Steam on the Main North

[@jamesgovett2501]

Had a good laugh at 5.38 when the locomotive crew obviously has a great sense of humour looking like no-one was driving or firing! When they stand up in the coal tender! How good was that!

[@denysmith9469]

I’m not a train nut but there’s nothing more satisfying and relaxing than the sound of a steam train and the howling of its whistle

[@brucewilliams8714]

Congratulations to the NFSA techs who so cleverly adapted film aspect ratio, 3:4, to widescreen 16:9, without destroying the composition.. Masterly work.

[@anth5122]

The quality of this film is truly amazing

[@johnd8892]

As I understand : Shot on TV station professional news film cameras and sound recording by a TV professional and Enthusiast. Enthusiast who was the news editor of a major TV station and took shots in case needed for TV purposes . NFSA did a great job transferring and making this available.

[@GaryNumeroUno]

I was an electric and diesel driver on State Rail, I miss the old 4 wheel 'S' trucks... they leaked brake pipe air like a sieve, brakes were crap, they hunted left and right so hard at their top speed of 65 kph you would think they were going to pop off the track but they hung on somehow! Happy days. Thanks for uploading.

[@Pykem]

Really excellent thank you NFSA. To have steam footage of this quality from this long ago with genuine soundtrack is rare - very much appreciated.

[@jonginder5494]

Thank you to those who captured this. Gee the Garratts threw up some smoke when under load!

[@redtobertshateshandles]

How cool are the drivers blowing their whistles.

[@redskua]

Damn... those Garratts, they just take me to another place, what magnificent work horses they were. Climbing the Fassifern 1:40 bank, what a sight and what a sound. Thanks to all involved in the making and publishing of this

[@NARROWGUT]

Thanks goodness someone had the foresight to record this for future generations. A golden age never to be repeated. Mechanical Poetry in Motion!

[@garyspeed8961]

1971, first year Newcastle uni student from Sydney, fond memories of traveling to/from Sydney for weekends on the 3822

[@rollbocke]

Absolutely fabulous! Everything was five stars. A professional effort by real enthusiasts. Those who made videos (films) in countries that kept steam well into the 1960's and some beyond had the opportunity to use recording equipment that was superior to that used by rail fans from countries that dropped steam years earlier. All to the benefit of enthusiasts now and into the future. This video is a gem of the highest order.

[@XDESP80]

The quality of the picture is exceptional! 😱

[@flamingfrancis]

A magnificent record of a great era. Lovely to see so many of the 38's that were not earmarked for keepsakes. Manufactured locally (Sydney and Newcatle), they were the kind of thing the nation was built on. That's rare vision of the little tooter pulling out of the Fassifern and bound for Newcastle Central. It is the service from Toronto that ran regularly in those days. The whistle reminds be of an old kettle. Also great to see the 59's and 60's, real workhorses. I once saw one on it's side derailed with a few goods wagons on the up siding at Tuggerah adjacent to the water tower. Well done, thanks.

[@jamesbeer5350]

The ground shot near the beginning is simply perfect.

[@kimberlyatwood5154]

What a treasure of steam trains 🚂! It was awesome 👏 to watch! Thanks for sharing!

[@paulgreen9744]

What a magnificent record of past times.

[@waynewaldock8642]

what a surprise looking at loco 5464 it's meee,as a young fireman unbloodybelieveable, id be around 20 just missed out on nasho's

[@barrysheffield1721]

Loved the couple of blokes who popped up inside the coal tender to get themselves on film.

[@geoffreyblack5982]

I never get bored when there is clips like this.🖒

[@ssajj]

Thank you Roger

[@loblolly777]

Wow! The two AD60s together at 10:28 makes for a LOT of locomotive.

[@terryashton3541]

I can't believe it now in late 2020 and I've never seen this kind of clarity on old footage like this 52 years old and fantastic, I've seen loads of old videos of mainly rail in the UK but this beats them all and regards footage of the double headed `Garrets` absolutely breathtaking, congratulations on a splendid video.

