The Brisbane Limited was an Australian passenger train operated by the
New South Wales Government Railways between
Sydney
Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
and
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...
from 1888 until February 1990. The route is now served by an unnamed
XPT service.
History

The Brisbane Limited originally operated from
Sydney
Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
via the
Main Northern line to
Wallangarra. A change of gauge required passengers to change here for a narrow gauge
Queensland Rail
Queensland Rail (QR) is a railway operator in Queensland, Australia. Queensland Rail is owned by the Queensland Government, and operates both Commuter rail, suburban and Regional rail, interurban rail services in South East Queensland, as well ...
ways train on its
Southern line to complete the journey to Brisbane.
The Limited service was also known as a 'limited express'; its daily service ran in parallel with a 'mail train', open to passengers, which featured more stops and took several hours longer.
Following the extension of the
North Coast line to
South Brisbane in September 1930, it was rerouted shaving six hours off the journey time, even allowing for the need for the train to be taken over the
Clarence River by barge pending the completion of the
Grafton Bridge. This occurred in May 1932. Its
headcode was NL1/NL2.
In the early 1950s, it began to be worked by diesel locomotives and from January 1960 was hauled by
46 class electric locomotives south of
Gosford. Also in 1960
stainless steel sleeping carriages were introduced.
From June 1984, it was hauled by electric locomotives to
Broadmeadow, and in June 1986 was extended at its northern end over the
Merivale Bridge to
Roma Street. It was withdrawn in February 1990 to be replaced by an unnamed
XPT service.
["The New Timetable" ''Railway Digest'' March 1990 page 94]
References
{{Named trains of New South Wales, state=collapsed
Discontinued railway services in Australia
Interstate rail in Australia
Named passenger trains of New South Wales
Night trains of Australia
Railway services introduced in 1888
Railway services discontinued in 1990
1888 establishments in Australia
1990 disestablishments in Australia