Quoting Alec Cameron to Steve Asher 07 Jun 1997
Hi Alec!
 AC> Thanks, yes that's the mag I saw at my bro in law's home. He
 AC> is an O gauge modeller- the train shed is wider than his
 AC> house!!
Hmmm..nice!
 AC> The O'seas RAILFANS messages seem to have dried up. Yours is
 AC> the first I have seen in a week.
Yes, there was a change of Fido hub in Sydney on May 31st...should 
just be teething problems. We can chase it up if nothing arrives
in a week or so.
 AC> In 1950 I made first visit to your town. Semaphore suburb,
 AC> had steam train on the main street Yankee style.
The Semaphore branch closed in 1978, due in part from pressure
from traders who felt the train interfered with business. It
was replaced by a bus for a few years, but now only has a feeder
bus service which does not serve the jetty. Of course, the traders
are lamenting the loss of customers that the train brought to their
street.
 AC>  The railmotors were called Barwell's Bulls, they had a low
 AC> mournful whistle. Barwell was a one- time Chief Commissioner
 AC> I was told. 
Yep, they survived in service til about 1968, and were replaced
by "Red Hen" railcars, which in turn were replaced last year by
3000 Class railcars, similar to Melbourne electric stock, but diesel.
 AC> The overnight express to Melbourne was a hell of
 AC> a rough ride as the two steam locos up front kept arguing
 AC> during starting out of stations- mighty drawbar shocks to
 AC> keep all the passengers alert!!
I've done that trip many times in diesel hauled sleepers, and
with standardisation & rerouting through Geelong instead of
Ballarat, the Overland is probably slower than when you rode it :)
In winter, millipedes swarm on the rails, & cause wheel slip.
 AC> And on the main station, it cost a penny to use the
 AC> lavatory. You gave the cash to an attendant, he walked ahead
 AC> to the cubicle, wiped the seat with a light towel, flushed
 AC> the pan: "There you are, Sir!"
By my time, I think it was 5 cents; now it is free, dirty, graffiti
filled and a little dangerous :(
Cheers, Steve..
--- 
---------------