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ATR News


News from the Tourist Railways

Edition No 51

 

 30 October 2011

National News

ATHRA - Association of Tourist and Heritage Rail Australia

AGM and ATHRA Awards

The ATHRA AGM  was held on 15 October  2011 in Melbourne  at  the  Hawthorn  tram  depot.. The ATHRA  awards were made at  the meeting and  it was noted that  there were fewer applications  this year than in the  past.

The ATHRA Tourism Award went to Redwater Creek Steam and Heritage Group for the promotion of their SteamFest held annually at RedWater Creek in Northern Tasmania. The Freight Vehicle Restoration Award went to the Collie Group for restoration of a V van 3960. Western Australia like several other States had a lot of small wooden freight vehicles built in their State's workshops and the skills used to restore this vehicle is becoming a "lost art".

Two nominations were received for the ATHRA Excellence Award - one from SteamRanger South Australia and the other from ARHS Western Australia. Both were excellent awards. However, the winner was Ian Carne from Boyanup Western Australia for his almost single handed attempt to rebuild the Boyanup Museum. Another personal award submitted was for the ATHRA ARA Graeme Breydon Rail Safety Award and this was presented to Warren Doubleday for his untiring work for the T&H sector especially his current work associated with the establishment of a single rail regulator for Australia with specific focus on the interests of the T&H sector.

Recipients  of the ATHR awards 2011  and the two  presenters

 

ATHRA Alerts

The National Association has set up a system of "Alerts" to immediately draw  members' attention to urgent changes which are taking place in the rail industry.   Alerts No 52 - 53  have been issued  in 2011. For details please see the ATHRA website. Click Here

International  News

WATTRAIN

 WATTRAIN has been established as an international rail heritage group with ATHRA as one of its members. They will be holding a Congress in York, England in early October 2012 with both pre and post tour program.  Their web site is about to go live and will contain details of the Congress and tours associated with the Congress along with booking forms for accommodation etc.  

Further details will be published in a future newsletter when they become available. This congress is to occur shortly before the International Rail Safety Conference to be held in 2012 in England.

 


Victorian News - ATR

General News

General  meetings  of the  Association  continue to  be  held at  Hawthorn  Tram  depot.. Those  members  who  operate  under and  order in Council  are  having these transferred to  a formal  lease and this work is  progressing .

The ATR  can  be  contacted by  post  at P.O. Box 193 Mornington Vic 3931.

Officers can be  contacted through  the  ATR  Discussion  group.


News from our Members

Australian Railway Historical  Society - Victorian Division.

The decision  has  been  made to  relocate the Museum  from  Newport  Workshops to  Moorooduc  which is the base  of the  Mornington  preservation  society. There is a large  piece  of land at  this  location which  can be  used to  re-establish  the museum under cover and this will  benefit  both  organisations   and allow  for a synergy  between  both  bodies. The society  noted that  the  membership  in 2011 in July has  fallen   to  651 people. The Society  made a loss  of $31.000 for 2010-2011

Newsrail

The July edition  showed operations at  Junee  in NSW and provided information  on the Crew headquarters  at  Spencer Street  Station the  reopening of the cross country  line  from Toolamba to  Echuca was also  covered.  The August  issue started with  an  article  on the  North  Eastern line examined the  workings  of  the South  Dynon Maintenance depot. The colour centre spread covers the return of Vline passenger  trains to  Albury. The September  issue continued memories  of the North Eastern  line and an  article  covered  trains  on the Plains line. There  is also extensive coverage of Heritage  rail  activities in the  issue.


 Ballarat Tramway Museum

  The tramway  reports:

Around the  Museum

It was already dark at about 6:30pm on Monday evening 22nd' August when the depot staff became aware of a myriad of flashing lights in Wendouree Parade. On investigation, it was discovered that a car had run into one of the Museum's poles on the hill towards Canton Street. The pole had been moved some distance in the ground and span wires were resting on the car. Fortunately, the trolley wire remained intact.

Power to the overhead was cut immediately and the museum's electrician, was called out to formally isolate the system and provide the appropriate paperwork to the police and  Powercor who also arrived. Allan Snowball was also called in to light up the tower truck. Powercor summoned a pole lifting truck to straighten and relocate the pole and assisted in restoring the span wires.

By 9:ISpm the job was finished allowing the next day's school visit to go ahead without disruption. Our thanks to all those who assisted and especially the Powercor linesmen.

Tram No 33

For some time tram No 33 has been the only tram which had not been repainted by the Museum. The superb lead based paint has stood up well for almost forty-five years but eventually started to look rather tired. The tram has now been taken out of service and sanding down has commenced. It will remain in the final SEC colour scheme.

Tram 661

The discovery of a cracked motor support beam on No 661 has seen it taken out of service until the tram can be lifted and the cracking repaired. This was a common problem with W3 class trams and lead to their withdrawal in 1969.

Display

The display panels in the display area have been completed and feature changing images and sound as well as the traditional photos. The major refit project is now almost complete.

Tram No  38

Bogie  tram  no  38   has  returned to  service  after  a number  of years  as  the  wheels  had low  flanges  and the  bogies  and motors  had  never  seen  a major  overhaul.  This  has  now  been  completed and the  museum  now  has two operational  maximum traction  bogie  trams  in  service.

40 year Anniversary Celebrations continue

The  museum held a Family  day  in September as part  of the  celebrations for the  40th anniversary. The day  concentrated  on the depot  area  and admission  was by  donation. The  local  press and TV  covered the event  and  other  local  clubs took  part - the day  was  a great  success.


Bellarine Railway

The  railway  has announced the  launch in service  of newly restored locomotive  Pozieres which  was obtained from  the  Puffing  Billy  Railway. The railway  has also  completed discussions with  the ARHS  regarding  the  lease and relocation  of the ASG locomotive which is  on display  at  the  Museum at  Newport. It  is expected that the engine  is capable  of  restoration. It  is  believed that  this engine  is the   is  the  only ASG  left  in the world.

Pozieres  and the  new  Gang  shed  in the  back ground

The railway has completed  the  transportation of 4 1/2 Kilometres  of rail  from  the  former  Fyansford branch  line. In a first  the  line's Thomas engine was taken  by  sea to  docklands  for the  launch  of a new  ferry for the  Queenscliff / Sorrento  ferry service. It  is anticipated that  this rail will  allow much of the  line between  Queenscliff and Lakers to  be re-laid with 80lb rail   in due  course, more  rail is  being sought  to  relay  the  entire line.

The  railway  is examining the  draft   document to  replace the  present  Order in Council with  a lease  from  Victrack. While  on leases the  line has  announced the  renewal of the  Blues  Train  lease for a further  three years.

A new  locomotive  has  been  obtained from a private  owner  Queensland No 1604 from  the ARHS  line  near Rosewood. The engine took  three days to  be transported to  Victoria. An initial  inspection  has  shown  that  very  little work  will be  required to  make  it  operational. This engine  is  more  powerful  than  the  Tasmanian  X  classes and  is air braked.

The railway after  discussions with Victrack  has  agreed to  transfer all its workshop  and  locomotive  activities to Lakers Siding. This will  require the shed to  be  concreted, a raised  pit built and the  construction  of  a machine shop store rooms amenities and a mezzanine  within the shed.

Station  news

With  the  assistance  of a grant  a ride  on mower has  been obtained  to  help  keep  the  station  areas tidy  and attractive. At  Lakers the new gate  posts for the east  end  of the  platform  have been installed and a  new three bay gang shed erected.

At  Drysdale the  kiosk  has  been re-built creating a much  larger area which allows the seating  of 24 people at  tables. In  addition  the  kiosk in the station  at  Queenscliff  has  much  more space  in  it and  looks  more  inviting.


Bendigo  Tramways
 
The tramway  reports  that  the  end is  in sight for the rebuilding  of the  Bendigo  Depot with  the new  amenities  area  and  offices almost  complete with  an  anticipated  opening  in December.
The  decision  has  been made to  reduce the frequency  of the tram  services to  one  an  hour as the  passenger  demand  is  not there  for  a more frequent  service.
 
