Re: Preston station torched

[David McLoughlin <davemcl@REMOVEiprolink.co.nz>]

Reuben Farrelly wrote:
> 
> What is the historical basis for a lot of the station buildings around
> Melbourne?  There seem to be some fairly large buildings at some stations,
> but most seem locked and/or boarded up.  On my way to work in Camberwell,
> there's East Richmond, Burley, Hawthorn and Auburn (possibly Glenferrie but
> may be in use) which all have enclosures of some sort but seem only to be
> disused...what did these buildings used to be used for?  Did there used to
> be a stationmaster at every single stop?

When I was a kid in Melbourne in the 1960s and 1970s, there was indeed a
stationmaster (and often many other staff) at every station. As well as
selling tickets to passengers from their little windows, they checked
the tickets of everyone leaving the trains, and waved little green flags
to the driver and guard to say it was safe for the train to leave. Many
stations also handled freight and parcels... there were funny
single-carriage electric freight trains that went from station to
station delivering parcels.

The Victorian Railways were the state's largest job-creation scheme in
those days, that's for real.

David McLoughlin
Auckland New Zealand

"The national budget must be balanced. The public debt must be reduced;
the arrogance of the authorities must be moderated and controlled.
Payments to foreign governments must be reduced, if the nation doesn't
want to go bankrupt. People must again learn to work, instead of  living
on public assistance." – –   Marcus Tullius Cicero, 55 B.C.