Spirit of Progress

Spirit of Progress

The Spirit of Progress headed by S301 Sir Thomas Mitchell near Kilmore East in 1938
Overview
Status	Ceased
Predecessor	Sydney Limited
First service	24 November 1937
Last service	2 August 1986
Successor	Sydney/Melbourne Express
Former operator(s)	V/Line State Rail Authority
Route
Start	Melbourne
End	Albury (1937-1962) Sydney (1962-1986)
Distance travelled	1937-62: 190.5 miles (306.6 km) 1962-86: 594 miles (956 km)
Service frequency	Daily
Train number(s)	SL3/SL4
Line used	North East, Victoria Main South, NSW (1962-1986)

The Spirit of Progress was the premier express passenger train on the Victorian Railways in Australia, running from Melbourne to the New South Wales border at Albury, and later through to Sydney.

From its introduction in November 1937 until April 1962 the train service ran on 1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in) broad gauge line from Melbourne's Spencer Street station to Albury, on the New South Wales / Victorian border, where passengers changed to a New South Wales Government Railways train (the Melbourne Limited Express), running on 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ¹⁄₂ in) standard gauge track to complete the journey to Sydney. Following the completion of the standard gauge line between Melbourne and Albury in April 1962 the Spirit of Progress was extended to Sydney.

The Spirit of Progress ushered in a standard of passenger train speed and comfort not previously seen in Australia. Its introduction in November 1937 marked the culmination of many years of preparatory work by the Victorian Railways, from the laying of heavier rail on the North East line, introduction of Automatic Staff Exchange apparatus to allow continuous high speed running between track sections, introduction of high-powered three-cylinder Pacific locomotives, and the testing of air conditioning equipment on passenger rolling stock. Such was the commitment of VR Chief Commissioner Harold Clapp to introducing a world-class train service to Victorian Railways, virtually no detail was overlooked. VR engineers famously road-tested the new train's smoothness on curves by studying a full bowl of soup in the dining car as the train took curves at full speed; if the soup splashed over the side of the bowl a decision would be taken whether to modify the curve for higher speeds or reduce the speed limit for the curve. Harold Clapp could not, however, take credit for the name for the service; when discussing with his wife his proposed Royal Victorian name (inspired by the LMS Royal Scot), Mrs Clapp suggested, on the spur of the moment, Spirit of Progress.