NEW ZEALAND
FOLK * SONG 		 
The Fairlie Flyer

   lyrics Bill Timmins   melody Picasso Trio    c. 1968

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The line to Fairlie was a run of 39 miles from Timaru. Rail services began in 1883 and passenger
services ended in 1954. Goods services continued for another 14 years, with the final run on      
Saturday, March 2, 1968 by a train of two locomotives and 18 carriages. The line closed because
road transport firms offered a faster and more flexible service to farmers.                                  

  

Key of Db  Capo +1 on guitar and play these chord-shapes.                           
  
   C G C G
C                            ?                   ?
Listen and I'll tell you, a railroad tale that's true.
    E              Em         F          C
Of how the Fairlie Flyer ran down to Timaru.
     F                ?                C                Am
I’ll tell you of the shearers and the tons of wool that came
           B                         Em               G
Along this line each season from the great Mackenzie Plain.
                         
Chorus
    C                  F            c                 F           
So firemen stoke the engine, steam down that railway track,
      c                    F         G       F            C 
This train that's leaving Fairlie is never, never coming back.

   C  G  C G


There's stories in the country the locals love to tell
Of guards like Martin Fahey who served the district well;
For Martin loved the Flyer and folks remember too,
How he even did their shopping down the line at Timaru.

I'll tell you how the children went off to school each day
And climbed aboard the Flyer at stops along the way,
And all the many memories those boys and girls recall
But then the Fairlie Flyer was the greatest train of all.
             

Down the line at Albury where shunting’s done no more
And at Mrs Gibson's tavern there's a welcome at the door.
They tell of far-off summers that will never come again
When the old goods shed at Albury was filled with golden grain.

At Cave the station's silent but the goods shed still resounds
When the local boys are training as the tug-of-war comes round.
When the last train passes they'll give a hearty cheer
While over at the local Ted pours another beer.

From Sherwood Downs to Clayton, Burkes Pass and Kimbell too.
The boys that drive the transports are the links with Timaru
And now the line is closing, the country folk agree
The stories of the Fairlie train will go down in history.

So firemen stoke the engine, steam down that railway track,
This train that leaving Fairlie is never, never coming back.

The Fairlie Line

The line from Timaru to Albury was officially opened 1st of January 1877. The digging of the Winscombe railway cutting, about four kilometres south of Fairlie was the major obstacle in extending the railway line from Albury to Fairlie. It took four and a half years to complete with pick and shovel. The cutting was the highest point of the Fairlie line, at 930 feet (283 metres) above sea level. The line ran through several kilometres of farmland was actually made up of several small cuttings, ranging from several hundred metres to about a kilometre in length. They were dug by pick and shovel, or by horse and scoop.

  The steam locomotive class Ab 816 ran on the line, a westward run of 39 miles from Timaru. Passenger services on the Fairlie Line ended in 1954 and the final run was on Saturday, March 2, 1968 with a train of two locomotives and 18 carriages ending the railway's 84-year-old link between Timaru and Fairlie.

The line closed because transport firms offered faster and more flexible service to farmers. Cattle, lambs and fat sheep were trucked to the freezing works and to Temuka saleyards, while wool was taken to the Timaru wool stores.



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