Harris Trains Melbourne - Video with sound

Поділитися
Вставка
  • Опубліковано 4 жов 2024
  • Please Note:- at 2 minutes 7 seconds, the station named is Brighton Beach. At 2' 25" the street is New Street. At 6' 15" it is South Street near Brighton Beach station. At 8' 10" Prahran Station.
    The Harris trains looked modern and attractive, inside and out, but have almost been airbrushed from history.
    Hopefully this video will bring back memories, and be of interest to those who never knew them.
  • Наука та технологія

КОМЕНТАРІ • 510

  • @francesadams1326
    @francesadams1326 2 роки тому +11

    I just found this video. The driver in it is my late Dad Lindsay. He loved trains and being train driver. Made me smile to see him driving in the cab. Miss you Dad 💞

    • @tressteleg1
      @tressteleg1  2 роки тому +1

      Hello Frances. I’m pleased that you found the video which captures your father as he was, especially when you were young. It is by far the best UA-cam video dealing with the blue Harris trains and without his friendship it would be very much shorter.
      You may recall that I called in to see your father on a trip to Melbourne a few years ago, so it was quite a shock to hear a few months ago that he had left us. I’m sure you do miss him. Kind Regards, Richard.

  • @tressteleg1
    @tressteleg1  8 років тому +84

    Thanks for your comment but open doors were not scary at all. In those days people knew how to hang on when near open doors and fend for themselves . We were not wrapped up in cotton wool then. Falls from open doors were rather rare occurrences.

    • @iwenttobunnings7868
      @iwenttobunnings7868 7 років тому +7

      It's all about responsibility. I'm only 19 years old, yet if we still had trains with open doors, I would know better than to do something ridiculous, and I know people who wouldn't do that who are younger than me. It's all about common sense. But because some people would harm themselves by doing something silly, over-the-top rules have to exist.

    • @Phantomthecat
      @Phantomthecat 6 років тому +6

      Yep, used to love standing at the open doors - as a child with Dad. Still here to tell the tale.

    • @Barflax
      @Barflax 6 років тому +1

      Well both in Berlin and Hamburg those old S-Bahn wagons it was possible to open the doors while the train was moving, everybody knows the unwritten rules not to stand directy in front of an open door, they did that to bring in fresh air during summer months.

    • @jcee6886
      @jcee6886 6 років тому +6

      Thought nothing of it back then. I remember sitting by the open door in the red rattlers on the williamstown line as a kid

    • @highphysics3617
      @highphysics3617 6 років тому +4

      The good bravery days. Yup,no cotton wool in THEM days! I remember vividly,as a kid, the first time I walked...alone,and very brave,from one carriage to another across a moving steel plate when both carriages seemed to move opposite each other. I was convinced that something was going to gobble my feet up! Yeah! the good old days

  • @samreid8691
    @samreid8691 5 років тому +27

    I (when ‹10yo) was always jealous of people on lines that had the lovely Harris trains, they were so much more modern than the old red rattlers we had on the St Kilda line at the time. In those beautiful VR colours, one of the world's greatest railway liveries IMHO.

    • @tressteleg1
      @tressteleg1  5 років тому +5

      I won’t disagree with any of that even though I was a Sydney dweller at the time.

    • @mebeasensei
      @mebeasensei 3 роки тому +4

      Grew up on the Sandy line. We thought “Blue Trains” were from another world.

    • @ThePaulv12
      @ThePaulv12 3 роки тому +6

      Believe it or not I have a feeling the VR livery was perhaps in part 'plagiarized' from the US.
      On another matter, a Harris set at speed, so an express on say the Frankston line was fantastic. They had this presence on the track - not particularly smooth though but not harsh either. They moved around a lot at speed so what would be known as yaw in aviation, however this was the charm of them. They must've been fairly heavy because the sound of the wheels on the track joints was most agreeable particularly at speed and you could hear the bogies of the cars up front making the distinctive double sound and hear it getting closer then hear it behind if there were other carriages behind. They were a very attractive train inside and out. There was something about them. Seats were comfortable too.
      I don't miss them as much as Taits though. Taits were dreadful when I was 10 also, but as I got older so 14+ I started to sense their demise so I decided to make a point of riding them as much as possible. That I certainly did until I got my license but I lost my license (I had a V8) and so me and the Taits were reunited. After regaining my license I still often left the car at home just to ride a Tait. I loved them and still do. Miss them very much.

    • @brandonlee1330
      @brandonlee1330 3 роки тому +3

      Lucky enough ride dogboxswig door and Tait but something about Harris think came out 56 Olympic Games had different pin stripping white went around windows to trains getting graffiti by 85so must just did that orange stripe even my Hornsby Harris trains got correct pinstripe white not yellow

    • @brandonlee1330
      @brandonlee1330 3 роки тому +2

      St Kilda train to hear that stkida train station never new they converted them ,new that orange stripe came in After they were getting graffiti to much work do wonderful pinstripe that blue Harris had new

  • @hqqns
    @hqqns 5 років тому +10

    These I remember as the trains on the Upfield line when i was a kid, I remember them being quite loud in the city loop.

    • @tressteleg1
      @tressteleg1  5 років тому +1

      😊

    • @robbiewales3007
      @robbiewales3007 3 роки тому

      One of my friends from work used to catch trains from Gowrie station on the upfield line when he was younger. Sometimes the train would be a blue and gold Harris train

    • @tressteleg1
      @tressteleg1  3 роки тому +1

      They were especially nice trains in their day.

  • @vinorob
    @vinorob 6 років тому +17

    That was the Melbourne I knew. Long gone now.

    • @tressteleg1
      @tressteleg1  6 років тому +1

      Don’t miss my more recent ‘Taits, Harris Trains and Parcel Vans’ video.

  • @CGT867
    @CGT867 7 років тому +10

    Great! Thanks for preserving history.

  • @doncoleman4938
    @doncoleman4938 5 років тому +12

    These brought back memories. I recall when living in Ferntree Gully as a 5 year old in 1971 going into Flinders St. station once a week. I'd have a guess whether the train was going to be a "red rattler" or a "new blue".

    • @tressteleg1
      @tressteleg1  5 років тому +2

      I first visited Melbourne at Easter 1965 and stayed with former Sydney neighbours at Croydon. The ‘new Blues’ were rather thin on the ground. With all the whistle blowing along the way I thought my friends would have plenty of warning about my approach! All of Sydney had about 4 level crossings then :-)

    • @adriaandeleeuw8339
      @adriaandeleeuw8339 4 роки тому

      I remember sitting at Bayswater with a New Silver train in the siding waiting to be taken to Newport or whereever to be fitted out, a red rattler going to Belgrave, and a few minutes later a Blue Harris coming from Belgrave. would have been early 1975ish, before I left to go to Darwin

    • @tressteleg1
      @tressteleg1  4 роки тому

      😊👍

    • @Austech
      @Austech 5 місяців тому +1

      I was probably on the train with you at some stage, I was born in Ferntree Gully and would have been 4 when you were 5. I also went to the city quite regularly that I remember, even at school, excursions to the city were always on the train.

    • @gavinmorley6643
      @gavinmorley6643 3 місяці тому

      I am the same age I lived in Chelsea and I went to Frankston with my mum. I used to guess too

  • @ThePerson1959
    @ThePerson1959 5 років тому +6

    I enjoyed watching your video. Remember travelling on these trains in the 70s and 80s while visiting Melbourne from Adelaide. Melbourne was great in those days. It has changed heaps and so has Adelaide.Miss all the old trams and trains in both cities. Thanks for posting this.

  • @tressteleg1
    @tressteleg1  8 років тому +7

    I really wish I had more but that is the lot. Hopefully somebody else will come forward with some more, but it seems very few of us were taking video in the later 1980s

    • @johnsergei
      @johnsergei 8 років тому +3

      +tressteleg1 Well, it's far better than the government gave us, they preffered to burn old carriges.
      So, a big thumbs up and your opinion please.
      I was 12 when my family left Melbourne for Adelaide (Jan 1976) Upon returning to Melbourne in the 80s I did a lot of playing with trains, I got back just in time to see the last Taits and wooden VR cars.
      Now, the acceleration of the Taits 9 and of course new trains, impressed me ( relative to Adelaide Red Hen DMUs) But the get up and go of the Harrises while faster than old DMUs, was nothing to get exited about.
      Is it something like lower gearing on Taits and what's their top speed ( i know publication after publication says 80 KM/H ( 50 MPH) but I suspect 90 ks would be easily obtainable, thus making them faster than the Hens in every way))
      I have also heard of Fast Parcels vans being regually driven very hard/fast.
      Do you know anything about Sydney trains ? I have heard that U sets had weak field but the ( mechanicly compatable) last, red suburban sets built did not ?
      And,, oh how I wish I had a camera + endless rolls of film, back then. But photography was not cheap.
      CHEERS!

