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During 1979 I was studying at Fremantle Technical College, during long breaks I made my way down to the Fremantle Railway Station/ yard. Given below are a selection of photos that at the time were just part of the everyday scene, one could not have envisaged the changes to come.

With loading for the woolstores behind, B1609 has run around its train and crosses the mainlines on 23 July 1979. Wool is no longer carried by rail, B1609 was cut up in 1988, the furthest wool store was demolished and has been replaced by the woolstores shopping centre.

X1012 Ballardong climbs the grade through Fremantle heading for Leighton then Forrestfield on 2 July 1979. Three years later X1012 had been withdrawn, any through narrow gauge freight goes via the Forrestfield to Kwinana dual gauge railway. Narrow gauge freight trains no longer go to Leighton Yard. The mainlines are electrified with overhead catenary.

J105 hauls a very short freight ex Leighton through Fremantle on 23 August 1979. J105 is now owned by Great Northern Rail and is based in the eastern states.

British Thomson-Houston built Y1116 hauls a coal train through Fremantle heading for the South Fremantle Power Station on 26 July 1979. The wagons at the rear are being loaded with hay for the very short trip across to the wharf less than a kilometre away. The hay wagons were mainly GS and GST classes.

Y1116 is now on the Pemberton Tramway, the Powerstation has gone and the area where the Hay Wagons are is a carpark.

L262 in the experimental Westrail colour scheme heads south through Fremantle with a freight ex Leighton Yard, while B1609 shunts on 29 October 1979.

L262 was the first loco painted in Australia Western colours, the signal box was demolished during the electrification of the Fremantle line.

ADG612(nearest camera)ADG615+ADA await departure to Perth from Fremantle station on 8 June 1979. A ride on these un- airconditioned trains (though with revolving fans) meant that on warm/ hot days all doors and windows were left wide open on their travels across the metro area. Today we are virtually sealed into the EMU's for our own safety. Times have changed, the kids used to hang out of the windows etc. as the train went over the Swan River at Fremantle.I cannot recall anyone falling out.

XA1402 Targari hauls a freight north through Fremantle on 15 November 1979. Note the customery X class oil slick on the side of the unit. XA1402 is preserved by the Australian Railway Historical Society (W.A. Division).