The Workshops Rail Museum – Number Trail | Years 1-2 0

The Workshops Rail Museum – Working in the Past: Teacher Information | Year 5 1

This program has been produced and published by The Workshops Rail Museum, North Street, North Ipswich, Qld, Australia 4305. The Museum’s Vision Statement is:

to be recognised as a creative, innovative and exciting journey of discovery into Australia’s rail story. The Mission Statement is:

to harness the significance of the Workshops precinct by delivering international standard cultural and tourism related activities, education and public programs associated with the interaction of rail on people’s lives.

Education Programs produced by The Workshops Rail Museum whether in hard copy or accessed from the Museum’s internet web site are able to be reproduced and used by educational and like institutions for educational purposes free of charge. Programs cannot be reproduced or used for commercial purposes in any form. All programs, their contents and their images remain the property of The Workshops Rail Museum or other therein acknowledged sources, and normal copyright laws apply. This program © The Workshops Rail Museum 2013 For further information and enquiries: Phone: 07 3432 5100 Fax: 07 3432 5114 Email: info@theworkshops.qm.qld.gov.au Web Site: www.theworkshops.qm.qld.gov.au

The Workshops Rail Museum – Working in the Past: Teacher Information | Year 5 2

Teacher Information

Purpose and Overview

This program of work aims to explore the social history of the men and women who worked

on the railways in Queensland. By reflecting on a number of primary and secondary

sources, such as photographs, oral history accounts, book extracts and an excursion to The

Workshops Rail Museum, students will develop a picture of both the toil and kinship the

railway working environment has retained throughout the years.

The primary objectives of the program are for students to gain an understanding and

appreciation for:

the pioneers that contributed to the development of Queensland, their lives,

achievements and challenges,

the impact rail in Queensland specifically had on the development of the state, and

the railways as an industry with specialised occupations that shared interdependence

with industries of the past.

Activities in this program assist students to investigate the social history of rail development

and the impact technology had on the lives of railway workers. Students are provided with

primary and secondary railway-related resources including:

book extracts,

oral histories,

photographs, and

artefacts they will see on excursion to The Workshops Rail Museum.

This program consists of three parts: a teacher information section; a student worksheet

which may be photocopied and distributed to students; and a resources section containing

photographs and written texts that are also to be distributed to students.

Key concepts

Along with the workers living on the line, the Ipswich Railway Workshops was an essential

part of rail in Queensland. Generations of blacksmiths, carpenters, painters, metalworkers

and other craftsmen built and repaired locomotives, wagons, carriages and railmotors.

Through a visit to The Workshops Rail Museum, students will learn about some of the

people of the workshops, as well as discover some of the items once used by early

Australian railway workers.

The activities in this program can be linked with school devised learning programs on the

Year 5 content area of The Australian Colonies in accordance with the Australian

Curriculum: History.

The Workshops Rail Museum – Working in the Past: Teacher Information | Year 5 3

Curriculum Links

The activities in this program have been aligned with the Australian Curriculum: History and

English for Year 5 students. The History content strands of Historical Knowledge and

Understanding and Historical Skills are addressed, while the English content strand of

Literacy is covered. The curriculum links are elaborated in the following tables:

The Australian Curriculum: History

Historical Knowledge and Understanding

The Australian Colonies The impact of a significant development or event on a colony, for example, frontier conflict, the gold rushes, the Eureka Stockade, internal exploration, the advent of rail, the expansion of farming, drought (ACHHK095)

Elaboration:

investigating an event or development and explaining its economic, social and political impact on a colony (e.g. the advent of rail)

Historical Skills

Historical questions and research Identify questions to inform an historical inquiry (ACHHS100)

Elaboration:

developing key questions about the local community or region (for example: ‘Why was the area settled?’; ‘What people came to live in the area/’; ‘How did they make their living?’; ‘How did men, women and children live?’)

Analysis and Use of Resources Locate information related to inquiry questions in a range of sources (ACHHS102)

Elaboration:

finding relevant historical information about colonial Australia from primary and secondary resources

Perspectives and interpretations Identify points of view in the past and present (ACHHS104)

Elaboration:

identifying the different motives and experiences of individuals and groups in the past

Key Inquiry Questions

What do we know about the lives of people in Australia’s colonial past and how do we know?

