June 2012

Castlemaine and Maldon Railway Preservation

Society Members

Newsletter

Maldon - Bendigo Day Return

Branchline and Mainline Steam On The Same Day!

Saturday 8th September 2012 We’re thrilled to be partnering with Steamrail to again offer members and local residents a unique day out in Bendigo travelling all the way by steam.

This trip is only being marketed in Central Victoria, so you won’t see it mentioned in Melbourne, however it proved to be very popular last year with over 100 passengers travelling on what was previously an “empty cars” move.

Steamrail are planning on using 2 R class locos and are hopeful that one of them will be R711 on her first run to Bendigo since her days in West Coast Railways

service. A recent highlight of the day has been a parallel departure from Castlemaine in the late afternoon with all locos sounding their whistles simultaneously in a

cacophony of steam, smoke and sound. Tickets for this trip will available on our website from 1st July and will cost:

Adult: $45

Children: $25

Families $100

Indicative Timetable

Dep Maldon 9:45am

Arr Castlemaine 10:30

Dep Castlemaine 11:25

Arr Bendigo 12:05

Dep Bendigo 4:50pm

Arr Castlemaine 5:30pm

Dep Castlemaine 6:04pm

Arr Maldon 6:45pm

New VGR Merchandise Now in Stock Recent additions to our range of souvenirs have included a number of items that have been created especially for the VGR that are based on

talented photographer, James Brook’s photos. These include:

8 designs of postcard, selling for $1.00 each

4 designs of fridge magnets selling for $4.50 each

2 designs of mugs, selling for $15 each or $28 for the pair - one featuring K160 and the other featuring J541 & J515

We also have the highly collectable publication, Steam Locomotives of the Victorian Railways - Volume 1: The First Fifty Years selling for

$30. All these items are available at both Maldon and Castlemaine.

Page 2 June 2012

President’s Column

As I have reported to members in earlier

editions of the Newsletter, the Railway has

been negotiating for some time with the

Bendigo Bank to facilitate the purchase of a

Takeuchi TB175W excavator/loader. I am

pleased to advise that these negotiations have

been successful and that as this issue goes to

press, the last of the “add-ons” have been

ordered and we are now waiting upon their

delivery so that they can be fitted to the

machine. Some of the major items needed are

six weeks from ordering to delivery including

the tamping head and Hi-rail equipment, so

we are hoping to have the machine on site by

the end of this month and available for work.

Some training will be required for approved

operators who will be the only persons

permitted to operate the unit and the

process of selecting candidates is under way

at the moment. This machine will make a

substantial difference to the way our own

track work is done, as well as making outside

track work a more attractive proposition

with the latest in technology and a lot less

physical work, although there will still be

occasions when a sledge hammer will be put

to good use! I stress to members that while

there is a significant financial outlay to

purchase the machine, that this represents an

important investment in the future of the

Railway.

It is also with some regret that I advise of the

recent death of two members. Hugh Holmes

who was involved in carriage restoration in

the early days of the Society was one, and the

other was Laurie Llewelyn, father of past

President Tony Llewelyn. To the family of

Hugh, and also to Mary, Laurie’s widow and

Tony, his wife Jacqui and their family we

extend our deepest sympathy upon their

in the future especially with his forthcoming

move to a new home and hope we may still

see him around the Railway in the future. The

Board of Management will make a decision as

to his replacement in the near future.

Also worthy of mention has been an

agreement recently reached with the Country

Fire Authority who, with assistance from the

Dept. of Sustainability and Environment, have

agreed to assist with vegetation control along

the Railway. This will take the form of a

number of controlled lineside burns at

different locations along the line and will

supplement some of the work already done

with track spraying and slashing. In areas of

the Railway where there are steep

embankments, there are often difficulties with

safety which render this work impossible. At

the time this issue was being prepared, some

further spraying of blackberries and gorse in

urban areas of Castlemaine will be needed,

and the intention of the C.F.A. is that burns

will commence in August, weather permitting;

this will greatly alleviate the risk in some

areas through which our Railway operates. I

am greatly encouraged by this development

which has been largely due to the efforts of

the C.F.A. Operations Officer at Bendigo,

Alun Hughson with co-operation from the

Brigades at Castlemaine, Campbell’s Creek,

Walmer, Muckleford and Maldon.

