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July 2012
Castlemaine and Maldon Railway Preservation
Society Members
Newsletter
A Vice Regal Visit
The railway was thrilled
to welcome The Honourable Alex
Chernov AC QC, Governor of Victoria and
his wife, Mrs Elizabeth Chernov on the 6th of
July. The Vice Regal party were touring Central
Victoria and the Victorian Goldfields Railway was
the venue for lunch.
Mrs and Mrs Chernov enjoyed some splendid
hospitality and were also able to tour the
workshop and inspect the restoration work being
undertaken on J549.
We were also pleased to present Mr Chernov with
a copy of our guide book, as a memento of his visit
to the railway.
Page 2 July 2012
President’s Column
After many months of protracted
negotiations I am pleased to advise that the
Railway has, with the assistance of the Maldon
Branch of the Bendigo Community Bank,
concluded the purchase of the Takeuchi
TB175W excavator/loader. This machine
together with the ancillary equipment
included in the purchase, will revoluntionise
the way that track work is done both on our
Railway and also on the outside work which
we are fortunate enough to secure from time
to time. The Railway has taken delivery of the
machine and it is being tested to prove the
ancillary equipment will do what it is meant
to do, and also, Public Transport Victoria
have yet to give the machine the seal of
approval for work. Training for operators has
commenced and I stress to members that use
of the machine will be restricted to approved
Certified Operators ONLY. It is planned to
formally commission the unit and give a
demonstration of its capabilities in the near
future and members will have the opportunity
to attend. From my perspective I
acknowledge the support and assistance of
both Acting Civil Manager John Shaw and
Financial Controller Neil Burgin during what
were, at times, frustrating times while we
worked through the minefield that the
negotiations with the Bank almost became.
We are also grateful to the retailer ProSkid
Australia, and their Manager Peter Rowland,
for his assistance and support as well as to
our friends at the Maldon Community Bank.
The Bank and Railway have worked well
together in the past to promote Community
events and we look to continue our good
relationship with them looking to the future.
I am also pleased to announce the return to
service of Parlour Car “Tambo” following the
complimentary of the efforts of both the paid
staff and our volunteers in maintaining the
spirit of the great days of rail travel. At the
conclusion of their visit, I presented His
Excellency with a copy of the Souvenir Guide
Book and invited him and Mrs. Chernov to
return to the Railway and enjoy a footplate
ride upon one of our steam locomotives. The
success of this visit would not have been
possible without the invaluable help and
assistance of Claire Baker, Tourism and
Events Manager at the Mt. Alexander Shire,
Mr. Phil Rowland, Chief Executive Officer of
the Shire, Cr. Janet Cropley, Mayor and
Tarrangower Ward representative,
CMRPS. Director and Economic
Development Officer for the Mt. Alexander
Shire, Wayne O’Toole and Garry Aitchison,
Marketing Manager for the VGR. The official
party and guests enjoyed a superb light lunch
prepared by Barry Veith and his staff at the
Penny School Gallery and Café which was
served in a thoroughly professional manner
by our own first class stewards Andrew
Reynolds and Murray McPhie. There is much
goodwill from visits such as these and I
gratefully acknowledge the support and
assistance from all our people. I have received
much favourable comment following this visit
and the most pleasing aspect is that we can
do functions like these with true
professionalism.
I have, in earlier editions of the newsletter,
written of the need to attract more
volunteers to the Railway. This need is more
pressing than ever as we strive to maintain a
high standard of service to our customers on
what is without question the largest Tourist
attraction within the Mt. Alexander and
(Continued on page 3)
fitting of re-conditioned bogies. That we are
again able to offer first class service to our
passengers will help us to restore the full
service we offer, although the problem of
having power available to Tambo is still being
worked through.
The value of having Tambo available on our
Railway for special functions was more than
capably demonstrated almost at the time that
this column was being prepared, when it was
made available in the platform at Maldon for a
visit to the Goldfields region by the Governor
of Victoria, The Hon. Alex Chernov and Mrs.
Chernov. A brief tour of the workshop area
and refurbished Maldon station was followed
by a light lunch served in Tambo. His
Excellency and Mrs. Chernov were highly
by Paul McDonald
Page 3 July 2012
Central Goldfields Shires. We need more
people to join our already committed,
dedicated and experienced volunteers across
the full range of activities. The push to
increase passenger numbers and to promote
more charter and driver experience
operations is fine, however, it increases the
need to maintain the full fleet of rolling stock
including locomotives and to keep the track
up to the required standard. We need more
people to man the kiosks at Castlemaine and
Maldon as well as ticket sellers, also first class
attendants and even some who are able to
assist with administrative tasks. There may be
some out there whom you know and to
whom you may have spoken previously about
the value of volunteering and more especially
for the Victorian Goldfields Railway and we
need them. I urge all members to encourage
as many as they may know who have an
interest in whatever area may hold some
appeal for them to come along, be part of the
team, share in the excitement and thrill of
knowing that they are taking part in the
preservation of an important part of the
history of the State – the Branch line railway.