[@johnd8892]

As I understand : Shot on TV station professional news film cameras and sound recording by a TV professional and Enthusiast. Enthusiast who was the news editor of a major Sydney TV station and took shots in case needed for TV purposes . NFSA did a great job transferring and making this available.

[@moinuddin5159]

as i was enjoying the footage , i was swiming in the ocean of memories. My early chilhood in 1966 to 68. thanks .

[@RedtailFox1]

Gotta love the pair of comedians at 05:13 lol

[@gerry9011]

What I am personally amazed by is the fact that the footage is at such a high frame and camera movement quality, that you could almost mistake it for a film from the early 2000s put in a black and white filter.

[@johnd8892]

As I understand : Shot on TV station professional news film cameras and sound recording by a TV professional and Enthusiast. Enthusiast who was the news editor of a major TV station and took shots in case needed for TV purposes . NFSA did a great job transferring and making this available.

[@ZalMoxis]

I remember those carriages.... and the Garrats... great footage.... brings back memories as a kid in the 70's

[@regionaltrainvlogstrains638]

This video is aboustley wonderful Thank you for sharing its lovley to hear the chuffing of the byer garret and the 32 class and all the steam trains in this video especially the horn too, this video shows some of the most beautiful trains thank you very much for sharing big like

[@garybakerthegazz8707]

That footage was unreal,seeing those beautiful machines at work,I hope you post more

[@simonz28]

amazing footage , the dual garratts was something special

[@mickgough3574]

This is priceless! Here are all our old favourites brought to life again in a superb collection of clips. I’ll be smiling for at least a week. Thanks to all concerned with the making of this production (and others like it).

[@rhondabaillie2964]

What great a great video keep them coming please they made my day.

[@mynamedosntmatter]

The jokers hiding in the tender at 5:35 are great, you just couldn't get away with those kinds of shenanigans these days.

[@bushranger51]

Know what you mean. In the old days my home town had a footbridge over the tracks just north of the old railway gates, and as kids our greatest trick was to try and drop small stones down the funnels of the old steam locos as they passed under us. Of course the drivers always saw us and we'd get an extra blast of sooty smoke as they went under us, so we'd have to go home covered in black soot, of course mum wasn't too pleased about it, but dad always saw the funny side of it, which didn't go down too well with mum.

[@TheDankEngineer]

@@bushranger51 Seems awfully familiar.... do you live on a British island with talking trains?

[@spookymini2270]

@@bushranger51 this comment is legendary.

[@fpv_0205]

This still happens in nz, mainline steam doesnt have the smartest volunteers

[@donniefermor8592]

I used to live bundook NSW back in the 60s I still remember them coming through the small town

[@reesefobes867]

It’s great to see how they enjoyed their work that much

[@tracynation239]

An excellent video. Hello from the Tracy Mountain Railway in Colorado. ♡ T.E.N.

[@nigelmitchell351]

Don't ya just love the comics on the footplate, bless you all lads.

[@johnmay2786]

You can hear them laughing!

[@brendabaker9925]

Absolutely loved this, Hubby and I knew Roger and Bernie very well, we were taking photo's of the steam with them, travelling from Lithgow, Katoomba to Fassifern almost every weekend. Thank goodness for people like them who kept taking film, it s the best. Cannot beat steam EVER!!

[@timothysmith8300]

i am from the uk and i must agree with your comment YOU CANNOT BEAT STEAM DO YOU DEISEL FREAKS HEAR ME STEAM CANNOT BE BEATERN and will never be beatern NEVER.STEAM RULES OK .

[@localcarthief]

@@timothysmith8300 calm down bro.

