Can't tell you how much I love this video! It takes me back to my childhood in the 1960s when my family didn't have a car and, if we wanted to visit my Grandmother in South Melbourne, we needed to catch a Broadmeadows line train to Flinders Street and then get this train to South. For a young boy, going over the Sandridge Bridge was as exciting as a ride on a roller coaster! Thank you so much for posting this!

@johnphillips592

8 ай бұрын

Thanks for that , glad it brought back so many memories , guess that's what it's all about .

The way she used to say "Stand Clear please... STAND CLEAR". Her recordings always had that bitchy tone... loved it..

Wow. Thanks for posting this. I was a Guard from 1980 to 1990 and for the first 5 years I was based at the old ERD (Electric Running Depot) in Batman Avenue. I used to love running the St Kilda / Port Melbourne shuttles as it was close to town and there were always some odd characters around to keep things interesting. Watching this and hearing the two bells the memories just came flooding back. They weren't push button bells, back then you had to insert your H key into the box and rotate it to get the bells to work. Sad to see they were already demolishing the platforms getting ready for the light rail by this time. I recall the Tait sets were captive on these lines until they got retired in the mid 1980's. When I joined in 1980 there was still something old and historical about the rail. We still had the old Taits and even old safe-working systems like staff and ticket were still being used. There had been minimal investment in the network so a lot of the buildings were extremely old and it was sort of like working in a living museum. I transferred out to Ringwood depot in 1985 and ended up having a career in various parts of the rail industry for 41 years. I can still vividly remember the sound of the compressor on the Tait train and the smell of the brake dust.

@johnphillips592

9 ай бұрын

Thanks Peter , I too worked in the railways , first as a train examiner and then in the photographic section , it was a good place to work then , always proud to be a railwayman .

Remarkable! I didn't think I would see anything like this again.

@johnphillips592

5 жыл бұрын

Thank you , things sure have changed a lot since I filmed this

@Myrtone

4 жыл бұрын

@@johnphillips592 It looks like it was shot on videotape. I wonder why it wasn't done on film. I'm asking because even 16mm film may have a higher level of detail that the television standard of the time.

@johnphillips592

4 жыл бұрын

@@Myrtone Agreed , but I didn't have a 16mm camera then.

@Myrtone

4 жыл бұрын

@@johnphillips592 I wonder why you didn't get one in the pre-HDTV era.

@johnphillips592

4 жыл бұрын

@@Myrtone Too expensive to buy and the film wasn't cheap.

Love the sound of the ding ding when the train leaves the platform, and the old semaphore signals, getting very nostalgic here. How Melbourne's skyline has changed, high risers everywhere now......

@redhead3199

Жыл бұрын

That was the guard informing the driver that it is safe to depart.

Wish it stayed like this.

Another great piece of history. I never did travel by train to St Kilda, despite skating at St Moritz every Saturday for years on end. I have done the light rail which is excellent.

Grey Ghost/Harris Rebuilt! Miss the line alot but it's great that we have this video right here!! Thank you so much!!!

@johnphillips592

4 жыл бұрын

Thanks Mathew , glad it brought back some good memories

@TheAxelay

4 жыл бұрын

@@johnphillips592 , never thought I'd ever see it again?! You sir are a legend!!! Thanks again and subscribed!!!

@johnphillips592

4 жыл бұрын

@@TheAxelay Thank you Mathew and thanks for subscribing .

That was great. I'd love to see more of these.

Nice footage mate. Right before the route 96 and 109 trams took over.

Great stuff John, thanks for sharing these!

Great video. So different down there now. I loved driving along the road beside the river under St Kilda road past the boat sheds. I did go the footy a few times on this line both to South Melbourne & StKilda.

@johnphillips592

Жыл бұрын

Agreed , the place sure has changed , thanks for the comment

I loved the sound the most.

Travelled that line in 1960s. What a memory jerker. Thanks 😁

Ah...blue trains (painted gray to look like silver trains) ..not something I associate with the St Kilda line. 1987....Melbourne was still livable, affordable, no horrible Crown Casino or Grand Prix hype. Gentrification was starting in the inner areas, but still loads of old rentals available. Rent a room for fifty bucks a week ina sharehouse...have fun. Pub on every corner. Live music in many pubs. Markets. Secondhand shops. Inner Bohemia ...or so I thought!

@JamesStaaks8182

2 жыл бұрын

Just a distant memory now sadly.