The Railway is facing a particularly busy
period from mid-July onwards and while it is
pleasing to see the bookings as they come
through the system, I am also concerned that
our team of volunteer crews will be stretched
to the limit The Board of Management will
consider what options are available at coming
meetings in an endeavour to expand our
volunteer base. This problem is not unique to
the Victorian Goldfields Railway, other
organizations both in Australia and abroad
are facing similar issues and the Board is
always open to suggestions as to how we
might expand our volunteer base.
The recent Steam Trains for Kids weekend
again proved a highly successful event and I
congratulate all who took part in whatever
role on a great result. These weekends are a
credit to all our volunteers, and when the
weather is taken into account, sometimes
many of our people deserve a medal. What a
team! I am greatly encouraged by patrons of
this event who are impressed by the range of
attractions available, that all are available
within the one “event ticket” and that the
only extra to be bought is food. What I also
find amazing is the range of places from which
people will travel to attend the event –
Warrnambool, for instance and in the other
direction Lang Lang! There are still some
minor details at the planning stage to be
ironed out which will assist with the last
minute arrangements and generally make life
easier for all involved.
(Continued from page 2) Civil Branch News
A reminder that the AGM and dinner will be held at the Maldon Hotel, Main Street, Maldon on
Saturday 18th August 2012. The AGM will commence at 6.30 pm followed by the dinner. We
would like as many members as possible to attend. The hotel need to know numbers attending
the dinner by the 13th August 2012. Would you please let Garry Aitchison know if you are
attending by contacting him phone 5470 6658 or email: marketing@vgr.com.au
The Notice of the AGM posted to members contained an error in the list of retiring Directors.
The retiring Directors are:
President Paul McDonald
Vice President Michael Vines
Ordinary Board Members:
Shirley Frewin
Philip Ryan
Andrew Naylor
Wayne O’Toole
Neil Burgin (appointed during the year to fill a casual vacancy)
Annual General Meeting and Dinner
Members will have read much about the Takeuchi TB175W excavator/loader over the previous
few months and here it is! The machine has been purchased specifically for track work and it
has already been put to good use, with a crew replacing 55 sleepers in 3 days. Previously we
would have been able to only replace up to 6 sleepers a day. We anticipate that once our
qualified operators become more proficient, we’ll be able to replace sleepers at a faster rate.
The machine has been ordered with 3 digging buckets, a tamping attachment, a sleeper grab
attachment and a pallet fork attachment. It will be fitted with hi-rail equipment later in the year,
meaning that it can access all parts of our line.
With the machine now available to us, we are now able to re-commence regular mid-week
work-days and the assistance of volunteers on a regular basis is needed. Currently we have a
number of speed restrictions in place and to be able to restore the line to normal speed, we’ll
need the assistance of volunteers who are able to assist with track-work.
We are also still working at Bandiana recovering 80 lb rail that will be used to re-rail the line
between Muckleford and Maldon and we are desperately in need of volunteers to assist - even
if it is just for a day or two.
If you can assist on our regular track work days, please contact Brad Cooper on 0429 843 427.
If you can assist with the rail recovery work at Bandiana, please contact John Shaw on 0427 352
416.
Page 4 July 2012
Vreeland's Transfer Jack for Removing and Replacing Locomotive Drivers and Trucks. It is often desirable or necessary in railroad repair shops to remove a pair of drivers or a truck from under a heavy engine. The usual method is to raise the
engine up by four hydraulic or screw jacks, placed under each corner, until the wheel can be rolled out.' This required lifting of the whole machine from fifteen to twenty-four inches. It not only makes the engine too high to work on without staging, but, as the jacks must be used elsewhere, the ponderous boiler is blocked up and left there—a dangerous and unhandy arrangement. Some very
large shops have "drop tables" and "steam lifts" to do some of this work, but these arc cumbersome, expensive, and occupy valuable floor space.
Endless annoyance of this kind induced J. H. Vreeland, master mechanic of the eastern division of the New York, Lake Erie and Western Railroad, to invent and build at his shops in Jersey City the jack here described
and illustrated. By reference to the cut of the tool itself, it will be seen that it is merely a hydraulic jack, mounted on four small wheels, and having a very long ram, The pump is cast separate from the head or
frame, and can be removed for repairs if necessary: it is operated by a removable lever, the same as used in the common hydraulic jack. The top of the ram has a curved head in which to rest the center of the
driving axle; this is swiveled so that a pair of wheels can be turned around or placed on a track not in line with the track from where they were taken. The ram has a very long bearing at the top of the frame or head. The excellent engraving hardly needs an explanation. It will be seen that the jack pit
runs at right angles to and crosses the regular engine pits. This pit is wide enough to take in the largest engine truck complete, and is about twenty-four inches deeper than the engine pits. In the bottom of the jack pit is a slot about ten inches wide, and deep enough to clear the lower end of the long cylinder. On this page will also be found a ground plan of the pits. The device occupies no floor space whatever,
being entirely beneath the floor, which is in the shape of trap doors that arc easily removed, as arc also the rails of the engine pits, over the jack pit, as shown in the ground plan. In operation the engine to be repaired is run over the pit and pinched until the axle or truck-center is exactly over the head of the jack, the engine is left standing at its usual height, no raising being
necessary; the jack is then pumped up until the weight of the pair of wheels is lifted, the removable rails are pulled out, and the wheels arc dropped down far enough to clear everything, the jack rolled on its own track to an adjoining pit, raised up and the wheels rolled away to the lathe, the turn-table or the scrap heap.
All the shops of the N.Y.L E. and W. are equipped with this jack, and it is a common occurrence to run an engine into the shop or roundhouse in the morning, after she has made her trip, drop a pair of drivers, refit one or more boxes, and send her out on
the afternoon run; meanwhile the fire has not been disturbed or steam blown off. For cleaning out or fitting up main driving boxes, the wheels are often dropped a foot or so without disturbing the eccentric blades at all. Four men are usually put on this work, two in the pit to do the pumping, and one at each side to steady the load, etc. At the Jersey City shops four pairs of
drivers have been replaced under a consolidation engine in thirty-eight minutes by a gang of four men. Watson & Stillman, of 2IO East 43d St., New York, arc the manufacturers and sole agents of the inventor.
Editor’s Note: This excerpt is taken from the first edition of Locomotive Engineer, published in America in 1888
Page 6 July 2012
Nears Misses All drivers are reminded that it is ESSENTIAL
to report near misses at level crossings. This
information is required for statistics which
determine priority for funding for crossing
improvements under the Australian Level
Crossing Assessment Model (ALCAM). It is
not important to necessarily obtain vehicle
description but it is important to note that a
near miss occurred at a particular location.
Of course, should a dangerous situation be
detected it would be wise to note vehicle
description and registration if possible.
Drivers should report near misses as soon as
possible after the incident occurs to either
Operations Manager Brian Frewin,
Responsible Officer Neville Elliott or
President, Paul McDonald, who will submit
the required report to Transport Safety
Victoria.
Roster Reminder There have again been several recent
instances where volunteers have advised of
their non-availability only at the last minute.
This places the Roster Officers under
considerable pressure to try to find suitable
and available replacements at short notice
and bearing in mind that people have other
commitments this is often difficult.
Please remember that this is a vital part of
the service we offer our customers and
please be reminded that if you are unable to
attend when rostered, it is YOUR
RESPONSIBILITY to find a replacement AND
to notify the roster officer accordingly.
The Railway now has booking clerks at
Castlemaine phoning all volunteers as they
are rostered to ensure their availability in a
further attempt to overcome any difficulties.
Please remember to check with your diary or
calendar as soon as your roster is received
and if unable to attend on a particular,
PLEASE ARRANGE A SWAP.
All volunteers are also reminded to pay
attention to their attire when on duty at the
Railway. We need to strive to maintain a high
standard especially for those operational and
catering staff who are in direct contact with
the public – you people are the “face” of the
Railway and the higher standard we maintain,
the higher the opinion people have of the
railway and our staff.
Special Carriage
Working Bee
A carriage working bee day is to be held on
Saturday 11th August at Maldon to do some
much needed work on the interior of
carriages 43 BPL and 29 BCPL. Most of this
work will involve replacement of ceiling
panels which have been water affected as well
as attention to seats. The panels, tools, paint
and associated equipment will all be available
but we need help with fitting and painting.
There will also be some work done to locate
and check what seats are available - and their
condition – to go in carriage 41BU which is
nearing the end of its refurbishment. Please
bring yourself, suitable clothing and lunch – or
the bakery is just a short distance from the
station! Hot and cold drinks will be provided.
