srnsw:series=17420

Ah, an old dogbox carriage. I'm sad I've not (yet!) had the chance to travel thus.

There has been quite a bit of discussion on the Aus-Model Rail Forum about this photo. The problems being is that they forgot to put it here!. I have copied two of the posts in order to further this discussion. Posted by: "Ian" ianadunn Wed Mar 14, 2012 4:27 pm (PDT) It has a Thow funnel and acetylene headlamp, so that narrows it to the period 1899-1921. And it is numbered 296, not 296X, so it must be before 1917. Re: K296 photo from State Records Posted by: "David Bromage" Wed Mar 14, 2012 8:58 pm (PDT) I think I may have narrowed this down even further. There had been a protracted dispute with PWD which only wanted to pay the men 9s 8d per day for four days per week. PWD spent much of January and February in Trades Hall. The dispute was eventually settled by, amongst other things, agreeing to assist the wives of many of the workers to move to Condobolin. The first sod was turned on Friday 19 March and, according to the Barrier Miner, the newly arrived wives planned to take advantage of an excursion train "at the beginning of next week". This could be the picnic train in the photo. David

iain stuart Interesting stuff! Thanks for copying across some of the discussion. -AG

iain stuart The year isn't clear in this answer. The first sod was turned on 19th March 1915. The excursion/picnic train was probably taken the following week. After such a protracted dispute this would have been an event worthy of expensive photography.

For the non-Aussies! A 'dogbox carriage' is reported available at Canberra Railway Museum so that you can "observe [its] rudimentary comfort....., and American-style end-platform carriages, which operated in Sydney before the "red rattlers" electric trains replaced them", source : www.arhsact.org.au/index.php?Itemid=13

Looking at that brand new Ford Customline ultility at centre right, this looks to have been taken around 1956.

Thanks, opsbooks, that's very helpful! We've added "1950s" to Photo Investigator and to the date above.

There's an earlier photo from the same spot on the Powerhouse Museum collection; see www.flickr.com/photos/powerhouse_museum/2376884726/

Bankstown Babyboomer well spotted!

Thanks for identifying the trams John Cowper - I've added tags. AB

Maybe 1940s going by the car behind.

Overkill to use Acetalyn, they must have used the same bottles for all types of gases.

Of course they didn't have "Roundup" then.

I don't think it burned with flame - but with chemical weed killers - the unit is spraing liquid onto the grass.

Yes, it looks like liquid but they are gas hoses and it says "keep clear of flame" I would imagine a flame setting fire to timber sleepers.

I guess it is flames then. The car looks like a holden. And the guy reminds me of Frank Spencer, an accident is about to happen.