I would refer all operational members to the

notices which appear within this issue relating

to a fatality which, it appears, occurred during

shunting operations at a major Tourist

Railway in the U.K. I cannot stress lightly the

care which needs to be taken by all personnel

during shunting operations – we want all our

(Continued on page 3)

losses.

Members will be aware that the huge task of

maintaining our locomotives and rolling stock

had lead to a decision to employ an additional

fitter in the workshop at Maldon, and I also

regret to advise that Rod Gamble has elected

to resign from this position. We owe a

considerable debt of thanks to Rod for the

work he was involved in to return J 515 to

traffic as well as the work done by him on the

restoration of J 549, especially work on the

under-gear of the latter locomotive, including

machining and fitting of the brake “long rods”,

compensating beams, brake hangers and

blocks, grease nipples, as well as preparation

of the slide bars and cross heads to receive

new white metal. We wish Rod every success

by Paul McDonald

Page 3 June 2012

operations people to go home at the end of

their shift. It is also important that I bring to

the notice of all members who use any form

of tools, machinery or equipment while

working on the Railway, that it is not just a

case of “start up and go”. We need to

carefully check such items as fuel, lubricating

oil, coolant, bar oil and so on – after all, we

don’t just start up a locomotive and go as

there is considerable preparation work

involved – and we need to use the same

careful method for all the tools, machinery

and equipment so that we are not continually

spending time and money on repairs which

could be avoided by thorough and careful

preparation. It takes only a few minutes for

smaller items and it may be longer for the

larger ones, but is well worth the effort. .

(Continued from page 2) Civil Branch News

Tragic News From

Good Friends Overseas The heritage railway community is not

restricted by international boundaries. We

were recently saddened to hear of an

accident at the North Yorkshire Moors

Railway in the UK, where a volunteer guard

was killed in a shunting accident.

The accident occurred following the

uncoupling of a coach from the end of a rake

of coaches stabled in one of the platforms at

Grosmont. As the uncoupled coach was being

drawn off by a steam locomotive working

tender first, the direction of the movement

changed, causing the locomotive and coach to

move back towards the rake of vehicles from

which they had been uncoupled. This resulted

in the guard, who was carrying out the

actions necessary following the uncoupling,

being crushed between the coaches.

The Rail Accident Investigations Branch

preliminary examination and tests found that

when the steam locomotive concerned (an ex

Southern Railway S15 class) was working

tender first, the reverser could change from

reverse to forward gear unless it was

prevented from doing so by the operation of

a locking device. Should the reverser not be

secured in position, any change may not be

noticed by the driver and, in these

circumstances, would only become evident

on opening the regulator, when a change in

direction would occur.

This accident highlights the dangers involved

in railway operations, when accidents do

occur, hence it being included in this

newsletter.

We have extended our sympathies to all the

volunteers of the North Yorkshire Moors

Railway at this very sad and traumatic time

for them.

Rail from Wodonga-

Bandiana Dismantling of the 20km or so of rail from

the Wodonga-Bandiana railway is progressing

apace thanks to the huge efforts of a team of

about 12 volunteers who have contributed in

excess of 160 days of work so far with quite a

bit yet to go.

To date we have pulled out all the dogspikes

– approximately 60,000 of them; unbolted

about 70% of fishplated joints; and stockpiled

approximately 1km of rail cut into semitrailer

lengths. The major work left to do includes

towing rails to stockpiles and cutting them

into lengths suitable for semi-trailers. At our

current rate of progress we still have about

25 days work left which will take us through

to mid July. If you would like to help please

contact Art Lynch on 0427 705 395.

New Equipment For VGR

Track Gangs For many years VGR track gangs have

worked using very worn mechanical

equipment or have done the job by hand.

Constant breakdowns have made using the

old machines with their limited capability very

hard work and often counter productive. All

this is about to change with the imminent

arrival of some new equipment.