[@gantondale]

Thank you for taking the time to first film this magnificent footage, and secondly for sharing it. I was 11 when steam finished in the UK. My last memory of regular steam in the UK was a 9F 2-10-0 on an oil tank train, in Leeds City station, June 20th 1968. I have an AD60 garratt with sound, and weathered, on my layout. I love those locos, even though I have only ever seen them on film. The sound on my model is pretty accurate. You cannot capture the leaking steam, smoke and the smells, with a model, unfortunately. The smell of steam, coal and oil, is unforgettable. My wife is Brazilian, and she is totally addicted to steam now, after trips to the UK, and to see steam in Brazil, where we live. This film will be in my head for days. Awesome. I can't wait for more. Thanks again.

[@steeltrap3800]

6029 is still running; if you search YT you'll find plenty of footage. You ought to come and visit Aus and see for yourself.

[@jeffusher9403]

As a dinkum Queenslander, I must say there's one thing I really love about New South Wales: you guys had some great steam locos! Really enjoying this video.

[@gm16v149]

I can remember seeing a line of abandoned steam locos in the rail yards at Cloncurry back in 1970, all gone now of course.

[@TheCollo67]

Thank you so much Uncle Bernie and Uncle Roger! Your legacy lives on forever. RIP.

[@michaelclark2840]

What magical footage. Thankyou!

[@anthonystannard9642]

These are superb - I have two lovely books sent to me by my sis in Brisbane of photographs of Australian railways with lots of steam in. The films bring the books to life. Absolutely wonderful. Anthony Stannard, Colchester, England

[@oigringo]

Superb, so reminiscent of the last days of steam in the UK. Great stuff, one to go back to time and time again.

[@1950accordionman]

Excellent footage, brings back some memories as I was a steam fireman in some of the areas shown here.

[@johnpenny5638]

What fantastic footage. I've never been into Australian steam... until now. Thankyou very much.

[@williamschlenger1518]

Great footage.👍

[@fordlandau]

5917 at 2.20 is fortunately alive and well. Still running tours 2020.

[@formerparatrooper]

I thoroughly enjoyed my trip behind steam from Melborne to Canberra in December of 1970 shortly after I shifted to Australia. It was a wonderful trip as steam in the US was already completely gone from the railroads I grew up around. Great video.

[@robinkearney2778]

Man, I love those Garratts !!!

[@bumerangsydney]

Quality of picture is stunning.

[@MagnetOnlyMotors]

13:23 nice whistle 😊 .

[@Tiffy552]

You can almost smell that smoke, great video. Thankyou.

[@raythomas8259]

I am sending this video to all the Greenies I know

[@SpencerHHO]

Do you really think they will care about something that happened 52 years ago?

[@dogdooish]

Brilliant but I cannot see any train leaving TORONTO maybe Fassi???????????????? I know, because I went to school for three years on that line, vivid memories of 3806 , 3801 steaming round the Boorigal bend with fettlers caps going off like fire works!!!

[@davebowles1957]

What a wonderful video. Thanks for sharing it.

[@godfreyberry1599]

Fantastic, thanks for sharing

[@terryashton3541]

I just realised something else, these mighty `Garrets` are a 4-8-4 4-8-4 arrangement, man these are big, when I was trainspotting back in the UK in the 1950s the Garrets we had were only a 2-6-2 2-6-2 arrangement and I thought they were large but nothing like these big boys.

[@ThePaulv12]

It's not that simple. Don't go on wheel arrangement alone. Sometimes more wheels is to reduce axle loading other times less wheels is to increase axle loading. It's all a balancing act. More wheels on lightly laid branch lines allows more power with lower axle loadings. Conversely high power on 'high iron' is better suited to less axles and higher axle loading. Only occasionally do you get really big locomotives with lots of wheels. The US was famous for it but even then depending on use there were some extraordinarily powerful locomotives that were only 4-6-4. Some of these were so powerful they had to lower the boiler pressure 10psi because they were bending the connecting rods. Many factors come into play.

