Alexandra Timber Tramway
The Railway ran a most
successful market in May with the theme of GALA
MARKET. Many of the town's emergency service
organisations took part as well as local organisations.
The Easter Steamfest was also successful
but numbers attending were down slightly on previous years.
The Festival is held over four days. The display
room of the Museum has been changed and exhibits
rejuvenated. The exhibits will be changed over every 3
to 4 months.
The track leading to the Day's exhibit has
been rebuilt. A grant of $3,000 has been
received from the Volunteer Small Equipment Grant scheme and
has been spent on equipment to help
maintain the grounds of the Tramway. The
information sign at the entrance to the site has
been restored and the area refreshed. Gardens have
been replanted.
A new exhibit has been acquired in
the form of three large single cylinder internal combustion
engines. Two are Ronaldson Bros and Tippett engines built at
Ballarat. The third engine is an Australian built MacDonald
diesel.
The tramway extension proposal is
slowly proceeding with all approvals now received
and funding sources being sought. The Shire Council has
donated two 13m former road bridge girders
- Australian Railway Historical Society - Victorian
Division.
The Victorian Division has agreed
to pay for the restoration of either VR
tram No 35 or 48 by the Bendigo Trust when the
Society's funds permit. Parts from the car which
will not be restored will be used to make one
good tram from the two units.
The
Society is proposing to amend its rules to
streamline its administration.
At the
Museum work on the restoration on the Torrens
Carriage ha s been proceeding slowly and the work is
excellent. The buffet car has been
repainted and is available for birthday parties.
Engines F211, Sd308 and T367 have been repainted in V/Line
Orange and Grey. and the lettering and lining
is being completed. Work has started on the blue
Harris carriage to refresh the paint.
The June issue of Newsrail had an
excellent series of articles on the 150th
anniversary of
the opening of the Geelong and Melbourne
railway. The event was celebrated by the running of
special steam trains by Steamrail and
707 Operations to Geelong on Sunday 24 June. In
addition there were fine displays at Newport, Werribee,
Little River, Lara and Geelong.
Geelong 150
Photo J. Frost
Ballarat Tramway Museum
Tram No 14 is showing its age and the
cost of expected repairs to one of the tram's armatures has
blown out as the item needs a complete rewind. The tramway
was guest at the recent 50th Anniversary of the
AETM in Adelaide.
The tramway's tower truck has had a repaint and
has been modified to make it safer to
use.
Bellarine Peninsula Railway
Works on the upgrade have been delayed
for a time owing to objections by a neighbour, Stockland, to
the proposed building of the new shed at Lakers
Siding. The objection has since been
withdrawn.
The platform at Drysdale has been sealed and the
lighting upgraded. A new platform at the DPI
Marine Discovery Centre has commenced and the new
station will be called Swan Bay.
Engine T251 restoration is proceeding rapidly and the engine
unit is virtually complete. The tender has been
completely stripped and the bogies receiving
attention.
DP29 is progressing well and work is going on in the
interior of the rail motor with the fitting of
panels, seats and windows. When complete this car can
run in multiple unit with DP 28.
The railway has loaned its sleeper
scarifier to the Hotham Valley railway in
Western Australia to help them recover from the
dreadful bushfire damage that railway suffered this
year. A new carriage BU 1141 has been purchased from
Queensland and an appeal has been made to
help meet the cost.
The railway has set up its Departmental Residence as
an office and all meetings are now held in the new Board Room.
Coal Creek Heritage Village
The Heritage Village is presently closed to
allow the Municipal Council to reconstruct the
exhibits at this historic tourist precinct. A
newspaper report has advised that a number of
buildings are to be removed and the size of the
village reduced. The previous management were unable
to keep the doors open with declining visitors.
The Shire of South Gippsland has resumed
control and has decided that it is no
longer financially viable to keep the
park in its current form.
The Council intends to keep the Coal Creek Bush
Tramway operational and for it to be
part of the reformed village.
Diamond Valley Railway
Some members of the railway took a
nostalgic trip back to Chelsworth Park to
visit the original site of the railway which
was built there by the late Clem Meadmore.
Clem ran a model railway and hobby
shop in Melbourne. The original site was
subject to periodic flooding by the Yarra
River and because of this an alterative site was
sought. All assets were removed and
re-established at Eltham.
Since those days the railway has improved
beyond all belief with the line being
progressively re-laid in 6Kg/m rail. At
present regular sleeper replacement is
taking place and components gathered to build
6Kg/m points to replace the existing 14lb/yd points
in the main line and cascade them into the sidings.
A retaining wall is being constructed
alongside the new Sanctuary Carriage storage
sidings and to complete the retaining walls at
the rear. Where the rails are set in asphalt the asphalt
has been cut to allow ease of future
rail maintenance.
The gala run in March saw a record number of
3,679 passengers carried which was 34.76% up
on last year. 2006/07 saw 81,397 passengers carried
(to 30/4/07) which is an overall increase of 7.3% The
increase for 2007 is some 15.5%.
