20 September 2026
► EVENTS ON THIS DATE, 20 SEPTEMBER;
On this day in 1893, Near Brighton, Tasmania – The evening express train from Launceston to Hobart was derailed on the tall Horseshoe Bridge, which stood between Brighton and Bridgewater, through track sabotage.
The train narrowly avoided plunging over the side and there were only minor injuries to those aboard. An alleged perpetrator was arrested, charged and sent for trial twice, but was not convicted.
The episode remains an unsolved mystery.
1859, Brisbane was declared the capital of Queensland.
1906, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, England – The Cunard Line’s RMS Mauretania was launched at the Swan Hunter and Wigham Richardson shipyard. RMS Mauretania was the world’s largest ship until 1910, and for 20 years, the ship held the record for the fastest crossing of the Atlantic Ocean.
RMS Mauretania was withdrawn from service in September 1934, and sent to shipbreakers in Rosyth, Scotland in July 1935.
1955, Hobart , Tasmania – A Melbourne contracting company prepared for the construction of the longest pre-stressed concrete bridge in Australia at the time, which was to replace an older, timber bridge on the Sorell causeway. (That bridge was, in turn, replaced in 2002 by the current McGee Bridge.).
1970, The unmanned Russian craft Luna 16 landed on the Moon in the Mare Fecunditatis (Sea of Fertility), automatically took samples of the lunar surface and lifted off the next day, arriving back on Earth on September 24
Today’s photo: – Takes us to Scotland, and what must be one of the most stunning bridges ever built, especially in the 19th century.
Around 4,000 men, from 14-year-old boys onwards, were employed in it’s construction from 1883 to 1890.
They worked on planks high above the Firth of Forth, in robust weather, with no safety harnesses, no hard hats, no guard rails, heating over 6½ million rivets red hot, and hammering them into place.
Not surprisingly, over 70 men died.
The Forth Bridge is 110 metres high, 2,529 metres long, and is still in use today, efficiently carrying a dual-track railway across the Firth, near Edinburgh.
(From “Forth Bridge Photos” FB page.)
Today’s Playlist :
| TRACK | RELEASE YEAR | PLAY TIME | PREVIOUS PLAYS |
| Walk Don ‘t Run – Alligator Stomp | 06:06 | 1 | |
| Josh Giles – Speed of the Sound Of Loneliness | 06:14 | – | |
| The Gordon Farleigh Dill Association – Sleep Talking | 2026 | 06:17 | 1 |
| Vintage Vinyl + Buddy Knox & The Rhythm Orchids – Somebody Touched Me | 1958 | 06:22 | 1 |
| + Sheb Wooley – The Purple People Eater | 1958 | 06:25 | 14 |
| Warren Kearney – I’m Just An Old Chunk Of Coal | 2026 | 06:28 | 1 |
| Diego Lopez-Diaz & His Orchestra – Time Was | 06:33 | 1 | |
| Gogi Grant – The Wayward Wind Myrtle Audrey Arinsberg alias Gogi Grant, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.A., in 1924. | 1956 | 06:38 | 12 |
| Peter Sellers & Sophia Loren – Goodness Gracious Me Sofia Villani Scicolone, alias Sophia Loren, was born in Naples, Italy in 1934. Turns 92. | 1960 | 06:43 | 3 |
| Tracy Coster – The Old Tin Roof | 06:47 | – | |
| Musical Partners + Jimmy Dean – Big Bad John | 1961 | 06:51 | 3 |
| + Jimmy Dean – The Cajun Queen | 1962 | 06:54 | 1 |
| Seekers – Come The Day | 1968 | 06:58 | 11 |
| Cameron Cusack – She Gets Me | 2026 | 07:05 | 4 |
| For A Listener: P J Proby – Somewhere | 1965 | 07:12 | 20 |
| Allan Caswell – There’s Nobody There | 2026 | 07:15 | 1 |
| Christina George – Pages Of My Life | 2009 | 07:18 | – |
| For A Listener: Damian McCarthy – Silver Lady | 2019 | 07:22 | 7 |
| Sound of the 70s + Dr Hook – Walk Right In | 1977 | 07:27 | 5 |
| + Little River Band – Help Is On Its Way | 1977 | 07:30 | 10 |
| European Show Band – Red Roses For A Blue Lady | 07:36 | 4 | |
| Jim Croce – I’ll Have To Say I Love You In A Song Jim Croce died this day 1973 at the age of 30 in Louisiana U.S.A. | 07:39 | 2 | |
| For A Listener: Gene Watson – This Song Is Just For You | 07:43 | 8 | |
| Col Thomson & Venessa Waara – Harvest Moon | 2026 | 07:46 | 1 |
| Diamond 45 Charting on this day 1966 + Johnny Young – Cara Lyn | 1966 | 07:52 | 4 |
| + Beatles – Yellow Submarine | 1966 | 07:54 | 17 |
| Shaza Leigh – To Live In Love And Light | 2026 | 08:05 | – |
| COMFORT ZONE – Familiar artists/Familiar songs + Matt Monro – My Love and Devotion | 08:12 | – | |
| + Roger Whittaker – Every Time Is Going To Be The Last Time | 08:15 | 7 | |
| Dale Hooper – Thank God For Radio | 2019 | 08:22 | 7 |
| Val Doonican – Long Ago and Far Away | 08:29 | 1 | |
| Gary Blake & His Orchestra – Strangers In The Night | 08:35 | 2 | |
| Diamond 45 – Charting on this day 1966 + Neil Diamond – Cherry Cherry | 1966 | 08:40 | 5 |
| + Mamas & The Papas – I Saw Her Again Last Night | 1966 | 08:42 | 6 |
| Brent Duncan & Sandie Dodd – Fair Dinkum Aussie | 2026 | 08:47 | 1 |
| Cathy Dobson – Everybody Knows | 2024 | 08;51 | 2 |