Tony Bailey

Sydney / New South Wales Transport Discussion
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tonyp
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Tony Bailey

Post by tonyp »

To quote from a post made elsewhere last night with some very sad news:
VALE TONY BAILEY Very, very sad news indeed.

A posting on FaceBook reads

"This is Tony's daughter Kim.
Tony passed away on the afternoon of Tuesday the 18th of September
If you want to get in touch in regards to funeral details please email me at mercurytravel@optusnet.com.au"

Tony Bailey moved to Sydney from Newcastle many, many, years ago and became very involved in the ARHSnsw, first as a volunteer and then as Bookshop Manager. He then set up Mercury Travel and was a great person to see for bookings to visit overseas transport points of interest - he knew about all of them. At the time of his passing he was Managing Editor of Transit Australia.

His funeral is listed for 11 am on Saturday 22nd in the South Chapel of Eastern Suburbs Memorial Gardens Crematorium at 12 Military Road, Matraville.

RIP Tony
Tony posted on this forum as Tonymercury. He had hoped to continue publishing Transit Australia until the end of this year. Tony was the glue that bound many of us transport enthusiasts together with his encyclopedic knowledge and astute commentary. He was usually up before the birds posting information and comments here for us to read when we woke up - as recently as a couple of days ago. He was also a passionate advocate, derived from personal experience, of accessibility issues in public transport. He will be incredibly missed.
Last edited by tonyp on Thu Sep 20, 2018 8:32 am, edited 1 time in total.
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system improver
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Re: Tony Bailey

Post by system improver »

Tony's work as editor of Transit Australia for the last 12 years was reason enough to elevate him to the highest levels of appreciation in the transport enthusiast world. In addition, his always thoughtful, and evidence based, posts on Bus Australia brought all the significant issues of the day to the forefront of the public transport debate.

On behalf of the Bus and Coach Society of Victoria, I express our sorrow at the passing of Tony and pass on our sincere condolences to his family and friends.

Paul Kennelly
President
Bus and Coach Society of Victoria
Admet75
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Re: Tony Bailey

Post by Admet75 »

I remember well and truly when Tony first started twelve years ago in 2006. He had just taken over the role of Editor of Transit Australia from Ian Hammond.
Tony Bailey showed a lot of professionalism and also innovativeness to the magazine is such he allowed more thought-provoking articles and he admitted at times he was up against a brick wall with TAP management about having these types of articles published.


As many are aware Transit Australia magazine is a niche market magazine compared to say Railway Digest which has a very strong and loyal readership. However, if you ever phoned up Tony Bailey for advice about articles and he would give you his opinion and make some jokes and how to write the article to appeal to the general public and not just the gunzel or professional audience.


When he first started twelve years ago he was inandated with so many photos by one gunzel that it made his computer crash so that gunzel got told to put it on CD this was before USB's were invented.


His updates on Transit Australia facebook page about public transport developments around the world made him the most important key to Transit Australia's success. He was also a true inspiration and advocate for public transport accessibilty because of his own experiences.


Interestingly he was a staunch believer that public transport needed network maps available as hard copies to help those who cannot use the Internet or an I-Phone. He said to me "with everything on the Internet about public transport it is two steps forward one step back".


The South Australian Public Transit Association (Formerly Australian Electric Traction Assocaiton- South Australian Division) had lots of correespondence to Tony over the years and we provided constructive criticim to which Tony accepted and adapted the best way he could given the difficult circumstances.


We as a public transport community will miss his jokes as well as his practical suggestions and helpful advice when needed and yes who knows what the future of Transit Australia hold but we never know it may continue but it is sad to see a stalwart of the public transport and railway fraternity plus timetables collectos fraternity pass away so suddenly.


Condolences to all his family and friends and whilst your heart maybe hurting you understand that he is in a better place.
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J_Busworth
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Re: Tony Bailey

Post by J_Busworth »

Very sad to hear of his passing. He was a fountain of information and his posts and information, will be dearly missed. He was very good to me, helping me with information for my blog and always giving advice and comments in good spirit.

RIP
https://transportnswblog.com
RIP STA L113s 28/01/93 - 12/01/22
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jpp42
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Re: Tony Bailey

Post by jpp42 »

It's so sad to hear of this. I first met Tony during the days when the ARHS/NSW bookshop operated in Central Station adjacent to the grand concourse - he was often there as a volunteer on Saturdays assisting the paid bookshop clerk. I was new to Sydney and when I explained interest in public transport, he encouraged me to pickup some back issues of Transport Australia to get familiar with the scene. It was only later I realised he was the editor ... but it worked, I've been a subscriber ever since. I also kept up an email correspondence where he remembered me from those few chats in the bookshop - he was amazing at those relationships.

I do hope TA continues somehow, but his editorial explaining the difficulty of finding a successor only gives me
pessimism on that front. Regardless, thumbing through back issues will always be a way to remember him and his contributions which is a great legacy.
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captainch
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Re: Tony Bailey

Post by captainch »

REST IN PEACE MATE It was a plesure to have known you.!
"CAPTAIN.C.H "Lives in the home of "SUGAR CANE' not "chickens" :lol: :lol:.........."INGHAM NTH QLD"
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Swift
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Re: Tony Bailey

Post by Swift »

Sad news indeed. I'll miss his at times abstract posts.
NSW, the state that embraces mediocrity.
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