The equipment about to arrive includes:

a Takeuchi 8.3 tonne wheeled

excavator,

a sleeper grab to suit,

a tamping head to suit,

a hydraulic dogspike puller (already in

use at Wodonga),

a rail saw (also in use at Wodonga), and

a rail drill.

This equipment will make routine tasks such

as replacing sleepers and rails much simpler

and allow our aging track workers to keep

ahead of the routine maintenance and

upgrading of the track. Next month we

should have lots of pictures of the machinery

in action. Volunteers interested in using this

equipment should contact John Shaw on 0427

352 416.

Regular Volunteer Track

Work With much of our effort currently devoted to

dismantling and transporting the rail from

Wodonga, we have had to postpone regular

weekend volunteer work parties. However

once the new track has all been despatched

to Maldon and Muckleford we will be re-

instituting regular weekend track work.

In the meantime there is regular track-work

being done every week with our ganger Brad

Cooper out with a team each Thursday and

Friday replacing sleepers and carrying out the

myriad of tasks needed to keep our track safe

to run trains on. If you would like to help

Brad please contact him on 0429 843 427 or

John Shaw on 0427 352 416.

John Shaw

Civil Manager

A scene soon to be repeated - with a brand new machine! Will Maylor captured volunteers at

work back in August 2007 working to replace sleepers with the back-hoe. Soon, we’ll be able to do this with the Takeuchi machine.

Page 4 June 2012

Castlemaine - Maldon Railway in the VR Days by Adrian Ponton

On Sunday 20th May I was a guest of the

Victorian Goldfields Railway for the day,

which was a most enjoyable experience. In a

casual discussion with one of the volunteers I

happened to mention I made a number of

trips on the line while it was still part of the

Victorian Railways. Some work and some

pleasure.

To set the scene, 40 years ago I was still at

school, doing what is now Year 12, which had

only just changed name from Matriculation to

Higher School Certificate. As I understand it

another name change some years ago made it

VCE (referred to by many as Very Cruel

Experiment). So there has been a great deal

of change, yet in many respects many of my

recollections about a trip on the goods are as

fresh as if they were yesterday.

Riding goods trains had become a regular

school holiday activity for me, with my first

experiences occurring in January 1969 with

Maffra, Wonthaggi and Stony Point amongst

my first sorties. So I planned my journeys by

conducting extensive research, to the extent I

often embarrassed the booking clerk selling

the ticket. My response to “you can’t go

there it’s not in the timetable” was to

produce a letter signed by the Chief

Commercial Manager of the Victorian

Railways authorising me to travel on goods

trains, provided they were not conveying

explosives or operating into or through the

Melbourne Yard.

1972 was also the last year of the ‘real’

Victorian Railways, as in May 1973, the first

recommendation of the Report into Victorian

Land Transport conducted by Sir Henry Bland

was implemented. This involved replacing the

three Railway Commissioners with a Board.

For this particular journey on Thursday 18th

May 1972, I purchased a student concession

economy return ticket to Cohuna. Travel by

suburban train to Spencer Street and meeting

up with a school friend occurred prior to

boarding the 8.45 a.m. Great Northern

Limited (it was before the Victorian Railways

introduced the 24 hour clock). If you were ‘in

the know’, entering the platforms at Spencer

Street via the old southern concourse

avoided having to queue on the ramp like

sheep waiting for the barrier staff to open the

gates and allow you onto the train. This had

two advantages, you avoided having the ticket

nipped and you had the choice of seats ahead

of the swarm. The rules at Spencer Street in

the 1970’s were such that passengers were

not normally permitted onto the country

platforms until the locomotive was attached.

On this occasion, the train departed Spencer

Street at 8.45 a.m. precisely and there was no

delay negotiating Franklin Street as North

Laanecoorie, (in fact in 1884 a ‘permanent

survey’ was conducted from Shelbourne to

Llanelly) but this proposal did not proceed

much beyond Shelbourne before it was

abandoned. Passenger services on the Maldon

and Shelbourne sections of line also had an

interesting story, with the car goods service

to Shelbourne being withdrawn along with

the regular Castlemaine – Maldon Rail Motor

service in January 1941, falling victim to

wartime fuel shortages.