  • @fredfungalspore
    @fredfungalspore 6 років тому +2

    Basic old trains when life was still relatively slow pace. great upload thanks for the memories.🚂🚎🚎

  • @gregthompson3274
    @gregthompson3274 Рік тому +1

    Great catalogue of the Harris trains,a real workhorse,marvel at the lack of graffiti and rubbish in those days compared to the sad state of affairs today

    • @tressteleg1
      @tressteleg1  Рік тому

      I’m pleased that you enjoyed it. It’s surprising that there is little else on these rather impressive Trains on UA-cam, or at least they were rather impressive when they first came out.

  • @mickcarson8504
    @mickcarson8504 5 років тому +2

    Those Harris trains, that sound, they break my heart. I loved them to bits that I even bought them as models for my 8 by 11 feet train set. The best, quietest trains ever made. I miss them. Thanks for posting a video of these memories, Tresstleg1. 🙂👌

  • @Maria-kq4ri
    @Maria-kq4ri 5 років тому +4

    This is brilliant footage! Thank you for sharing a piece of train history...❤️ ahhh...the good old days

    • @tressteleg1
      @tressteleg1  5 років тому +1

      Thanks 😊. It seems that few others captured Harris trains.

  • @zoomosis
    @zoomosis 8 років тому +2

    Great to see a glimpse of Mordialloc station back then. I grew up nearby in the '80s. Thanks.

  • @bryan3550
    @bryan3550 8 років тому +2

    Wonderful to see the crossing-keeper in action: they were such cool characters, dedicated to keeping things running!
    I grew up and loved the Harris trains: so modern after the truly Victorian Taits. The Harris units disappeared all of a sudden though: I have since learned that they were loaded with asbestos, and had to be "got rid of" rather fast. Apparently some were "rehabilitated" and grace impoverished V line routes now as unpowered passenger coaches.

    • @calcutt4
      @calcutt4 9 місяців тому

      I think a Harris motor car is also still used for Overhead Inspection, hauled by SSR owned T class diesels

  • @waynecarrol3415
    @waynecarrol3415 Рік тому

    When I was 10 I went to Melbourne (from country Victoria)& remember being amazed at these beautiful trains (I caught one to see my first VFL match !!!thanx for memories

    • @tressteleg1
      @tressteleg1  Рік тому

      Thanks. I know what you mean. I first visited Melbourne from Sydney in 1965 and thought that they were rather smart looking trains, blue with the yellow strip, fluorescent lights, laminex interiors. All very nice.

  • @narredude
    @narredude Рік тому +1

    My favourite train ❤ was always happy to see a Harris coming into the station such a shame more wasn’t done to preserve a few more examples 😢

    • @tressteleg1
      @tressteleg1  Рік тому +1

      Considering the revolution in car design that they pioneered, it is a great pity that none were preserved. Rebuilding what is left would be very expensive

  • @elainelethborg491
    @elainelethborg491 2 роки тому

    What nostalgic memories! Riding these beauties from Moonee Ponds to Pascoe Vale to church on Sunday.
    And sometimes in to Flinders Street. It's great to see them again Thankyou!!!!

    • @tressteleg1
      @tressteleg1  2 роки тому

      Yes they were good. It’s a pity none were saved.

  • @johntasevski8046
    @johntasevski8046 6 місяців тому +1

    Thank you again for these great footage of these trains and showing the driver view of Lindsey, he's a legend driving that train.
    I find any old footage when drivers let you record the trip there just legends and want to show what they do.
    With the braking on these harris trains, it's not like trains now when you push the leaver one way it brakes and the other way it releases the brakes? As Lindsey sometimes constantly pulled and push the lever for the train to stop

    • @tressteleg1
      @tressteleg1  6 місяців тому

      It was a chance meeting at St Kilda in the early 1980s which led to many years of friendship, and this remarkable video. Unfortunately we lost him a year or 2 ago but I did at least see him at home a year or 2 before that, retired of course.
      To get a smooth stop it is often necessary to vary the braking force as the train comes to a stop. Today’s trains by comparison are a lot less interesting.

    • @johntasevski8046
      @johntasevski8046 6 місяців тому

      This is by far the best in cab video available today of a old classic and drivers really had to work to get these train moving.
      Lindsey was a champ thank you sir. Did he mention how many years he was driving trains for?

    • @tressteleg1
      @tressteleg1  6 місяців тому

      Yes it is rather comprehensive but I discovered last night that somebody else did a tribute and used some scenes from my videos without asking. Not happy about that.
      Years of service was never discussed but there would be little doubt that he started with the railways as soon as he could after school. The total would have to be just a little short of 50 years I would think.

  • @johnpro2847
    @johnpro2847 5 років тому

    I liked the Harris trains .the seats were really comfortable. Yep .like everyone of the era, hanging out the doors on hot Melbourne days was great fun.i never heard of anyone falling out ..amazing

    • @tressteleg1
      @tressteleg1  5 років тому

      Exactly. I visited from Sydney and always thought they looked smart and modern.

  • @jamesgovett2501
    @jamesgovett2501 4 роки тому +1

    I remember seeing the Harris carriages being taken to the Clayton quicksand pits by lowloaders along centre road to be sunk in the quicksand pits at Clayton back in the early 1980’s when l worked at a hire Co. in oak Leigh south back in the day.

    • @tressteleg1
      @tressteleg1  4 роки тому

      James Govett Yes, that is what happened to many. Unfortunately it would cost millions to try to restore just a 4 car train.

  • @MarkHenstridge
    @MarkHenstridge 5 років тому +2

    Here in South Australia, we had diesel railcars " Red Hens", they also had manual doors which nearly always remained open in summer with the aide of one's foot at the bottom of the door to stop it sliding shut when the train was departing or arriving at a station. I don't remember anyone ever falling out of an open door but when the Red Hens were being replaced with the then new 2000 class diesel rail cars "Jumbos" doors were automatic open/close due to heating and air conditioning.

    • @tressteleg1
      @tressteleg1  5 років тому +1

      Everything in earlier days had manual doors. You could always tell a photo of a Tait taken on a hot day in Melbourne. All the doors are wide open!

  • @itechcircle9410
    @itechcircle9410 3 роки тому +2

    hi tressteleg1, Thank you for recording this. It is really significant. I wish other people recorded Harris trains but I guess not.

    • @tressteleg1
      @tressteleg1  3 роки тому

      Before I got this video ready for UA-cam, I checked to see what else there was already about them on UA-cam. I was amazed that there was only one video made up of photographs. I’m pleased I covered them so thoroughly, partly prompted by my friendly driver, Lindsay Adams.

    • @itechcircle9410
      @itechcircle9410 3 роки тому

      @@tressteleg1 very awesome

    • @tressteleg1
      @tressteleg1  3 роки тому

      👍

  • @tubester4567
    @tubester4567 4 роки тому +1

    I rode the Sandringham line many times as a kid, going to the footy every weekend. Also the Frankston line, Dandenong line, Port and St kilda lines.

  • @NinoNiemanThe1st
    @NinoNiemanThe1st 7 років тому +3

    Thanks so much tresselteg for this video, and the others on Melbourne's old trains. Brings back so many memories of school days. Like most schoolboys, I was fascinated by the trains, and could tell all the old model variants apart. I heard once the old Harris sets were full of asbestos, not sure if that's true, but I've been amazed to see some of the old carriages still in use at Southern Cross for regional rail. Loved your Tait video too - they had such a distinctive sound, and I remember them being extremely bouncy. The doors were always left open in hot weather - guess what, no-one fell out - something of amazement to today's coddled society!

    • @tressteleg1
      @tressteleg1  7 років тому

      +Paul Biechmann
      Nice recollections there. Asbestos was a major factor, and it was not worth removing it. Traits certain could bounce (and rock and sway!) and some seats were very soft. Correct, nobody fell out.

  • @vibezwithando1041
    @vibezwithando1041 4 роки тому +1

    Woah! It’s so cool to see the old Harris trains!

