January 2009

Castlemaine and Maldon Railway

Preservation Society

Inside this issue:

Bridge Repairs 1

Presidents Column 2

Wooden Carriage Collective 3

Why The Railway? 4

Special Feature Special Feature -- News From AfarNews From Afar

5-7

Mechanical Branch 8

New Members 10

First Aid 10

Toilet Appeal 10

Valentines Day Dinner Train

10

Volunteer Induction 10

125th Anniversary Celebrations

10

Wine and Cheese Evenings 9

VGR Website 9

Safety Management System 9

2008 Photo Supplement 9

Members Newsletter Celebrating 125 of Trains between

Castlemaine and Maldon 1884 - 2009

Your Railway Needs You In February Help Repair One of Our Unique Timber Bridges

Plans for our February shutdown period are well in hand and we expect to start with bridgework at Muckleford Creek on Monday 9th of February. There are eight piles and a beam to replace on the bridge and we intend to work continuously until the work is done. Whilst a lot of the work is quite hard there are jobs for people of all ages and fitness levels and if you would like to help please call John Shaw on 0427 352 416 or 5968 6558 for details.

We are currently negotiating with V/Line over arrangements for working on the track that runs parallel to the Bendigo main line coming into Castlemaine. There are a quite a few sleepers to replace, including those on the Forest Creek and Johnson Street bridges and there is a bit of repair work needed on the Forest Creek bridge decking. We plan to tackle this work in the second half of

February after the Muckleford bridgework is finished. Again if you would like to help, please call John Shaw.

Meanwhile Keith Meagher and the Work for the Dole gang have been busy carrying out fire prevention works along the track and replacing sleepers, particularly in the Muckleford to Maldon section. They have also been levelling points in Castlemaine station yard to make changing them from the Signalbox a bit easier.

Work on our flashing light equipped level crossings has been done by our expert Gary Pallister who has carried out a number of repairs at the Midland Highway crossing. Hopefully this crossing will no longer suffer from late night faults which have kept our local volunteers out of bed on a number of occasions lately.

Our Acting Civil Manager, John Shaw, is the Victorian expert in building and repairing timber railway bridges. John will be supervising the work and all those who volunteered last year thoroughly enjoyed learning some new skills from John in a friendly, enjoyable environment.

The process of repairing a timber bridge is fascinating and members who assisted last year were justifiably proud of their efforts. You are more than welcome to take part in this years repair effort.

If you can help please call John Shaw on 0427 352 416 or 5968 6558

Trackwork is a chance to work in the fresh air with a group of friendly volunteers who will show you the ropes if you haven’t helped out before

Page 2 January 2009

President’s Column with Paul McDonald

Welcome to the New Year to all members – let us hope that it will be both safe and prosperous and that the Railway continues to hold its place as the major tourist attraction in the Shire of Mount Alexander. The Board of Management are arranging a meeting in the near future with the newly elected Councillors to outline how the Railway fits in with the Tourism objectives of the Shire and also to outline some of the plans we have for the year ahead including the proposal to re-develop the toilets at Maldon and the 125th Anniversary of the Railway in June. The Board believes that maintaining a close working relationship with Council will lead to significant benefits for the Railway.

Board members and the Branch or Divisional Managers will spend time familiarizing themselves with some of the finer points of the Rail Safety Act 2006 and in particular how the introduction of the Act will effect Policies and procedures and most of these will have been completely revised by the time the Railway faces a Compliance Audit in late March. The Compliance Audit will be conducted by a team from Public Transport Safety Victoria and will take place over two days. Basically the Act requires a culture of change to our whole approach to Safety and the Railway will be expected to be able to demonstrate that this is being achieved by procedures that are being assessed as this issue goes to press as well as a process of participation, consultation and involvement in the Safety Management System that will define an ongoing regime of continuous improvement within the System.

One of the more important aspects within the process is that of participation. The Board is expected to approve a revised Safety Policy at its January meeting which will formally encourage, among other aspects, the participation process. Active members who, in the course of their duties on the Railway notice anything that may affect the safe operation of our trains, or a situation that may in any way, no matter how small, compromise the safety of other volunteers and/or members of the public, should bring the situation to the notice of the appropriate person so that action may be taken to ensure that there is no repeat. The use of the Incident or Defect Report form will be discussed at the upcoming Induction sessions but members are asked to bear in mind the importance of this part of the Safety Management System.

