10 years. Works included electrification to Traralgon, new Harris suburban trains, the Walker railmotors, and approximately 3,000 new goods wagons. On 14 July 1952, the VR entered the diesel era, with the delivery of the first B class mainline locomotive, with the commissioning of the first mainline electrification scheme in Australia in July 1954 to Warragul. March 1954 saw Queen Elizabeth II tour Victoria by Royal Train, the first time a reigning monarch had travelled on the VR, 1954 also saw the last steam locomotive to enter service, J class 559, as well as the last four wheeled open wagons being built. The fifties also saw the loss of a number of short branch lines, particularly country where the only traffic had been timber or livestock. In the 1960s, the break of gauge at Albury was eliminated, with the opening of the North East standard gauge line in 1962. The new line aided freight traffic between the state capitals, and enabled through passenger trains, such as the Southern Aurora and the Intercapital Daylight. At the same time, the sixties was also the end of steam, with the demolition of the massive North Melbourne Locomotive Depot on 20 January 1961. 1965 saw the Victorian Railways produce a £193,727 surplus, but by 1973, increasing costs and declining revenue resulted in a $86,086,361 deficit. On 20 July 1976, the Laverton derailment occurred, killing one passenger, in what was the last railway passenger fatality not involving a road vehicle. By the late seventies, roadside goods and country railmotor services had been replaced by road transport, and branch lines outside the grain producing areas were now virtually non-existent. The Lonie Report delivered in 1980 recommended the closure of all country passenger service except that to Geelong, elimination of a number of suburban railways, and moving small-volume freight from rail to road. New deal The 1980s saw corporatisation of the Victorian Railways carried out, with the railway commissioners replaced by VicRail and later government authorities. New liveries on trains were unveiled, as elderly "red rattlers" were replaced by new trains. 1981 saw the Melbourne underground loop open in January, followed by the new air conditioned Comeng suburban trains and "N" type country passenger carriages in September the same year. Country services were also sped up under the New Deal by the closure of 35 of small wayside stations. Country passenger services saw the last of the