What were the significant events and who were the significant people who shaped the Australian colonies?

The Workshops Rail Museum – Working in the Past: Teacher Information | Year 5 4

The Australian Curriculum: English

Literacy

Interpreting, analysing, evaluating Use comprehension strategies to analyse information, integrating and linking ideas from a variety of print and digital resources (ACELY1703)

Elaboration:

using research skills including identifying research purpose, locating texts, gathering and organising information, evaluating its relative value, and the accuracy and currency of print and digital resources and summarising information from several sources

Creating texts Plan, draft and publish imaginative, informative and persuasive print and multimodal texts, choosing text structures, language features. Images and sound appropriate to purpose and audience (ACELY1704)

Elaborations:

using research from print and digital resources to gather and organise information for writing

selecting an appropriate text structure for writing purposes and sequencing content according to that text structure, introducing the topic, and grouping related information in well-sequenced paragraphs with a concluding statement

using vocabulary appropriate to purpose and context

using paragraphs to present and sequence a text

using appropriate grammatical features, including more complex sentences and relevant verb tense, pronoun reference, adverb and noun groups/phrases for effective descriptions

General Capabilities and Cross-Curricular Priorities: History and English

Literacy: Comprehending texts through listening, reading and viewing; Word knowledge – understanding learning area vocabulary

Personal & social capability: Social awareness – appreciating diverse perspectives

Critical and creative thinking: Inquiring – identifying, exploring and organising information and ideas

Ethical understanding: Exploring values, rights and responsibilities; Reasoning in decision-making and actions

Intercultural understanding: Recognising culture and developing respect; Empathising with others; Investigating culture and cultural identity

Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander histories & cultures: Students will learn about the impact of British colonisation from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander historical perspectives

The Workshops Rail Museum – Working in the Past: Teacher Information | Year 5 5

Overview of activities and resources

Total time:

This program could be undertaken over a term in conjunction with in-class units of work on the early Australian colonies

Previous knowledge:

No previous knowledge necessary

Activity: Description: Resources

Pre-excursion:

Activity 1: Photo

Analysis

Group/collaborative activity - distribute the nine

photographs among the groups

Provide each group or student with copies of the Photo

Analysis Table – need one table for each photograph

Students discuss their ideas about the images based on

the prompts provided in the table and makes notes in the

table

Individual activity – students to write short responses to

the two questions in Activity 1

Photographs

Photo Analysis

Tables (1 table for

each photo per

group or student)

Student worksheet

Activity 2:

Reading

comprehension

Individual activity – students read the three book extracts

and answer the reading comprehension questions in

Activity 2

Book extracts

Student worksheet

Activity 3:

Written Report

Students are instructed in how to write a report

Individual activity - students research and draft a report

on the topic using the template in Activity 3

External resources

Student worksheet

Excursion:

Activity 4:

Profiling an early

Australian

railway artefact

Individual activity - students are required to profile an

early Australian railway artefact based on the questions

provided in Activity 4

The Workshops Rail

Museum exhibits

and artefacts

Student worksheet

Activity 5:

Ipswich Railway

Workshops

Workers

Students investigate the working environment of railway

workers over time

Students compare the different roles men and women

played in the development of the railways over time and

complete Activity 5

The Workshops Rail

Museum: Zone 7 –

Ipswich Railway

Workshops

Student worksheet

Post-excursion:

Activity 6:

Railway Artefact

Timeline

Group/collaborative activity – students share their artefact

profiles and collaboratively create a timeline of their

chosen artefacts

Students present their timelines to other groups

Completed Activity 4

in worksheet

Student worksheet

Activity 7:

Railway Workers

– Continuity and

Change

Individual activity – students read the oral history stories

of workers from the 1800s and those who worked in the

Ipswich Railway Workshops through the 1900s and

complete the Venn Diagram in Activity 7

Railway workers’

stories

Student worksheet

Activity 8: Letter to home

Individual activity – students imagine that they worked on

the railways in early colonial Queensland and write a

letter home describing their lives

Student worksheet

The Workshops Rail Museum – Working in the Past: Teacher Information | Year 5 6

Support materials and references

Internet sites:

For Queensland Rail History:

http://www.queenslandrail.com.au/TradeToolbox/About%20Us/Pages/OurHistory.aspx

To obtain information regarding Queensland Museum loans kits (for classroom use of early