The beginning of this process will involve all active volunteers being re-inducted to bring them up to date with changes that may have taken place since an earlier induction and also to outline the revised procedures that will be in place as part of the introduction of the Act.. The induction program is the beginning of this stage of the process and I cannot stress too lightly the importance of ALL

active volunteers being required to take part in the program. A number of sessions have been set down for the induction process and these will take place on Saturdays 24 and 31 January and 7 February. If necessary or if there are volunteers who are unable to make Saturdays we will arrange for one or more, (if required) weekday sessions. Sessions will be held at the Maldon Goods Shed (note Maldon, NOT Muckleford) commencing at 10.00 am with an outline of what the Induction process involves, will include a Barbeque lunch and drinks will be available for purchase on the day. It is expected that the day would conclude by around 3.00pm to give those of you who need to travel some distance the opprtunity to return home within a reasonable time. For catering purposes please phone either 5470 6658 or 5475 1451 or e-mail marketing@vgr.com.au or president@vgr.com.au to notify of your intention to attend and your preferred date.

Trevor Maylor, whom most of you will know from his long association with the Railway and who agreed to step into the position of Secretary after the sudden departure of his predecessor early last year, has found it necessary to resign from the position due to work commitments. I would like to acknowledge the contribution Trevor has made to the administration of the Society since agreeing to take on the role as this is one of the most challenging positions within the Management structure. On behalf of all Society members I wish him well and look forward to sharing some more time with Trevor as he will still be seen from time to time working around the Railway..

Elsewhere in this issue members will find an article to do with a body known as the “Wooden Carriage Collective”. I commend all members to this initiative which is a further measure of the greater degree of cooperation which is being promoted among the Tourist and Heritage Railway operators in Victoria. Those members who attended our very successful Members’ evening in

November may remember my comment which recalled the words of a Brotherhood of Man song from the sixties “united we stand, divided we fall” and this pertains to what is seen as the way forward for all operators. I have previously related in this column some of the hitherto small ways in which our Railway has assisted and cooperated with other similar bodies such as signalling equipment, trolley wheels and the like, and the Collective which was formed mid last year is an extension of this philosophy. There may be some members who may feel that having some of “our” rolling stock moved away will see it never return, however I stress that this is a cooperative type of arrangement and ownership of the vehicles concerned will remain with the VGR.

I would also urge all members who may have some time available during February to become involved with the projects to be undertaken during the shut down period. Remember that this is a real opportunity to catch up with a number of different tasks all utilizing different skills and also presents a chance to catch up with old friends or to make new ones while helping maintain the Railway so that we can continue to provide services to the visitors to the area. Further details of the exact projects in the mix are listed in this newsletter.

On a positive note, I am pleased to inform all members that our oft maligned but nevertheless trusty back hoe has been repaired, repainted and returned to service and I am reliably informed that it “runs like a baby”, albeit with one or two mechanical items still requiring attention and some work to do on the hydraulics at the excavator portion of the unit. Thanks are due to those who helped out with the work and we acknowledge Mick Compagnoni, Brendan Barry, William Maylor, Barry Stewart, Aaron Davies, Melanie Skelton, Graeme Dunn, Doug Pearse, Brian Frewin and if there others I have missed I apologise but please remember your efforts are well appreciated.

Most of you will be aware of the enormous amount of work which has been put in by Vice-President George Young towards the re-development of the Station toilets at Maldon, and both George and myself recently met with a representative of Rural Development Victoria to discuss funding options that may be available to assist with this project. There remains much preliminary work to be done before the physical construction work begins and I urge any member who has not already done so to strongly consider a donation to the Loo Appeal. As was pointed out last month, should the existing system fail, the Railway faces the very real possibility of being shut down completely which would reflect poorly indeed on the previous good reputation of the Railway and the people who are involved.