    • @tressteleg1
      @tressteleg1  4 роки тому +1

      Aspect1 Yep. It’s nice to have some cool stuff which nobody else recorded 😊

  • @tressteleg1
    @tressteleg1  8 років тому +3

    To John Sergei. I grew up in Sydney so have limited interstate knowledge. There were at least 2 batches of Harris trains and the later ones (some of which were rehabilitated and painted grey) had weaker motors so were slower.
    Top speeds quoted are usually for level track. A roller-coaster track could increase this somewhat. There would be few electric trains which could not outperform diesel sets. Parcel vans could be faster with no trailer to haul. I unofficially drove U and other sets in Sydney in the past. I believe all Sydney electric trains had Weak Field but these were the first contactors (under the cars) to be removed when spare parts were needed for other trains.

    • @johnsergei
      @johnsergei 8 років тому

      I first visited Sydney Jan 1985 ( apart from a 1972 visit when I was 8, didn't go on trains but Sydney was full of double deck busses in 72 ( inc many old 1/2 cabs)
      Jan 85 I start playing trains in Sydney. No single deckers on Bondi line but probably 1/3 of trains in use on the rest of the system were single deckers or mixed. You also had red Tulloch 2decks in sets with silver painted Tulls & newer SS cars + a small scattering of single deck blue /white PTC livery mixed with the Indian reds ( obviously the last few in that livery & even shabbier the the rest of the motley fleet. Just like Melbourne & other cities round the world, no urban rail beuty then ( OK San Fan had BART) but if you wanted elegence, you got the Indian Pacific.
      How things have changed, mid 86 2nd trip to Sydney, no PTC livery cars and by my 3 visit mid 87 no Red Tulls in 2 story sets. After that Sydney trips were frequent & it soon became clear that that single deckers were gradually becoming less frequent.
      I never had a free run in the reds but I did in the U sets, many times, They could fly, window open at night and maxed out ( with their caracteristic for & aft lurching, seemed like 160 KM/H, ( though I know it was nothing like that speed really).
      If the last reds, the so called 1955 cars ( delivered 57-60) could go like the U sets - as they were mechanicly the same but with a slightly heavier body - then they would have been performers ?
      How time flies, now the V sets are the oldies, most Vs were new back then.
      The modern sparks can certainly fly, in recent Sydney trips, on Central Coast ups, the 2 to 4 track South of Meadowbank can be a slow point, then he's on the quad line, with a clear run, twice I have been on Oscars that have taken of like a motor car or modern tram, once they got the clear. Never had this sheer acceleration ( 40/50 to 100+ in seemingly seconds), in a V & any diesel would look like it's going backwards, even if it's on full throttle.
      Now, if an Oscer can take off like that I assume any modern electric could,
      CHEERS!

    • @tressteleg1
      @tressteleg1  8 років тому

      Nice reminiscences there John. I agree with you about the U sets having been similarly privileged a number of times. I feel that both Sydney and Melbourne first generation trains had a lot of Character even if the Taits and Swingdoors fell into the category of being so ugly you had to love them, and of course their control gear and also sounds were special too.
      By comparison today's trains are little more than functional boxes.
      If you have not ridden the first generation of Brisbane electric trains, you should do so soon. They sound like a Z class tram, but wind right the way out. Sound great. They are about to be replaced by stuff from India over the next couple of years, sadly.

    • @johnsergei
      @johnsergei 8 років тому

      Just one day in Brisbane EVER, 6 years ago . I saw what they call the Emu class but all sets going my way were newer trains. I hope to go to Brizzie on something related to the HST soon ( but like BR MK3 cars on HSTs, the XPT cars need opening windows in the doors ?).
      FF a few years & no more open windows at 200 KM/H, most HSTs will be gone & the remainder will have new plug doors.
      CHEERS!

  • @JJRol.
    @JJRol. 3 роки тому +3

    I never got to be on a harris train, but I've heard that they were the smoothest and quietest trains on the metro.

    • @tressteleg1
      @tressteleg1  3 роки тому +3

      They were generations ahead of Taits and Swing Doors, the other trains then running. How they would stack up against today’s trains, I don’t know but a major drawback was they were underpowered, especially the later ones. Unfortunately it would be virtually impossible to recreate a 4 car set from the scraps still lying around.

    • @garynewton1263
      @garynewton1263 2 роки тому

      Not as smooth and quiet as the Comengs but they were nice. Eventually they acquired electric doors.

    • @Austech
      @Austech 5 місяців тому

      They rocked around quite a bit I remember.

  • @mattaustin2128
    @mattaustin2128 2 роки тому

    Oh wow, that’s Lindsay from Aspendale! When my dad did an AFULE study of drivers’ conditions from about 1986-88, and interviewed hundreds of drivers, we were invited by Lindsay to his place, where he played videos of obscure railway, tramway, and aviation subjects. A real gentleman.

    • @tressteleg1
      @tressteleg1  2 роки тому

      Yes, Lindsay was a legend. Did you know he left us a couple of months ago? Sad news.

  • @MrAustruck
    @MrAustruck 3 роки тому +1

    I remember a mini diesel loco on display at spencer st .. it was beautiful like a big model. I worked at spencer st reconstruction and got to explore everything, tell you a secret , the subway is still there but we filled it with services and bulkheads, you can see the exit from docklands , just a doorway

    • @tressteleg1
      @tressteleg1  3 роки тому

      I don’t recall seeing the model so I guess it went a long time ago. I’m not surprised the subway is still there. I’m not sure what was achieved by removing it, except for looks.

    • @MrAustruck
      @MrAustruck 3 роки тому

      @@tressteleg1 80’s was there, same train as that yallourn train, it was the size of a small car but it was in blu,e Vic rail . Colour scheme. Was in a glass enclosure at top ramp inside the main area platform one, the subways (3) where removed as the new design was all about openness, single level, no dingy rain swept platforms etc. There was a major subway underneath platform 1 that ran lenghtway along the station that was filled with a liquid concrete mix, it 4 days to fill it up, the mix was like slurpee. The areas we wanted to save where bricked up to contain the mix. Then there was the passenger pedestrian subway that ran across to join all the platforms and exited in the middle of the platforms, that is now a services tunnel and is full of pipes and ducts and machinery, some areas you can barely fit past. The subway has an exit/entry at mayfield place, a small lane in Docklands. Then there is the subway that ran along the end of the platforms used by staff, often driving little tugs with trailers full of baggage. This subway is still there

    • @tressteleg1
      @tressteleg1  3 роки тому

      Thanks for that extra interesting information. I’m not a Victorian so I’m not familiar with what the small rail vehicle on display was, but New South Wales did have some rail pay buses that would be described as about the same size as a motorcar. Maybe it was similar. The subways story is interesting. It seems like a lot of trouble filling up a tunnel with concrete. Quite amazing really.
      As for the finished station, it may not be open to the weather, but the stink and noise of diesel engines clunking over all the time is not particularly pleasant.

    • @MrAustruck
      @MrAustruck 3 роки тому

      @@tressteleg1 no, was a model the size of a small car, of a diesel loco same as the loco at start of this video ..

    • @tressteleg1
      @tressteleg1  3 роки тому

      Being a model is a big difference. As the video says, it is an L class electric loco, scrapped around 1990.

  • @riverhuntingdon6659
    @riverhuntingdon6659 8 років тому +6

    Sounds as if these Harris units had Regen or Dynamic brakes too come to that, nice old things.

    • @MurrayJoe
      @MurrayJoe 3 роки тому +1

      They never had regenerative braking, and they never had rheostatic braking, not even our silvers had regenerative braking, but the silvers (Hitachi) and Commeng trains had rheostatic braking. I often switched the rheo out on Hitach’s and run on air brake or tripped the rheostatic c/b out on the commeng’s and run with the air brake to keep up the skill.

  • @harvey1965
    @harvey1965 Рік тому

    I used to stand in the open doorways of the Harris trains during summer, while travelling home from school. The carriages had zero airconditioning except for open windows & doors. Upon reflection it was a fairly risky thing to do, as they used to bounce about a fair bit! And the smell of their brakes was particularly rank!!! Great memories!!!
    @ 19:08 in the video ... seriously, i can remember the unique smell of the Harris train interiors - what a blast from the past!!!

    • @tressteleg1
      @tressteleg1  Рік тому +1

      I’m pleased that you like that video. No Australian suburban Trains had air conditioning in the 1950s when these trains first appeared. Also people knew how to behave near open doorways. I suspect that these trains had Ferrodo brake shoes while the Taits still had cast iron. That would be the smell you noticed.

