inspired by the culture of Australian Railways

RTBU Song Competition: Over Thirty Entries Received

This collection of Australian Railway songs, poems, music, anecdotes and stories is being brought together by the Bush Music Club for a working book of material that can be used by bands and individuals for developing concerts and other performances on the theme of Australian Railways.

For over 150 years songwriters, poets musicians and writers have observed and recorded many aspects of Australian railway life. Many of the songs and poems came directly from those who were employed in building or operating national railway systems. Others items came from those who used railways as passengers, or recall trains amongst their earliest memories.

Collecting the experiences of railways recorded by songwriters and poets across thousands of miles of Australian railway tracks remains a huge task. In presenting this small collection as a working source of railway related material the Bush Music Club encourages bands and individual performers songwriters poets and other writers to expanded their repertory by seeking other material from sources such as Australian Railway Heritage groups like the Werris Creek Railway Museum, folk clubs, current railway workers and their unions as well producing their own items.

As part of the ongoing effort to collect Australian Railway Songs and Poems and to ensure their ongoing use in such events as next year's International Railway Heritage Conference. the Bush Music Club is preparing a work book of Australian Railway songs and poems that it hopes to publish in time for the National Folk Festival at Easter. The contents will be limited to 50 items they appear in this blog as research for the final document.

What we want is details of the song and poem as written, a music score and correct references that will allow us to approach sources of the material that may still be in copyright. Other material like photographs will be added as the work progress.
Contact Brian Dunnnett 0296689051 bdunnett@ar.com.au or the Bush Music Club if you have proposals.