Author | Lightnews

Rach Cottle @rachcottle.bsky.social · 7d

Slightly different to my usual programming, but we were given the keys to the decommissioned Ararat Signal Box A on the weekend. Felt like stepping back in time.
#VictorianRailways #Signalling #Ararat #RailwayHeritage

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Rach Cottle @rachcottle.bsky.social · 8d

Lifted my self-imposed ban from the Royal Historical Society of Victoria’s bookshop for some early Xmas presents - for me! @historyvictoria.bsky.social
#books #melbourne #northmelbourne #history

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Rach Cottle @rachcottle.bsky.social · 14d

Little paper cups for drinking water from VicRail train. Tea cup on paper cup.
#ephemera
#VicRail
#TeaCup
#VictorianRailways

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Reposted by Rach Cottle

News on Teesside @newsonteesside.bsky.social · 25d

Locomotion No 1 triumphantly recreates Stockton and Darlington Railway opening

After a replica Locomotion No 1 steamed from Shildon to Stockton, Chris Lloyd reflects on a fitting weekend celebrations marking S&DR200.

www.thenorthernecho.co.uk

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Reposted by Rach Cottle

OldRailwayAccidents @rwldproject.bsky.social · 26d

If #Railway200 has sparked or rekindled your interest in #RailwayHistory, and you fancy study at Masters or PhD level - then come & study with Dr Mike Esbester at the University of Portsmouth!

An expert in railway, transport & mobility history:

www.port.ac.uk/about-us/str...

Mike Esbester

www.port.ac.uk

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Rach Cottle @rachcottle.bsky.social · 26d

Pick me, pick me!

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Reposted by Rach Cottle

OldRailwayAccidents @rwldproject.bsky.social · 28d

🚨What's that?🚨

You want FREE access to 17 brilliant #RailwayHistory articles from the @jtransporthist.bsky.social?

All yours!

For #Railway200 the JTH has put together a virtual collection of articles, & until 15 October they're free!

Download & read now: journals.sagepub.com/topic/collec...

Cover of the Journal of Transport History. A dark blue background, white sans-serif text, with 10 small images of various forms of transport & mobility – an airship, a bridge, a compass, a shoe, a propeller aeroplane, an early pneumatic tyre, bicycle gears, a steam locomotive boiler, a tunnel and a late pneumatic tyre.

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Rach Cottle @rachcottle.bsky.social · 29d

Booooo

Rach Cottle @rachcottle.bsky.social · 29d

Unfortunately the train wasn’t that “special” - Collingwood lost by 37 points. 😭
#AFL #VFL
#Football
#VictorianRailways
#Collingwood
Geelong Advertiser, 5 July 1967, p 11

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Rach Cottle @rachcottle.bsky.social · Sep 18

I’ve returned to the archives and found another 100 boxes from the Victorian Railways. I am resolved that this thesis could take another ten years to write.
#VictorianRailways
#Archives
#PhDLife

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Rach Cottle @rachcottle.bsky.social · Sep 6

I particularly enjoyed the 5 minute stand-off we had with this right turning lane. I’m voting for hook turns in Bendigo!

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Rach Cottle @rachcottle.bsky.social · Sep 6

Posting a photo of a tram in Bendigo just for @drdrehistorian.bsky.social
We went for a ride but I still argue that the paddle steamer is a superior form of travel.
#BendigoTramway
#Tram

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Rach Cottle @rachcottle.bsky.social · Sep 2

Save the date!
The AEHS 2026 Conference - “Local History: thinking outside the archival box” - will be held 18 July 2026 in Lilydale.
Tickets on sale early 2026.
#SaveTheDate #Conference #LocalHistory #AEHS

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Rach Cottle @rachcottle.bsky.social · Sep 2

A new notebook also would’ve done the job. *waves to pile of notebooks

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Rach Cottle @rachcottle.bsky.social · Aug 28