Australian and rail related artefacts and resources):

http://www.qmuseum.qld.gov.au/education/loans/country.asp

The Workshops Rail Museum exhibitions and displays information:

http://www.theworkshops.qm.qld.gov.au/Events+and+Exhibitions/Exhibition

The Workshops Rail Museum learning resources:

http://www.theworkshops.qm.qld.gov.au/Learning+resources

Australian Heritage Council website:

http://www.environment.gov.au/heritage/ahc/publications/commission/books/linking-a-

nation/chapter-1.html

Book References:

Bitomsky, M & Mylne, L 1995, Living on the line: A celebration of Queensland Rail workers

and their families, CopyRight Publishing Company, Brisbane.

Kerr, J 1990, Triumph of the narrow gauge: A history of Queensland railways, Booralong

Publications, Bowen Hills.

On the following page is a map of The Workshops Rail Museum. You can refer to this map

to help orientate yourself throughout the program’s activities.

The Workshops Rail Museum – Working in the Past: Teacher Information | Year 5 7

The Workshops Rail Museum – Working in the Past: Student Worksheet | Year 5 1

Pre-excursion activities

Activity 1: Photo analysis

Instructions:

Work in groups of 3-4 students

Look at the different photographs you have been given

Discuss in your group what you think each photograph represents - Use the questions

in the Photo Analysis Table to help guide your discussion

After discussing a photograph, write some notes for each question in the table before

moving on to the next image - Use a new table for each photograph

Share your group’s ideas with the rest of the class

Individually answer the questions below:

1. Which photograph do you think is the most interesting? Why?

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

2. Write a short paragraph describing what is happening in your chosen photo.

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

3. What does this photograph tell you about the lives of people who worked on the railways in

Australia’s colonial past?

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

The Workshops Rail Museum – Working in the Past: Student Worksheet | Year 5 2

Activity 2: Reading Comprehension

Instructions:

Read the three book extracts about the development of rail in Queensland

Answer the questions below:

1. What difficulties were faced by our outback pioneers before the coming of the railways?

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

2. What were the railways mainly used for in the early years of rail?

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

3. How did the use of railways change over time?

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

4. From which countries and cultural groups did the early railway workers come?

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

5. What were some of the challenges experienced by railway workers?

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

6. How have women been involved in the railways over time?

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

7. How have railways in Queensland helped the development of the state?

___________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________

The Workshops Rail Museum – Working in the Past: Student Worksheet | Year 5 3

Activity 3: Written report

Name: ________________________________________ Date: ___________

My report about life in the early years of the Australian colonies

Instructions:

Research and write a short report on life in Australia during early colonisation

Include in your report the impact that the coming of the railways had on the early colonialists and Indigenous Australians

Use the report template below to organise your research

Title:

General introduction: __________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

Body (A series of paragraphs each with one aspect of the topic): Use subheadings for each paragraph

1.________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

The Workshops Rail Museum – Working in the Past: Student Worksheet | Year 5 4

2.________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

3.________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

4.________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

Concluding statement: __________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

The Workshops Rail Museum – Working in the Past: Student Worksheet | Year 5 5

The Workshops Rail Museum excursion activities

Activity 4: Profiling an early Australian railway artefact

Instructions:

After viewing the different displays at The Workshops Rail Museum, choose one

artefact related to the railways and complete a profile of it

1. What is the artefact? __________________________________________________

2. When was it made? __________________________________________________

3. Sketch the artefact:

4. What was it used for?

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

5. Who would have used it?

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

6. Where would it have been used? Why?

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

The Workshops Rail Museum – Working in the Past: Student Worksheet | Year 5 6

7. What would have been used before this item was invented?

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

8. How did this artefact contribute to life in early Australia?

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

9. What was this item replaced with in time (only answer this if it has been replaced)?

_____________________________________________________________________

The Workshops Rail Museum – Working in the Past: Student Worksheet | Year 5 7

Activity 5: Ipswich Railway Workshops Workers

Railways employed many people in many different jobs. Explore Zone 7: Ipswich Railway

Workshops, then using the table below, make a list of the jobs men and women were

employed in at the Workshops:

Men Women

1. What conclusions do you draw from this list?

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

2. What other roles did women have during the early years of railway line construction?

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

3. How does this compare to the roles men had during the early years of railway line

construction?

