Railways Of Australia
Railways of Australia (ROA) was an association of railways operators. It was established in November 1963 when the government railway operators of Australia and New Zealand decided to unite to promote the industry on a national scale. The inaugural members were the Commonwealth Railways, New South Wales Government Railways, New Zealand Railways Department, Queensland Railways, South Australian Railways, Tasmanian Government Railways, Victorian Railways and Western Australian Government Railways. Headquartered in Melbourne, it also maintained a sales office in London, England. The ''Indian Pacific The ''Indian Pacific'' is a weekly experiential tourism passenger train service that runs in Australia's east–west rail corridor between Sydney, on the shore of the Pacific Ocean, and Perth, on the shore of the Indian Ocean – thus, l ...'' passenger train that was jointly operated by four operators, launched in 1970, carried Railways of Australia branding on its carria ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Commonwealth Railways
The Commonwealth Railways were established in 1917 by the Government of Australia with the Commonwealth Railways Act to administer the Trans-Australia and Port Augusta to Darwin railways. It was absorbed into Australian National in 1975. Operated railways Trans-Australian Railway Construction of the standard-gauge Trans-Australian Railway between Port Augusta and Kalgoorlie commenced in 1912. Despite the inhospitable nature of the terrain and wartime supply problems, satisfactory progress was made, and the two tracklaying machines, one working from each end, met near Ooldea on 17 October 1917. The promise to construct the Trans-Australian Railway had been one of the principal inducements to Western Australia to join the Commonwealth of Australia during federation, and it was for the purpose of surveying and constructing this railway that the Commonwealth Railways Department was initially formed. It was a matter of misfortune that its two termini were break-of-gauge station ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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New South Wales Government Railways
The New South Wales Government Railways (NSWGR) was the agency of the Government of New South Wales that administered rail transport in New South Wales, Australia, between 1855 and 1932. Management The agency was managed by a range of different commission structures between 1857 and 1932, which reported to either the Minister for Public Works or the Minister for Transport. The inaugural Chief Commissioner was Ben Martindale and, following the enactment of the he became Commissioner of Railways. John Rae succeeded Martindale in 1861, and in 1877 Charles Goodchap was appointed Commissioner. The set up a corporate body of three railway commissioners to manage the railways and remove them from political influence, resulting in the resignation of Goodchap. This Board of Railway Commissioners of New South Wales was in place from 22 October 1888 to 4 April 1907, and was replaced by a sole Chief Commissioner of Railways and Tramways until 22 March 1932, when a panel arrangement ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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New Zealand Railways Department
The New Zealand Railways Department, NZR or NZGR (New Zealand Government Railways) and often known as the "Railways", was a government department charged with owning and maintaining New Zealand's railway infrastructure and operating the railway system. The Department was created in 1880 and was corporatised on 1 April 1982 into the New Zealand Railways Corporation. Originally, railway construction and operation took place under the auspices of the former provincial governments and some private railways, before all of the provincial operations came under the central Public Works Department. The role of operating the rail network was subsequently separated from that of the network's construction. From 1895 to 1993 there was a responsible Minister, the Minister of Railways. He was often also the Minister of Public Works. Apart from four brief experiments with independent boards, NZR remained under direct ministerial control for most of its history. History Originally, New Zea ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Queensland Rail
Queensland Rail (QR) is a railway operator in Queensland, Australia. Owned by the Queensland Government, it operates local and long-distance passenger services, as well as owning and maintaining approximately 6,600 kilometres of track and related infrastructure. QR was also responsible for all Queensland freight services, and from 2002 operated interstate services under the Australian Railroad Group, Interail and QR National brands. These were all spun out into a separate entity in July 2010, and later privatised as Aurizon. History Beginnings Queensland Railways was the first operator in the world to adopt narrow gauge (in this case ) for a main line, and this remains the systemwide gauge within Queensland today. The colony of Queensland separated from New South Wales in 1859, and the new government was keen to facilitate development and immigration. Improved transport to the fertile Darling Downs region situated west of Toowoomba was seen as a priority. As adequate river ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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South Australian Railways
South Australian Railways (SAR) was the statutory corporation through which the Government of South Australia built and operated railways in South Australia from 1854 until March 1978, when its non-urban railways were incorporated into Australian National, and its Adelaide urban lines were transferred to the State Transport Authority. The SAR had three major rail gauges: 1600 mm (5 ft 3 in); 1435 mm (4 ft in); and 1067 mm (3 ft 6 in). History Colonial period The first railway in South Australia was laid in 1854 between Goolwa and Port Elliot to allow for goods to be transferred between paddle steamers on the Murray River and seagoing vessels. The next railway was laid from the harbour at Port Adelaide, to the capital, Adelaide, and was laid with Irish gauge track. This line was opened in 1856. Later on, branch lines in the state's north in the mining towns of Kapunda and Burra were linked through to the Adelaide metrop ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Tasmanian Government Railways
