Loco Suit Club

Many drivers who came on the job at the end of the steam era, knew the Loco uniform to be overalls and black cap. However, prior to that, Drivers, as a sign of status and their respected position on the railways, wore a suit and tie with the sweat band around the collars. In addition to other social and cultural activity of train drivers, the significance of the suit was enshrined in the formation at Lithgow and other locations of the Loco Suit club. As the name suggests, it was established for drivers to put aside a portion of their wages towards the purchase of a new suit.

Lithgow is probabIy the last remaining Loco Suit Club. In keeping this tradition alive, Bryan was active in the Lithgow Loco Suit Club, and continued to contribute to the Suit Club until his passing. Today, the Suit Club contributions are more recreational in nature, still meeting and holding social functions, and producing the Suit Club shirt, rather than going towards the purchase of a suit.

3801 pass through Lithgow on a few occasions. Family holidays also seemed to include a ride on a stream train. No trip to Melbourne is complete without a ride on Puffing Billy in the Dandenong Ranges. Some of my fondest memories are of a road trip from Lithgow to Townsville in the mid-1980s to catch up with family friends that we had not seen since moving to Lithgow in the late 1970s. Things were pretty normal until we moved past Brisbane and into the large towns and cities in central and northern Queensland with their sprawling cane fields and cane trains! From that point on, the road trip morphed into a kind a cane train study tour. For the record, the best cane trains were in Tully.

My father’s enthusiasm for trains also extended to model railways. He was a long-term collector of British N-gauge model trains. Small packages with the Graham Farish logo routinely arrived at home with the latest model train purchase inside. He was always planning or building a model railway layout. For his biggest project, he cut a doorway through a brick wall at the back of our house, dug out a large room amongst the house’s foundations, put in a concrete floor and lighting and then built an extensive model railway layout. It was impressive. His enthusiasm for British trains also extended to a large book collection and regular correspondence with fellow enthusiast in the UK that he had made contact with over the years.

Have You Left the Industry? Retired?

Or No Longer Want to be in the Union?

If you have left the industry, permanently or for a period, have retired, or are off work due to illness, or no longer want to be a member of the RTBU, you must resign, or suspend your union membership, in writing.

Our union rules provide that members leaving the union for whatever reason, must do so in writing. If you do not resign in writing, you will continue to be included on our union membership and liable for the dues owing for that time.

Please note: Regardless of whether your union dues were paid by direct debit or through payroll deductions, the employer is not authorised to change your membership details after resignation or leaving the union. You must do this personally.

Please contact the membership office at the union for more information.