Shelbourne’s salvation during the 1950’s

network rationalisation was the existence of

the GEB silos. Equally, the line between

Maldon and Shelbourne had no lengthy

timber bridges requiring costly ongoing

maintenance. However, on Wednesday 8th

January 1969 the Maldon – Shelbourne line

was severely damaged by bushfire with 5

miles of track and 4 bridges damaged or

destroyed. Despite protests and deputations

from the local farming community, including

offers to provide labour and materials free of

charge to rebuild the line, the line closed on

and from the 1st January 1970. I suspect the

last train on the line would have run on

Monday 6th January 1969, as the regular

service ran on Mondays. (I note the Working

Timetable suggests 8th January as the date of

the last train.)

I have digressed, although somewhere in my

collection of slides I have photos of

Shelbourne Junction (freshly spiked out of

use) and the Maldon turntable which were

(Continued on page 5)

Melbourne was passed 3 minutes later, after

all we were still a vertically integrated

railway.. The train, hauled by B 61, and the

consist was 37 BPL, 42 BW, 8 AZ, 52 BE (a/c)

and a CE van. Normally the consist would be

B Loco, BW (detach at Bendigo) AS, BS, CE.

However, as it was school holidays the extra

BPL was included in the consist. On

Thursdays in 1972 the 8.45 a.m. Bendigo train

did not continue to Swan Hill.

The train ran to time and the journey was

relatively uneventful. In my notes I recorded

overtaking a Down Goods at Clarkefield

(which was most likely No 101 if required

Goods ex Geelong) and another Down

Goods at Kyneton (No 111 Down Woodend

– Bendigo Roadside Goods). I also noted with

during the 1 minute stop at Taradale 1

passenger alighted and 3 joined the train. The

train arrived at Castlemaine at 10.39 a.m. (6

minutes late) and we alighted.

Now, it was necessary to approach the

Station Master and make arrangements to

travel on the Thursday goods to Maldon,

which was scheduled to depart at 11.20 a.m.

With the letter of introduction there were

no problems in purchasing a two return

tickets to Maldon, obviously the Station

Master was accustomed to such unusual

requests on Thursdays.

The Maldon line, having opened on 16th June

1884, was extended to Shelbourne on 24th

March 1891. There was also a proposal in the

1890’s to extend the line further to

Fireman, Stuart Turnbull looks out the driver’s window as the author stands behind him. Guard,

Phil Leslie and driver, Tony Marsden relax on the platform.

Page 5 June 2012

taken on Monday 13th January 1969.

But back to Castlemaine and Thursday 18th

May 1972, we soon became aware that things

were not going to plan. Somehow we learned

that the Maldon goods was going to be late as

the 7.30 a.m. No 54 Roadside Goods from

Bendigo, which provided the locomotive,

crew and van for the Maldon goods had

departed late from Bendigo and would be

quite late arriving at Castlemaine. So we went

‘down the street’ and most likely purchased

fish and chips for lunch.

Back at the station after a short distraction

with lunch and we had found the Down

Roadside Goods from Woodend had (No

111 8.10 a.m. ex Woodend) had arrived in

the Up (East Yard) detached the vehicles, ran

around the van and commenced its return

journey to Woodend as No. 54 Roadside

Goods.

In due course the Roadside Goods from

Bendigo arrived, only about 2 hours behind

the timetable. In a very short time it had

transformed into No 1, 11.20 a.m. Maldon

Goods. Y159, UB 29 and ZL 669 being the

train. We moved along the yard at 1.52 p.m.

(2½ hours late) with the appropriate discs

being ‘turned off’. This was followed by a

short pause to acquire a Castlemaine –

Newstead Miniature Electric Staff from the

signalman (no gender neutral terms in 1972)

and with a proceed aspect on the home signal

it was off at breakneck speed (of up to 40

mph) on the 1 mile jaunt to Maldon Junction.

