The Southern Aurora prior to departure for Sydney, Platform 1, Spencer Street Railway Station, Spencer Street, C.1986
The Southern Aurora was arguably Australia's premier passenger train of the era. Nicknamed 'The Snora' because it was an all-sleeping car train, it was introduced in 1962 when the standard gauge line was completed to Melbourne making it possible for the first time to travel without having to change trains at the State border. It was the fastest and most luxurious way to travel between Australia's two largest cities short of flying. Departing every evening from each city, it travelled overnight and offered an early arrival in the heart of downtown at the other end.
Unfortunately, the explosion of cheap air travel and massive expenditure on interstate highways took a devastating toll on interstate rail travel, so that by the mid '80s, demand had reduced so much that two overnight trains between Melbourne and Sydney were no longer justified. The Aurora was amalgamated with the Spirit of Progress from August 4 1986 to run as the Melbourne Express and Sydney Express (depending on the direction of travel).
The Melbourne and Sydney Expresses in turn were replaced by XPT services in the early 1990s which continue today to run twice daily between Sydney and Melbourne.
Spencer Street station was redeveloped in the early 2000s as Southern Cross station. Whilst it outwardly seems entirely different to the old Spencer Street, at the track and platform level it's actually almost unchanged - all of Spencer Street station's platforms still exist today in Southern Cross EXCEPT for the old platform 1, seen here, which was removed and replaced by the new shorter platform 1. The location seen here is today occupied by shops and bars on the modern-day Spencer Street side concourse of Southern Cross station. This photo would have been taken from somewhere in the vicinity of today's Travellers' Aid waiting room or the Skybus ticket office.