Keith Archibald Smith,

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

, AM, MIE Aust, FCIT, (4 May 1915 – 16 July 2011) was an Australian engineer who was Chief Mechanical Engineer, and later Commissioner, for the

Commonwealth Railways The Commonwealth Railways were established in 1917 by the Government of Australia with the Commonwealth Railways Act to administer the Trans-Australian Railway, Trans-Australia and Adelaide-Darwin railway, Port Augusta to Darwin railways. In 1 ...

, which operates mostly in remote and desolate areas railways for the

federal government A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a political union, union of partially federated state, self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a #Federal governments, federal government (federalism) ...

Biography

Smith graduated with honours from

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

and was a locomotive designing and test engineer with the

New South Wales Government Railways New South Wales Government Railways (NSWGR) was an agency of the Government of New South Wales that administered rail transport in the colony, and then the state, of New South Wales, Australia, between 1855 and 1932. History The NSWGR built ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he worked at

Chullora Railway Workshops Chullora Railway Workshops were a major workshops for the repair and heavy maintenance of locomotives and rolling stock for the New South Wales Government Railways. It was built on site at Chullora over 485 acres adjoining the main Sydney marshal ...

supervising the production of war materials including the

cruiser tank The cruiser tank (sometimes called cavalry tank or fast tank) was a British tank concept of the interwar period for tanks designed as modernised armoured and mechanised cavalry, as distinguished from infantry tanks. Cruiser tanks were develop ...

, bren gun carrier,

Bristol Beaufort The Bristol Beaufort (manufacturer designation Type 152) is a British twin-engined torpedo bomber designed by the Bristol Aeroplane Company, and developed from experience gained designing and building the earlier Bristol Blenheim, Blenheim li ...

and

Bristol Beaufighter The Bristol Type 156 Beaufighter (often called the Beau) is a British multi-role aircraft developed during the Second World War by the Bristol Aeroplane Company. It was originally conceived as a heavy fighter variant of the Bristol Beaufor ...

aircraft projects. He was closely associated with the design of the 38 class locomotive. In 1948, Smith joined the

Tasmanian Government Railways The Tasmanian Government Railways (TGR) was the former operator of the mainline railways in Tasmania, Australia. Formed in 1872, the railway company was managed by the Government of Tasmania, and existed until absorption into the Australian Nat ...

as Production Engineer. In 1950, he joined the

Port Augusta Port Augusta (''Goordnada'' in the revived indigenous Barngarla language) is a coastal city in South Australia about by road from the state capital, Adelaide. Most of the city is on the eastern shores of Spencer Gulf, immediately south of the ...

, as Chief Mechanical Engineer. As well as his Mechanical Branch responsibilities, in the role of Acting Chief Civil Engineer, he also supervised the construction of the standard gauge line from

Stirling North Stirling North (known by locals as Catninga) is a town located east of Port Augusta in the Australian state of South Australia. Its origin was as a reliable watering point in low-rainfall country, used by Aboriginal people since time immemori ...

to the

Leigh Creek Coalfield Telford Cut was an open-cut coal mine, now closed, in the Leigh Creek Coalfield in South Australia. For the 72 years between its opening in 1943 and its closure, the mine supplied sub-bituminous coal to fire power stations first in Adelaide the ...

. This project also involved the creation of the pick-a-back scheme whereby two complete narrow gauge coal consists were transported on a standard gauge rake of flat cars. Under his stewardship, 1,000 km of new railway to

Alice Springs Alice Springs () is a town in the Northern Territory, Australia; it is the third-largest settlement after Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin and Palmerston, Northern Territory, Palmerston. The name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William ...

were built, completed in 1980 and 1,420 km of further extension to Darwin were surveyed. He introduced concrete sleepers and long welded rail to the Commonwealth Railways. He also had much of the

North Australia Railway The North Australia Railway was a narrow gauge railway in the Northern Territory of Australia which ran from the territory capital of Darwin, once known as Palmerston, to Birdum, just south of Larrimah. Initially its name was the ''Palmerst ...

narrow gauge system rebuilt in the 1960s for the iron ore traffic. This work included the complete replacement of all the workshop facilities, much of the housing and office facilities while adding new locomotives and rollingstock. He had the

Trans-Australian Railway The Trans-Australian Railway, opened in 1917, runs from Port Augusta railway station, Port Augusta in South Australia to Kalgoorlie railway station, Kalgoorlie in Western Australia, crossing the Nullarbor Plain in the process. Built to standa ...

rebuilt to modern standards and a new standard gauge line constructed between

and

Whyalla Whyalla is a city in South Australia. It was founded as Hummock's Hill, and was known by that name until 1916. It is the fourth most populous city in the Australian state of South Australia after Adelaide, Mount Gambier, and Gawler, and along ...

in 1972. Smith also managed the transition from steam to diesel traction in the 1950s and also the accompanying modern air-conditioned rolling stock. This was followed by the introduction of a modern fleet of large capacity freight rollingstock. Triple deck sheep carriers could accommodate 600 sheep. Other large types of rollingstock were 21 000 gallon tank cars and 75-foot boxcars. Smith was a key executive in the creation of the standard gauge line from the east coast of Australia to the west coast. He supervised the standardisation of the Port Pirie to Broken Hill lline. He supervised the transition of the Commonwealth Railways to Australian National that incorporated the former

South Australian South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which includes some of the most arid parts ...

and

. Smith was the longest serving Commissioner of the CR, before becoming the first Chairman of Commissioners of the Australian National, retiring in that position in 1981. He was made an Officer of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

in 1970. He died at

Victor Harbor, South Australia Victor Harbor is a town in the Australian state of South Australia located within the City of Victor Harbor on the south coast of the Fleurieu Peninsula, about south of the state capital of Adelaide city centre, Adelaide. The town is the larges ...

, on 16 July 2011, aged 96.

Pick-a-Back by the Trainload

One of Smith's more notable achievements was the expeditious introduction of a standard gauge pick-a-back consist to bypass a section of narrow gauge railway (

Central Australia Railway The former Central Australia Railway, which was built between 1878 and 1929 and dismantled in 1980, was a Narrow-gauge railway, 1067 mm narrow gauge railway between Port Augusta railway station, Port Augusta and Alice Springs. A standard gau ...

) that was regularly washed away by floods. This pick-a-back consist transported a complete narrow gauge coal train by means of a narrow gauge track laid on the top of a rake of standard gauge flat cars. By comparison, the

Rollbock ''Rollbocks'', sometimes called transporter trailers, are narrow gauge railway trucks or bogies that allow a standard gauge wagon to 'piggyback' on a narrow-gauge line. The Vevey system enables a coupled train of standard gauge wagons to be autom ...

system of transporter train required that the wagons be loaded one at a time. It is not known what speed the pick-a-back train could achieve, possibly 80km/h maximum, but it is noted that the standard gauge line was brand new with gentle curves and gradients. The term piggy-back referred to road freight vehicles loaded on rail flat cars. When no longer required, the pick-a-back equipment could be restored to normal service.

Bibliography

*Tales from a Railway Odyssey - Volume 1 (Hard Cover) *Tales from a Railway Odyssey - Volume 1 (Soft Cover) *Tales from a Railway Odyssey

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Keith Australian railway mechanical engineers Members of the Order of Australia Officers of the Order of the British Empire University of Sydney alumni 1915 births 2011 deaths 20th-century Australian engineers