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

The Workshops Rail Museum – Working in the Past: Student Worksheet | Year 5 8

Post excursion activities

Activity 6: Railway Artefact Timeline

Instructions:

Work in groups of 4 or 5 students

Share your artefact profiles (Activity 4) from your visit to The Workshops Rail Museum

Organise your artefacts into a timeline in chronological order (oldest to most recent)

As a group, prepare and deliver a small presentation to your class about your artefact

timeline:

o Show your sketches of each artefact

o Briefly describe the artefacts: what they are, when they were made, what they

were used for, what has replaced them, and any other interesting information

you have

o Explain how the artefacts have contributed to the development of rail and

Australian society over time

Activity 7: Railway Workers – Continuity and Change

Instructions:

Read oral stories provided and compare the life and conditions of the workers in the

early years of the railways in the 19th century to those of the 20th century

Use the Venn Diagram to record the similarities and differences between their

experiences

Railway workers

of the 20th century

Railway workers of

the 19th century

The Workshops Rail Museum – Working in the Past: Student Worksheet | Year 5 9

Activity 8: Letter to home

Imagine you are a worker for the railways in Queensland during the 1800s. Write a letter home

describing what your life is like working and living on the railways. Use the information you

have collected throughout this worksheet and excursion to help you plan your letter.

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The Workshops Rail Museum – Working in the Past: Resources | Year 5 1

Resources

Activity 1: Photo Analysis Table Photograph Number: ___________

What are your first impressions?

Where do think the photograph was taken? Why? When do think it was taken? Why? (Hint: look at the

clothing, the landscape, what are people living in, any tools or machinery being used, etc)

How many people can you see in the photo? What are they doing?

If there are people in the photo, how do you think they might be related? Why do you think that?

Make a list of other things you can see, such as animals, machinery, housing, etc.

What do you think was happening just before this photo was taken?

What do you think happened next after the photo was taken?

What information does this photo provide us with about the early days of rail in Queensland?

The Workshops Rail Museum – Working in the Past: Resources | Year 5 2

Resources

Activity 1: Photographs

Photograph 1.

Photograph courtesy of Queensland Rail

Photograph 2.

Photograph courtesy of Queensland Rail

The Workshops Rail Museum – Working in the Past: Resources | Year 5 3

Resources

Photograph 3.

Photograph courtesy of Queensland Rail

Photograph 4.

Photograph courtesy of Queensland Rail

The Workshops Rail Museum – Working in the Past: Resources | Year 5 4

Resources

Photograph 5.

Photograph courtesy of Queensland Rail

Photograph 6.

Photograph courtesy of Queensland Rail

The Workshops Rail Museum – Working in the Past: Resources | Year 5 5

Resources

Photograph 7.

Photograph courtesy of Queensland Rail

Photograph 8.

Photograph courtesy of Queensland Rail

The Workshops Rail Museum – Working in the Past: Resources | Year 5 6

Resources

Photograph 9.

Photograph courtesy of Queensland Rail

Photograph interpretation key for teachers:

1. Official opening of Ipswich to Grandchester (Bigges Camp): VIPs outside tent (1865).

2. Fettlers constructing track by hand, with pick and shovels (1880).

3. Surveyors camp, Ipswich-Brisbane Rail (1875).

4. Ipswich-Toowoomba construction cutting: the Fountain family present (1867).

5. Ipswich-Toowoomba construction of a bridge and tunnel (1867)

6. View from a tunnel showing a camp and construction of a formation: Stanthorpe extension

(1882).

7. View showing married quarters and camp life: Ipswich-Toowoomba construction (1867).

8. A group of workmen, navvies and fettlers outside a station (1890).

9. View of Holme’s construction camp: Ipswich-Toowoomba construction (1867).

The Workshops Rail Museum – Working in the Past: Resources | Year 5 7

Resources

Activity 2: Book Extracts

Book Extract 1

Queenslanders of today might find it difficult to envisage the conditions and life styles experienced

by our outback pioneers of one hundred and twenty five years ago. Faced with the vast empty

areas of the newly created state, and lack of any form of reliable transport or communication, they

led a life of loneliness and isolation as they battled to make their way in a strange, harsh land.

It is no wonder that the coming of the railways to country areas in those early days was welcomed

with great enthusiasm.

From the earliest days, Queensland Railways has participated in the development of the state.

The construction of railways inland from seaports led to the opening up of large tracts of land for

closer settlement and to the establishment of permanent townships in the place of temporary

railway construction camps. The railways of today continue to play a leading role in the

development of Queensland, servicing efficiently both long established and newly created export

industries.

(Written by R.T. Sheehy, Commissioner for Railways 1986-89)

(From Triumph of the narrow gauge: A history of Queensland railways by John Kerr, 1990, p.7)

Book Extract 2

The coming of the railway changed life immeasurably for many Australians, particularly those in

isolated areas. Rail provided a cheap and efficient method of transport, and gave farming families

the chance to “go to town” to visit relatives and friends.

Before the railway, farmers and pastoralists transported their wool to the nearest market town in

bullock wagons- a slow and arduous task. Cropping in inland areas was virtually impossible, as

crops would spoil before they reached the markets.

(From Living on the line by Marilyn Bitomsky & Lee Mylne, 1995, p.65)

The Workshops Rail Museum – Working in the Past: Resources | Year 5 8

Resources

Book Extract 3

Railway people are a special breed and the pioneering spirit which saw them carve the lines

through often inhospitable country still remains in many hearts. Workers came from everywhere to

build the lines; from England, Ireland, Italy and other parts of Europe, joining “local” European

workers, Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders to work under a fierce sun.

Life in the construction camps while the lines were being forged was harsh. The isolation of those

who later served at outback sidings and stations remains today, as do the loyalty, mateship and tall

tales.

Strength and ingenuity were necessary qualities for families living on the line. Workers - in those

days principally men - took their wives and families with them, moving their temporary “home”

along the line as work progressed. Life was hard but they coped.

Camp life did not end with the completion of the main lines. Until the 1940s, fettlers’ camps - either

tents or primitive huts - remained part of life conditions not dissimilar to those of their pioneer

predecessors.

There were other hardships besides lack of facilities and the enduring isolation. The Depression of

the 1930s, two World Wars, and several major strikes took their toll. Railway workers took the bad

with the good, thankful they had mostly secure jobs and that Queensland Rail was an employer

which “looked after its own”.

Women played a major, but unsung, role in railway life, both as workers and in keeping family life

going. The demands of railway work often forced men to leave home for long stretches, often

many months at a time. The women stayed behind or endured greater hardship to be with their

men. As workers from the late 1800s onwards, they have endured the same kinds of hardships as

the men.

From positions as gatekeepers and station mistresses, women have developed an expanded role

in QR and today are employed in a wide range of jobs, including non-traditional occupations in

trades and senior executive positions, as well as being represented on the QR Board.

(From Living on the line by Marilyn Bitomsky & Lee Mylne, 1995, pp. vii-viii)

The Workshops Rail Museum – Working in the Past: Resources | Year 5 9

Resources

Activity 7: Railway Workers’ Stories

Railway Worker’s Story 1

Bill Morrows: Railwayman

(Recalling the working conditions for railwaymen during the late 1800s)

In those early days the country for miles around was but one vast unexplored bush and scrub and

very sparsely populated. Even around Brisbane itself it was all bush with very little clearing. All

camps had to be formed in a suitable picked spot at the nearest waterhole or creek. This meant

the camp was sometimes six or seven miles from the head of the works and the men had to walk

to work in their own time for a start at 6am.

A typical day: Up before daylight, walk for four miles or so to work for a 6 am start. At 8am a break

of one hour for breakfast, another of one hour for dinner, work until night. Knocking off at 6pm he

would have to walk for his meat and supplies. In bed by 8:30pm. On Saturdays, they knocked off

at 4pm. This meant a workman would be up for 93.5 hours a week in connection with his work.

Shifting camp was always done on a Sunday, without pay or overtime of any kind.

Employed on the line were some 300 navvies*, who were specially brought out from England by

contractors. These men, although purely and simply navvies, were all able, reliable and honest

workers.

It was about the beginning of summer when these men arrived and I can well remember the

tortures some of them suffered with sunstroke.

*”Navvies”, the term for workers, was adopted from England where labourers who built the canals were jokingly

called “navigators”.

(From Living on the line by Marilyn Bitomsky & Lee Mylne, 1995, pp.16-17)

The Workshops Rail Museum – Working in the Past: Resources | Year 5 10

Resources

Railway Worker’s Story 2

Mary Ann Ward

(Mary Ann was the daughter of George Ward, one of the men employed in the construction

of the Cairns-Mareeba Railway line in 1885).

Our family first lived in tents at Edge Hill, somewhere near the Cairns North Station…

We had a bark house made with big sheets of bark for the roof and sides. Mother lined them

inside with cretonne which you could buy for about three shillings and sixpence per dozen yards. It

had an earth floor but stretched Hessian over it and pegged it down tight. Of course it was dusty,

so Mother used to save all the tealeaves, scatter them around to pick up the dust, then sweep it all

out.

She had a little sewing machine and used to make mats with small pieces of material. Of course

she made all our own clothes too as there was no other way of getting them except when she went

in to Cairns, which was very seldom.

(From Living on the line by Marilyn Bitomsky & Lee Mylne, 1995, p.1)

Railway Worker’s Story 3

Rosemary Hannay: Station mistress

Living at isolated sidings in the north west during the ‘60s probably hadn’t altered much since the

line opened.

I went to Marimo in 1960, and approached it with a sense of adventure, and that’s what it certainly

was.

My husband Danny had a bridge gang which worked between Mt Isa and Hughenden but was

based at Julia Creek or on the branch lines to Dajarra or Kajabbi. Often he wasn’t able to get

home even for the weekend so the children and I were alone most of the time.

Our house was the only house at the siding so it was lovely to have the company occasionally

when the bridge gang was working in the area.

It was a lonely, isolated and hard life. No electricity, only roadside water, very harsh climate, and

the only communication was the railway circuit phone which served the whole line between

Cloncurry and Mt Isa.

Because of distance and poor communication the Department required someone at these sidings

to give line clears for the crossing of trains. Especially during the stock season sometimes things

became quite hectic and some nights very little sleep was possible arranging these line clears. I

was on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week and always had to have the controller’s permission

to go away and give a return time before leaving.

(From Living on the line by Marilyn Bitomsky & Lee Mylne, 1995, p.49)

The Workshops Rail Museum – Working in the Past: Resources | Year 5 11

Resources

Railway Worker’s Story 4

Don Warn: Stationmaster

I joined the railways in 1955. For 12 years I was on the Brisbane relief which meant I worked at

stations where the stationmaster was on leave or ill. I worked on all stations between Helidon and

just south of Gympie, except Roma Street and Central.

I became stationmaster at Station in 1967. I enjoyed smaller stations like this where there wasn’t a

crew of driver, fireman and guard as I had a lot to do. It was my job to work the signals, hand up

the staffs and make sure the train passed through the station. I was also the ticket seller and

collector. I delivered and accepted freight and livestock and sold parcel stamps. I also shunted

trains.

I had a lot of bookwork to do. I filled in forms for the freight and entered departure and arrival times

for trains in the stationmaster’s books. Each month I had to balance the books to account for all the

revenue raised from freight, parcels and ticket sales.

Until the mid-1960s stationmasters had to be qualified in Morse code which we used to

communicate within the railway. As each train arrived I talked to the control clerk, who was called

“the man on the wall”, and asked permission for the train to proceed. I then rang him with the

train’s departure time. The stations were open 24 hours a day, seven days a week and we each

did an eight hour shift.

(From a wall mounted graphic panel at The Workshops Rail Museum, Ipswich)

The Workshops Rail Museum – Working in the Past: Resources | Year 5 12

Resources

Railway Worker’s Story 5

Carson McLaughlin: Guard

I was a guard at Gayndah from 1957 until 1998. I had to do everything. I was a jack of all trades. At

Gayndah we had mixed trains, passenger trains and rail motors. I delivered mail bags, loaded

freight and collected 10 gallon cream cans from the sidings. I assisted passengers and collected

tickets.

Most of my time at stations was spent shunting wagons and carriages. I had to detach and attach

wagons at most sidings. The sidings were about ten minutes apart which entailed a lot of shunting

time.

Once on board, the guard had an enormous amount of paperwork to do. I had to write an advice

slip for all goods collected. I also had to fill out guard’s and driver’s sheets. These recorded the

arrival and departure times of trains, the time taken for shunting and taking on water for steam.