  • @mickcarson8504
    @mickcarson8504 7 років тому +4

    I remember riding these trains in the 70-80's. The sound of the Harris, how can I forget that? I liked having the door open in summer and feel the cool breeze and listen to the clanking of the wheels on the track. Such beautiful memories. Then they were replaced with the noisy silver trains, I forgot their names. I also saw the Harris Trains being transported to the local tips at South Clayton. I wondered why, so one day I rode my bicycle down Clayton Road, left into Frazer Road and right into Deal Road, there were several sand quarries that had been filled with tipping waste and stuff, and there I found several Harris cars dumped in the quarry being filled with household/industrial waste and useless soil. The site where these Harris cars were dumped is next to the Oakleigh Go-Kart Racing Club, under the light grey roofed building nearest to the Go-Kart track, Google Earth it. They dumped the Harris cars because of asbestos used in them. Tonnes of aluminium and steel that was used to build the Harris trains are buried there and elsewhere around Melbourne tips, and we know that all the aluminium is there, worth a fortune. Bad decision in dumping whole cars into the ground instead of stripping and recycling the aluminium. For years I cursed the ignorance of men because I had always felt that metals would be dissolved by ground water and flow down into underground tableland and exist in creeks whose water was used to irrigate the farms and vegetable gardens around Clayton South. Shame nobody has recovered all that $$$$$$$$ silver 'gold' sitting there. Melbourne Railways, why did you have to change? You had everything, manpower, jobs and better control.

    • @tressteleg1
      @tressteleg1  6 років тому +1

      Better than living in a dog eat dog place like some nations on earth.

    • @rkvktmen
      @rkvktmen 6 років тому +2

      @Livin Vidz Strange, then, that this golden era occured when the system was government run, while everything went to hell after it was privatised.

    • @tressteleg1
      @tressteleg1  6 років тому

      Both sides of politics have their pet hates and likes.
      I believe that the trams, trains and tracks are owned by the Victorian government and it is up to them to decide what to repair or build.
      In Qld and SA the conservatives hate trams and will not fund extensions. In NSW Labor hates trams - they scrapped the previous system up to 1961.

  • @MrAustruck
    @MrAustruck 3 роки тому +2

    When trains had VR’s or guards. Stations had people, mum would ask the guard if us kids could travel in guard compartment and we always could, sometimes there be other passengers in there, and who can forget the “ ding ding toot” as the train lurched away

  • @mickman3582
    @mickman3582 6 років тому +1

    1985....I was around 7 yrs old back then. Never really caught pt when I was a kid so I don't recall the Harris trains. I grew up in East bentleigh so not far from where some of this footage was shot.

    • @tressteleg1
      @tressteleg1  6 років тому

      Nice to be able to show you something. I think we all regret the fact that things of interest disappeared before we were old enough to see or remember them. A railfan’s biggest mistake is to assume that ordinary things today will be around forever, so don’t bother recording them one way or another. Just look at how little there is of the Harris Trains which ran for 30 years!

  • @Austech
    @Austech 5 місяців тому

    I can remember in the early 80's going to the football at the MCG with a couple of mates (all aged about 13 or so) and after the match at Richmond station there was a Frankston train departing which we ran to try and catch. Some kids had the door open and egged us on to run and jump in as the train had departed. I made it pretty easy having long legs but my mate was running flat chat and jumped in the door smack in to the metal pole that you see at 19:14 . He was ok, but nearly knocked himself out. Funny stuff.
    We used to go to the footy every week and it involved a lot of public transport as we lived at Rosebud on the Mornington Peninsula. We would still go to every game though, so trips took hours when you consider getting to the Western Oval, Windy Hill and all those grounds where you were lucky to survive opposition fans.
    I liked the old Harris trains, but I liked the Taits even more. They were run down and very noisy, but they had the most comfortable seats. I missed them when they were gone, as I did with the Harris. I wouldn't set foot in Melbourne these days even if I was offered money, but enjoy seeing Melbourne as it once was at it's best. Cheers, Austech

    • @tressteleg1
      @tressteleg1  5 місяців тому

      Your mate was rather lucky! Thanks for your account of your memories. Tait seats certainly were nice and soft. I am happy to go there each year to get more video for you guys to watch 😆
      But I could not stand the long months of miserable cold weather living there. 7 years driving trams was long enough.

  • @garynewton1263
    @garynewton1263 2 роки тому

    Looks like the Burnley sidings. I grew up in Loyola Grove Burnley during the 70s & 80s and wouldn't have lived anywhere else. There used to be sidings east of the station up until around the early 70s and west of the station at the rear of Pinnacle flour mills up until the mid 90s.
    There was also a station called 'Burnley Gardens' I believe just before the bridge over the freeway. The station was removed in the 1960s I think.
    I remember as a 3 or 4 year old seeing the old wooden bridge over the freeway and yarra before it was replaced with a new concrete bridge.
    Great period in Richmond's history.

    • @tressteleg1
      @tressteleg1  2 роки тому

      I guess you are referring to the title photograph. I can’t really remember where that was taken, in fact it may be a photograph from a friend. As a visitor to Melbourne, I do vaguely recall the road and tramline bridge being built over the railway line at Burnley, but that’s about all I can remember from that area.

  • @mervynstent1578
    @mervynstent1578 3 роки тому +1

    I remember them when I was a child around 1987 on the Dandenong Line! They smelled bad! One year later they were scraped and dumped in Clayton

    • @tressteleg1
      @tressteleg1  3 роки тому

      Bad smells were probably related to grubby people riding in them. With their withdrawal approaching, maintenance may have been down a bit too.

  • @dieterkoch8414
    @dieterkoch8414 4 роки тому +2

    I miss being able to stand by the open doors!!

  • @thegoingthing
    @thegoingthing 7 років тому +1

    Great video!! Especially loved the cab ride section

  • @Nick-Rivers
    @Nick-Rivers 10 місяців тому

    I remember hot summer afternoons & you'd leave most of the doors open to get a lovely breeze through the carriage.
    Not many fences back then either, you could walk onto the tracks quite easily & so many level road crossings with those old white gates.
    I used to go up & down the St Kilda & Sandringham lines just to ride the ol' red rattlers as a kid.

    • @tressteleg1
      @tressteleg1  10 місяців тому

      One way to tell that a photo Ws taken in summer was to see if all the Tait doors were open.
      It’s good to see that you also appreciated the special charms of this ancient trains.

  • @northseabrent
    @northseabrent 7 років тому +22

    At least you hold your iPhone in landscape mode and not portrait.

    • @highphysics3617
      @highphysics3617 6 років тому

      Bang on Neil Forbes. A lot of footage shot with i phones is fine,but,for really good detail ya can't beat the real thing ..yep,a good old video camera!

    • @rkvktmen
      @rkvktmen 6 років тому +6

      Something tells me he wasn't shooting with an iPhone back in 1985.

    • @tressteleg1
      @tressteleg1  6 років тому +10

      It was a Panasonic State of the Art VHS video camera using full size VCR tapes. iPhones were about 25 years into the future, long after the last Harris ran.

    • @paulorocky
      @paulorocky 5 років тому +1

      😂

    • @johnsergei
      @johnsergei 5 років тому

      @@rkvktmen Catch the TARDIS before the train.

  • @derekobrien4703
    @derekobrien4703 6 років тому +7

    The unfortunate thing about the Harris trains was that they were full of asbestos, used for heat and sound insulation. They were built just before the dangers of inhaled asbestos were made public; the asbestos health hazard was the main reason for their demise.

    • @mickcarson8504
      @mickcarson8504 5 років тому

      They could have been recycled. Instead they ended up mostly at the Clayton South landfills. Shame, I loved the Harris, they were the only trains that encouraged me to visit the city each weekend. They could have easily had the asbestos removed in a safe place and refitted with other harmless insulating material. Instead, they're buried them whole at Clayton, aluminium and all.

    • @ThePaulv12
      @ThePaulv12 5 років тому

      Many were deasbestostized, modernized with auto doors and crappy seating then put in Met livery. What are you talking about?

    • @tressteleg1
      @tressteleg1  5 років тому

      Only 16 cars were rebuilt. See Wikipedia. My memory was that it was just a few trains. It is a pity that they did not last. Drivers would not have been happy as the newest cars got the treatment, but these were the ones with the weakest motors so would have been hard pressed to stay on time.

    • @ThePaulv12
      @ThePaulv12 5 років тому +1

      I never saw a Harris on the Sandy line. I caught the train from Gardenvale to Brighton Beach for 3 years fron 1976 - '79 right in the era where 1x D and 2x Ms were replaced with 4x Ms in the train sets. I was enthralled to see this vid.
      I remember going to the Melbourne Show from Ormond station one year on a Harris. Why I remember this particular trip is my father normally who couldn't care less for me decided to take me to the Show. I can remember thinking WTF is going on here?? (I was scared he might leave me there lol)
      Anyhow, being hyper vigilant I noticed more than usual that day. The Harris we caught had high backed seating and looked to be leather. I wonder if you can shed any light on that? It may even have had a compartment with a large glass dividing window but I can't be sure just something in your vid caused a bell to ring.
      As well, since I'd became so accustomed to the Tait's riding qualities (which weren't all bad as a T in the middle of the carriage was often very good), I remember the authority the wheel sounds the Harris imparted in me. The ride was smooth in any seat of the train regardless of whether it was a T or an M. It seemed faster somehow.

