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Australian Railwayman: From Cadet Engineer to Railways Commissioner | 
 enlarge | Author: Ron Fitch
Publisher: Rosenberg Publishing
Category: Book
List Price: $35.00
Buy New: $27.65
You Save: $7.35 (21%)
New (9) Used (1) from $23.64
Rating:  1 reviews
Sales Rank: 3812591
Media: Paperback
Pages: 248
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.3
Dimensions (in): 9.3 x 6.9 x 0.6
ISBN: 1877058483
Dewey Decimal Number: 385.092
EAN: 9781877058486
ASIN: 1877058483
Publication Date: October 2006
Availability: In stock soon. Order now to get in line. First come, first served.
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Ron Fitch was born in 1910 into a railway family. He began his career as a 16-year-old engineering cadet and completed it, 46 years later, having worked at various times for two state railways and the Commonwealth, as Commissioner of South Australian Railways. In this book, Fitch gives a vivid account not only of a career but of the camaraderie of the greater railway community, often experienced in the most trying of conditions. For almost three decades, Fitch was 'on the wallaby', with postings scattered over half a continent, and as often as not living rough. This book gives an account of all this and more - of laying track and the remarkable breed of men who do so, of advances in line-building techniques, of derailments and floods and washaways, of wrangles over attempts to implement standard gauge, of the politics of railways. Ron Fitch is uniquely placed to write a book for all train enthusiasts, in which he celebrates both the men and the machinery, the toil and the technology, that opened up a vast and sparsely populated continent. Nor has retirement dulled his spirit or his interest in railways. In 2002, he earned recognition from "Guinness Book of World Records" when his thesis on South Australian railways made him the oldest recipient of a PhD.
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| Customer Reviews:
Nicely illustrated throughout with vintage black-and-white photography May 12, 2007
Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA)
Nicely illustrated throughout with vintage black-and-white photography, "Australian Railwayman: From Cadet Engineer To Railways Commissioner" is the personal story of a railroading career that began when Ron Fitch was a 16-year-old engineering cadet in 1926 and concluded some 46 years later after his having worked for two Australian state railways and served as the Commissioner of South Australian Railways. Fitch's memoir includes his observations and experiences with the 'greater railway community' and having to deal from time to time with very difficult conditions, circumstances, and events. From the laying of track, to anecdotes of that very special breed of men who built and operated a nation's railways, to the advancing technologies of railroading, to natural disasters, to the politics of railways, "Australian Railwayman" presents a fascinating and informative account that will prove to be of immense interest to railroad buffs everywhere. Incidentally, Ron Fitch also holds the distinctive honor of being cited in the Guinness Book of World Records as becoming the oldest known recipient of a PhD. In 2002 at the age of 92. His thesis was on South Australian railways.
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