The End of the "3801" Era !

There is something about the initials  "  3801 " that stir fond memories of a magnificent steam train that for thirty years ran regular weekend trips from the heart of Sydney to the town of Robertson way up in the southern highlands.  This vintage locomotive pulled a string of heritage carriages kept in mint condition by a team of railway enthusiasts and the venture was only financially possible with help from the state government.

3801 and a large stock of vintage carriages were kept securely in a shed termed the " Large Erecting Shed " at Everleigh rail yard in the city.  Their maintenance was a work of love by the large group of men and women enthusiasts who also crewed the train on those weekend journeys.   The trip was constantly booked out and getting a seat required careful planning months ahead of the intended journey.

It was a big hit with tourists and a booking on 3801 was often a long planned birthday treat for an entire family.  It was an all day event, rolling through the Sydney suburbs and down the Illawarra line to Wollongong, and then through magnificent scenery to a long luncheon stop in the historic town of Robertson.   That luncheon stopover was a carnival for the business community of Robertson and it included a visit to an operating cheese factory.   Robertson was " potato country " and visitors viewed and commented on a controversial giant potato monument in the main street.

Unfortunately the regular journeys of this vintage steam train was controversial.  It was the custom to sound its steam whistle when travelling through the Sydney suburbs and through Wollongong and this was not welcomed by all.     While is summonsed many little kids to vantage points to see the train pass by some whingers wrote to the newspapers and complained, declaring it " noise pollution ".   To the disappointment of many, the steam whistle was silenced !

Summer trips brought a safety problem.   Steam trains have a tendency to drop burning cinders and so 3801 was banned on days when bush fires were a danger, and to the disappointment of many the steam engine was replaced by a diesel locomotive at short notice.  At the same time, the vast sheds that housed this railway memorabilia were being eyed off by industry in a city desperately short of expansion space.

The axe has now fallen.  The locks have been changed and 3801 and its carriages have been separated from the enthusiasts who maintained them.  Unfortunately the steam age required facilities that no longer exist in this modern electric railway era.    The old trains needed to take on water and coal, and those facilities have disappeared.  It is unlikely that we will ever again hear that sensational steam whistle or see monster locomotive 3801 steaming through city suburbs.

What happens to it - and those vintage carriages ?   Most likely they will not be scrapped, but quietly towed away to some distant derelict railyard where they will be left to rot in the unlikely event that some feasible tourist use can be resurrected.

It is said that it is not over - until the fat lady sings.    For 3801 we are hearing that aria - loud and clear !