Southern Aurora

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The Southern Aurora was a named express passenger train that operated between the cities of Melbourne and Sydney in Australia. First-class throughout, including the dining facilities, the Southern Aurora featured all-sleeper accommodation.[1] The train first ran on April 16, 1962 after the opening of the North East standard gauge line from Melbourne to Albury,[2] eliminating the break-of-gauge between the capital cities.

The carriages used featured fluted sides and consisted of roomette and twinette sleepers, lounge cars and diners,[3] and were owned jointly by the Victorian Railways and the New South Wales Government Railways.[4] In later years a MotoRail service was added which enabled passengers to travel and bring their cars.[3]

On February 7, 1969 the train was involved in the Violet Town railway disaster, when the southbound Southern Aurora collided head on with a northbound freight train, resulting in 8 deaths.[2] Patronage declined though the 1980s, with the train being combined with the Spirit of Progress to form the Sydney Express (from Melbourne) and the Melbourne Express (from Sydney),[1] the last run of the Southern Aurora being on August 3, 1986.[2]

After the demise of the train, the majority of the carriages have passed to the New South Wales Rail Transport Museum,[5] who have preserved them in operational condition.

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Public transport history (HTML). Department of Infrastructure. Retrieved on 2008-02-05.
  2. ^ a b c VR timeline (HTML). http://www.victorianrailways.net/. Mark Bau. Retrieved on 2008-02-05.
  3. ^ a b Southern Aurora (HTML). http://www.pjv101.net/. Peter J Vincent. Retrieved on 2008-02-05.
  4. ^ Abbreviations and Glossary of Terms: S (HTML). Comrails. Chris Drymalik. Retrieved on 2008-02-05.
  5. ^ New South Wales Rail Transport Museum (HTML). 150 years of NSW Railways. RailCorp. Retrieved on 2008-02-05.

[edit] See also