> "The railway roadbeds are much the same as they were in the latter half of the 19C"

No they're not! Each state railway has a continual program of line maintenance. And part of that is ballast tamping to reshape/restore the profile of the beds. These are the sorts of machines that they do this with these days: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamping_machine (this use to be done manually). Sometimes they add more ballast or even completely replace the ballast with new material.
For example, the main QLD line from Brisbane to Cairns use to be on wooden sleepers with spikes to hold the rail. These have been replaced now with concrete sleepers and a sort of clip like piece that grips the rails. I can remember from when I was younger, near the station where I use to live, watching the work crew substantially reshaping the bed when they replaced the sleepers.

> "likewise the basic structure of many roads." -
There are very very few roads from the 19C (1800's) that today would resemble anything like they were when originally built. Road building techniques are vastly different now than from the 1800's and also the minimum standards have increased incredibly. But even most main roads from the last century (1900's) have changed substantially during the last 100 years.
Take for example the Bruce Hwy, which is the main highway in QLD north from Brisbane along the cost. Again when I was a kid, it dropped down to a single lane hwy not that far North of Brisbane. Now it is three lanes all the way to Caboolture (soon to be all the way to the Sunshine Coast) and two lanes to Gympie. The road itself has been moved in places to dodge some towns and to straighten it. Not to mention that the quality and sophistication of the engineering has improved dramatically.

In the above: "And part of that is ballast tamping to reshape/restore the profile of the beds. "

I should have also included mentioning a ballast regulator machine.

Had an uncle who worked as a "fettler" on the NSW Western Line between Mullion Creek and Stewart Town in the days of steam. Bloody hard work, he nearly got killed once by a train, not uncommon.

Many people denounce the critical skill levels of today yet less than a handful are prepared to work on improving the mentality needed for the future.
There are highly skilled people who are instrumental in keeping the cogs of the workings of this Nation oiled. Sadly though, their contributions are either taken for granted & even ridiculed by those living off the former.
There are enough brains but without the right mentality !

Hey thinkabit, isn't it great the kids have finished the Sydney Harbor Bridge, that should give a boost to the productivity of the whole of Sydney.

Hang on a bit, it was my grand father, not the kids who worked on it, & much other infrastructure which w=enabled our growth.

Dear mhaze,

Well this is a bit rich from you: “Well again, I haven't mentioned Quadrant as a source. But don't let mere facts deter you...you never have before.”

But then you go on to say I do provide them but they aren’t in line with what you want to talk about.

The union movement was opposed to war because it was going to be a conflict among Imperialist nations which would likely see the common man again fodder for the cannon.

They were also avowedly anti-fascist, something Menzies was not, nor were a large part of the British upper class.

The Unions had Menzies measure and when he tried union bashing legislation in the 50s they certainly reminded him of it.

Mr. P. L. Troy, secretary of the Docks, Rivers and Harbor Workers' Union

"The legislation is typically fascist. It is designed to take away Communist leadership from the struggle of the Australian people for a better life.

"Mr. Menzies' characterising of Australian Communists as traitors will not deceive working people. I would offer the comparison of my own history with his.

"Like thousands of other Communists. I volunteered for service in World War II. Mr Menzies resigned his commission in the University Rifles to keep out of World War I.

"No Communists were tried as war criminals in all the ex-enemy lands where trials were held, but many of the disciples of Mr. Menzies' former friends, Hitler, Mussolini and Tojo, were found guilty and have since been sent into oblivion."

And what an apologist he was. This from him in 1937:

"It was ridiculous to claim that a country like Italy did not understand liberty. Mussolini and his Black Shirts took office not for tyranny but to purify a Government."