Page 3 January 2009

Our railway is a real example of the hard work, talent and dedication of an awful lot of people over a number of years. The very fact that we have been able to re-build the line all the way from Maldon to Castlemaine and to operate trains regularly is a huge effort. What’s more, we are operating heritage trains, lovingly restored to their operational condition. However, most of us have stood on a platform on the railway and though “If only we could do more”. We often look across at the rollingstock that hasn’t been restored and sits forlornly in the elements deteriorating slowly. Preservation and restoration to their original condition is something we’d all love to achieve, however it remains a distant dream, given the huge financial cost of operating the railway in its current condition, let alone moving forward with further restoration. We aren’t alone in this situation – all tourist railways ponder this problem; how do we save these precious carriages, yet continue to run a railway?

Late last year, representatives of all the broad gauge tourist railways met with representatives of the Seymour Rail Heritage Centre to discuss the problem. After much discussion, the concept of the Wooden Carriage Collective was born. The basis of the collective is that each railway would pool a number of carriages in one location, that would be restored centrally and then allocated out to the various railways on an “as needs” basis. The collective would also work with the government to fund restoration of these carriages so much more would be achieved than could be if we tried to restore carriages on our own. It would also allow railways to use carriages other than their own, that may be more suitable to their operations.

The Seymour Rail Heritage Centre has graciously volunteered to house the carriages and to co-ordinate the restoration of the carriages. We are fortunate to have this offer from our friends at Seymour as they have the facilities to safely store and restore these carriages – facilities that we lack at Maldon!

The board has discussed our current collection of carriages including those carriages that are not trafficable, with other railways. The board has carefully considered our needs over the coming years and has decided that we will contribute our three “E” carriages to the pool, being 15BE, 20BE, 2BCE and possibly 18AE. These carriages

The Wooden Carriage Collective

Carriage 2BCE clearly shows the effects of the sun, the wind and the rain with peeling paint, missing windows and deteriorating timber work.

were designed as express passenger carriages and were some of the finest produced for the Victorian Railways. Our “E” cars haven’t been used for many years and currently sit as easy targets for vandals, souvenir hunters, termites and the wind, the rain and the sun. By moving them to Seymour, they will be preserved and then restored to their former glory to run either on the mainline or on either the Victorian Goldfields Railway or another Victorian Tourist Railway. Members will be relived to know that we will also be able to use other carriages from the pool – carriages that may suit us better than the “E” carriages. Of course we will still retain ownership of the carriages and they won’t be able to modified in any way that compromises their historical nature.

Further details on the Wooden Carriage Collective will be communicated to members as the details are finalized.

Carriage 25BCPL sits forlornly with severe weathering clearly visible to the roof. The carriage may be salvageable now but not in three years time if not moved under cover.

Too late - the elements have taken their toll and all we have left is a shell of a once fine piece of rollingstock. We can’t let this happen to our carriages!

Page 4 January 2009

I am a Lawyer by occupation. Now don’t hold this against me but I am. Over the years I have operated my legal practice, brought up my family, had sporting commitments and otherwise been entirely consumed by the business of life. From some distance I have watched our wonderful railway commence, establish itself back to Castlemaine, and grow. As the years went on I thought there may come a time when I would like to become involved.

Now being a Lawyer I tend to have ups and downs and the occasional mood swing! Ask my very patient wife and she will tell you. So on a February day nearly two years ago I jumped in my car at Ocean Grove and decided I needed the therapy of a ride on the train to clear my mind. I had no particular plans in mind but just a day ‘self indulgence’.

I always enjoy the drive from my part of the world – you go through the Brisbane Ranges, past Ballan, and through the quaintness of Daylesford. It is then on to the road to Castlemaine but turning off at the sign that takes you through Newstead and then finally to Maldon. Now I promise no disrespect to the good residents of Maldon but in the times that I have been there before I always find a “glorious impracticality” about the whole place! Maybe this in some way explains a railway still existing to the town which was built at the height of the Gold Rush nearly 125 years ago.