The Tasmanian Government Railways (TGR) was the former operator of the mainline railways in Tasmania, Australia. Formed in 1872, the railway company was managed by the Government of Tasmania, and existed until absorption into the Australian National Railways Commission in 1978. History Precursor Launceston & Western Railway The early railways of Tasmania were constructed by a number of private companies, rather than owned by the Government. Proposals were considered by the Tasmanian Government for the construction of a railway from Hobart to Launceston as early as 1856, when the colony gained responsible government. In June 1857, railway committees were formed in Deloraine, Carrick, Longford, Perth and Westbury, to lobby for the construction of a railway between Launceston and Deloraine. Delegations from these committees were successful in lobbying the Mayor of Launceston to organise a meeting on the issue on 27 August, with discussions around the need for a railway to ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Victorian Railways
The Victorian Railways (VR), trading from 1974 as VicRail, was the state-owned operator of most rail transport in the Australian state of Victoria from 1859 to 1983. The first railways in Victoria were private companies, but when these companies failed or defaulted, the Victorian Railways was established to take over their operations. Most of the lines operated by the Victorian Railways were of . However, the railways also operated up to five narrow gauge lines between 1898 and 1962, and a line between Albury and Melbourne from 1961. History Formation A Department of Railways was created in 1856 with the first appointment of staff. British engineer, George Christian Darbyshire was made first Engineer-in-Chief in 1857, and steered all railway construction work until his replacement by Thomas Higginbotham in 1860. In late 1876, New York consulting engineer Walton Evans arranged the supply of two 4-4-0 locomotives manufactured by the Rogers Locomotive Works of New Jersey, US ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Western Australian Government Railways
Western Australian Government Railways (WAGR) was the operator of railway services in the state of Western Australia between October 1890 and June 2003. Owned by the state government, it was renamed a number of times to reflect extra responsibility for tram and ferry operations that it assumed and later relinquished. Westrail was the trading name of WAGR from September 1975 until December 2000, when the WAGR's freight division and the Westrail name and logo were privatised. Its freight operations were privatised in December 2000 with the remaining passenger operations transferred to the Public Transport Authority in July 2003. History of operations The WAGR had its origins in 1879, when the Department of Works & Railways was established. The first WAGR line opened on 26 July 1879 between Geraldton and Northampton. It was followed by the Eastern Railway from Fremantle to Guildford via Perth on 1 March 1881. The WAGR adopted the narrow gauge of to reduce construction co ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metropolitan area known as Greater Melbourne, comprising an urban agglomeration of 31 local municipalities, although the name is also used specifically for the local municipality of City of Melbourne based around its central business area. The metropolis occupies much of the northern and eastern coastlines of Port Phillip Bay and spreads into the Mornington Peninsula, part of West Gippsland, as well as the hinterlands towards the Yarra Valley, the Dandenong and Macedon Ranges. It has a population over 5 million (19% of the population of Australia, as per 2021 census), mostly residing to the east side of the city centre, and its inhabitants are commonly referred to as "Melburnians". The area of Melbourne has been home to Aboriginal ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major settlement for two millennia. The City of London, its ancient core and financial centre, was founded by the Romans as '' Londinium'' and retains its medieval boundaries.See also: Independent city § National capitals The City of Westminster, to the west of the City of London, has for centuries hosted the national government and parliament. Since the 19th century, the name "London" has also referred to the metropolis around this core, historically split between the counties of Middlesex, Essex, Surrey, Kent, and Hertfordshire, which largely comprises Greater London, governed by the Greater London Authority.The Greater London Authority consists of the Mayor of London and the London Assembly. The London Mayor is distinguished fr ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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NR103 And The Ghan Through Heavitree Gap Near Alice Springs, 1997
The ''N''-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (also known as the NMDA receptor or NMDAR), is a glutamate receptor and ion channel found in neurons. The NMDA receptor is one of three types of ionotropic glutamate receptors, the other two being AMPA receptor, AMPA and kainate receptors. Depending on its subunit composition, its Ligand (biochemistry), ligands are glutamate and glycine (or D-Serine, D-serine). However, the binding of the ligands is typically not sufficient to open the channel as it may be blocked by Magnesium, Mg2+ ions which are only removed when the neuron is sufficiently depolarized. Thus, the channel acts as a “coincidence detector” and only once both of these conditions are met, the channel opens and it allows cation, positively charged ions (cations) to flow through the cell membrane. The NMDA receptor is thought to be very important for controlling synaptic plasticity and mediating learning and memory functions. The NMDA receptor is ionotropic, meaning it is a pr ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Indian Pacific
The ''Indian Pacific'' is a weekly experiential tourism passenger train service that runs in Australia's east–west rail corridor between Sydney, on the shore of the Pacific Ocean, and Perth, on the shore of the Indian Ocean – thus, like its counterpart in the north–south corridor, ''The Ghan'', one of the few truly transcontinental trains in the world. It first ran in 1970 after the completion of gauge conversion projects in South Australia and Western Australia, enabling for the first time a cross-continental rail journey that did not have a break of gauge. The train has been rated as one of the great rail journeys of the world. Its route includes the world's longest straight stretch of railway track, a stretch of the Trans-Australian Railway across the Nullarbor Plain. The service was originally operated jointly by four government railway administrations: the Department of Railways New South Wales, South Australian Railways, Commonwealth Railways and Western A ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |