Tea and Sugar Train
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2021}}
{{Use Australian English|date=January 2012}}
{{Infobox rail service
|box_width =
|name = Tea & Sugar
|logo =
|logo_width =
|image = Tea and sugar.jpg
|image_size =
|caption = Residents of trackside camps along the Trans-Australian Railway enter the Provision Store wagon on the Tea & Sugar train
|type =
|status = Ceased
|locale =
|predecessor =
|first = 1917
|last = 30 August 1996
|successor =
|operator =
|formeroperator = Australian National
|ridership =
|start = Port Augusta
|stops =
|end = Kalgoorlie
|distance = 1,692 kilometres
|journeytime =
|frequency =
|trainnumber = 4205/4280
|line_used = Trans-Australian Railway
|class =
|access =
|seating =
|catering =
|entertainment =
|baggage =
|otherfacilities =
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|map = }}
The Tea and Sugar was the nickname for one of two dedicated Commonwealth Railways trains that were the sole source of provisions for the isolated settlements of the {{convert|1691|km|mi|abbr=off|adj=on|comma=off}} Trans-Australian Railway between Port Augusta and Kalgoorlie.
History
The Tea and Sugar began in 1915 as a provision train for workers constructing the Trans-Australian Railway. They and their families depended on the train for every necessity since the rail link was the only form of transport into the region. When the railway was completed in 1917, settlements had been established along the route at which many railway operational, locomotive maintenance and track repair employees lived with their families, and there was a need to transport food, water and goods to them. This was achieved by two single-purpose weekly trains, the eastbound counterpart being known as "The Bomber"."Tea & Sugar Bites the Dust" Railway Digest October 1996 page 21 Sheep were brought on the train, which had its own butcher. There was a car that allowed railway families to view the latest films (or at least, at the smaller stations, part of them) while the train was in the siding, and a welfare car staffed by a nurse.{{cite book|title=Railroading at its wildest |last=Fitch |first=Ronald J. |date=1993 |location=Dural, New South Wales |publisher=Kangaroo Press Pty Ltd |isbn=0864174969 }}{{rp|152, 212}} {{cite book|title=Australian Railwayman: from cadet engineer to railways commissioner |last=Fitch |first=Ronald J. |date=2006 |location=Dural, New South Wales |publisher=Rosenberg Publishing Pty Ltd |isbn=1877058483 |page=212}}
Each time the train crossed the Nullarbor Plain, it included carriages to suit the different needs of residents throughout the year. On some trains there was a bank car, which allowed residents to make financial transactions, and a post office car; and in December there was a Christmas car, with a much-anticipated Santa who brought presents.
Former railways commissioner Dr Ron Fitch, who was the engineer for the Trans-Australian Railway early in his career, observed that the Tea and Sugar was the "most over-glamorised train in Australia ... whose real claim to fame was that its start-to-stop average speed must have made it the slowest train in the world".
The train originally operated on a {{convert|1692|km|mi|abbr=off|comma=off}} journey from Port Augusta to Kalgoorlie. A 1985 timetable showed the westbound service leaving Port Augusta at 12:00 on Wednesday and arriving at Kalgoorlie at 14:15 on Saturday, with the eastbound service departing at 15:00 on Wednesday arriving at 18:55 on Friday."South Australia" Railway Digest December 1985 page 376 The schedule was later cut back to an {{convert|822|km|mi|abbr=on|comma=off}} journey from Port Augusta to Cook.
The Tea and Sugar was withdrawn in August 1996. Some carriages have been preserved at the National Railway Museum, Port Adelaide.[http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2009/06/27/2607030.htm Tea & Sugar Train] ABC News 28 June 2009[http://www.natrailmuseum.org.au/rollingstockexhibit.php?exhibitID=20 Tea & Sugar Butcher's Van FA640] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222075918/http://www.natrailmuseum.org.au/rollingstockexhibit.php?exhibitID=20 |date=22 December 2015 }} National Railway Museum[http://www.natrailmuseum.org.au/rollingstockexhibit.php?exhibitID=22 Tea & Sugar Provision Van] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222102945/http://www.natrailmuseum.org.au/rollingstockexhibit.php?exhibitID=22 |date=22 December 2015 }} National Railway Museum[http://www.natrailmuseum.org.au/rollingstockexhibit.php?exhibitID=24 Tea & Sugar Pay Car PA281] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222105815/http://www.natrailmuseum.org.au/rollingstockexhibit.php?exhibitID=24 |date=22 December 2015 }} National Railway Museum
References
{{Reflist}}
- Zwingle, Erla "The Tea & Sugar Train: Lifeline in Australia's Outback." National Geographic, June 1986, pp. 737 – 757
- Chambers, T.F. "The Tea and Sugar" Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin October 1962
External links
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vAh-p0-cPA Film Australia: 1954 documentary on the Tea & Sugar]
- [https://archive.today/20000914053319/http://www.lib.flinders.edu.au/resources/collection/special/teasugar.html Flinders University – Tea & Sugar Train Archive]
- [http://www.comrails.com/common/tea_sugar_cars.html Comrails: A short history of the Tea & Sugar cars]
Category:Named passenger trains of Australia
Category:Railway services introduced in 1917
Category:Trans-Australian Railway
Category:1917 establishments in Australia
Category:1996 disestablishments in Australia