Every minute had to be accounted for. The guard travelled at the back of the train in the guard’s

van. This is where I ate my meals.

(From a wall mounted graphic panel at The Workshops Rail Museum, Ipswich)

The Workshops Rail Museum – Working in the Past: Resources | Year 5 13

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Railway Worker’s Story 6

George McHugh: Locomotive driver

I was a steam and diesel fireman and locomotive driver at Mayne from 1955 until 1966. I drove

both passenger and goods trains to Toowoomba, Gympie and Kilcoy, but most of the work out of

Mayne was suburban running.

The three of us worked as a team of the driver, the fireman and the locomotive. If the driver worked

the engine too hard, the fireman couldn’t keep up the supply of steam and the engine would

struggle. We had to work together to keep the locomotive running efficiently.

We all had a regular mate to work with. For three out of four weeks you worked with the same

fireman and you got to know the way he worked. The fourth week you did “specials”, that is

relieving men who were on leave or sick, or working on unscheduled trains. For the first half hour

of the trip you had to work each other out.

Some drivers were hard on engines and much more coal had to be shovelled into the firebox.

Others were light drivers and as a fireman it was easy to overfeed the fire.

(From a wall mounted graphic panel at The Workshops Rail Museum, Ipswich)

The Workshops Rail Museum – Working in the Past: Resources | Year 5 14

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Railway Worker’s Story 7

Noel Condon: Locomotive driver

Every locomotive driver carried his own tool box on the engine. Mine was made at the Townsville

Workshops and issued at Cloncurry. It was the job of the driver to keep the engine and train

running in the event of a locomotive or train breakdown by effecting repairs with the tools out of the

box.

The tool kit contained spanners, hammer and chisel, boiler water gauge glasses and packing rings,

a coil of string and wire, a tar bond rope, split-end taper pins, worsted and pin trimmings, corks,

eight detonators and red and green tags.

If a train failed it would be protected by detonator signals and a red tag or lamp from a following

train while the repairs were underway.

(From a wall mounted graphic panel at The Workshops Rail Museum, Ipswich)

The Workshops Rail Museum – Working in the Past: Resources | Year 5 15

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Railway Worker’s Story 8

Dulcie Barthowski: Refreshment room worker

I started work as a refreshments room girl in 1952 at Toowoomba. In those days we were very

busy serving meals to railway passengers in the refreshment room, tea bar or milk bar.

We would serve meals whenever the train arrived, breakfast, lunch or dinner. During floods, the

Sydney Mail from Wallangarra increased to full capacity, sometimes 400 passengers. As soon as

the train left Warwick we would get the call to go to work, sometimes at 2 am.

When the train arrived it was like a stampede. The dining room, which seated 112 people, was

often full. The tea bar could be four deep and the milk bar would be backed up to the train with

people waiting to be served. We had twenty minutes to serve passengers.

I lived in the quarters above the refreshments room with 11 other girls. We lived three to a room,

with the manager and his wife on the other side of the hallway. It was like one big happy family.

(From a wall mounted graphic panel at The Workshops Rail Museum, Ipswich)

The Workshops Rail Museum – Working in the Past: Resources | Year 5 16

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Railway Worker’s Story 9

Gladys Braden: Ganger

(Gladys Braden became Queensland’s first female ganger in 1993, at Duchess, a tiny

railway town between Cloncurry and Mt Isa in northwest Queensland. Initially she found the

going tough in a traditionally male preserve).

Gladys started working as a fettler in 1988:

I was given all the (horrible) jobs. Like any other woman doing a man’s job, I had to work twice as

hard as everyone else to prove myself.

But after a while, when they knew I could hold my end up, it was alright. I was one of the blokes.

Two years later, after passing a Queensland Rail examination to become the first female

ganger in the state’s history, she found she had to break down more barriers:

If you’re a woman in charge of a gang, there are blokes who don’t like it and will test you out to see

how far you can go, so you’ve got show them who’s boss.

But I don’t have any real problems. I wouldn’t say I’m a tough boss. I give everyone a fair go. I

only expect them to do what I do.

(From Living on the line by Marilyn Bitomsky & Lee Mylne, 1995, pp. 60-61)