The ''Southern Aurora'' was an overnight express passenger train that operated between Australia's two largest cities,

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

and

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 met ...

. First-class throughout, including the dining facilities, the ''Southern Aurora'' featured all-sleeper accommodation. The train first ran on 16 April 1962 after the opening of the

North East standard gauge line North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...

from Melbourne to

Albury Albury () is a major regional city in New South Wales, Australia. It is located on the Hume Highway and the northern side of the Murray River. Albury is the seat of local government for the council area which also bears the city's name – the ...

, eliminating the

break-of-gauge With railways, a break of gauge occurs where a line of one track gauge (the distance between the rails, or between the wheels of trains designed to run on those rails) meets a line of a different gauge. Trains and rolling stock generally cannot ...

between the capital cities. A fleet of 34 stainless steel carriages was jointly purchased by the

Department of Railways New South Wales The Department of Railways New South Wales was the agency of the Government of New South Wales that administered rail transport in New South Wales, Australia between 1932 and 1972. Management The Department of Railways was under the control of ...

and

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 companie ...

featuring fluted sides and consisted of

roomette A roomette is a type of sleeping car compartment in a railroad passenger train. The term was first used in North America, and was later carried over into Australia and New Zealand. Roomette rooms are relatively small, and were originally gener ...

and

twinette A twinette is a sleeping-berth compartment for two persons in a train. The term "twinette" is in common use only in Australia and New Zealand (unlike "roomette", which originated in North America and is more widespread); thus the double-berth comp ...

sleepers, lounge cars and diners. A

motorail A motorail train or accompanied car train (ACT) is a passenger train on which passengers can take their car or automobile along with them on their journey. Passengers are carried in normal passenger carriages or in sleeping carriages on longer ...

service was added from July 1973 which enabled passengers to travel and take their cars. On 7 February 1969, the train was involved in the

Violet Town railway disaster The Violet Town rail accident, also known as the Southern Aurora disaster, was a railway accident that occurred on 7 February 1969 following the incapacitation of the driver of one of the trains, near the McDiarmids Road crossing, approximately ...

, when the southbound ''Southern Aurora'' collided head on with a northbound freight train, resulting in eight deaths and the destruction of two S class locomotives and seven carriages. With declining passenger numbers, it was decided to combine the ''

Spirit of Progress The ''Spirit of Progress'' was the premier express passenger train on the Victorian Railways in Australia, running from Melbourne to the New South Wales border at Albury, and later through to Sydney. Route From its introduction in November 1 ...

'' and ''Southern Aurora'' into one train, the '' Sydney/Melbourne Express''. The ''Southern Aurora'' ran for the last time on 2 August 1986. After the demise of sleeper trains in the early 1990s, many of the carriages passed to the

Australian Railway Historical Society The Australian Railway Historical Society (ARHS) aims to foster an interest in the railways, and record and preserve many facets of railway operations. It had divisions in every state and the Australian Capital Territory, although the ACT divis ...

Canberra Railway Museum The Canberra Railway Museum is located at Kingston in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), next to Canberra railway station on the Bombala railway line. Since May 2018, Canberra Railway Museum has been the trading name of a not-for-profit ...

and

New South Wales Rail Transport Museum The NSW Rail Museum is the main railway museum in New South Wales, Australia. A division of Transport Heritage NSW, it was previously known as the New South Wales Rail Transport Museum (NSWRTM), Rail Heritage Centre and Trainworks. Transport He ...

(now the NSW Rail Museum) who have maintained them in operational condition. The latter often operates them on tours under the ''Southern Aurora'' banner. From December 2017, four NAM Twinette carriages were restored at the

Lithgow State Mine Heritage Park & Railway The Lithgow State Mine Heritage Park & Railway is an Australian mining museum, located in the Central Tablelands city of Lithgow, New South Wales. Collection The museum is principally a museum of coalmining and related industries. The aim of th ...

on behalf of Vintage Rail Journeys. From September 2019, two LAN Roomette carriages, one NAM Twinette carriage and one MHN Luggage were restored at Goulburn Locomotive Roundhouse on behalf of Vintage Rail Journeys.

References

External links

{{Named trains of the Victorian Railways Interstate rail in Australia Named passenger trains of Australia Night trains of Australia Passenger rail transport in New South Wales Passenger rail transport in Victoria (Australia) Railway services introduced in 1962 Railway services discontinued in 1986 1962 establishments in Australia 1986 disestablishments in Australia Discontinued railway services in Australia

See also

References

External links