Anyway back to my trip. I arrived and the train was just ready for departure. On I get and as we ‘gunzels’ (is that the correct spelling – maybe it isn’t?) tend to do I shove my head outside the window and happily had my hair filled with the mandatory soot. I love the trip through the forest to Muckleford and

then the speedier pace of the train as it takes you on the newer track through to Castlemaine. We arrived and all very efficiently the engine was turned and the next thing you know we were steaming back to Maldon.

Now this is where the absurdity of the whole thing starts to kick in. One’s mind tends to wander and mine always does when travelling by steam. Through Muckleford we went and up the grades and curves that take you to Maldon. As we went past Milepost 88 I gazed out the window to the south and something caught my eye. There was a “for sale” sign and what seemed to be a little white Cottage on a few acres apparent through the trees. I thought nothing particularly of it at the time but (as events then transpired) it jogged something in my mind.

We arrived back in Maldon I wondered around the station and looked at things there as I tend to do. It was getting later in the day so I jumped in my car and travelled back home. My memory is that I was probably thinking about what lay ahead in Court cases in the week that was to follow. I arrived back home and the routines of life then followed. The alarm goes off Monday morning, into the suit, off to work and so it goes on.

Now I’ll get to the point of all of this. Two days later I found myself searching the internet for the house that I had seen. I found it and then without telling anyone at home (least of all my lovely wife!) I am then contacting the agent to see if the property was still available. I am told yes and then, still being secretive about it, I arranged to travel to have a look at the property. I’ll speed to the conclusion of all of this but you can probably sense where we are going. I then

reveal my intentions to everyone at home to their stunned disbelief! ‘Surely dad you are not serious!’ they say and I sense that the feeling is that this is seen as just another one of my extraordinary follies. Nevertheless by May of 2007 we become proud owners of what had been advertised as ‘Bowbells Cottage’ but I understand is known by the locals as ‘Lang’s Cottage’.

I sent off an application to join the railway at or around this time. I then decided I had to extricate myself from some of my commitments including Presidency of the local football club in Ocean Grove. All of this was completed and I have now joined the railway as a Director. I am greatly impressed by the current makeup of the Board and the desire of my fellow Directors to really take the railway to a new level of professionalism so it might be recognized as one of the premier tourist attractions in this state if not the country. I have taken on the role of trying to raise some additional funds through sponsorship and you will have seen from the previous newsletter that we now have a glossy Prospectus out in the public domain to further this cause.

This is my story as it stands at this point in time. The railway captivates and inspires me. I know it does for others. What we have is truly unique and can be made even better. This is no disrespect at all to the magnificent efforts of all volunteers to date in the 30 years or so that the railway has been in operation. I am determined to try and play my part and I hope (and am confident) that there are others who feel the same way. Bring on the 125th celebrations in June of this year and beyond!

Why the Railway? By Michael Vines

Every house needs a railway line across the road! The view from Michael’s front garden allows him to view all passing trains!

The author and his son

Page 5 January 2009

60163 Tornado is a brand new main line steam locomotive built in Darlington, England. It is the first such locomotive to be built in the United Kingdom since Evening Star, the last steam locomotive built by British Rail, in 1960. Designed and built to meet modern safety and certification standards, Tornado will run on the UK rail network passenger main lines around the country, as well as on mainline connected heritage railways. The locomotive is named after the Panavia Tornado military jet. The locomotive was built by the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust, a charitable trust founded in 1990, for the purposes of building Tornado, and possibly further locomotives. Tornado was conceived by the Trust not as a replica or a restoration project, but as an evolution of the LNER Peppercorn Class A1 class of locomotives, incorporating likely improvements to the design had steam continued, and changes for cost, safety regulation, manufacturing and operational benefits, while replicating the original design's sound and appearance. As such, being a completely new build original machine, Tornado is considered as the 50th Peppercorn A1, numbered next in the class after the last member built in 1949, 60162 Saint Johnstoun. The A1s were designed by Arthur H Peppercorn (29 January 1889 - 3 March 1951), the last Chief Mechanical Engineer of the London & North Eastern Railway (LNER). They were the last in a line of famous express passenger steam locomotives for the East Coast Main Line that included the Stirling

Singles, the Ivatt Atlantics and the Gresley Pacifics. The original 49 Peppercorn Class A1s were ordered by the LNER and built at Doncaster and Darlington for British Railways (BR) in 1948/9, after the nationalisation of the railways. As designed they were ideally suited for the post-war world of poor maintenance and heavy trains, with their 50sq ft grate allowing them to use lower grade coal than

their predecessors. The final five were even equipped with roller bearings enabling them to go for an average of 118,000 miles between heavy repairs, making the A1s the cheapest to run of all British steam locomotives in the same category. They were also the most reliable of all of the express passenger steam locomotives owned by British Railways. The Peppercorn A1s were designed to cope with the heaviest regular East Coast trains of the post-war period. These frequently loaded to 15 coaches or 550 tons. The locomotives were capable of maintaining 60-70 miles per hour (95-110 km/h) on level track with such trains. Unfortunately, the rapid onset of dieselisation in the 1960s meant that all 49 were scrapped, after an average life of only 15 years. There was an attempt to save the last, 60145 Saint Mungo, but this unfortunately failed and it too was withdrawn in June 1966 and scrapped in September of the same year. As there was no Barry Scrapyard for ex-LNER locomotives, here the story has until now ended. Changes from original The design was modified where necessary to better suit modern manufacturing techniques, and to fit in with the modern high speed railway, while retaining the greater part of the original design. As an evolution of the Peppercorn A1 class, Tornado would also incorporate improvements that would have been made to the class had steam continued, such as correction of the rough riding faults of the original 49 Peppercorn A1s.

(Continued on page 6)

News From Afar - A Brand New Steam Locomotive

Tornado frames seen in March 1997 en route from Tyseley Works, where they had been assembled, to the National Railway Museum in York, where they were exhibited for some weeks. © Bob Newitt; Image from the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust Library

Tornado’s boiler, which was manufactured at Deutsche Bahn’s Meiningen Works being craned onto the chassis in June 2007. It was a perfect fit, first time. © David Elliott; image from the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust Library

Page 6 January 2009

The following design changes were made for cost or operational reasons: ♦ Cab electrics ♦ All welded boiler (i.e. not riveted) ♦ Steel firebox (not copper) ♦ One piece frames ♦ Roller bearings ♦ Improved front bogie ♦ Improved steam circuit ♦ Altered tender coal/water balance (more

water) ♦ Overall weight reduction ♦ Additionally, to meet with current safety

and operation standards, Tornado includes:

♦ Up-rated electrical supplies ♦ Primary air (not steam) brakes ♦ Vacuum brakes (for heritage railway stock) ♦ 1 inch reduction in overall height for

overhead catenary regulations ♦ Automatic Warning System (AWS), ♦ Train Protection & Warning System

(TPWS). ♦ Data recorder ♦ European Rail Traffic Management System

(ERTMS) compatible cab radio With advances in manufacturing, as opposed to the original Peppercorn A1, which had two piece frames riveted together, Tornado's two 48-foot-6-inch (14.8 m) long steel frame side-plates were cut simultaneously under computer control from two identical pieces of steel. As such, these are probably the most

(Continued from page 5)

accurate steam locomotive frames ever produced.

Despite their higher costs, roller bearings were used owing to the reliability they had demonstrated after a trial of some of the original Peppercorn A1s. This caused an unforeseen problem in 2003 since the

modifications made to the locomotive for the original fitting of roller bearings as an experiment to some Peppercorn A1s had not been properly drawn for the Cartazzi axle of the trailing wheels. The tender was redesigned internally, removing the water scoop, increasing the water capacity from 5,000 to 6,000 gallons, and reducing coal capacity from 9 to 7.5 tons. A 1-inch (25 mm) reduction in height from the original 13-foot-1-inch (4.0 m) height was required by the Overhead Line Equipment regulations, and was achieved by a redesign of the dome and safety valve mountings on the boiler, and by reprofiling of the cab roof and chimney.The locomotive smokebox has also been fitted with a spark arrestor. With a shorter rake of 11 coaches compared with the original Peppercorn A1's usage, it is expected that Tornado will achieve contemporary mainline operating speeds. Theoretically capable of 100 mph (160 km/h), Tornado will be limited to a top speed of 90 mph (140 km/h), making it the fastest operational steam locomotive on the UK main line. Once on the main line, Tornado is not expected to leave it again until its 10-year fire-tube boiler re-certification is due. Certification As a new build locomotive, certification is more complex than for a restoration, and requires liaison with rail regulators with the origin of all construction materials needing to be documented and every aspect of the manufacture recorded.