    • @tressteleg1
      @tressteleg1  5 років тому +2

      A memorable ride no doubt! All the Harris trains were gone when I moved to Melbourne late 1987 - there were not a lot of them anyway. I didn’t often ride them and trams were the main focus of my attention as a visitor. While I can’t help you regarding seatbacks I do you recall that some carriages did have a compartment isolating about 1/3 of the carriage which was cut off from the rest of the carriage by a partition with windows. Each side of this partition had a long seat. And at this time, Harris carriages had no doors through to the next carriage. I can’t comment about the ride of the Harris trains, but you would expect some improvement over trains 40 or more years older.

  • @sanjeevpereira6765
    @sanjeevpereira6765 5 років тому

    Great vedio. Especially showing the controls.loved it

    • @tressteleg1
      @tressteleg1  5 років тому

      Yes, but unfortunately it is now virtually impossible to recreate a Harris train.

  • @The_Bit_Player
    @The_Bit_Player Місяць тому

    I actually remember the smell of these trains. I'm guessing it was the brake pads. Ah the memories.

    • @tressteleg1
      @tressteleg1  Місяць тому

      Yes they were probably the first Melbourne trains to get Ferodo brake shoes which were not made of metal.

  • @dieseldavetrains8988
    @dieseldavetrains8988 3 роки тому

    Cracking video, used to ride the Tait and Harris sets as a young country lad on school holidays in Melbourne. Was lucky to have many cab rides too as my Uncle's best mate and drinking pal who was a VR suburban driver! Classic bib & brace overalls were common part of the old yard and train running staff VR uniforms too in those days. Gatekeeper gets plenty of exercise on those manual gates too, would have made a "Hard earned thirst" commercial for VB! Melbourne wasn't a "graffiti dump" back then either. Thanks for the memories!

    • @tressteleg1
      @tressteleg1  3 роки тому

      Thanks. Much easier-going days then.

  • @reverseuniverse2559
    @reverseuniverse2559 5 років тому +19

    @2:45 imagine the abuse the gate operator would get these days be like roadside speedcam opps

    • @QJ89
      @QJ89 3 роки тому +1

      I'm glad you clarified that it Was New Street. As the last hand operated gates in Melbourne, the crossing has an interesting history behind it.

  • @Andyroo64
    @Andyroo64 6 років тому

    Asbestos anyone? I think a lot of these trains finished up buried in tips around S.E. Melbourne. Thanks for sharing the trip down memory lane.

    • @tressteleg1
      @tressteleg1  6 років тому +1

      Thanks. They were wrapped in plastic and dumped in at least one swamp, abandoned brick pit or whatever.

    • @lachlanjones3397
      @lachlanjones3397 6 років тому

      hy wen thay gogot rridof them haow did thaytransport them to thetipwith aspsstos

    • @Low760
      @Low760 6 років тому

      Towed to Dandenong then wrapped up and carried by truck to Clayton rd tip. The only ones that were an issue to my understanding were burnt units.

  • @tjttan
    @tjttan 3 роки тому

    My 80's to and from school routine, Ferntree Gully / Belgrave.... Fond memories of Harris Trains

  • @andymceachern9668
    @andymceachern9668 Рік тому

    For those who don't know, the same coach bodies were used by the Toronto Transit Commission on their subway line from its 1954 opening til the mid 90s. We called them the Red Rockets. Cheers from Canada 🇨🇦

    • @tressteleg1
      @tressteleg1  Рік тому

      Interesting. I didn’t know that. Interesting in that yours were painted red, and thus Red Rockets. Melbourne’s were painted a rich blue, and mostly known as the “Blue Trains” (in a sea of ancient looking red trains).

  • @MitchDonovan
    @MitchDonovan 5 місяців тому

    Sitting in the door in summer from Box Hill to the city express as the platforms raced past you just inches away.

    • @tressteleg1
      @tressteleg1  5 місяців тому

      True, and the red trains in Sydney were equally exciting. I have a photo of 2 high school boys sitting right next to the open door. Quite normal. Something today’s kids will never enjoy.

  • @wazowski6709
    @wazowski6709 4 роки тому +2

    Anyone else wish that they had a time machine right now?

  • @JJRol.
    @JJRol. 3 роки тому +1

    I wish I was around to have been on one of these...

  • @peterblackmore7560
    @peterblackmore7560 3 роки тому +1

    Aha - so many memories of travelling in these, mostly from Ringwood to Flinders Street.

  • @andrewmiddleton2445
    @andrewmiddleton2445 3 роки тому

    Loved the video as i rode on the harris when i was a teenager from cheltenham to the city and if we were lucky we would get an old red rattler espically on a Saturday nite they had big seats to lie down on after a few and you could smoke on certian carriages and have the doors open but tbey were hot in summer ah the good old days

    • @tressteleg1
      @tressteleg1  3 роки тому

      Sounds about right! Especially the long seats to lie down on at night but you would not want to fall asleep and end up in the car sidings!

  • @dpd6401
    @dpd6401 5 років тому

    Brings back good memories.

  • @shaunrichards744
    @shaunrichards744 3 роки тому

    Travelled on them many times back in the 70s

    • @tressteleg1
      @tressteleg1  3 роки тому

      No power cars have really been saved, so we’re not likely to ever ride one again.

    • @shaunrichards744
      @shaunrichards744 3 роки тому

      @@tressteleg1 that's for sure. Did you like the W class trams?

    • @tressteleg1
      @tressteleg1  3 роки тому +1

      I’m very happy that I had the chance to drive them and had some real fun at times. However the lack of a foot rest meant that I sat until my back ached, stood until my legs ached, sat until my back ached again and so on all through the shift. It really took the edge off it. The Z1 class was by far the most fun to drive though!

  • @michaelroper4237
    @michaelroper4237 2 роки тому

    i was born just in time to ride one a couple of times with my nanna in the mid-late 80s on the altona line... just before they completely disappeared

    • @tressteleg1
      @tressteleg1  2 роки тому +1

      You are lucky to have some memory of the Harris trains, as there is almost no hope of one being restored in preservation.

  • @Dazzalinco1
    @Dazzalinco1 7 років тому

    Theres still the greasers and original blue motor car and refurbished motor car at the Williamstown railway museum. The trailers were converted into v/line passenger carriages still seen today.

  • @russellgilmour3974
    @russellgilmour3974 8 років тому

    thanks for posting this especially with the Driver Lindsay, known this bloke since the early 80's when I was about 11 yo

  • @railtrolley
    @railtrolley 5 років тому

    There is an excellent docco from 1962 called All Manner of Trains. Shows some footage of the Harris manufacture. I remember a line from the film: "Their products must be built to the highest standard, as they will be subjected to arduous and widely varying use." It's on You Tube.

  • @icascone
    @icascone Рік тому

    Good to see this one again!

    • @tressteleg1
      @tressteleg1  Рік тому +1

      Last time I checked UA-cam, there was sadly little else Harris to see apart from my video. Maybe if someone has some footage it will appear one day. And sadly Driver Lindsay Adams died a year or 2 ago after several years of retirement.

    • @tressteleg1
      @tressteleg1  Рік тому +1

      I saw your comment about the Harris mention on another video. Happy hunting. I’m fairly certain that I read that one or both M cars have had some of the wiring removed. Big job to fix that, with just a handful of volunteers.

    • @icascone
      @icascone Рік тому

      @@tressteleg1 No probs
      Just glad that there are at least 1 of each in existence!
      Ironically probably more valuable now...

    • @tressteleg1
      @tressteleg1  Рік тому +1

      I have a video in preparation which was taken at the Tait’s home in Newport. Outside I spotted an L class electric loco with a few other vehicles behind it in the distance. The last one is yellow, and I suspect it is a Harris but I did not notice this until I looked at the video afterwards.

    • @icascone
      @icascone Рік тому

      @@tressteleg1 Look forward to it! :)

  • @cameronwhyte7223
    @cameronwhyte7223 7 років тому

    My memories of the inside of Harris trains is very faint. Funnily enough I know I definitely rode on them. I can remember waiting to get on them and have memories of them approaching the platform.