Arrival here was at 1.56 p.m., only 2 hours

and 32 minutes behind the timetable.

The train stopped clear of the junction and

the guard walked forward and proceeded

with the ritual of an unattended junction, for

which the timetable allowed 9 minutes!

The Miniature Electric Staff was inserted in

the drawer lock at the points, the two lever

ground frame was operated and the train

proceeded clear of the junction before again

coming to a stand. The guard having locked

the points by reversing the 2 levers along

with the action of releasing the staff via the

drawer in the staff lock secured the main line

points. The Miniature Electric Staff was then

free to be inserted into the Intermediate

Electric Staff Instrument and the train was

ready to proceed once the guard re-joined

the train. He had already given the crew the

Maldon Junction – Maldon Train Staff. All this

activity occurred between 1.56 p.m. and 2.09

p.m. In the traditional days of the VR, guards

earned their keep in these circumstances,

despite the Premier, Sir Henry Bolte, having

stated “… why do we have guards ... they

only are there to go for the ride.”

There was a further ritual at the nearby

Midland Highway level crossing, while the

hand gates were swung, the train proceeded

(Continued from page 4) to say “good bye and thank you.”

With two passengers in the taxi and heading

to Castlemaine, the driver says casually “…

the book is in the glove box….” I had no idea

what he was talking about, so I opened the

glove box to see the taxi voucher book. He

thought we were VR employees! We soon

arrived at Castlemaine station and paid our

fare in cash – about $3.00 from memory.

The Down Bendigo (and Swan Hill) train

arrived at 3.44 p.m. (two minutes late) with B

60 hauling 15 BPL, 16 ABE, 31 BW, 2 AZ, 4

BS and 21 CE. (The BPL was extra for school

holiday traffic). Departure was at 3.48 p.m.

(still two minutes late) and arrival at Bendigo

was three minutes early at 4.22 p.m. The B

and the three leading cars were detached, a T

attached and the Swan Hill train departed

around 4.40 p.m. We noted J 550 was the

yard pilot shunting passenger carriages.

My colleague was returning to Melbourne on

the 5.20 p.m. Up from Bendigo and I boarded

the 5.10 p.m. Cohuna service being run by 57

RM. There had been enough time for a quick

meal in the Railway Refreshment Rooms

prior to departure.

Departure of the Cohuna service was on time

at 5.10 p.m., however by North Bendigo

Junction it was apparent that all was not well

with 57 RM. We came to a stand at White

Hills, whilst the driver tried to rectify the

problem(s). We got going again after three

stops and a total 12 minutes delay, arriving at

Goornong at 5.52 p.m. (14 minutes late) and

crossing an Up Goods hauled by Y 143 and

385 ZL bringing up the rear. (I did not record

what was on the train but I suspect it was an

Up from Echuca, possibly No 144, if required,

Goods scheduled out of Echuca at 3.45 p.m.

and due at Bendigo at 7.30 p.m.).

Arrival of the Down Motor at Elmore was

6.10 p.m. some 16 minutes late. The six

passengers were told the train would

terminate here and a bus had been organised

to take them to Cohuna. I did not want to go

to Cohuna and back on a bus so I arranged

with the Station Master to travel on the Up

Goods sitting in No 2 Road back to Bendigo.

This train was in fact the Up Cohuna Goods

(which ran on Mondays and Thursdays having

departed Cohuna at 3.00 p.m. or

thereabouts). The train consisted of T 383, a

significant number of 4-wheeled louvre vans

and 63 ZL bringing up the rear. Departure

from Elmore was at 7.02 p.m. and arrival at

Bendigo was 8.20 p.m. and I was able to find

suitable nearby accommodation.

The next morning, Friday 19th May 1972, I

decided to visit Rangelea and as the Bendigo

trams were no longer running I walked. This

involved walking past the North Bendigo

Workshops where a K was shunting Harris

carriages that were there for walk-through

conversion. My notes record J 550, W 242

(Continued on page 6)

and the gates restored. I did not record who

undertook this important task, but my

faltering memory suggests this was done by

someone other than the guard. I think there

was a female gatekeeper here (most likely the

wife of the ganger). Certainly there was a

female gatekeeper there for the last train.