Great video! Look at those rail workers without any high vis on - amazing they weren’t run over all the time. 😆. Pity the Middle Park Station burnt down last year, sad loss of some of the history of the line.

@tubester4567

4 жыл бұрын

There was always old guys walking the tracks in those days. Back when the railways was one of the biggest employers in the state and every station had a station master. . Most of the old guys were immigrants and had been with the railways since they arrived in Australia in the 1950's and 1960's. I think they just waited to get retired out instead of firing them all. They didnt have much to do so they just wandered the tracks looking for "problems"

You can see on the Right side from 2:50, Big Red Building is the Chinese Tea House (opposite present Casino), and the same tram tracks dividing into 2 lines behind the building .. actually the Train is running on Whiteman Street of Casino where Bowling /Video Games ., Car park entrance now...

I remember traveling to st Kilda by train, this video brings back memories.

That is a great cabride, thankyou for sharing this :) I couldn't help but notice... no city rd stop (recently been rebuilt), and someone is waiting at wright st (now MSAC), and not only is there no tram, but almost no platform??? Keen. Perfect footage showing where and how the old stations were placed, and the new light rail stops. This is brill!

Who remembers the road that ran along the south side of the river before the casino? It went under St Kilda Rd and past the Jefferies Pde boat sheds.

@alanriley9754

3 жыл бұрын

Yes I recall this road. The light traffic would go to Alexandra Avenue before it was closed off and rediverted around the Arts Centre. There was a Ford Dealer near the rail bridge. City Ford? The manufacturing hub of South Melbourne was to be destroyed and replaced with medium and hi density housing. All planned well ahead of the offshoring our industries to Asia.

@thethirdman225

3 жыл бұрын

@@alanriley9754 Was it Morley Ford (“Down by the riverside”)? The Allen’s sweets factory was there too.

@alanriley9754

3 жыл бұрын

@@thethirdman225 Sounds right. Cheers.

@alanriley9754

3 жыл бұрын

@@thethirdman225 Allens factory was closer to the Princes bridge and opposite the west end of Flinders Street station.

@kangaroogroundboy

3 жыл бұрын

back in the sixties I worked at the Public Works Felt in Salmon Street. they'd send a truck to the south side of the bridge for any if us not driving in. couple of benches in the back of an old Bedford...good on the corners

Only way of ever experiencing this again is via video game and for a more realistic experience, using virtual reality. Yes... How mad would a train simulator be that basically includes the St Kilda Railway Line! I'm actually a 3D artist (have visited, measured and 3D modelled the level crossing at Albert Park Station) and this seems like something i'd be interested in doing but the problem is licensing. I'm not sure if the real names of the stations and trains can legally be used. That and i need animators and experts in scripting and audio. It's more of a dream type thing now but hopefully one day, we can play this in virtual reality.

Apparently the bridge just before where the four tracks split up in pairs was demolished as a part of the light rail conversion and the ground on the line in the area was leveled as the tram line comes along the road below the old bridge and then turns onto the old train lines! That’s pretty much how it works today though it’s still amazing to see how much south Melbourne has changed since this video was filmed! Also the original station at St Kilda has been retained due to heritage listing but is how currently still in use as a coffee shop/breakfast cafe! I also believe they built the light rail platforms to the sides of the two original siding tracks and extended those tracks onto the road in front of the hotel where they turn right towards the beach but the original platform track was removed to possibly make way for the new light rail platform! :)

Traveled on the Red Rattlers for five years in the 60's from St Kilda to Albert Park whilst a student at South Melbourne Technical School, and loved everyday. Such a shame that a part of history is gone.

I used to travel that line to Middle Park on the old red rattlers in the late 60’s early 70’s. Great days indeed. Thank you

Great historical video. The slow run over the first part gave us a good comprehension of crossing the bridges which is perhaps the most interesting part of the run is appreciated. A bit further on, we pass through the spot that the casino now occupies on the right of way. Likely the reason that section was closed. There seemed to be some excess weed growth beside much of the line at that time. I remember the days of the Victorian Railway trams that ran to Elwood and Brighton. When you walked to the right through the station entrance at St Kilda, a tram was waiting there to take passengers further on. The trams finished in the late 1950s. Thanks for posting and sharing and bringing back memories of the way things were.

@johnphillips592

5 жыл бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it and that it brought back memories for you. thank you for the comment

@johndelaney2957

4 жыл бұрын

reidgck at what time frame in the clip, is the casino at please. And it's on the right? I've only ever been past it on a tram.