The railway has bought the first of the model NBH
carriages. This carriage was privately owned and this
vehicle
allows two six car sets to be made up.. The
ballast gondola, which was also privately
owned, has also been purchased.
While the Rail Safety Act 2006 does not
apply to miniature railways, nevertheless it
has been decided to adopt a similar
safety system and a simplified SMS based on the
Act has been adopted for the railway. One of
the features of the railway is the signalling
of the system by the use of automatic signals
and the use of two signal boxes. In addition all
trains have radio to assist in their safe
running.
Melbourne Tramcar Preservation Society
The tramway successfully hosted a visit from
COTMA in late November 2006. In addition the
ARHS Victorian Division also visited in early
December 2006.
A visiting group from "Trams down Under" visited the depot
in February 2007.
The overhead of the tramway has been
raised and a new span network for the depot has been
completed. New ears and anchor ears have
been installed in the overhead. Following on from
this it has been necessary to
adjust the trolley bases to increase height
and tension. In the car barn the first four
bays along the south side wall have been lined and
an additional white board placed to record
defects etc.
The tramway has been offered two trams for spare parts
and these are SW5 809 and SW6 890. A further tram SW5 843
was offered for preservation and arrived at Haddon
on the 23 March 2007
The annual audit from the DOI was held in February
with only one small item noted.
The Museum is working steadily on the
restoration of L 103 and all the internal
fittings are being restored. As a result
of acquiring SW5 843 for preservation, the Bedford tower
wagon is to be relocated A small shed is
to be built to house this unit.
Puffing Billy - Emerald Tourist Railway Board
Locomotive 7A is receiving major attention and the engine
has been repainted from the former green
colour to that of the more correct Canadian
Red. Work on 12A is continuing and the frames and wheel
sets have been cleaned with frozen dry
ice pellets. This is a new technique. The pellets are blown
over the area to be cleaned and this leaves the area
clean without the mess caused by sand blasting.
The workshop is building a new freight vehicle,
ballast wagon 2NNN, which is identical to the
existing ballast wagon. This will help to make
the spreading of ballast easier than using the
NQR wagons and shovelling the material by hand.
Open wagon 186NQR has been full restored with
a new floor, restored bogies and the fitting of 300+
rivets. to make it as new. A new frame is
being built for Brake Van 2NC.
2nNn Ballast Wagon
Photo J. Frost
Carriage 6NBH has been repainted and 1920's
carriage numbers painted on the sides. 8NBH is
being restored to "near original" condition.
At Belgrave the new Way and Works Depot has
been constructed behind the W&W's office and the old
shed on the plateau has been demolished. In
the workshops, the new Mazak Computer controlled lathe is
being commissioned and this will make the production of
pins and bushes easier and faster.
The railway has a speakers group which attends
and explains the railway to groups right throughout
the State. The Puffing Billy story is tailored to the
group to whom they are speaking and has
helped in attracting patronage to the railway from
many groups.
A new book entitled "Puffing Billy Spirit of the
Dandenongs" has been published by a member. The
book is a guide book which complements the
official Puffing Billy Guide book and is
available from the railway.
The railway is examining the possibility of
rebuilding Emerald Station precinct.
The financial year just ended has resulted in
the third highest passenger number to visit
the railway. Some 255,000 passengers were carried on
Puffing Billy in 2006/07.
The ETRB has amended its local rules to
ensure that the fireman on each train is also
responsible for ensuring that a valid section
authority is held before the train enters a
section.
South Gippsland Tourist Railway
The railway's workforce has been clearing the right of way
towards Bena and removing dirt and grass which was
covering the ballast. Maintenance work to the Red Hen
rail cars is continuing and work is being done
to the CW van. 34BE has had a brake pipe tap
installed to allow it to be used
as the trailing vehicle while the CW is out of
service.
Murder Mystery nights have been very
successful and it has been decided to
hold these nights for social groups.
Steamrail
The Newport Depot had a very good
open day in March with over 3000 visitors looking at
the depot and equipment.
Steamrail announced that they had
reached a settlement with Greenfreight Transport who are
the owners of the truck involved in the
accident with K183 and the deaths of three crew on the
locomotive in 2002.
The Rail and Sail trips to Geelong and back
using a steam train and a ferry have been most
successful. Other mainline trips have also been
successful.
The rebuilding of R711 has been
completed and the engine is ready for
mainline running. The engine now wears a livery of
blue with gold lining.
The former buffet carriage "Taggerty" has
been sold to the Donald Lions Club for use as a
visitor information centre in the town. This carriage was
built in 1910 as a first class carriage and
after fire damage in 1912 was reissued as 34AE. Later it
was air-conditioned at Newport Workshops and re-entered traffic as
No 1 buffet car in 1937. It has been out of
use for many years.