    • @tressteleg1
      @tressteleg1  7 років тому +1

      +Cameron Whyte
      It's close to a disgrace that just about all have been airbrushed out of history as though they never existed. Recently I found a little more video of them as seen from a bridge. A parcel van also goes past. I will post it in a few weeks. No indoor shots though.

  • @darylcheshire1618
    @darylcheshire1618 4 роки тому

    The converted Harris cars were convered to Comeng style with aircon and similar seats but they cost nearly as much as a new Comeng car so only 16 were done. A driver complaint was they couldn’t sit close to the windscreen and so had a narrow view and were restricted to the Sandringham line where there were less level crossings.

  • @darylcheshire1618
    @darylcheshire1618 Рік тому

    At St Kilda station, I asked the guy manning the barrier the purpose of the little brass wheel above his head, he turned it and the hands of the large clockface at the street end of the platorm moved it’s hands. It was for setting the next train departure time.

    • @tressteleg1
      @tressteleg1  Рік тому

      The old clocks showing departure times for the next trains on the various lines which are above the steps at Flinders Street station would have been operated in a similar manner until they were mechanised a number of years ago.

    • @darylcheshire1618
      @darylcheshire1618 Рік тому

      @@tressteleg1 Yes, I remember the man with the pole.

  • @burntoutelectronics
    @burntoutelectronics 6 місяців тому

    Truly fascinating. I couldn't imagine having open door trains these days with OH&S haha

    • @tressteleg1
      @tressteleg1  6 місяців тому

      Originally, no trains had self-closing doors. It was up to the passengers simply not to fall out which they managed with quite good efficiency. Not that it happened often, but foolish behaviour was probably behind most of it. The more that rules are made up to protect people from their own stupidity, the less care they take for themselves.

    • @burntoutelectronics
      @burntoutelectronics 6 місяців тому

      @@tressteleg1 You're not wrong about that! How long have you been around trains? by the looks you were a driver at some point?

    • @tressteleg1
      @tressteleg1  6 місяців тому

      Trams then Trains in Sydney caught my attention around 1950 when I was five. I was a Melbourne tram driver for six years but also had some unofficial train drives, just a few being recorded.
      Sly Drives of Electric Trains. Melbourne, Sydney, London.
      ua-cam.com/video/dR8gZ9tJeyI/v-deo.html

  • @jasonmorris858
    @jasonmorris858 3 роки тому

    Yes the Blue Harris train Newport to Seaholme sitting legs out of the doorway then God says "The platform is coming" beautiful Melbourne summers...

    • @tressteleg1
      @tressteleg1  3 роки тому

      Don’t be too slow getting legs legs in!

  • @Swarm-ws5gv
    @Swarm-ws5gv 8 років тому +4

    PLEASE YOU MUST HAVE MORE FOOTAGE

  • @peterhearn3297
    @peterhearn3297 3 роки тому

    You just videod my depot with the L class going past it. I was with the Mechanical Signal Construction with the VR at that time. Another shot you took was looking at the roof top of the train, sadly that was the end of the Guard being on the Sparks. That being said what happens next is you get idiots Surfing on the roof of the train, regardless of the over head wire. ZAP and yes a few have died doing just that!!. THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES!!!!

    • @tressteleg1
      @tressteleg1  3 роки тому +1

      Right place, right time it seems! Glad you enjoyed that bit. Unfortunately I have little sympathy for idiots who want to surf the roofs of trains. They don’t last too long in Brisbane as 25KV AC jumps much longer distances than 1500 V DC!

  • @holden602001
    @holden602001 7 років тому +1

    Can remember that we thought these were special compared to the Red-rattlers on the Altona line (when it terminated there) Thanks for the vid!

    • @tressteleg1
      @tressteleg1  7 років тому

      +holden602001
      Coming from Sydney at that time, I thought they looked quite modern with their fluorescent lights and laminex walls inside. Amazing that they disappeared so quickly and virtually completely.

    • @rkvktmen
      @rkvktmen 6 років тому

      @@tressteleg1 I think that was because of the asbestos. It's a bit before my time, but as I understand it the glue that held the asbestos in place had begun to deteriorate after 30-odd years of service and release the fibres. As such, the trains had to be pulled from service very quickly. Indeed, they were withdrawn before the replacement fleet was completely delivered, causing a fair few cancelled services.

    • @tressteleg1
      @tressteleg1  6 років тому

      Asbestos certainly had a lot to do with it, but you should also remember that the last Tait had run a couple of years earlier and Comeng trains were rolling off the assembly line. Harris Trains were the next for the scrappers. Whether they were withdrawn so hastily as to produce a rolling stock shortage, I don’t know.

    • @Jmjdit
      @Jmjdit 4 роки тому

      Not all Harris trains contained asbestos, however even those which didn't left service very quickly, at least in some cases to be sunk in a swamp. It seems someone in the government didn't mind wasting huge amounts of money.

    • @tressteleg1
      @tressteleg1  4 роки тому +1

      The handful of Harris trains that were refurbished were quite clear of asbestos after that. The newest Harris trains had weaker motors so were somewhat underpowered and when the rest were withdrawn, these were probably shunned for that reason and generally transport Drivers hate anything that is different from the vast majority of the fleet. Whether it was management or unions which saw the refurbished Harris trains quickly thrown aside is unknown.

  • @tressteleg1
    @tressteleg1  8 років тому +1

    Comments like yours make it worth the effort to edit and post. Thanks!

  • @darylcheshire1618
    @darylcheshire1618 4 роки тому

    At Glenhuntley, the plarform bricks look rough on the left side, they were cut back to allow the slightly wider Comeng trains.

  • @mendocinobeano
    @mendocinobeano 11 місяців тому

    The only thing I didn't like running the Harris trains as a Guard was they used to "back trip" a lot when you went through the underground loop. Because the track was bi-directional there were home signals facing in opposite directions on both sides of the track and every now and then (quite often actually) the little trip lever underneath the drivers cabin would hit the trip arm on the home signal on the other side of the track and we would lose air. The Guard would have to climb out and reset the trip lever by giving it a belt with the switch stick. On one occasion, I reset the trip lever and the air came up very quickly and the driver started moving off before I was back in the Guards van. Luckily we were only about 200 metres from the platform so I had to jog down to catch up with the train. There were no power doors on the Harris trains so no one even knew until I told the driver when were changing ends later on. It only ever happened to me on the Harris trains, must have been a design thing.

    • @tressteleg1
      @tressteleg1  11 місяців тому

      I’m not familiar enough with Melbourne trains to know the finer details, but I thought that the unwanted trip arms, like those on car 4, could be clipped up out of the way. Certainly having to get out to reset it is not good.

  • @Techno-Universal
    @Techno-Universal 2 роки тому +1

    Apparently some of the COMENG converted Harris cars were converted into rail inspection vehicles more recently so they are often used with diesel locomotives to inspect parts of the network! :)

    • @tressteleg1
      @tressteleg1  2 роки тому +2

      That’s possible. Perhaps you could check it out and let us all know. Unfortunately apparently there are few power cars suitable for restoration and many vital parts are missing.

    • @Techno-Universal
      @Techno-Universal 2 роки тому +1

      @@tressteleg1
      It’s mainly IEV102 that seems to be a COMENG renovated Harris car that was converted into an overhead line inspection vehicle for use by Metro! :)

    • @Techno-Universal
      @Techno-Universal 2 роки тому +1

      @@tressteleg1
      The interior of IEV102 seems to have COMENG lighting fixtures which were most likely from the 1980s renovation or were installed more recently but the windows seem to match the windows on the COMENG renovated units. The centre doors were also seemingly removed more recently! :)

    • @Techno-Universal
      @Techno-Universal 2 роки тому +1

      @@tressteleg1
      I also just saw that there were Harris trains originally painted yellow and had only four doors on each car instead of six so it’s also possible that IEV102 was originally one of those units! :)

    • @tressteleg1
      @tressteleg1  2 роки тому +2

      They probably were yellow in works service, but very unlikely in passenger service.
      I also have been doing research on the matter. Presumably the inspection car was a trailer, and probably a ne of the few with only 2 sets of doors. I also see that a couple of motors are shown as preserved, but from memory a few years ago somebody in ElecRail told me that restoration would be very expensive, as stated earlier. That overhead inspection car is likely to remain for some time to come.

  • @inkdreams5113
    @inkdreams5113 4 роки тому +1

    One of my earliest memories of travelling on the blue Harris trains was someone vomiting out an open door and seeing it fly past the next open door where I was, disgusted though thankfully I don’t recall the smell, I don’t think they had automatic door then.
    This was in the early 80s just before they were withdrawn from service.