@alexjefremov7505

2 жыл бұрын

My parents met as conductors on the Elwood tram around 1953.

Apparently the original St.Kilda station Building and possibly platform are still there today but it’s now a leasable hospitality space that is most likely currently a local cafe based on what I saw there in late September of 2019 which was pretty much the last time I have been through there! :)

This is brilliant . Thankyou !!

Travelled on the St Kilda Railway Line a few times around 1986 and early 1987!🙂🚇🚃🚃🚃🛤️🏖️⛵

Now that was a blast from the past 👍🏻😁

Nice.... Loved that VHS Quality!

Another line I never travelled, despite having lived in St. Kilda on and off in the '80s - great to see!

@20bluelilies

4 жыл бұрын

Travelled on it just a couple of times, from memory. Was delighted to discover the old red rattlers still operating on the line - that was in 83/84, when we hadn't seen the rattlers on the eastern suburban lines for years.

@ianwoff7000

4 жыл бұрын

@@20bluelilies The Taits were wonderful! I used to travel on them frequently to and from secondary school on the Lilydale line in 1971-1975, but they seemed to be already on their way out by the end of that period. They were wonderfully comfortable and filled with character, and I regret that I never travelled on the St. Kilda line before it was converted to light rail (preferably on a Tait!)

@20bluelilies

4 жыл бұрын

@@ianwoff7000 We were at Mooroolbark! Knew a few kids who went to Lilydale High :-) I recall taking trips to the zoo, etc., on the old Taits, but my main memories are of the later blue trains.

@ianwoff7000

4 жыл бұрын

@@20bluelilies My family moved to Lilydale at the start of 1970, and I went to Lilydale High that year, relocating to a school a train trip and bus trip away the following year. Mooroolbark remains my closest station, used during secondary school and for seven years I was working in the CBD, and working at Coles Mooroolbark is what kept my dirt bikes running in the mid-'70s.

@20bluelilies

4 жыл бұрын

@@ianwoff7000 I remember when they were building Coles Mooroolbark. We used to walk that way to go up the street, having to cross the creek on a wooden plank first - Mum pushing one of the younger ones in a pram. Those were the days!

bro great job of the fliming dude my mum remebers the st kilda and port melbourne

i enjoyed this. probably deserved the word 'just' in the title with all the groundworks in progress.

@johnphillips592

5 жыл бұрын

Yes it was just before it was converted

Yes, I remember it wrll. A great format conversion to 16:9 without disortion. Thanks for your trouble.

Interesting. You should do a side by side comparison of THEN vs NOW. Btw do you happen to have a video of the Inner Circle Railway Line? I believe that line closed in the 80's as well.

@DrummerJosh99

3 жыл бұрын

I'd like to see footage of the inner circle line too

@DannyWogstarMitsis

2 жыл бұрын

@@DrummerJosh99 damn man sorry late reply. Yes! The reason i want to see that so much is because i ride through the entire Inner Circle Line via the bike path that replaced the rails. Imagine it was still there! Beautiful scenery in that area.

I used to catch that train on the sandy line for school in 86,87 but never went past flinders unfortunately, although now I can now go back in time. In someways it is good to have the Yarra back, but others it’s a pain to get pt to st Kilda or south Melbourne from flinders now as it doesn’t connect, you have to walk, wait for a tram and stop at lights. could they use a monorail to connect to Normanby rd?

had lots of fun times on that line back in the days

@johnphillips592

Жыл бұрын

Hmm. that sounds interesting .

@midnightteapot5633

2 ай бұрын

Maybe it was you and one other person I saw through the observation window when I was a Guard running an otherwise empty up St Kilda one Saturday evening, fun indeed !!!!

The Sandridge Railway Bridge!😃🎢🛤️

Lived in Elwood i rode that train for years 60s 70s 80s

The down signal at 7:46 was the one that drivers would fly through if it was at stop, if I recall correctly, until we fixed it.

Great video John. Would you mind if I shared it on a Facebook site called "Growing up in Albert Park and Middle Park" Nice to see the refurbished Harris trains known as Grey Ghosts. Also great to see the Port Melbourne video.

@johnphillips592

4 жыл бұрын

No problems Brian , thank you for asking .

@MrBeheard

4 жыл бұрын

John I'm anticipating Facebook "Port Melbourne History" site may want to share the Port Melbourne video as well.