Victorian Railways experts - advice on best places to research VR uniforms.
#VictorianRailways
#Uniforms
#Research

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Rach Cottle @rachcottle.bsky.social · Aug 25

I’m no longer being asked what my thesis is about, rather am I using AI to write it. The answer is NO - I did not come this far to get a machine to do my work. Thesis writing is hard work but rewarding.
Now if AI could do my washing, housework and feed me - that would be fab!
#PhDlife #AI

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Rach Cottle @rachcottle.bsky.social · Aug 22

Reminds me of our chat at the bakery in Port Adelaide. Can vouch - you know your pastry 😅

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Reposted by Rach Cottle

Professional Historians Association (Vic & Tas) @phavictas.bsky.social · Aug 18

PHA (Vic & Tas) members had a great time at our 2025 AGM! With thanks to Al Thomson for a fascinating talk on his life as an oral historian.

#phavictas

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Rach Cottle @rachcottle.bsky.social · Aug 8

It’s not an original. You can buy them from the gift shop at the State Coal Mine.

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Rach Cottle @rachcottle.bsky.social · Aug 8

New (old) poster from the State Coal Mine, Wonthaggi. No comments about “clean coal” please - appreciate it for the #cat.
#StateCoalMine #Wonthaggi #FriendsOfTheStateCoalMine #VictorianRailways

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Reposted by Rach Cottle

AHA (Australia) @austhistassoc.bsky.social · Jul 28

"Earning a humanities degree was not only life changing, in terms of opening up a world of knowledge otherwise beyond my reach, it also turns out to have been enormously productive – for me and many, many people around me"

Thank you Tim Winton for supporting the call to repeal the JRG policy.

Guardian Australia @australia.theguardian.com · Jul 27

Tim Winton among 100 high-profile Australians calling for university fees that don’t ‘punish’ arts students

Open letter urges Labor to reverse JRG scheme, introduced by Coalition in 2021, as cost of humanities degrees reaches more than $50,000 * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Tim Winton knows what it’s like to be the first in a family to go to university – “what a breakthrough that is, the kind of opportunities it provides”. It was at the Western Australian Institute of Technology, studying arts, that he wrote his first novel, An Open Swimmer, launching a four-decade writing career. Continue reading...

www.theguardian.com

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Reposted by Rach Cottle

decryption @decryption.bsky.social · Jul 27

wrote a blog post about how scanning an old magazine made me cry and how it reminded me why I bother doing this boring stuff

blog.decryption.net.au/posts/digiti...

A Reminder Why Digitising Old Printed Material Is Important

I did not expect to shed tears while scanning old model railway magazines.

blog.decryption.net.au

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Reposted by Rach Cottle

Aus Rail Historian @ausrailhistorian.bsky.social · Jul 24

Today’s mail call #1: A postwar-era (1960s) Victorian Railways poster advertising off-peak tickets aimed at women by subtly emphasising the advantages of shopping (in the CBD presumably) by rail over driving. This specimen is in great condition for its age & a candidate for framing in the future.

A postwar-era (1960s) Victorian Railways poster advertising off-peak tickets aimed at women by subtly emphasising the advantages of shopping (in the CBD presumably) by rail over driving.

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Rach Cottle @rachcottle.bsky.social · Jul 14

- A realistic dream of owning a home.
- Pizza Hut restaurants being a big deal.
- Using the only computer at school as a reward for being good.

Tiffany⸆⸉ @tiffanyclay.dev · Jul 13

What’s a real thing from your childhood that kids these days would find completely foreign?

Like, how we used to be able to walk right up to the gate to meet our family coming off a flight.

Or how we had to pick a spot to meet at the theater BEFORE we went.

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Rach Cottle @rachcottle.bsky.social · Jul 11

This is how we keep warm on #Melbourne #trams
#96 Bourke St, 4:20 pm
@ptua.org.au
@danielbowen.au

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