[@ethanramos4441]

@@ThePaulv12 I’m from the US and I know that locomotive class your talking about the Union Pacific’s Big Boy Class locomotive 4-8-8-4

[@terryashton3541]

@@ThePaulv12 Thank you for your insight Paul, what I was referring to was back in the UK in the 1950s, the only steam locos powerful enough to haul the heavy coal trains in the East Midlands between Toton and Brent yard in North London were these `Garratts`, upto then, (middle 50s) that's the most powerful locos we had, they were eventually scrapped in the end of 1957 and replaced by the British Railways Standard 2-10 0s, albeit these locos had a lesser tractive effort than the old `Garratts.

[@markusfrombgen2967]

Danke für diesen sehr interessanten Einblick in hier sehr unbekanntes Stück Eisenbahn-Geschichte. 👍👍 Tolle bewegte Bilder, die an eine lang vergangene Zeit erinnern. 👏👏

[@michaelnaisbitt1639]

H and S would be tearing their hair out at the sight of the two lads riding in the tender. They are the modern day fun crushers

[@jasonwoodward9883]

Absolutely mind-bending!!!!

[@carribob1992]

5:35 "Look mate, NO HANDS!!!"

[@highphysics3617]

Great stuff! I grew up in the Hunter Valley,spending my childhood at Kearsley,and played along the railway on the looong haul into Caledonia. We waited for hours just to wve to the steam train drivers. Oh! What memories your video provokes.

[@svds81]

Thanks for sharing this wonderful film it's a bonus it has sounds with it. Amazing scenes!

[@chiefchook]

Thanks for this amazing footage; superb print quality. Great shots of the Toronto passenger at Fassifern. Also my 2 favourite 38s, 22 and the legendary 27.

[@leftatedsa]

Beautiful footage, well documented and from a technical stance seemingly fully restored with only a few negative scratches remaining. The shadow and contrast looks great. The camera work is ‘pin sharp’.

[@johnd8892]

As I understand : Shot on TV station professional news film cameras and sound recording by a TV professional and Enthusiast. Enthusiast who was the news editor of a major Sydney TV station and took shots in case it might be needed for TV purposes . NFSA did a great job transferring and making this available.

[@leftatedsa]

@@johnd8892 : from the collection of films shot by Roger MacKenzie.

[@johnd8892]

@@leftatedsa Roger's background and job here www.nfsa.gov.au/latest/trainspotting-roger-mckenzie

[@rolandoguerra3656]

Desde chile saludos excelentes imágenes histórico patrimonio de la humanidad felicitaciones

[@simoncawsey4028]

Best footage Wonderful

[@joesprinter8202]

What a fantastic upload, the best I've seen! Many thanks for sharing from the uk...These are the nearest mechanical things to a living creature.....

[@colinming4131]

I must agree, this has to be one of the finest pieces of archival footage of recent history. Many thanks from Canada.

[@sandysutherland2182]

Absolutely splendid!

[@gm16v149]

Back in 1970 I remember the NSW Government Railways were advertising for stokers for the Garratts because apparently they had mechanical stokers which were beyond repair in their last days, and they needed guys to hand stoke them like on smaller engines. Because everyone knew steam wouldn’t last much longer, none of the established employees wanted the job. The money offered was pretty good from memory. I can remember the Garratts working out of Newcastle.

[@SirRamone]

I love watching them sway with the motion of the rods

[@niloc6336]

Personally I am a diesel man but this is probably the best rail vid I have ever seen

[@cherylpurdue888]

Been on some steam trains in Maitland ,with my bible study group🙂🌺

[@billhughes5489]

That brings back memories.

[@rjl110919581]

THANK YOU LOVE DETAIL VIDEO OLD NSW RAILWAY

[@williamhabermann2395]

At Least we can watch these steam locomotive drivers and fireman's doing funny stuff on the NSW Steam Locomotives

[@locos8]

thanks for the film !

