12 November 2008
The Spirit of Progress
Posted by Miroslav under: Train .
One of the truly great trains, The Spirit of Progress (Wikipedia), which in its various forms ran between 1937 and 1986, was designed and built in Melbourne during the earlier 1930’s.
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From the State Library of Victoria
A SPIRIT OF PROGRESS
The Spirit of Progress train is a potent symbol of 1930s Modernism and technological achievement in Australia. This enduring icon of Australian train transport ran the Melbourne to Albury section of the Melbourne-Sydney rail link in continuous service from 1937 to 1986, with the engines replaced by diesels in 1953-54.
Stephenson & Meldrum’s input into the design of the Spirit began in 1935. In preparation for the task, and with no prior knowledge of such work, extensive overseas research on all facets of train design was undertaken. The firm’s involvement was comprehensive, ranging from producing early exterior sketches of the train’s shape, to consulting on every minute detail of interior finishings from furniture, fittings, blinds and curtains, to selection of crockery and table covers, right down to the numbering of the seats and carriages and the type and placement of lettering.
Innovations included air-conditioning, concealed lighting, stainless steel baggage racks with individual reading lights, and a modern galley kitchen modelled after the most up-to-date hospital kitchens of the period.
The train was given ‘Australian character’ through the use of Australian materials, with panelling of blackwood for the parlour car and Queensland brown beech for the dining car. According to an Argus newspaper report of the time, it made an impressive sight: ‘The eye … sweeps down the long line of carriages, unbroken by any gap or join. The great gold lines that gleam at the sides of the locomotive wings sweep away, and the whole thing immediately assumes a grace that is difficult to reconcile with such huge size’.
The Spirit consisted of First and Second Class cars, a dining car with kitchen, and a parlour observation car with smoking saloon. The engines were each named after historical identities associated with Victoria: Matthew Flinders, Edward Henty, Sir Thomas Mitchell, and Charles Joseph La Trobe.
The entire train was designed and manufactured in Melbourne’s Newport Railway Workshops.
Design & Innovation
When introduced, the train featured many innovations new to Australian railway practice, such as streamlining, full air-conditioning, and all-steel carriage construction. Its overall exterior and interior design reflected the latest Art Deco style, and interior fittings used materials such as stainless steel and native Australian blackwood veneers.The luxurious new train also featured a dining car with a modern galley kitchen modelled after the most up-to-date hospital kitchens of the period and, at the rear, a round-ended parlour/observation car offering panoramic views of the Victorian countryside as it disappeared into the distance.
Learn more about the S Class Steam Locomotives that powered the Spirit of Progress.
One Comment so far...
Fiona Hill Says:
8 September 2009 at 12:43 pm.
Hi! Can I get copies of these posters and photo of the Spirit of Progress? I have searched extensively to find such lovely images but with no joy until now.
Cheers,
F
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