Tornado seen partly assembled in October 2002 inside the Darlington Locomotive Works. This building was the former Hopetown Carriage Works built by the Stockton & Darlington Railway in 1851. © Rob Morland; image from the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust Library

Tornado’s forward coupled wheelset being balanced at 90mph equivalent in June 2007 at Dowding & Mills works in Middlesborough. © David Elliott; image from the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust Library

Page 7 January 2009

Tornado is required to pass the 2006 European Railway Interoperability and Safety Directive. Tornado is exempted from portions of the regulations, as with many main line steam locomotives, such as from the need for a yellow warning panel, or crumple zones. As well as standard tests, as technically a new design of locomotive, Tornado was required to undergo specific extra tests to examine ride quality and track force, to assess the effect the locomotive would have on the main line track. Accordingly, on 25 September 2008 this was tested by running Tornado through the Kinchley Curve at speeds of 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 and 60 mph (97 km/h), with a trailing saloon car fitted with monitoring equipment, including a GPS unit to measure the precise speed and distance travelled every metre. Measurements were taken on-board through 21 sensors attached to the locomotive, measuring pitch and roll, acceleration and deceleration. Measurements were also taken through the use of track side sensors measuring side forces exerted on the track, augmented with freeze frame footage of the position of the wheels as it passed. The results showed a great improvement when comapred with those obtained on the same track when a heritage locomotive of similar size and configuration passed. Tornado was granted an Engineering Acceptance (EA) certificate on 31st October allowing testing

(Continued from page 6) on the main line to begin. It was anticipated that Tornado would need around 2,000 miles (3,200 km) of running to bed in, before moving to the main line proper. Following regulatory approval, 60 mph (97 km/h) running was achieved by the end of September 2008. Prior to mid-October 2008, Tornado had achieved 1,000 miles (1,600 km) of fault free running. By the end of October, Tornado had run 1,500 miles (2,400 km). During testing, Tornado hauled empty passenger trains at speeds up to 60 mph (97 km/h), and load test trains of up to around 500 tons. One load test in September involved the hauling of a rake of 11 empty coaches and a dead Class 45 diesel locomotive. Also in one load test, over 2,000 Effective Drawbar Horsepower was recorded. On 10 September Tornado was officially timed for the first time, hauling 518 tons from Loughborough to Leicester North, including the 1 in 176 gradient south from Rothley railway station. If 90 mph (140 km/h) running is achieved on the main line, Tornado would become the fastest steam locomotive in Britain, and the second fastest in the world. Regular 90 mph (140 km/h) steam operation was last seen in Britain in 1967 with the Merchant Navy class Pacific locomotives operating on the

Waterloo to Bournemouth route. The fastest operational steam locomotive in the world is 18.201, allowed to run in Germany up to 112 mph (180 km/h) While Tornado will be limited to 90 mph (140 km/h) on the UK main line, there is a possibility that she could reach higher speeds, if transported to Germany. If she was towed through the Channel Tunnel, according to the Trust, Deutsche Bahn (German Railways) had informed the Trust that Tornado would be allowed to run at the maximum speed allowed on the Deutsche Bahn network, which is 100 mph. Full historical details and more photos of the building and testing of Tornado are available from the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust’s website at

www.A1steam.com Members traveling to England can view and even travel behind this magnificent, brand-new locomotive. Trip details are also available on the website. Special thanks for generous assistance with this article goes to Keith Drury and colleagues at the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust.