The  tramway has  supplied on lease to Auckland   a former Melbourne  W2 class  tram no  421 and a private collector  Newstead Trams  has  supplied a former  Melbourne  X1  class tram  No  466 which  had  been  restored  by the  depot in 2004. Both  trams  are  on  lease  for  five  years.

As part  of the  works to  rebuild the  depot the paint shop curve has been excavated, the top of the check rail has been  top dressed  to create an even surface across the yard. The Amenities Block is almost complete. Plaster has been installed and the brickwork has been cleaned.

As part of the Depot Upgrade, a new transformer has been installed. This required the power to be turned off all day on Sunday May 8, which in turn allowed us to undertake some minor overhead works while the trams couldn't run. These works included installing new type section insulators and improving the insulation at the Central Deborah Gold Mine.

Two new Transformer/Rectifier units have been commissioned and the trams are now operating from a healthy 620V. supply. Drivers are reporting that the trams go a little bit faster now. This step allowed the old substation to be disassembled to make way for the pedestrian pathway and doorway on No.1 road. . New doors and frames for the offices and meeting room have been fitted. The back wall of the shed has been disassembled and the old substation has been demolished

The old wire mesh fence along Hargreaves Street has been removed and replaced by a more historic post and rail style.

The shed extension is also taking shape. Most of the tracks have been joined up and concreted, the old brick wall has come down, and the garage is coming together.

Tram restorations

While  all  this  is  going  on  restoration  of trams  for  outside  bodies  is  continuing W6 891 has arrived  form  Preston  for restoration  for  "Pets  in  In Perth" and tram W71036 has  departed for  Sydney  and the Sydney  Tram Museum. Work on  the  city  circle tram  No 957 is  proceeding  and has  been  disassembled to  the frame to  determine the full  extent  of the rebuild. The  frame  has  been dry ice blasted and  grit  blasted  and crack  tested. Local  tram  No  17 has  had  new motors and wheel  sets  installed and received attention to  the  safety  rails which  now  operate  smoothly. No  25  and  No  44 have  both  received attention.


Friends  of the North Australia Railway  at  Adelaide River

The railway  reports:-

"For the past 9 months a contractor has been working on the $2M section of the Rail Trail from the 13.5 mile to the 16 mile.  At our strong suggestion the cuttings were not widened and the embankments were not widened.  In fact they have left trees growing right up to the edge of the Trail which looks lovely but is nothing like  it would have been when the original 1.5 chain wide corridor was cleared by hand.

Anyway the Grand Opening date arrived on 11 September and we received an urgent request to compile some interpretive signage.  This we did and it was well received and will form a valuable archive for us.  We may put it up on our website ( when the webmaster returns from Bali).

Gerry was the man for the moment at the opening.  He turned up in full bicycle trim and obviously knew everybody in his electorate.  He made a great speech, entirely off the top of his head. At the start of his speech he made extensive comment about the work of the FNAR and our contribution to both this project and to our general raising of community awareness of our cultural heritage in terms of this piece of Victorian era infrastructure.

He has the nod from the government for the next section of the Trail through to Girraween Road,  although it's a bit like the north-south railway promise in 1911 - there is no commitment to a start date.

Well Done Gerry!!!"

Trevor  Horman


 Melbourne Tramcar Preservation Association

The Tramway  reports;

  "The last of the tie rods  of the curve relaying has  been  done with the outer rail being spiked down  to complete the relay of the north west curve.  W2 407 was then given the honour of being the first tram to traverse the new curve, being driven at very low speed by Tony Smith and stopping every few metres while Kym Smith monitored the interaction of the wheels and rails.  No faults were detected and 407 was then given a second run around with Kym Smith at the controls to confirm the work.  Backfilling of the curve will now be undertaken using the fill that will be removed to allow work to commence on relaying the south west curve. 

W3 663

The painting of 663 is now finished and only the numbers and monograms need to be applied to complete the exterior restoration.

Inside the car, the lighting circuits have been terminated along with the wiring for the compressor. A minor fault with the headlight changeover circuit was identified during testing and this has now been rectified.

All the straphanger brackets and rods have been fitted and work is now progressing on refitting the bell cord eyelets, saloon door handles and interior hand rails. This will basically complete the interior with the exception of the seats.

As reported in the March issue of Grand Union we were unable to commit to restoration of these seats until the outcome of our special fund raising appeal is known.

In the meantime we have raised sufficient funding from the sale of surplus parts to enable us to authorise the restoration and fitting of one complete set of saloon seats.

During May, these seats were completed and refitted to the No.l end saloon. The finished result is most impressive and vindicates the decision to remove the upholstery in the first place."


Mornington Railway

The railway has been  concentrating on trimming  trees on the right of way and at  Moorooduc Locomotive  T334 has  had a full brake  overhaul.  Following  low  patronage, the Ride and Dine train  has  been  removed  from  the timetable. The  work on the  building  of  the  Peninsula  Link  freeway is under way  with the Abigroup  building a huge  bridge  over the  line between  the Frankston  Flinders Road and Eramosa  Road. The road  is a new approach  as it  will not  be a toll  road but  is  a  different  type  of  Public Private Partnership project.  It  is  called an  availability  PPP project.

 The  space  between  walls  allows  for the railway line to  be  duplicated  in the future  if  the  line  to  Mornington  is electrified  in the  future.  It  is at  this  location  that  the shared  users  path  (SUP) leaves  the  freeway  and  joins  the rail  reserve. To  allow this  work  to  be  done  a  300 m  section  of track  was  removed  by the  road contractors  and this  will be  reinstated  with new  sleepers  once the  bridge  is  completed. The SUP  is  new and  is  part  of the around the  bay bike  trail. It  is  expected that  the  bike  path  will  cross  Moorooduc  Highway  at  the  present  level  crossing  and this  means that  a set  of  traffic signals  will need to  be  installed  there, something which  the  railway  has  not  been  able to  get  the authorities  to  approve. All  this work  has  revitalised the  need  to  restore the  line  back  to  Baxter station and the  right  of  way is being cleared  of  undergrowth back  to  Baxter. Approval is  being sought  to  run  a rail  tractor  on the section  to  help  in the  work

Guards  Van  604 Z D has  is  having a full  restoration which is  being carried  out.  The railway  is running   a New  Years Eve train.


Puffing Billy

Financial year  2010- 21011 resulted in the line carrying  approximately 269,000 passengers .an  all  time record. The same report  showed that  rising costs  especially for coal is biting  into  the  funds. The railway is seeking extra  capital  funding. The railway  held a further  working make  over at  Belgrave to  improve the appearance  of the station.

Locomotive and Workshop News

locomotives

7A has  had a D  examination  carried  out and the  boiler is  being retubed. 8A  had a C examination  done 12A has  had  its driving and coupled  wheel  sets work  completed  and  these are ready  to  fit  back in the frame.1694  the "climax"   has  had  the  work on the  main  frame  completed the  cab  and  water  tank fitted and work on the  crank  shaft  underway. Little  engine  86 has  had 26 boiler  tubes replaced and the  other  little  engine 986 needs a new  boiler and  design  work  for a new all  welded boiler  have  been prepared. Garratt no  NGG 16 129 has  had  its  engine  units brought to  Belgrave  to  have the  wheel sets removed  and for the cranks and wheel centres  to be removed from  the  axles to  enable 2'6" gauge axles  to  be  fitted  to the wheel  sets  and cranks.

Carriages

4 NAL has  had a complete lift  and rebuild and new  seats  and  curtains have  been fitted and  other  work  done as well  as  a complete  paint. Other  carriages  have had  lifts.

29 NQR is  being rebuilt

BOOK  Sale

the  PBPS  held a giant  book  sale  at  Gembrook  station  of secondhand  books that  they  have  been  given over the years


 Steamrail

Locomotives

R 711 is again  operational  with  a number  of trips proving the  repairs that  have  been  made to  the  unit. The group  is working with  other  heritage  groups  to  find the  best  place to  get Fire bricks  made  and  locomotive  grates manufactured. At  least  the  grate  patterns  have  been  saved from  the  previous  manufacturer unlike the  brick  patterns  which  were  thrown  out upon the  works  closure. This  is  an  unfortunate  commentary  on the  closure  of  manufacturing  in Australia. Routine  maintenance  on carriages  and  locomotives continues.

 


Tramway  Museum Society  of  Victoria

The  Museum  reports

"A dedicated group of members has been having regular working days on Wednesdays. The Exhibition Goods Shed is looking good, thanks in large part to the donation of glass display cabinets, and a pleasant sitting area in the front of the shed. A new outdoor sitting area has also been set up at the front, and a staff table and chairs out the back, allowing volunteers to relax over a cup of coffee or soft-drink and enjoy the stunning views of the Great Dividing Range.

The restoration of North Melbourne Electric Tramway and Lighting Co No. 4 has also been restarted. The exterior is starting to look much better, with painting almost complete and work has started on reassembling the interior and fitting out the cabs. The decision has been made to restore it back to mid 1920's M.&M.T.B. condition as U class 205, chocolate and cream paintwork and the retention of the M.&M.T.B. cabs and destination boxes. The goal of full conversion back to NMETL 4 condition will be some time down the track, which involves repainting of the chocolate to burgundy and significant alteration to the cabs, removing the windows and destination boxes."


The  Victorian Goldfields Railway

The  station building at  Maldon  has  re-opened  after  restoration from  the  fire which  destroyed it in 2009 The restoration has  resulted  in   a building that  resembles the station  as it would  have  been in the  19th  century. The restoration work  was funded by  Victrack.

Restored station Maldon

Photo  VGR website

The railway  advises that  it  is fortunate that it  is  able  to  offer to  a group  from  the  Tarrengower Women's Prison some activities  every  Monday  at  both  Maldon  and  Muckleford stations. They  do  lawn  mowing  and tidying  up  at  both  stations and  give the  carriage fleet  a thorough  cleaning.  K Mart  has  helped the railway  with  the donation  of  a portable  building, work shop  equipment,  a complete  set  of  light  fittings  for the  new  carriage shed, a large  quantity  of office equipment including quality  chairs for the  waiting rooms and  Muckleford and first  aid materials and equipment  all surplus to  the  company.

 

The railway  has  taken ownership  of  D3 619  which  is at  Bendigo. It  is  hoped to  move the engine  to  Maldon to  meet up  with  D3 646. It  is  planned to  restore  one  of these engine  out  of the  two crocks.

Diesel  engine  t333 on hire  to  El  Zorro is  now  on the  standard  gauge. The  railway  has  introduced a multi participant  drivers'  experience where  up  to  four  people  can  become  the  driver,  fireman,  guard  and  conductor for the day.

The railway  now  has  first  class service available  on all trains. The  new shed at  Castlemaine  is  now  finished with  the exception  of  hanging  the  doors  The railway  had a great  day when  the  line was  visited  by  a special  steam  train  run  by  Steamrail, the Seymour Rail Heritage Centre and  Operation 707.and  they connected with  a special  branch line train to  Maldon. The  line also  ran  a mixed  goods train to  Muckleford.

 

 

New shed  Castlemaine

Photo  VGR Web site.


Yarra Valley Railway

The railway ran  a heritage weekend in September attracting record crowds with  steam rollers  in attendance  and  other  displays. Like  most  railways  the lineside  clearance  has  received a lot  of  attention and this  has been  done  on the  upside  of the tunnel. The  restoration  of Carriage  BW1 is  proceeding as  fast  as it  can. It  looks  now as  though  it  has  just  been newly  manufactured at  Newport  Work shops. Works  at  the  Melba  Highway  level  crossing  are  nearing completion. The railway  is  running  a  Ghost  train  on Halloween.

Near Donavan's  Road

photo  Yarra  Valley  railway.


All photograph by John Frost unless otherwise attributed

 Updated December 2011


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