Railways and Tramways of Australia

A Blue Mountains commuter train popularly named The Fish operated from around 1880. Before this time the name was often used to refer to an afternoon service between Sydney and Penrith, which was shown in timetables from 1 July 1863. The first mention of the name The Fish in a public timetable was on 27 November 1949: although it had been widely known as The Fish for many decades, official recognition in timetables took a long time to occur. The name continued to be used in timetables until it was removed in the 24 July 2004 timetable, but was reinstated with the 4 September 2005 timetable. Sadly, the name disappeared from timetables again in 2014. Running for around 150 years from the 1860s, The Fish was clearly the longest-serving named passenger train in Australia.

With its special character and strange name, The Fish developed a particular folklore that is still remembered by Blue Mountains residents. Poems were written, cartoons were drawn, and legends about the characters associated with the train grew. Newspaper articles recorded changes in the service. It was a train of great importance to regular passengers, but also admired by many others.

John Heron

The origin of the name The Fish is the subject of folklore but has been traced back to John ‘Jock’ Heron. Heron was born in Dumfries, Scotland, in 1831. He worked on the Glasgow and South Western Railway before migrating to Australia with his younger brother, David. John was employed as an engineman in June 1861 with the New South Wales Railways. By 1866 he became a driver between Sydney and Penrith, which at this time was the end of the western line, having opened on 19 January 1863.

Engine No. 15, one of three 14 class ((T) 14 class from 1889) 2-2-2 express passenger locomotives, was allocated to Driver John Heron and saw regular service on the Sydney to Penrith line. At that time it was standard practice for individual locomotives to be assigned to the care and use of particular drivers. No. 15 operated a fast evening commuter service that came to be known as The Fish.

John Heron was a driver who demanded high standards and gained the nickname the ‘big fish’. He was a big man who was known to everyone at Penrith by this name. Heron developed a reputation for keeping a fast schedule and would blow the whistle for the signals approaching Penrith. This led to the response, “Here comes the big fish!” It is believed that Heron’s name had become corrupted to ‘herring’ and the nickname the ‘big fish’ followed from there. Eventually the name was transferred from John Heron to the train that he drove. The evening train would stable overnight at Penrith, Heron’s home depot, before returning to Sydney in the morning. John Heron drove the train for over twenty years and was identified strongly with it.

Heron drove for 25 years without any kind of accident. He was widely respected by colleagues. By January 1886 Heron had become a locomotive inspector at Penrith depot, and retired in 1890. After his retirement Heron lived at North Sydney. He died at his home at McMahon’s Point, North Sydney, on 2 September 1906, aged 75 years. Heron married Isabella Denoon (born Isabella Wallace) in 1857 at the age of 26, but they had no children. He is buried in the Presbyterian section of Gore Hill Cemetery in the same plot as his wife, who predeceased him. His headstone includes the inscription, ‘LATE OF N.S.W. RAILWAYS.’

Locomotives

Particular locomotive types were allocated to regular service on The Fish in different eras, although other engines were used occasionally. In the early years locomotives were changed at Penrith, with faster locomotives generally used between Sydney and Penrith, and locomotives more suited to the steep gradients of the Blue Mountains used west of Penrith. The practice of changing locomotives at Penrith was eventually discontinued in October 1907. Table 1 gives an overview of the different classes of locomotives that were used during different years to haul The Fish.

​

​