Hello cousin Col Dundon, Thanks for your railway contribution, which is a little puzzling. Unfortunately I don't still have a copy of the biography of William Sixsmith, engine driver, but found it in an old volume at the library (perhaps "Men of Mark"?). His imposing memorial in Rookwood Cemetery (Anglican section) states that he was born at Wavertree near Liverpool, England, on 18 November 1815, and died 24 October 1893 and that "he was the first locomotive driver on the NSW Govt Railways". Have seen a very old postcard bearing his etched likeness and that of his fireman with the brief details on it of their claim to fame. I was hoping that the Lister who originally asked about Sixsmiths found this gentleman in the family tree. He had a number of daughters in Sydney. Best regards, Gwen

Hi Gwen, You are almost certain to be right when you say William Sixsmith was the first engine driver on the Sydney Railway, my contribution was that Samuel Twiss was the driver of the first train to Parramatta when the line was completed. I am sure the line was used for shorter journeys on the finished portion of the track and that William Sixsmith was as you said the first train driver. Score Gwen 1 Col 0 Regards, Col Dundon in Sydney. If you see a light at the end of the tunnel make sure it's not a train coming towards you. www.geocities.com/oppy_au Dundon Family. www.geocities.com/schweikert_au/ Schweikert Family. www.geocities.com/kilrush_ireland/ Kilrush Co.Clare. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Gwen Dundon" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Wednesday, March 07, 2001 8:20 PM Subject: Sixsmith surname > Hello cousin Col Dundon, > > Thanks for your railway contribution, which is a little puzzling. > Unfortunately I don't still have a copy of the biography of William > Sixsmith, engine driver, but found it in an old volume at the library > (perhaps "Men of Mark"?). > > His imposing memorial in Rookwood Cemetery (Anglican section) states that he > was born at Wavertree near Liverpool, England, on 18 November 1815, and died > 24 October 1893 and that "he was the first locomotive driver on the NSW Govt > Railways". > > Have seen a very old postcard bearing his etched likeness and that of his > fireman with the brief details on it of their claim to fame. > > I was hoping that the Lister who originally asked about Sixsmiths found this > gentleman in the family tree. He had a number of daughters in Sydney. > > Best regards, Gwen > > > ============================== > Ancestry.com Genealogical Databases > http://www.ancestry.com/rd/rwlist2.asp > Search over 2500 databases with one easy query! > >