We would like to start by 9.30 am at the
latest with a view to finishing by 4.00 pm.
Daryl O’Brien took this photo from the hi-rail recently when he stopped to admire the vista.
Approaching Muckleford on the up run after crossing Muckleford Creek, the paddocks are a sea of white frost.
Steam Trains for Kids Our recent Steam Trains for Kids weekend
was held on the weekend of the 14th and
15th of July, which was the last weekend of
the school holidays and this weekend was
very successful. Despite the weather being
grey and cold with occasional showers, we
attracted over 1,000 visitors over the two
days which is 150 more people than we
attracted to the same weekend last year.
Indeed on the Sunday, two of our trains were
full, with only standing room available!
It is very important to recognise that this
fantastic weekend would not have been so
successful without the assistance of our
drivers, firemen, guards, conductors,
signalmen, bookings officers, shop staff,
trolley drivers, marshalls and marketing teams
on the day as well as our mechanical branch,
civil branch and everyone else who prepared
the site for the day. Thank you to you all for
your hard work in such cold conditions.
Our next Steam for Kids weekend is being
held on the weekend of the 6th and 7th of
October and a promotional poster is included
on the next page. If you would like to display
a colour poster in your workplace, school or
kinder, please give our Marketing Officer,
Garry Aitchison a call during the week and
we’ll be able to send out a colour copy.
A Busy October As well as Steam Trains for Kids on the 6th
and the 7th of October, we also have two
other special events in October with the Pink
Train being held on Sunday 21st October and
Mucklefest on Sunday 28th October.
Both these events are sure to attract large
numbers to the railway and hence we have a
need for a larger number of volunteers than
we’d usually have working on a normal
running day. The key requirements are in the
areas of marshalls, catering and ticket sellers
and are a great opportunity for volunteers
who aren’t able to contribute to the railway
on a regular basis, to join in and be part of
the team running these events.
If you can help, or would just like to have a
chat about what might be involved on the
day, please contact our Volunteer Co-
ordinator via email at
volunteers@vgr.com.au or by calling Garry
Aitchison on (03) 5470 6658. We’d love to
have you on board!
Working With Children
Check A number of volunteers have reported that
they already have a Work With Children
Check through another organisation. If this is
the case, could you please contact the
Department of Justice to inform them of the
fact you are also a volunteer on the Victorian
Goldfields Railway.
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
Castlemaine Railway Station
Kennedy Street, Castlemaine
Phone: (03) 5470 6658
Facsimile: (03) 5470 6272
Maldon Railway Station
Hornsby Street, Maldon
Telephone: (03) 5475 1451
www.vgr.com.au
www.driveatrain.com.au
www.driveasteamtrain.com.au
Page 8 July 2012
New Sponsors The railway is delighted to welcome aboard two new sponsors in taste of Gold and Chapple’s
Cairn Curran Estate. Both of these names will be familiar to regular visitors to central Victoria
and we’re hoping that our passengers will also get to know these sponsors as well.
Maldon to Bendigo Day Return Promotion of this great trip is just starting to ramp up. There has been a small delay in our on-
line ticket sales facility, although we are hoping that it will be up and running within a few days
of publication of this newsletter.
There are a limited number of tickets, however we are hoping to carry as many members as
possible to enjoy a day behind a J-Class loco on a branch line and 2 R-Class locos on the
mainline. Last year a number of members enjoyed a hearty meal in one of Bendigo’s many pubs
before returning to the train for a spirited run back to Castlemaine. Of course this day also
features the only steam-hauled parallel departure held each year - so get your tickets now to
enjoy the spectacle!
Signalman Daryl O'Brien drew the short straw
on having to do track patrol in the early morning of Castlemaine's coldest night of the
year so far - at minus 2.7C on Sunday 8th of July. The normally dark coloured lever on the
turntable at Castlemaine was solid white with frost and very hard to operate. Volunteers at Work
Travellers on the railway will know Ian Preston as being the barista at Castlemaine on many of
our running days and as a marshal at Steam for Kids. What they may not realise is the “The Colonel”, as we know him, is a valuable contributor to our marketing and administration teams,
often putting together hundreds of documents for mailing.
Save The Date Saturday 24th of November is a day that is
being planned in conjunction with the
Castlemaine Historical Society. We’ll be
welcoming a special guest to the railway and
we’re hoping to also run a train to carry
members to Castlemaine to meet this special
guest. Full details will be provided in the next
newsletter.
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