However in the intervening years between

this journey and the last train the standard

hand gates had been changed to hand

operated boom arms!

The line speed of 20 m.p.h. was easily

attained as the train proceeded over Winter’s

Flat and the Pyrenees Highway bridges. The

usual rhythm of the ZL van travelling over the

track joints was something that I was very

familiar with, after having, by this stage,

travelled in the guard’s vans of goods trains

on most of the light lines throughout the

State on regular trains.

I recall at Muckleford the tracks were

completely obscured by a healthy crop of

knee high weeds, and the train reduced speed

as we negotiated this obstacle, as the crew

had no way of determining if the track was

actually there!

Arrival at Maldon was at 2.50 p.m. only 2

hours and 25 minutes late. Some quick

decisions were required. We had already

explained to the guard that we needed to be

back at Castlemaine by 3.40 p.m. to catch No

103 passenger train from Spencer Street to

Bendigo, as I was going to Cohuna. So the

guard explained the situation to the crew and

they got on with the shunt whilst we

negotiated with the Caretaker our options

for getting to Castlemaine in time.

It was subsequently learned the Caretaker,

was Ms Joan Tatt, who had been in the role

since April 1971 and was the daughter of the

last ASM to be appointed to Maldon. The

position of ASM Maldon was downgraded to

Caretaker in November 1969 (coinciding

with the decision by the Railway

Commissioners not to repair and reopen the

Maldon – Shelbourne section of line).

Our driver was keen to get us at least to

Muckleford and genuinely apologised that the

train was so late and arrangements were

made via the Caretaker for a taxi rendezvous

at Muckleford, as getting us back to

Castlemaine in time was out of the question.

After a 9 minute (yes only 9 minutes) shunt,

test brakes and book the taxi we were off.

The load on the Up was Y 159 hauling GY

3821, RY 980, U 1083, I 15843 with ZL 669

again bringing up the rear. Departure was at

2.59 p.m. and we arrived at Muckleford at

3.21 p.m. The agreement with the crew was

they would wait 10 minutes in case the taxi

did not turn up and we would return to

Castlemaine on the goods and I would forgo

my trip to Cohuna. However, the taxi turned

up on cue and the train paused for two

minutes to let us off and – just enough time

Page 6 June 2012

and W 243 were the Bendigo Pilots. K 175

and K 176 were the workshops pilots and K

167 along with J 538 and J 558 were stored at

Bendigo Loco. I also recorded 26 RM, 34 RM

and 54 MT were at Bendigo Loco along with

T’s 405, 407 and 343.

I returned to Bendigo station in the hope of

watching the ‘11.30 a.m. to 12.00 noon peak.

However this was somewhat diminished, as

not only had the Cohuna motor failed at

Elmore the previous evening, the Up

Deniliquin DERM had failed at Echuca.

Eventually a 102 HP DRC, 5 RM arrived at

Bendigo, it was the Up Balranald – Echuca

Rail Motor which should have terminated at

Echuca, but was utilised to substitute for the

defective DERM ex Deniliquin. 59 RM hauling

23 C arrived from Korong Vale at 11.25 a.m.

The 8.45 a.m. train from Melbourne arrived

at 11.20 a.m. with B 72 hauling 65 BPL, 42

BW, 8 AZ, 52 BE and 5 CE. B 72 and 65 BPL

were quickly detached and T 405 came on to

the train before proceeding to Swan Hill.

The 1200 noon Up Bendigo Passenger train

departed at 12.03 p.m. with B 73, T 405 and

T 383 hauling 37 BPL, 11 AW, 61 BW,

Taggerty, 4 BS, 2 AZ and 21 CE. (Normally

this train would be – CE, AZ, BZ, (ex Swan

Hill); with Taggerty, and two BW’s being

(Continued from page 5)

I made 3 more journeys on the Maldon line

before it closed. In 1973 I was on a charter

run with a DERM, in 1975 another go on a

goods, which by this stage was cancelled

more than it ran and finally on the last train.