    • @tressteleg1
      @tressteleg1  4 роки тому

      That was an unfortunate reason to remember them. The passenger doors were never automatically closed on them, I believe.

  • @aussi3212
    @aussi3212 7 років тому +2

    wow that refurbed Harris in the MET livery , i remember seeing that but never put two and two together, never even realized that it was a Harris, i guess the Tate and Hitachi eras over shadowed the Harris era, sweet video mate, i wish someone filmed the at the time mundane regional Vline freight like the swanhill oil trains and Warragul yard activity. 19:36 St Kilda train? kids these days" thats crazy talk" lol

    • @tressteleg1
      @tressteleg1  7 років тому

      +aussi3212
      Glad it brought back good memories for you. Unfortunately I have little more vintage Aussie video yet to post.

    • @gav240z
      @gav240z 5 років тому

      Wish they still had the Port Melbourne and St Kilda trains.

    • @tressteleg1
      @tressteleg1  5 років тому +1

      The sad truth was that not many people rode the trains, even to St Kilda. As soon as the trams took over and went round to Acland Street, ridership skyrocketed. That was just months before I started conducting then driving those 2 lines. I saw the difference.

    • @Gaminggunzeller
      @Gaminggunzeller 5 років тому

      @@tressteleg1 At least 2 of the Harris' both unrefurbished and refurbished are in the railway museum near Newport.

  • @monogramadikt5971
    @monogramadikt5971 2 роки тому +1

    all very familiar sights and sounds, remember it just like it was yesterday. me and my friends used to jump the fence and play in the scrapped bluie's at the richmond end of jolimont yards as kids, they often had interior panels removed etc and there were asbestos suits left laying around which we would put on and wear not knowing at the time what they were obviously used for ? im 51 now and im always surprised none of my friends ended up dying from asbestos poisoning,, lots of them died from other forms of misadventure though well before their time should have been up

    • @tressteleg1
      @tressteleg1  2 роки тому +2

      Thanks for your interesting account. Getting asbestosis seems very random. I should have got it from bathroom renovations late 1970s, but apparently not. Too bad about your other mates.

  • @wasupdoc1738
    @wasupdoc1738 6 років тому

    Although I don't remember the Harris train sets I do remember the doors, growing up.

  • @fredwilson8326
    @fredwilson8326 6 років тому

    I was a young lad in the railways back then and the blue trains were well ahead of there time as they would not be out of place on todays service

    • @tressteleg1
      @tressteleg1  6 років тому +2

      As a young man on my first visit to Melbourne in 1965, I thought the Harris Trains looked rather smart and modern with their fluorescent lights (only introduced to Sydney with doubledeck trailers in 1964) and their Laminex interior wall linings. The blue paint was also attractive. The great pity is that not one four car set was saved even if at great expense the remaining cars could be rebuilt into a set.

  • @AWAradiola
    @AWAradiola 7 років тому +3

    I still remember the smell of the asbestos brakes through the open doors

  • @brianhare971
    @brianhare971 8 років тому

    Some real great footage

    • @tressteleg1
      @tressteleg1  6 років тому

      I have never heard of that place. Sorry.

  • @bozza03
    @bozza03 8 років тому +2

    Thanks heaps for uploading this, as someone who has been a regular commuter since moving to inner Melbourne in 2008 (and still trained fromthe Frankston when I lived on the peninsula), I've always wanted to see what St. Kilda & Port Melb were like pre light rail conversion. I know the TV Screen PID's have existed at least since the first city loop station opened in 1981 and I had wondered if they were used on the St. Kilda line (so the end of the vid answered my question). I'm amazed the same TV screens with the exact same typeface still exist at Box Hill station (and even if said TV screens aren't 35 years old, the technology is at least).
    tressteleg1 in your opinion, if the the circa mid 80's PTC & the State Gov't had the crystal ball to find out what the population & patronage of St. Kilda and Port Melbourne was going to be in 2016, would they have been better off leaving them as train lines for the sake of greater capacity per service, or do the advantages of greater frequency with light rail outweigh the disadvantages of less capacity?
    As someone who once lived on the Mornington side of the Peninsula, rather than the Stony Point side and both those lines closed in 81, but the latter reopened in 84, many probably would've said back in the day that the Mornington line was a white elephant. Nowadays the demand for PT, quite ironically, is greater on the Mornington side than it is on the Stony Point side (hence Mornington has Night Network bus services, but the Stony Point side is devoid of either bus or train NN services).

    • @darylcheshire1618
      @darylcheshire1618 4 роки тому

      bozza03 A comment I recall at the time the Mornington line closed was that the rail motor took 30 minutes whereas a bus or taxi could get there in 10 minutes. The line was a big curve from Baxter and the Nepean Hwy was more direct. Some days the derm was replaced by a taxi which indicated how many riders there were. One day I waited at RM Stopping Place no. 16 with a bicycle only to see a taxi turn up so I had to ride back on the bike.

    • @darylcheshire1618
      @darylcheshire1618 4 роки тому

      Brad Allen It’s a bit hilly if it branched off before Baxter. Apparently they tried to close the Mornington line in the sixties and there was a big outcry. The same people objected to the 1980s closure. I recall the race special with T388 that was trapped at the platform by protesters. It was on the News that night.

    • @darylcheshire1618
      @darylcheshire1618 4 роки тому

      Brad Allen This was after the Lonie Report, the Mornington line and Healesville line closed on the same day, the government were busting to cut services, the Stony Point line was closed for a short time, Steve Crabb reinstated some services including the Stony Point and Cobram line, I forget which else.

  • @ianjones4071
    @ianjones4071 4 місяці тому

    Hi I remember little blue parcel train,in 1973 I sent a Harley gearbox to Preston from Frankston

    • @tressteleg1
      @tressteleg1  4 місяці тому +1

      Yes, both Melbourne and Sydney had them. It was a good service. I don’t know whether courier services started taking away too much custom, or whether pressure from such quarters caused them to be stopped.

    • @ianjones4071
      @ianjones4071 4 місяці тому

      Yes I believe you are right, door delivery is more popular, cheers

    • @tressteleg1
      @tressteleg1  4 місяці тому

      @@ianjones4071 👍😊

  • @cliffleigh7450
    @cliffleigh7450 5 років тому

    Although the Harris sets were normally 7 cars with a 4-car Block and a 3-car unit, a couple of trains seen here on the Sandringham line are M-T-T-M-BT-M making only 6 cars. At one stage there were a couple of 8 car Harris trains running on other lines as M-T-T-M-M-T-T-M.

    • @tressteleg1
      @tressteleg1  5 років тому

      Harris trains were not particularly powerful so it is possible they evened the Motor/Trailer ratio to help give them a bit better performance. Perhaps some Melbourne railfan can clarify that.

    • @cliffleigh7450
      @cliffleigh7450 5 років тому +1

      @@tressteleg1 As a Melbourne railfan who was also Electrical Foreman where they were maintained I can tell you that the first and second series cars were randomly mixed regardless of their different power outputs. The first series had 4 x 150kW motors per motor coach and the second series had 4 x 115kW motors per motor coach. The Sandringham line had very few gradients so power was not an issue. In fact some of the Tait sets used on this line had only 2 motor coaches in a 6 car set. The one set that was consistently kept together was the original set with motor coaches 501M, 502M, and 503M which was used to test modifications and finished it's days running with the full acceleration as it had when delivered.

    • @tressteleg1
      @tressteleg1  5 років тому

      I always enjoy reading the comments of maintenance men. Like you, they always have information that general fans can only guess at.
      I was friends with a driver named Lindsay Adams. I did a number of cab rides with him and even drives occasionally and he told me about the weak motors of Harris trains particularly on that big dip on the Glen Waverly line. Perhaps the big puzzle is why the much weaker motors were chosen for the later Harris trains. Perhaps somebody in administration decided to save money and even thought that somehow they could be kept on the flat lines which as you say, never happened. Running a 6 car Tait with just two motors must have had woeful acceleration. Melbourne speeds seem to have always been rather leisurely.

    • @cliffleigh7450
      @cliffleigh7450 5 років тому +1

      @@tressteleg1 No, the less powerful motors were fitted to the second series because of the excessive wheelslip on the first series causing motor damage through flash-overs. On the first series firstly they cut-out the weak field option to reduce the top speed of the motors, then they permanently set them for reduced acceleration. Around 1980 a successful wheelslip control was developed by VR engineers for these cars. It was so successful that the weak field was again able to be used on the cars when fitted, and on 501M, 502M & 503M only the original high acceleration was restored.
      In the video Lindsay manipulates the controller to try and give a smoother change from series to parallel, but most drivers simply put the controller handle straight round - which you could do. You can see the ammeter drop momentarily to zero at 10:16 as the change takes place, which always caused a jolt in these cars.

