On the Tracks: Spirit of Progress

Extract from article:

NEW EXPRESS READY FOR THE ROAD
VICTORIA'S STREAMLINED STEAM TRAIN
DETAILS OF RADICAL DESIGN WITHIN AND WITHOUT

To-day marks an epoch in the history of the Victorian Railways — the greatest business undertaking in the State, and the greatest single asset of its people. The "Spirit of Progress," the new Sydney express, is ready. Before the day has passed she will have completed her first official run, with honoured guests aboard.
Streamlining, air-conditioning, comfort, efficiency — all are combined in a train the like of which Australia has never seen before. In many features it leads the Empire, and the Empire is interested.
EVERYONE in the State has an idea of what the new train will look like as it steams into Spencer street station for its "launching" to-day, and then out again on the ceremonial run to Geelong. Its likeness has been on all the railway hoardings for weeks, the huge locomotive, Edward Henty, looming gigantic in the foreground, and the train of carriages stretching away like a ribbon of blue and gold against a green countryside.

Gone is the familiar funnel. Gone are the steam dome and the quaint little tangle of pipes and tubes that stood before the top of the driver's cab to make the engine whistle. There is not even the traditional round front with handles in the middle, or the platform above the buffers, with its two mysterious little gadgets standing swathed in sooty canvas. Even the buffers have gone.

In place of all these is a smooth, rounded front leaning backward a little from the vertical, as though restraining itself from the temptation to use all the tremendous power that seems locked within it. The great V.R. monogram flanked with wings spread for flight enhances the illusion. So does the huge Cyclopean eye set in the forehead of the monster…

When the eye has wandered over the vastness of the locomotive, and refused to take it all in, a miracle occurs. it sweeps down the long train of carriages unbroken, at first sight, by any gap or join. The great gold lines that gleamed on the sides of the locomotive wings sweep away across the blue into the distance, and the whole thing immediately assumes a grace that is difficult to reconcile with such huge size…

The exterior, austere, unbroken in line, with only the row of windows flush with the walls and the double line of gold along it, gives no hint of what lies within. It may be that the designers planned the contrast deliberately, for it is most effective. Through a flush door in the wall of blue-painted steel the passenger steps into an atmosphere of comfort. The air itself is different, as indeed it should be, for the results of years of scientific and engineering experience and experiment are embodied in the air-conditioning plant with which each carriage is fitted.
The floors are deep with carpeting — thick piled Axminsters and Wiltons. Beneath the carpet there is rubber linoleum. Beneath that again is a layer of sponge rubber; then wood fibre board: then a thick layer of cork to cover the grooved Corten steel. Then hair felt, and a sheet of aluminium. It seems as complicated a floor as ever was made; it is designed to exclude all noise, all jarring, and all vibration.
It is, in addition, an effective barrier to heat in both directions. In winter, the floor cannot become cold: in summer, it cannot become hotter than the cool conditioned air which will circulate through every part of the train. But all the passenger sees of it is the yielding carpet, edged with rubber skirtings which effectively protect the polished wood panel walls from scratches.
Walls and ceilings are insulated similarly. Inside the shell of each carriage there is a layer of soundproof felting, cemented to the steel. Crinkled aluminium foil reduces the heat transference in the roof, and in the walls its place is taken by insulating sheets cemented to the felt. The inside finish is of panels of Australian timber in beautiful shades and figuring. Every corner is rounded, and the joinery excites admiration for the workmen who did it.
Seats are upholstered in chrome leather to harmonise with the carpets, and there is a pleasing variety throughout the train. In the first class non-smoking compartments the leather of the seats is dark blue, the carpet is dark brown Saxony Wilton, and the walls are of Queensland ribbon walnut. The ladies' compartments have light grey chrome leather seats, pastel green carpet, and panels of Queensland Royal walnut. The scheme for the smoking compartment includes Queensland flowery walnut and West Australian jarrah, rich plum red leather, and a carpet of dark blue.
The materials and construction of the second class compartments are identical with those of the first class, except that the colourings are different. The only significant difference between the accommodation in the two classes is that four persons will sit on each side of the second class compartment, with folding arm-rests dividing the seats into two sections, while in the first class the same space will be occupied by only three passengers on each side, with a folding arm- rest on each side of each passenger.
Luggage racks have rubber-covered front bars to prevent luggage from slipping, and chromium-plated fillets against the wall protect the woodwork from scratching and enhance the appearance of the interior decoration.
The windows are large and wide, framing the scene without. They are double to prevent the conduction of heat, and they are of unshatterable glass affording complete protection in any emergency. Each compartment has its card table stored under the seat in a little locker, and the fronts of the seats come straight down to the floor, leaving no harbour for rubbish.

It is in the parlour car that comfort reaches its climax... From within, as from outside, the rounded end of the tail of the train is completely pleasing to see. Most of the walls are glass — double glass, with an insulating space between, so that the windows need not become hot, even on the hottest day. It is an observation car, built for observation, and as the train travels the State each window will frame an ever-changing view of countryside, fields, homesteads, mountains, and streams.
Should the glare of the sun be too trying, each window in the observation car has its Venetian blind which may be drawn down and adjusted to individual comfort.

It is the furniture in the parlour car, however, and its disposition which give the most telling impression of comfort. The car is furnished like the sitting room in a private home, with lounge chairs, couches, and settees of varying types and in a harmonising variety of upholstery. Fawn, blue, and pastel green pin-weave tapestries are used for the upholstery. The internal panelling is of Australian blackwood, and the carpet is a glorious piece of work in old gold. Indirect lighting reflected from a slightly green-toned celling is supplemented by two table lamps on the book cabinets. The compartment has accommodation for l8 passengers.
Behind the observation room is a smoking compartment furnished with full leather lounge chairs — the sort into which into one sinks and cannot tell when the sinking ceased, so kind are they to the sitter. The chairs are upholstered in dark green chrome leather… The panelling in this section is of Australian cedar.
As unlike a conventional railway carriage as anything on wheels could be, this observation car on the "Spirit of Progress" has been designed and furnished for homely comfort.

NOVEL SYSTEM OF INTERIOR LIGHTING
VICTORIAN railways led the British Empire in air-conditioning. Now it seems that they will provide a lead in train lighting also. The co-operation of illumination experts from the State Electricity Commission was sought in designing the lights for the "Spirit of Progress". The train is not yet running, but the success achieved in the design of this feature is so marked that news of it has already travelled across the world, and the Victorian Railways Commissioners have received requests from railway authorities in Great Britain for details. In contrast to the great glaring eye on the front of the locomotive, which sends its beam for miles across the countryside through the night, not a light is visible in the interior of the train.
The centre of the roof in each compartment has a disc of opaque glass just below the ceiling, with an inverted metal dome in its centre. This is the lamp fitting. Between it and the curved ceiling a concealed lamp spreads its rays to illuminate the whole compartment with a uniformly soft white glow. For reading, writing, or sewing there is an additional lamp for each passenger, operated by individual switches. Should one passenger desire to read and the rest to sleep, he may light his own lamp to shine over his shoulder directly on to the book, and all the other lights may be extinguished.