The trip to Echuca was cancelled due
to the lack of a suitable path on the now
singled Bendigo railway. Also engines using the
Fast Rail Lines must have TPWS in the cab to run
during the hours that the normal
passenger trains run. (Even though the steam trains are
now restricted to 80kmph running).
Many of the diesel engines which are
on hire to commercial operators have not been in
use with the failure of the wheat harvest in 2007
owing to the drought. because of the lack of water
a tank car VZVA1 has been refurbished and
repainted to allow it to carry a
supply of water for engines to water them in towns
where the water supply is critical.
Work has continued on the
refurbishing of the carriage fleet with 7ABE and 12AE
receiving attention.
The Victorian Goldfields Railway
The Railway has just
taken delivery of a privately owned J class engine to
operate on the line. J 541 was restored by the
Emerald Tourist Railway at Menzies Creek
from 2003 to 2007. Puffing Billy fully restored the engine and
it was steamed at Menzies Creek for the first
time in 30 years to test the work. The engine was
transferred by road to Maldon and has now been
tested.
J541 at Muckleford
Photo Bob Wilson
The railway had a most successful
Steam on Show weekend in May with Steamrail R 761
arriving from Melbourne with its train and the railways
own K160 and hired J515 engines double heading trains.. Freight trains were
run and a good time was enjoyed by the
railway's patrons.
Some maintenance has been
carried out to the historic Castlemaine
signal box and frame which is about one of
the last large mechanically controlled boxes in Victoria.
Mainline trains at Castlemaine are controlled by a panel
in the V/Line station at Castlemaine, but all
heritage movements on platform 3 and the yard
as well as the line to Maryborough are controlled
by the signal box. The platform, signal box
and yard are all included in the railway's Order in
Council which gives permission for the railway to
operate under the Transport Act 1983.
Tramway Museum Society of Victoria
.The rehabilitation of the track is
proceeding slowly and the tramway is now replacing
sleepers they have laid in the
past. The track in the area near the kiosk has been
completed and attention is to be given to the northern
end of the main line and for this section to be ballasted. It
is planned to extend the line by a further
four pole lengths and establish a new
terminus with a lineside loading area.
The door motors of Y1 612
have gone to Haddon for repair and new catches and
locks fitted to H 373 to the motorman's control
panels. Tram No 902 has had work done on the
trolley poles and other minor work.
Some very serviceable overhead
fittings have been obtained with the help of COTMA
from Glenhuntly Depot and other material from
Newport and North Fitzroy.
X2 680 is being restored and it
is proposed to replace sections of the canvas on the
roof. The long side skirts removed from the tram
when some restoration was attempted several years ago
can not be found and it may be
necessary to have these fabricated. The external
paint of the tram is almost complete.
Walhalla Goldfields Railway
The railway is justly proud of its work in
replacing bridge No 7 following the disastrous bush fires of
December 2006. The State Government has paid for
the restoration work through Bushfire relief. The
first thing that the railway did was
to have a site specific Safety Management
Plan prepared to allow the restoration work to
be undertaken safely. The site is at a small
land slip site and is very steep to
Stringers Creek below.
The surprising thing was the large number of
visitors who took the opportunity to ride
the train over the shortened trip between Walhalla and
Happy Creek. The restoration was completed by
Maundy Thursday and the full train service to
Thomson was re-opened for Easter. The rolling stock was stored in
the open at Walhalla while the short working
was in vogue and the railway is glad to have the
units again domiciled in the sheds at Thomson and away
from the elements.
As part of the fall out from the bushfires and the reduced
income at that time, the railway has had to dismiss the Financial and Administration
Manager. They are also closing their present
office and moving it to shared premises with
the tourist organisation at Moe.
A business Plan is being prepared for the hoped
for extension of the railway from Thomson to
Erica.
Yarra Valley Tourist Railway
The railway is placing bitumen on the Healesville
platform. The laying and donation of the material
has improved the entire look of the station.
The railway has rebuilt the large trolley
following on from damage done to it in an accident
at an occupation crossing.
A Tait Carriage 1364M has been given to the
railway by the owners, Melaleuca Station in NSW. The
carriage has been transported down to Healesville.
The carriage was built in 1917 as 71 BCPM later
renumbered to 364M and then to its final number
with the advent of the Hitachi trains.
The railway has started work on the bridges and the necessary
timber piles have been purchased and delivered.
Work has started on Bridge No 31, the Watts
River overflow bridge No 2.
With the cancellation of the ARMA model railway
exhibition in Box Hill, the railway held its
own model exhibition over the Labour Day
weekend. The railway also held a very successful
St Patrick's Day event with dinner and
night ride on the railway.
The railway now owns two Hi rail
vehicles purchased from Pacific National.
RM22 is under heavy restoration and the power unit has
been separated from the carriage to
allow work to be done. The drive wheel
needed some repair and this has been completed.
Walker Power Unit
Photo J. Frost
Track work is continuing with a further 58
sleepers inserted and more to be replaced.