Was 3 years old when they got rid of trains to st Kilda. Wish I had the opp to ride it just once

Remember getting off at South Melbourne and Albert Park and Of course St Kilda Railway Stations!😀🚇🚃🚃🚃🛤️🏖️

@tubester4567

4 жыл бұрын

Me too. Good times. I used to go to Stkilda for the day and Luna Park. Sometimes get off at South Melbourne for the SM Market.

Adam Thrussell I enjoyed the KZread about St Kilda Railway line to St Kilda Station. Go with Linda and Craig O'Rourke watch St Kilda football club play at Junction Oval. Thank you Bernie,Shirley, Craig and Linda O'Rourke. Stay healthy and well Adam Thrussell

That train was a Harris train tarted up to look like a Comeng train with new seats and aircon. The driver side windows gave it a sad expression and I used to call them “sad Harrises”. There was an issue with the driver sitting too far from the window and cannot see cars and so were relegated to St Kilda, Sandringham and maybe the Port Melbourne line. Only a few were made as they cost about 80% of a brand new Comeng train.

@ducky_the_helper

9 ай бұрын

The grey ghosts were restricted to certain lines because they were barely powerful enough to pull their own weight the viewing issues were why the union banned their use for a while

Long before the casino, can you believe that? Now we have a gambling problem.

This is one of the first videos that has made me say 'wow' out loud. I didn't recognise Flinder's Street at first! Was wondering if I am able to use some of this footage for a St Kilda line history video? I will acknowledge you. Thanks

@johnphillips592

4 жыл бұрын

No problems as long as you acknowledge ,

@thetrainman548

4 жыл бұрын

@@johnphillips592 Thanks mate

My grandfather who worked at St Kilda railway station said a madman went after the SM with an axe & my grandfather fired a warning shot with the stations handgun, to which the man dropped the axe & took off. I can't verify the accuracy, but the incident was likely in the 40s or 50s. Grandpa died in the mid 90s & worked the the VR for decades.

@johnphillips592

5 ай бұрын

Good story , I can believe it .

@midnightteapot5633

2 ай бұрын

@@johnphillips592 If anyone is wondering about a railway station having a firearm in the office, it was a pistol that was used by the cash escort who would lock a portable safe into the guard's van and then collect all the station cash from each station on the up, those stations would then close for the night. After arriving at Flinders Street, the staff there would unlock and take away the safe and the escort would return to the terminus and put the pistol (9mm Browning) into the station safe. I did cash escort of the Glen Waverley line for a year or two. And yes, there was a bullet hole in the Glen Waverley booking office wall, but that was put there before my time!

And back a bit before then you carried in with the broad gauge tram....quite a bit earlier actually... though for a long time the crossing remained in the road, bit like the cable car tracks by Spencer St station

@TheLostProbe

3 ай бұрын

down the side of the St Kilda Station building, there are fake tram tracks on the ground where the terminus was. would be cool if they were the real deal, but it's too late for that now

Beautifull with different of catching.. But please you catching clearly your videos. Carry-on this Beautifull 💚 job.. ❤️🧡💛💚

I wonder how things would have been if they kept the connection between this line and Windsor.

@thethirdman225

3 жыл бұрын

I didn't know there was one. I'm guessing that was before St Kilda Junction was remodelled.

What type of train is that at 0:36

@johnphillips592

5 жыл бұрын

It's a rebuilt Harris train , you will see a blue and gold original Harris set on the right as you leave the platform .

How many drivers is that?

is the bridge at 3:15 kings way?

@johnphillips592

6 ай бұрын

Yes that's right

things have changed

Regarding the train. Yes it's refurbished, but underneath, still a Harris train & sounds like it.

@planetx1595

2 жыл бұрын

When were the Hitachi trains got introduced to Melbourne?

Very shortsighted to change it to light rail, as now so many more people live in St Kilda and cant fit on trams, plus trans take 30 minutes and St Kilda is only 4km from the City

@TheLostProbe

3 ай бұрын

the 96 can handle the demand, it just needs some more services. the 30 is pointless and will probably be replaced by a rerouted 75 in the future, then the E-Classes from that route can be allocated to the 96

the original clock is still inside the station. a bar and restaurant has been built around it. why the fuck they ended this? money....bastards.

That is where the route 96 goes.

Eshay

the train is better than light rail and the government is destroy the tain and history of the station they couldnt have keep it a remember of the old station

@TheLostProbe

3 ай бұрын

the 96 is better, it doesn't just dump you at the north end of St Kilda, it takes you right into the heart. I wish the VR tram from St Kilda Station to Brighton Beach Station via Elwood still existed though