RE: Looking Back... Tasmain 1974: Part 5

["Melanie J. Dennis" <meld.asg@netspeed.com.au>]

Aus loco discussion mailing list

All sentiment aside, I feel that TGR could have attained results similar to AN if TGR had been:
a) relieved of it's debt burden;
b) given sufficient capitalisation;
c) given more autonomy from Government intervention, if not privatisation;
d) given CSO funding for any services the State Government wanted retained.

In effect, the state Government did this (in part) by handing the state system to ANR.

Suburban and main line passeneger services were a drain on resources as was the legal requirement to be a common carrier.  Once this was removed (in concert with changes to restrictive road vehicle cartage laws), TGR could then have concentrated, as AN did, on bulk haul:  logs, pulp wood, coal, cement, sulphuric acid, fertilizers, minerals and containers.  TGR would have gone through the same corporate down-sizing exercise and and may well have achieved the same levels of asset stripping.  But the 'perception' of how it would have been done would be coloured by the period one allies themself to:  Michael is firmly of the ANR era whilst I hail from the late-TGR era. 

Whilst AN poured in money for much needed track rehabilitation in their earlier years, they were also very quick to abandon and, in cases, remove permanent way, instead of mothballing - the Far North-West branches and the Mole Creek line, for example.  The infrastructure was rebuilt but arguably, maintenance slipped badly in later years. 

Also, AN seemed to lose the drive to go out and get business - maybe the less than hoped for results of ATN reflect what AN found, but at least they seem to be still trying.

Whilst, as Ben says, TGR were subject to financial viability investigations and reports, so too were AN/Tasrail and the outlooks were just as bleak.  Also, whilst Michael argues that "ANR was the most progressive of the Australian systems in the 1980's", by the 1990's, the prevailing attitude on the ground was one of despair and lack of confidence in the future of the system.

To keep this loco-related:  AN's lasting legacy will be the new motive power centre at East Tamar and probably the addition (ATN may feel that it is an 'infestation') of the QR EE's.

Finally, both AN and ATN made statements about new motive power, but neither spelt out that 'New' simply meant 'Different'.  AN shipped in the 830's which did good work until superceded by the big EE's from QR, which gave AN plenty of headaches and has led to a 'new' headache for ATN (pertinantly pointed out by Michael) as they struggle to replace them.  

Hopefully, after searching my files, I'll find the list of promises made to 'facilitate' the sale of TGR and see how they stack up.  I feel that they re-nigged on the loco one, at least!

Melanie Dennis
Australian Steam Group

-----Original Message-----
From:	Mike Dix [SMTP:mdix@mrt.tas.gov.au]
Sent:	Tuesday, 04 April, 2000 2:03 PM
To:	'Aus loco discussion mailing list'
Subject:	RE: Looking Back... Tasmain 1974: Part 5

Aus loco discussion mailing list

I agree with the drastic change sentiment but will totally disagree with
Melanie's statement that ANRs rationalisation did not fulfil any of its
promises. For a start there is still a rail system which may well have
disappeared but for ANs intervention. Secondly ANR vastly increased the
traffic on the old TGR to levels well above that achieved by the TGR, and
alos extensively upgraded the infrastructure. It is worth remembering that
ANR was the most progressive of the Australian systems in the 1980s and was
killed off by political cost cutting and the stupidity over State
parochialism and National Rail.

So far the 'new' Tasrail has not been able to match the achievments of AN in
the early 1980s despite their PR pronouncements. Statements like that in the
last Rail Digest that private ownership has revolutionised rail operations
in Tasmania are difficult to substantiate. The new Tasrail is slowly clawing
back traffic but figures of a 65% increase since ATN took over are not
correct.
......

Michael Dix



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