Tornado in its ‘ex-works’ photographic grey livery makes the first moves under its own power outside Darlington Locomotive Works, July 29 2008. © Neil Richardson; image from the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust Library

Page 8 January 2009

Doug Pearse captures the Brian Frewin designed Boring Machine boring the Right-hand cylinder on J549. This is seen from the rear end

Steve Lumsden captures the proud Brian Frewin with his Boring Machine. The machine has been able to bore out the cylinders on J549, potentially saving the railway thousands of dollars!

Steve Lumsden’s photo shows the boring machine having bored one of the cylinders - leaving it smooth and ready for re-assembly.

Brian Frewin peeping through one of the valves on J549. The valves will be worked on next to ensure there is no steam leakage - creating that annoying whistle that can characterize a steam leak in the valves

Mechanical Branch Update Our Mechanical Branch continue on their fantastic work looking after our rolling stock and other equipment. Work is progressing on J549 as the team moves in to the final stages of a major over-haul that will see this favourite locomotive back on the rails towards the end of 2009. With the recent boring of the cylinders, the major tasks that remain include checking boiler tubes, re-building the valves and fitting the smokebox before re-assembly of the locomotive. The railway has benefited greatly with the ingenuity of our own Brian Frewin who has designed and assembled a boring machine that has meant that we can now re-bore our own locomotive cylinders in-house. This is a huge saving to the railway as it has been a significant cost in the past. There has also been lots of work on our other rolling stock with K160 having its compressor temporarily removed for repair and J541 having some firebox stays being prepared for replacement.

The Branch has also decided to change their monthly workdays to the second full weekend of each month. The team are always looking for new volunteers who can assist on either a regular basis or on an occasional basis. Some of the tasks include cleaning locomotives and carriages, preparing carriages for painting, removing rust from components, etc. No prior experience is necessary. Members considering volunteering are advised to contact the Assistant Mechanical Manager, Brian Frewin on 0409 434 808 to register their interest. There are often volunteers working mid-week so if you have a day spare mid-week, contact Brian and he will able to tell you if there is someone who can show you the ropes

Mechanical Branch Workdays Saturday 14th February & Sunday 15th February from 9am at the Maldon Locomotive Shed Wear sturdy footwear and old clothing (overalls ideal). Contact Brian Frewin on 0409 434 808 for details

Wine & Cheese Evenings

A relaxing evening enjoying the company of friends, fine wine

and cheese with on-board entertainment.

Departing Maldon at 7:30pm on

Sunday 8th March (Labour Day Long Weekend)

&

Friday 10th April (Good Friday)

$35.00 p.p. - Drinks for Sale on-board

Bookings can be made on (03) 5470 6658

or via marketing@vgr.com.au

If you would like to contribute an article, a photo or a letter to the Members Newsletter, you can send it to

newsletter@vgr.com.au

Page 9 January 2009

Our annual colour photo supplement is included with this newsletter. Special thanks go to those members who submitted such artistic photos to share with fellow members. Please keep your photos from this year for the 2009 Photo Supplement. Unfortunately we were unable to mail this out with the December edition because of a leak in the roof at Castlemaine that managed to damage the photo-copier. Fortunately the copier is now repaired and we are able to print colour publications again. Fortunately we are only a matter of weeks away from having the station roof repaired at Castlemaine.

2008 Photo Supplement

No, it isn’t a brand-new back-hoe, but it might as well be! Our back-hoe has been repaired and repainted by a dedicated team including Mick Compagnoni, Brendan Barry, William Maylor, Barry Stewart, Aaron Davies, Melanie Skelton, Graeme Dunn, Doug Pearse, Brian Frewin. This repair will allow our Civil Branch team to accomplish more than they have been able to while the back-hoe has been out of action.

