro opens.

[@radicallyrethinkingrailwaysina]

Not to Bankstown from Sydenham

[@alexisdespland4939]

@@radicallyrethinkingrailwaysina i figure that much from the video can you lok into it.

[@tinascousin]

I was on one a couple of weekends ago that went to Hurstville. Guess they’ll all be going south from now on.

[@whophd]

I’m shocked that the new Bankstown Metro platform will only be 6 carriages! I really hope that doesn’t impede any upgrade of the M1 Metro to 8 carriages. Hopefully they will just tell everyone to scoot up 2 carriages and automatically set the correct doors to stay closed. Will we ever know? By 2040 perhaps.

[@robertmcfadyen9156]

Actually four , Millennium or Tangara four car sets only between Bankstown and , Berala , Lidcombe platform 5 .

[@aussiejohn5835]

​@@robertmcfadyen9156Hi Robert, I think he is referring to the possibility of Metro trains being extended to eight cars in the future as all other current Metro stations have been built to cater for 8 car trains. You are correct about T6 being restricted to 4 car sets unless the Bankstown platforms are extended in some way.

[@radicallyrethinkingrailwaysina]

@@aussiejohn5835 if the line is extended (from Banko to Liverpool direct being most likely) and the line switches to 8 car metro trains, then Banko station would need some rebuilding including using the current remaining platform for the Lidcombe shuttles

[@aussiejohn5835]

@radicallyrethinkingrailwaysina you are correct, and that is a possibility in the future. It will be interesting when the current project to Bankstown is completed to see if they have catered for the possibility of a direct Metro to Liverpool.

[@radicallyrethinkingrailwaysina]

@@aussiejohn5835 sadly the trail seems to have gone a bit cold. But those suburbs including Chipping Norton and Georges Hall look like more productive uses of a Metro than the tired old Villawood route which looks like it needs a bulldozer through it.

[@ethans-dk4bk]

The New T6 Is Returning to Sydney. The New T6 Lidcombe and Bankstown Line

[@TransportVlog]

That's right Ethan!

[@kaz1578]

Do you know if this metro will be extended to Liverpool?

[@tld8102]

Why do some heritage trains have locomotives on the back and some don't?

[@robertmcfadyen9156]

Limited access to locomotive turntable facilities .

[@TransportVlog]

That's right! Sometimes the extra loco can provide some additional propulsion on hills.

[@blackIce504]

it should go to lidcombe thats our gov.

[@Auburn21444]

20:18 that funny how he say it

[@AustraliaWorldwide]

bit to late on this one line closed now for a few weeks

[@whophd]

The red rattler loading gauge fascinates me! At Central Station they have such a small gap with the platform that they look as good as a Metro gap! I wonder if these single-deck sets with 100 years between them are the same floor width? And if so, why the double deck trains are not? If you want to know more about the electric traction engine and their noises, I’d like to HIGHLY recommend this video, possibly my favourite of all KZbin in 2024: IRJIJPTUXXE

[@ethans-dk4bk]

Hi Paul. I couldn't upload videos on my Channel because i scraped my Ankle Earlier when i was walking to School. The Injury might last for a Week or so and i wish for More Subscribers and i hope to get more Subscribers when i Recover from my Injury.

[@TransportVlog]

Sorry to hear that Ethan. Hope you've now recovered. A couple of tips - have a shorter intro, and use your own voice, rather than an AI generated one. Also try and do unusual and different content. That helps a lot.

[@ethans-dk4bk]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/fXWTdHSXhMiUY80 This is a Video on Public Transport and i have included your Channel at the End of the Video of the Credits

[@TransportVlog]

Thanks Ethan

[@bnutsadventuresdon359]

Waste of tax payer money as usual Should have stayed heavy rail

[@SamSitar]

you could have separated the bankstown line without building metro.

[@francesconicoletti2547]

By building new Sydney Trains gauge tunnels into the city and then trying to find another Sydney Trains line to balance it with. If bypassing the city circle for its own sake made any sense , I suspect it would have happened by now.

[@SpektrikMusic]

metro is great, why not use it? Why continue with the outdated double decker heavy rail?

[@BigBlueMan118]

@@SpektrikMusic Yeah some people want to stay stuck in the 1970s and don't see any problem with the crappy rail system Sydney has had up until now. Though to be fair at least in the 1970s the trains ran faster than they do now!

[@radicallyrethinkingrailwaysina]

But why would you separate Bankstown without building Metro. They are not going to use the Sydney Trains format again for such closely spaced inner city lines. And the reasons are obvious. Sydney Trains dates back to 1855 and by the 1870s the planning and management of it had gone 'off the rails' and no government wants to repeat that.

[@BigBlueMan118]

@@radicallyrethinkingrailwaysina hi Professor nice to see you active again! Totally agree with you here about Bankstown conversion, its amazing how many people oppose it. What are referring to Here about Sydney railway planning going off the rails in the 1870s, you mean how John Whitton wanted to build better alignments but wasn't allowed?

[@glennhumphries9444]

All these depictions of future projects lack one thing: being covered in disgusting graffiti.

[@rogerramjetox142pa]

If memory serves me correctly, -gal is a suffix in Dharug meaning 'people' or 'person of'. Dharug is the native language of the Aboriginal people of Sydney and I think for this area of the Bankstown Line too, though I could be wrong. For example, 'Cammeray' is a place, 'Cammeraygal' is an adjective describing a person from Cammeray. Badiagal or Bidjigal refers to a person of the Badiagal area, which encompasses Salt Pan Creek, Revesby and the estuaries in the Northern parts of the Georges River. In other words, Badiagal basically is the Dharug name for Punchbowl.