Barracks were very much a part of locomotive crews' life as men would sign-on to take a train to a particular destination, and upon relief by another crew, would take their rest, anything from eight hours onwards. Upon advice the crew would then work a train to their home depot. The driver and fireman's tucker box contents included meat and vegetables for the barracks meal as cooking facilities were provided.
Some barracks had been done up with nice rooms and more modern cooking facilities whereas some were a railway van. A Cootamundra driver on 14 April 1961 wrote the following letter to the Chief Mechanical Engineer via Cootamundra District Locomotive Engineeron the condition of the Caragabal Rest Van which served as a Barracks.
"On Tuesday 11 April 1961 I worked as Driver on Train No 75 from Cootamundra to Wirringa and camp which necessitated the use of a railway rest van normally stationed at Caragabal. Upon inspecting the van after signing off the following conditions were observed which give cause for this complaint.
Itemised
Van kitchen is a generally dirty and untidy condition.
Stove and cooking utensils filthy
No fire lighting material or fuel for stove in van or near van
No implement in van to obtain same if it had been available
Only two lamps supplied – one completely unserviceable
No lamp fuel supplied.
No alarm clock supplied
Van water tank rusted inside and containing three inches of dirty water and other foreign matter
"All this coupled with the normal hot stuffiness and overcrowding tend to make camping in this van extremely inconvenient and uncomfortable. I would like to receive your assurance that these degenerate conditions have been overcome before called upon to make use of the van again. It is also worth noting that in case of fire, the only exit from the sleepy end of the van is through the kitchen.
Upon receipt of letter and subsequent inspection the van was laid to rest not to be used again for barracks working.
Letters are a familiar item in the Bible
The Footplate Padre says there are numerous mentions of letters in the Bible, both Old and New Testaments. In Ezra 4 we read of a false letter was sent to King Artaxerxes of Persia that the Jews in Jerusalem were rebuilding the city walls when in fact they were rebuilding the Temple. This was letter whose aim was to do harm and it did.
But then there are very positive and good letters, examples of these are the Apostle Paul's letters to the churches giving encouragement and critical doctrine to help the Christians develop their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. In 2 Corinthians 3 verse 2 Paul says that each Christian is a letter for all to read. That's challenging.
Dr Mark Tronson is a Baptist minister (retired) who served as the Australian cricket team chaplain for 17 years (2000 ret) and established Life After Cricket in 2001. He was recognised by the Olympic Ministry Medal in 2009 presented by Carl Lewis Olympian of the Century. He has written 24 books, and enjoys writing. He is married to Delma, with four adult children and grand-children.
Mark Tronson's archive of articles can be viewed at www.pressserviceinternational.org/mark-tronson.html