Members who haven’t had the opportunity to explore our website are encouraged to get on-line and learn more about the railway. From the history of the line through to the closure of the Victorian Railway service and then the birth of the Castlemaine and Maldon Railway Preservation Society through to upcoming special events as well as rollingstock information, there really is something for everyone. Members can also obtain a user-name and password so that you can view previous newsletters as well as other “Members Only” content. To obtain a a user-name and password, simply email

webmaster@vgr.com.au If you have any photos, articles, cuttings, etc, you can also send them to our webmaster for inclusion on the website

VGR Website

We are currently in the process of finalizing our new Safety Management System that is required of us under the Rail Safety Act 2006. The act is designed to ensure that we operate the railway in the safest way possible and that we asses the risks of all our activities and appropriately put in place processes, procedures and controls to make sure that all our volunteers, staff, and passengers are as safe as possible. The system that we are developing is shortly to be audited by Public Transport Safety Victoria (PTSV). There is a large amount of work required to make sure all our systems are in place and comply with the Rail Safety Act. Currently Paul McDonald, Neville Elliott and Trevor Maylor are working hard to ensure that we will pass our audit, which is due within the next six weeks.

Safety Management System

New Members The society is delighted to welcome the following new members who have joined the society recently:

♦ Fiona Liebert

♦ Jim Simpson

♦ Alan Featonby

Please welcome these new members when you see them around the railway. If you have a friend who loves railways, encourage them to join the society and get involved in running Victoria’s Premier Broad Gauge Tourist Railway.

Page 10 January 2009

Victorian Goldfields Railway

General Office and Marketing

P.O. Box 51

CASTLEMAINE VIC 3450

Phone: (03) 5470 6658

Facsimile: (03) 5470 6272

Email: marketing@vgr.com.au for bookings, Train Times & Fares information or cmr@vgr.com.au for all other enquiries

Recorded Train Information

Phone (03) 5475 2966

Castlemaine Railway Station

Kennedy Street, Castlemaine

Phone: (03) 5470 6658

Facsimile: (03) 5470 6272

Maldon Railway Station

Hornsby Street, Maldon

Telephone: (03) 5475 1451

Facsimile: (03) 5475 1427

Muckleford Railway Station

(only staffed for special events)

Muckleford-Walmer Road, Muckleford

Telephone: (03) 5470 6014

A number of volunteers have put their hands up to undertake the First Aid training that was mentioned in the last newsletter. Details of this training are still being finalized and those who volunteered will be contacted directly once the finals details are known.

First Aid

As part of the new requirements of the Rail Safety Act, the railway is conducting Volunteer Induction sessions for all current and future volunteers. These sessions will be held on

♦ Saturday 24 January

♦ Saturday 31 January

♦ Saturday 7 February

Sessions will be held at the Maldon Goods Shed (note Maldon, NOT Muckleford) commencing at 10.00 am with a Barbeque lunch. The day will conclude around 3.00pm. For catering purposes please phone either 5470 6658 or 5475 1451 or e-mail marketing@vgr.com.au or president@vgr.com.au to notify of your intention to attend and your preferred date.

Volunteer Induction

2009 marks the 125th anniversary of the opening of the line between Castlemaine and Maldon and the railway is planning some significant celebrations for both members and non-railfan residents of Castlemaine and Maldon. Our good friends at Steamrail are also working towards being a part of the celebrations. A small group is working to put together these celebrations and would value the assistance of anyone who can assist with making the celebrations memorable. If you can help, please do not hesitate to contact either George Young on (03) 5475-2442 or via email at gry@impulse.net.au or Philip Ryan on 0412 031 413 or via newsletter@vgr.com.au

Help us make it an event to remember !

125th Anniversary

Special thanks go those members who have already made a contribution toward the Maldon Toilet Appeal. At present, the appeal has raised approximately $8,000 which is a solid start. We are working our way towards raising $25,000 which we need to raise before we can make a successful application for State Government funding for the rest of the funds required to build the new toilet block that we so desperately need.

If you haven’t thought about making a donation, please do as every dollar helps.

Toilet Appeal

Valentine’s Day Dinner

Train

Saturday February 14th

Depart Maldon Station. 7.00pm

A vintage steam train weaves its way through bushland in the twilight hours of a mid summer’s day. On board are groups of people on First Class carriages, enjoying the scenery, a glass of

wine, good company and fine food. A musician wanders through the train , pausing to play for patrons.

The distinctive sound of the locomotive’s whistle floats through the air as the clickety clack of the carriage wheels add to the

unique atmosphere of the Victorian Goldfields Railway Bookings can be made on (03) 5470 6658 or via

marketing@vgr.com.au