Intercapital Daylight
Encyclopedia
The Intercapital Daylight (often abbreviated to ICD) was a named passenger train that operated between the cities of Melbourne and Sydney in Australia
, running during the daytime making intermediate stops between Sydney and Albury
, but running express between Albury and Melbourne.
on the broad gauge, running thrice weekly, being extended to everyday except Sunday on 25 September the same year, running non stop between Melbourne and Albury. From March 1956 there was a matching thrice-weekly service from Sydney to Albury, meeting the connecting train to Melbourne. It operated in the opposite direction the following day. These trains were known as the Sydney-Melbourne [Melbourne-Sydney] Daylight Express. The average speed on the Victorian side of 53.25 miles per hour (85.7 km/h) made it Australia's fastest train, with a total journey time of 13½ hours between the capitals.
The train entered service on the standard gauge on 16 April 1962 with the New South Wales train extended into Victoria. The Intercapital Daylight usually ran with New South Wales RUB type carriage stock, with train lengths from 7 cars up to 12 or 13, with V/Line
Z type carriage
s also appearing by the late 1980s . The train usually consisted of a powervan, mail / luggage van, dining car, 3 or 3 economy class cars, and 2 or 3 first class carriages.
Initial locomotives used to haul the train included the News South Wales 44 class
and the Victorian S class
, with X class
es appearing from the 1970s. Locomotives were exchanged at Albury until the introduction of though running in 1982, with locomotives used including the Australian National GM class, NSW 422
, 442
, and 81 classes
, Westrail
L class
es, or V/Line G class
.
A motorail facility was available between 1988 and 1990 on the train, usually lightly loaded, and seeing more than one motorail wagon would be rare. The service and quality of food in the buffet was described as "excellent" by a railfan
who made a trip on the train in 1986, with both hot meals and take away food available.
By 1990 the Intercapital Daylight was limited to 100 km/h due to the decision to use heavier freight locomotive to haul the train, with the running time becoming 12 hours to Sydney, and 12 hours 45 minutes to Melbourne. Following the deregulation of the Australian airline industry, cut-price air travel decimated the market for intercapital rail travel, with the train once departing Melbourne with only 43 passengers on board, the final run of the train to Sydney being made on Saturday 31 August 1991, with many of the travellers being railfans.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, running during the daytime making intermediate stops between Sydney and Albury
Albury, New South Wales
Albury is a major regional city in New South Wales, Australia, located on the Hume Highway on the northern side of the Murray River. It is located wholly within the boundaries of the City of Albury Local Government Area...
, but running express between Albury and Melbourne.
History
On the Victorian side the train was inaugurated as The Daylight on 26 March 1956 by the Victorian RailwaysVictorian Railways
The Victorian Railways operated railways in the Australian state of Victoria from 1859 to 1983. The first railways in Victoria were private companies, but when these companies failed or defaulted, the Victorian Railways was established to take over their operations...
on the broad gauge, running thrice weekly, being extended to everyday except Sunday on 25 September the same year, running non stop between Melbourne and Albury. From March 1956 there was a matching thrice-weekly service from Sydney to Albury, meeting the connecting train to Melbourne. It operated in the opposite direction the following day. These trains were known as the Sydney-Melbourne [Melbourne-Sydney] Daylight Express. The average speed on the Victorian side of 53.25 miles per hour (85.7 km/h) made it Australia's fastest train, with a total journey time of 13½ hours between the capitals.
The train entered service on the standard gauge on 16 April 1962 with the New South Wales train extended into Victoria. The Intercapital Daylight usually ran with New South Wales RUB type carriage stock, with train lengths from 7 cars up to 12 or 13, with V/Line
V/Line
V/Line is a not for profit regional passenger train and coach service in Victoria, Australia. It was created after the split-up of VicRail in 1983. V/Line is owned by the V/Line Corporation which is a Victorian State Government statutory authority...
Z type carriage
Z type carriage
The Z type carriages are an air conditioned steel passenger carriage used on the railways of Victoria, Australia. The carriages were constructed by the Victorian Railways from 1957 for use on intrastate services....
s also appearing by the late 1980s . The train usually consisted of a powervan, mail / luggage van, dining car, 3 or 3 economy class cars, and 2 or 3 first class carriages.
Initial locomotives used to haul the train included the News South Wales 44 class
New South Wales 44 class locomotive
The New South Wales 44 class locomotives were one of the first locomotives built by A. E. Goodwin in the Alco tradition. One-hundred of these DL500B units were built. Introduced in 1957, these locomotives have served every part of NSW, from services in the North and South, to the Indian Pacific...
and the Victorian S class
Victorian Railways S class (diesel)
The Victorian Railways S class mainline diesel electric locomotive were built from 1957 by Clyde Engineering for the Victorian Railways of Australia...
, with X class
Victorian Railways X class (diesel)
The Victorian Railways X class mainline diesel electric locomotives were built by Clyde Engineering from 1966, with a further two orders being placed in 1970 and 1975...
es appearing from the 1970s. Locomotives were exchanged at Albury until the introduction of though running in 1982, with locomotives used including the Australian National GM class, NSW 422
New South Wales 422 class locomotive
The 422 class diesel electric locomotive was introduced into the New South Wales rail system in 1969. Clyde Engineering of Granville, New South Wales obtained the contract to build 20 of these units....
, 442
New South Wales 442 class locomotive
The 442 class locomotives were ordered and operated by the New South Wales Government Railways. They were the second generation of Alco units to be built, and were used on both main freight and passenger service in New South Wales, and throughout Australia since entering private ownership. The...
, and 81 classes
New South Wales 81 class locomotive
The 81 class is a class of mainline diesel locomotive in the state of New South Wales. Introduced between 1982 and 1984, the 81 Class is currently the largest class of locomotive in New South Wales, and for many years has been the backbone of the fleet...
, Westrail
Westrail
Westrail was the name of Western Australia’s public rail service between 1975 and 2000.It had its origins in 1877 as the Department of Works and Railways. This became Western Australian Government Railways in 1890 — a name that persisted for almost a century...
L class
WAGR L class (diesel)
The L-class is a class of diesel locomotives of the Western Australian Government Railways first introduced in 1967 for heavy duty mainline use on the new standard gauge lines. Their wheel arrangement is Co-Co.- Details :...
es, or V/Line G class
V/Line G class
The V/Line G class are a mainline diesel electric locomotives built by Clyde Engineering from 1984, the last of 33 locomotives entering service in December 1989...
.
A motorail facility was available between 1988 and 1990 on the train, usually lightly loaded, and seeing more than one motorail wagon would be rare. The service and quality of food in the buffet was described as "excellent" by a railfan
Railfan
A railfan or rail buff , railway enthusiast or railway buff , or trainspotter , is a person interested in a recreational capacity in rail transport...
who made a trip on the train in 1986, with both hot meals and take away food available.
By 1990 the Intercapital Daylight was limited to 100 km/h due to the decision to use heavier freight locomotive to haul the train, with the running time becoming 12 hours to Sydney, and 12 hours 45 minutes to Melbourne. Following the deregulation of the Australian airline industry, cut-price air travel decimated the market for intercapital rail travel, with the train once departing Melbourne with only 43 passengers on board, the final run of the train to Sydney being made on Saturday 31 August 1991, with many of the travellers being railfans.