[@Freebird35]

Such an excellent high quality compilation

[@johnd8892]

As I understand : Shot on TV station professional news film cameras and sound recording by a TV professional and Enthusiast. Enthusiast who was the news editor of a major Sydney TV station and took shots in case needed for TV purposes . NFSA did a great job transferring and making this available.

[@Freebird35]

@@johnd8892 Appreciate the further details. Thank you

[@pgclift51]

Just brilliant!!!

[@octopus1066]

i love the guys at 5:35 they are awesome men!!

[@Peasmouldia]

Wow, sort of Aussie Ivo Peters going on here. Abso-bloody-lutely brilliant. Thank you sir.

[@johnd8892]

Ian, missing Ivo Peters colour trademark, but more than makes up for it with the broadcast quality syncronised sound and images. Helped that they had a TV news editor background, and I suspect broadcast quality equipment and the knowledge to use it. I am sure you will also like their coverage of the Sydney Darling Harbour steam shunters in use from 1877 to 1971 also at NFSA. :-kzbin.info/www/bejne/iWHMq4eieLl7gMU Quite a few other rail topics in the NFSA channels as well.

[@NullaNulla]

Great video and good to see the text in there with who's doing what. I thought steam had died out earlier but turns out it was not long before I was born, a LOT closer than I thought.

[@w.bridges9118]

I do miss them

[@HughFromAlice]

5:30 to 5.45- yeah! yeah! yeah! You gotta love it :-) Overall - great vid.

[@zipperrrrr]

steam still holds the record for time from sydney to newcastle

[@esosthompe]

Perfect

[@kawasakiz76]

What a great video!!

[@marvinwatkins8889]

Many prople might have thought then, and perhaps some still do, that these steam trains were ridiculously, absurdly obsolete and perhaps even embarrassing to be seen in operation at such a late date in the long established age of the diesel. Those passenger locals in particular look positively Victorian. But Newcastle, as it name implies, had plenty of cheap fuel in coal, so why not use it and save some money at the same time from switching to diesel? At any rate, a lot of people miss all that steam now. Magnificent footage here. And an interesting contrast beteeen British and North American sounding ehistles!

[@smitajky]

An analysis showed the fallacy of this. Even though the steam was less efficient than the diesel the fuel was a lot cheaper. So the fuel cost per tonne mile was similar. It was the MAINTENANCE, particularly of the boiler, that swamped all other costs. So although it took capital to switch to diesel the quicker you could do it the less you had to spend. As always the rate of change was limited by the availability of capital and nothing else.

[@mattjames7773]

That was taken 10 years before I was born. Would have love to witnessed it

[@nickelplatenerd6989]

Marvin, you are right, that is so true in my eyes, also Chris, I thought that was funny too. A kid seeing that would have thought that the locomotive from Thomas and Friends and that it was driving itself.

[@donmacculloch9804]

remembering , the glenn innes mail, the moree mail, the northern table lands express ,the brisbane limited, great trains of the 50s and 60s

[@philipmarks5263]

Great to watch the 38s on the Newcastle Flyer,3801 did them proud.

[@lz1clr806]

super video..............

[@LukeLovesTrains-Mr.RailYard]

Pretty cool steam locomotives

[@Gphazor]

2:07 looks like something out of Thomas and friends with how short the whole train is and how small the freight cars are

[@gerry9011]

Most Australian Rollingstock had a British standard to them, meaning that they weren't long, but either small or medium sized; dwarfs compared to the US.

[@Tiffy552]

That is one awesome video. I note that the loco's were in good condition unlike the uk end of steam.

[@petershearman9484]

On a railway holiday in early 1973 I got to ride in the cab of 6042 for a short trip. Sad to hear it was retired just two months later.

[@marcolambruschi1442]

Excellent

[@jurandirboranga5334]

Vídeo sensacional. Uma história de muita lutas é vitórias.......

[@lewisjagger1678]

Everyone seemed so polite back then