Keith Archibald Smith, OBE, AM, MIE Aust, FCIT, (4 May 1915 – 16 July 2011) was Chief Mechanical Engineer, and later Commissioner, for the

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. Op ...

of Australia, which operates mostly in remote and desolate areas railways for the

Federal Government A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governin ...

. Before joining the Commonwealth Railways, Keith Smith graduated with honours from

Sydney University The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's six ...

and was a locomotive designing and test engineer with the

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 differe ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he worked at

Chullora Railway Workshops Chullora Railway Workshops were a major workshops for the repair and heavy maintenance of locomotives and rolling stock for the New South Wales Government Railways. It was built on site at Chullora over 485 acres adjoining the main Sydney marshal ...

supervising the production of war materials including the cruiser tank, bren gun carrier, Beaufort and Beaufighter aircraft projects. He was closely associated with the design of the Class 38 locomotive. In 1948, Keith Smith joined the

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 Na ...

as Production Engineer. In 1950, he joined the

Port Augusta Port Augusta is a small city in South Australia. Formerly a port, seaport, it is now a road traffic and Junction (rail), railway junction city mainly located on the east coast of the Spencer Gulf immediately south of the gulf's head and about ...

, as Chief Mechanical Engineer. As well as his Mechanical Branch responsibilities, in the role of Acting Chief Civil Engineer, he also supervised the construction of the standard gauge line from

Stirling North Stirling North is a town located east of Port Augusta in the Australian state of South Australia. The now abandoned Marree railway line forms the official border line separating the two towns. Primarily, Stirling North is a satellite town to Po ...

to the

Leigh Creek Coalfield Telford Cut was an open-cut coal mine, now closed, in the Leigh Creek Coalfield in South Australia. For the 72 years between its opening in 1943 and its closure, the mine supplied sub-bituminous coal to fire power stations first in Adelaide the ...

. This project also involved the creation of the pick-a-back scheme whereby two complete narrow gauge coal consists were transported on a standard gauge rake of flat cars. Under his stewardship, 1,000 km of new railway to

Alice Springs Alice Springs ( aer, Mparntwe) is the third-largest town in the Northern Territory of Australia. Known as Stuart until 31 August 1933, the name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William Whitfield Mills after Alice, Lady Todd (''née'' Al ...

were built, completed in 1980 and 1,420 km of further extension to Darwin were surveyed. He introduced concrete sleepers and long welded rail to the Commonwealth Railways. He also had much of the

North Australia Railway The North Australia Railway was a narrow gauge railway in the Northern Territory of Australia which ran from the territory capital of Darwin, once known as Palmerston, to Birdum, just south of Larrimah. Initially its name was the ''Palmersto ...

narrow gauge system rebuilt in the 1960s for the iron ore traffic. This work included the complete replacement of all the workshop facilities, much of the housing and office facilities while adding new locomotives and rollingstock. He had the Trans Australia line rebuilt to modern standards and a new standard gauge line constructed between

and

Whyalla Whyalla was founded as "Hummocks Hill", and was known by that name until 1916. It is the fourth most populous city in the Australian state of South Australia after Adelaide, Mount Gambier and Gawler and along with Port Pirie and Port Augusta ...

in 1972. Keith Smith also managed the transition from steam to diesel traction in the 1950s and also the accompanying modern air-conditioned rolling stock. This was followed by the introduction of a modern fleet of large capacity freight rollingstock. Triple deck sheep carriers could accommodate 600 sheep. Other large types of rollingstock were 21 000 gallon tank cars and 75-foot boxcars. Keith Smith was a key executive in the creation of the standard gauge line from the east coast of Australia to the west coast. He supervised the standardisation of the Port Pirie to Broken Hill lline. He supervised the transition of the Commonwealth Railways to the

Australian National Railways Commission The Australian National Railways Commission was an agency of the Government of Australia that was a railway operator between 1975 and 1998. It traded as Australian National Railways (ANR) in its early years, before being rebranded as Australian ...

that incorporated the former

South Australian South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest o ...

and

. Keith Smith was the longest serving Commissioner of the CR, before becoming the first Chairman of Commissioners of the Australian National, retiring in that position in 1981. He was made an Officer of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

in 1970. He died at

Victor Harbor, South Australia Victor Harbor is a town in the Australian state of South Australia located within the City of Victor Harbor on the south coast of the Fleurieu Peninsula, about south of the state capital of Adelaide city centre, Adelaide. The town is the large ...

, on 16 July 2011, aged 96.

Pick-a-Back by the Trainload

One of Smith's more notable achievements was the expeditious introduction of a standard gauge pick-a-back consist to bypass a section of narrow gauge railway (

Central Australia Railway The former Central Australia Railway, which was built between 1878 and 1929 and closed in 1980, was a 1067 mm narrow gauge railway between Port Augusta and Alice Springs. A standard gauge line duplicated the southern section from Port Aug ...

) that was regularly washed away by floods. This pick-a-back consist transported a complete narrow gauge coal train by means of a narrow gauge track laid on the top of a rake of standard gauge flat cars. By comparison, the

Rollbock ''Rollbocks'', sometimes called transporter trailers, are narrow gauge railway trucks or bogies that allow a standard gauge wagon to 'piggyback' on a narrow-gauge line. The Vevey system enables a coupled train of standard gauge wagons to be autom ...

system of transporter train required that the wagons be loaded one at a time. It is not known what speed the pick-a-back train could achieve, possibly 80km/h maximum, but it is noted that the standard gauge line was brand new with gentle curves and gradients. The term "piggy-back" referred to road freight vehicles loaded on rail flat cars. When no longer required, the pick-a-back equipment could be restored to normal service.

Bibliography

*Tales from a Railway Odyssey - Volume 1 (Hard Cover) *Tales from a Railway Odyssey - Volume 1 (Soft Cover)

Photos

SAHistory (Scroll down)

Maps

- start of piggyback operation and power station * Parachilna - end of piggyback operation *

Beltana Beltana is a town north of Adelaide, South Australia. Beltana is known for continuing to exist long after the reasons for its existence had ceased. The town's history began in the 1870s with the advent of copper mining in the area, construction ...

* Leigh Creek - coal mines

Bibliography

*Tales from a Railway Odyssey

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Keith Australian railway mechanical engineers Members of the Order of Australia Officers of the Order of the British Empire University of Sydney alumni 1915 births 2011 deaths 20th-century Australian engineers

Pick-a-Back by the Trainload

Bibliography

Photos

See also

Maps

Bibliography

References