4 hours ago
3
The maiden trip of Queensland’s first electric trains took place between Roma Street and Corinda stations on September 4, 1979.
Members of the press and special guests were invited on board the debut of the new Electric Multiple Units, dubbed EMUs.
The test didn’t quite go as planned.
The launch of Queensland Rail’s Electric Multiple Units (EMU) in 1979.Credit: Queensland Rail
Retiree Alan Waring said his late father Harold, then-chief electrical engineer for QEGB (now Powerlink), was invited on that first EMU ride and told him what happened.
“The train broke down,” he said.
“It was full of electrical engineers, and they couldn’t go anywhere because they weren’t allowed to touch the train, of course.
EMU59 is the last of the original Electric Multiple Units to operate in Brisbane. Credit: Queensland Rail
“They had to wait two hours for a diesel locomotive to tow them back. He thought that was quite ironic.”
The four-decade journey may have had the odd hiccup, but local commuters had warm feelings about the first electric train fleet on the network.
The EMUs have been progressively retired from service since 2018. The last of them made its final journey on the tracks on Saturday, in Queensland Rail’s End of the Line tour.
The tour left from Roma Street station platform three, and ran on the Caboolture, Ipswich, Ferny Grove and Shorncliffe lines, stopping all stations, to give the public one last chance to ride an EMU.
EMU59 remained on platform 10 for 10 minutes on Saturday evening to allow people to take photos and say farewell.
Queensland Rail executive general manager of operations Rob Hill said the trains were a symbol of progress in Queensland as the state was developing its own identity.
“They will always be remembered for the role they played in shaping rail in Queensland,” Hill said.
The EMU fleet was manufactured at Walkers Maryborough, with a total of 88 units delivered between 1979 and 1987.
Loading
Each train travelled almost 12 million kilometres across the south-east Queensland network since their introduction.
On Facebook, one woman posted about memories of her father, a Queensland Rail driver, occasionally taking her to school on the EMU trains.
“He said they were the best to drive, you actually felt like you were driving a train,” Kelly said.
Most Viewed in National
Loading
