Newsrail (was 80th anniversary of suburban electrification)

[David Langley <del@ancc.com.au>]

Les Brown wrote:

> Yes I know your real name is David Langley and I know you are very
> pedantic about accuracy - as per your May Newsrail letter.  Remember
> the letter you wrote them (page 157)? You said:
>
> "The two seperate tracks were restored in December 1961, a few months
> after through sg freights to Melbourne commenced running".   Since you
> had previously written in your letter that the Standard Gauge line to
> Melbourne was opened on 3rd January, 1962, how does that all fit in?

Thankyou for pointing this out. In the interests of getting the facts into
print I inadvertently failed to send a copy of my final draft. This line
should have read: "..........a few weeks after which through sg ......."
This was added to my original draft by hand after I checked some of the
dates.

> Of course since the editor of Newsrail is not permitted to make
> mistakes, one assumes that neither is your letter.

Editors often make mistakes and I don't assume that that will ever change.
Sometimes they are fed wrong information by their correspondents and
probably do not have the time to check the accuracy. Often though, proof
readers will come up with corrections of fact but sadly a lot of these do
not seem to make the final printing. My point was that Editors should get
"a second opinion" if necessary on subjects which they are not fluent in.
Editors should be able to recognise when they need "a second opinion". The
current Editor is not the first to have published the wrong information
and he may not be the last.

Now that I have replied above, allow me to comment on another letter in
the same issue of Newsrail that my letter was published in. I refer to the
letter from Mr. J. Temple of Huon. His references to the combined lines
show that he does not have a grasp of the facts either and the facts are
readily obtainable from the Weekly Notice Extracts (Jungwirth/Lambert).
I'm not sure of his last statement thought where he says that "Electric
interlocking is in force from there to Albury and is controlled from a
separate panel in Wodonga A Box." In fact he is blurring the real facts
that "Electric interlocking" is actually in force between Spencer Street
and Albury South on the sg line. The section up to and including Wodonga
Loop has its control Centralised in Melbourne (shortly to become
Adelaide)..

And now to a further error in the safeworking information published in
Newsrail. Whilst it is not a major one, it is none-the-less an error. The
staff exchange box pictured is used when the stations were unattended NOT
switched out. There is quite a difference. At a switched out staff station
there is no need for the train passing through to stop at all for staff
working because it would be travelling on a long section staff.

I wonder who wrote the caption?

> If you did not write the letter and you are not the same D. Langley of
> Seymour, or maybe I misunderstood your letter, I apologise, but if you
> did, would you please explain? In the interests of accuracy a reply
> would be welcome

I remain the same,

David Langley. (ever willing to correct errors in the signalling area)

>
>
> Les S. Brown (the original and one and only)

Are you the person who sometimes is shown as S (for Sid) Brown?