    • @tressteleg1
      @tressteleg1  5 років тому

      More fascinating insight. Thanks very much. Without wishing to start an argument, I think that driver training in Melbourne would have been the best solution. You may know that the original Sydney electric trains had only one power bogeie per motor car and each motor had 360 hp. These were prone to slip, much more so after Ferrodo brake shoes were introduced and especially on wet days. It was essential that drivers controlled driving acceleration in the manner you mentioned which presumably was staying in First Notch but going to the Series notch briefly then back to 1st notch till the train picked up speed a bit then a bit more series. Parallel was then chosen and the procedure repeated. Even in dry weather this was best practice to avoid uncontrolled wheelspin. I experienced driving these trains just a few times.
      The double deckers were four motor and much less like to spin except in wet weather. They had the wheel slipped detection which gave a jolting start as Power was cut as soon as slip was detected. I was told to use the above procedure starting those trains in the wet as well to give a much smoother start. But of course all of this is quite academic today with those trains gone and new technology being quite different.
      This sound only video you may enjoy. It is a wet day run with the driver accelerating carefully to avoid spin although once or twice he does lose it. Sounds Meadowbank to Hornsbyua-cam.com/video/4DMbVGGNeMY/v-deo.html
      Sounds best with headphones or good stereo speakers.

  • @bradwilliams1691
    @bradwilliams1691 2 роки тому

    3:00 This railway crossing is actually located on New St.

    • @tressteleg1
      @tressteleg1  2 роки тому

      I think somebody else pointed that out some time ago.

  • @mebeasensei
    @mebeasensei 8 років тому

    Blue trains were a rare sight on the Sandy line and I guess were never intended for them. When the City Loop opened in the very early 80s the railways fully intended to run their red rattlers through there for this line and I remember a newspaper picture 'Old meets New' showing a 1920s red rattler with Sandringham displayed on it sitting at the then new underground station Museum. But red trains were soon banned for their fire hazardous materials, and then blue trains themselves were deemed asbestos ridden in the mid to later 80s.

    • @blueycarlton
      @blueycarlton 8 років тому

      When they opened the City Loop in Jan. 1982? they had free rides for the public. The train we got in was a Tait red rattler and being summer the all doors and windows were open. Once in the loop tunnels the noise was incredible. A modern railway tunnel system running one of the oldest trains!

    • @tressteleg1
      @tressteleg1  7 років тому

      +blueycarlton
      I didn't live in Melbourne then but did hear that some Taits went through the Loop. I think that was soon stopped as someone postulated the problems should a wooden train catch fire in the underground.

  • @tressteleg1
    @tressteleg1  8 років тому +2

    It is very sad that these fine trains were all but airbrushed from history.. I first saw them in 1965 on my first visit from Sydney and thought that with their fluorescent lights and Laminex wall linings they looked very modern, especially when compared with the antique Taits and to a lesser extend Sydney Reds. It will take a lot of money to recreate just a 4 car set. I believe that the two greasers are the only Motors left.

    • @reality3671
      @reality3671 8 років тому

      asbestos was the reason they pulled them from service. I am sure I read somewhere that they maybe did one or two sets of trains-removing the asbestos but it was costly so the project was scrapped and so were the trains.

    • @tressteleg1
      @tressteleg1  8 років тому

      +reality There are two of those rebuilt trains in my video. One is seen coming the other way during the cab ride towards the city. The other is the last scene leaving St Kilda. They were painted grey.

    • @dougborrett3566
      @dougborrett3566 8 років тому +2

      A lot of those blue carriages were wrapped in black plastic sheeting and dumped in an old disused water filled sand quarry in Clayton south as it was deemed to dangerous to cut them up for scrap metal.

    • @reality3671
      @reality3671 8 років тому

      +Doug Borrett yeah. asbestos

    • @grahamcockerill2406
      @grahamcockerill2406 7 років тому

      Doug Borrett yeah mate I remember those trains when I was a kid it was so great when a blue train came along opposed to a gait.☺

  • @james14joe
    @james14joe 5 років тому

    better than what we have now

  • @PaulinesPastimes
    @PaulinesPastimes 5 років тому +1

    The poor Harris trains, condemned because of their asbestos content, so I believe. I liked them. They looked good in their blue and yellow, were airy and spacious with comfy seats and had a comfortable ride. They were much more pleasant to travel in than the 'hot box' Hitachi trains with their dreadful seats. I see that your camera technique has improved since the 80's :-)

    • @tressteleg1
      @tressteleg1  5 років тому +1

      The asbestos in the Harris Trains was a major reason for their withdrawal. It was removed from the few rebuilds, recognised by their grey paint.
      I first visited from Sydney in 1965 and then thought they looked rather modern. It is a pity that it is almost impossible to rebuild even just 4 cars now.

  • @robertaquilina3848
    @robertaquilina3848 Рік тому

    my great mate the late lindsay adams shown here the first harris i drove was motor no 501 502 503 the first harris train love to do that again gone forever

    • @tressteleg1
      @tressteleg1  Рік тому

      Nice. Although there are bits of Harris Train here and there, it would cost a vast sum of money to even rebuild a four car set.

  • @cherylpurdue888
    @cherylpurdue888 11 місяців тому

    Been on those trains 😊

    • @tressteleg1
      @tressteleg1  11 місяців тому

      Obviously no later than 1986 😊

  • @normnotnoe2162
    @normnotnoe2162 5 років тому

    Great historic footage 👍

    • @tressteleg1
      @tressteleg1  5 років тому

      I continue to be surprised that for a train type that existed for 30+ years, nobody else took videos of them. So it certainly is history as there are only a few cars still in existence with no plans to restore a train.

  • @tressteleg1
    @tressteleg1  8 років тому +5

    April and September 1985

  • @dat581
    @dat581 5 років тому +1

    "The Harris trains looked modern and attractive, inside and out, but have almost been airbrushed from history."
    The same thing has happened to the single deck electrics in Sydney and I bet it will happen to our S-sets too.
    Are there any Harris trains left in original condition as electrics or were all converted to loco hauled cars?

    • @tressteleg1
      @tressteleg1  5 років тому +2

      Virtually all the Harris cars are gone. A couple of motors that were used for overhead wire greasing apparently exist.
      Sydney Red single deck sets are in a much healthier state. A group is slowly but surely restoring them and a double deck trailer, as well as a W set and a U set.

    • @nickhiscock8948
      @nickhiscock8948 5 років тому

      There not quite gone. Today they exist in limited numbers as locomotive hauled carriages for vline. They can still be ridden daily on Vline runs to Bacchus Marsh. Now known as H sets. The H stands for Harris Cars.

    • @johnd8892
      @johnd8892 4 роки тому

      Lots of Harris cars still running converted an upgraded to H set loco hauled interurban cars. With air con, carpets etc. Oldest cars still running. But for how much longer?

  • @mallamick
    @mallamick 3 роки тому

    After the red rattler Tait’s, The Harris Blues were to me sheer modern luxury. Seemed to be extra wide. They were far more appealing than the Hitachi’s that replaced them, horrible soulless tin cans.

    • @tressteleg1
      @tressteleg1  3 роки тому

      Visiting from Sydney for the first time in 1965, I thought the Harris trains were extra modern.

  • @tressteleg1
    @tressteleg1  8 років тому

    Sorry but there is only the little bit which is at the end of this video.

  • @thomasmatthewharris1980
    @thomasmatthewharris1980 6 років тому

    I miss them already

    • @tressteleg1
      @tressteleg1  6 років тому

      Already? Actually they disappeared around 1986 except some cars are still hauled around by Vline.

    • @thomasmatthewharris1980
      @thomasmatthewharris1980 6 років тому

      tressteleg1 i meant the suburban train form

  • @snuggles03
    @snuggles03 3 роки тому +1

    I travelled to school on those blue trains ... so great to see them .... little did we know they were filled with asbestos 😂😂😂

    • @tressteleg1
      @tressteleg1  3 роки тому

      Well, it does not seem to have killed you! 😊😊

  • @ianomeara3963
    @ianomeara3963 5 років тому

    Never saw to many Harris trains on the St Albans line

  • @matthewnorman9803
    @matthewnorman9803 3 роки тому

    Harris trains are like the xtrap trains where they would be on certain lines only