These trips can be written up at some time in

the future, but may not be as detailed unless I

can find my log books for them. Certainly, if

there is sufficient interest I will write

something on the ‘last train’ and this will

make interesting reading complete with an

account of the stall and divide in the last half

mile to Maldon.

Somewhere I should have slides and photos

and these will be sorted as a retirement

project and may ultimately be shared with the

readers assuming they have not deteriorated.

Finally, I would like to thank the CMRPS

Board for affording me the opportunity to

have a really enjoyable day on the railway

along with Tony (Ashcat) Marsden and Stuart

Turnbull, the locomotive crew and Phil Leslie

the guard for being there. Also the other

volunteers who regularly donate their time to

make the VGR successful need to be

mentioned. Additionally, Tony deserves a

special 2nd mention for inspiring me to look

up my old note books and write something to

share with you.

attached at Bendigo so again a BPL had been

added for the school holidays). I made sure I

was in ‘Taggerty’ the wooden bodied buffet

car allocated to the Bendigo line for the first

sitting and most likely had bangers and mash

and ‘Railway Coffee” – long since forgotten

VR specialties. Along the way there was a B

on a Down goods on the Down Side of

Woodend, another B on a Down Goods at

Macedon and a B on yet another goods

between Riddell and Clarkefield. These trains

were most probably No 125, 9.00 a.m.

Melbourne Yard – Bendigo ‘if required’

Goods; No 129 10.00 a.m. Melbourne Yard

to Bendigo ‘if required’ Goods; and finally No

139 11.00 a.m. Melbourne Yard to Bendigo

Through Goods (Monday – Saturday). Arrival

at No 1 Platform Spencer Street was at 2.34

p.m. only 9 minutes late, but given the 60

MPH imposed maximum speed limit by

including the T’s on the train, not a bad

outcome.

It was then home to suburbia and a ‘holiday’

from riding the rails, as I had to concentrate

on school for the rest of the year.

Looking back at events of 40 years ago there

can be many observations about how the

Victorian Railways were irreversibly changed

over the ensuing decades. This is just a small

insight into what was probably a typical 36

hours on the Bendigo line and branches.

Staff Changes We advise that Rod Gamble has resigned from the Railway. Rod, as most of you will know, has spent some months working with Mick

Compagnoni and the volunteers in the Workshop at Maldon. Rod spent a great deal of time on the final work done to return J 515 to service and

the many hours of work done by both he and Mick are evidenced by the relatively trouble-free performance of the loco since its return to

service. As well, he has been working on J 549 to progress this locomotive’s return to service. Rod has made valuable contribution to the interior

of the workshop as well as to external aspects particularly the storage of fuel and other flammable products and a long overdue clean up of the

“B” van used for storage outside the main doors to the workshop. His experience gained over many years employed by the Metropolitan Fire

Brigade and put to good use on the Railway has been invaluable.

We wish Rod and his wife all the best as they prepare to move to a new home and look forward to seeing Rod around the Railway as he has

indicated his willingness to assist where needed with locomotive or carriage work.

A DERM on the Maldon line, but not in 1973. 61RM departs Muckleford for Castlemaine on the 8th of May in 2010

Page 7 June 2012

Our Proud Sponsors

Page 8 June 2012

The Psychological Factor in Locomotive Running

by David Barnett

The 21st of December, 1964. The weather

was warm and the Christmas season in full

swing. People were travelling in increasing

numbers with additional trains being

scheduled to cater for them. Also, to clear

back loading, goods services were being

supplemented, with a 5pm Ararat – Ballarat

set down for this day. The Driver was Elso

Arendshorst and I was the Fireman.

Our return working from Ballarat made it an

interesting job. This was the 11-44pm

passenger, which, in fact, was the 2nd Division

of the Overland.

The load for the 5pm was moderate and B77

had no difficulty in arriving at its destination

before 7. On being relieved, we made the

most of our time in Ballarat. The evening was

warm and many of the shops and stores were

still open. The major thoroughfares displayed

Christmas decorations and the atmosphere

was decidedly festive. Having had our evening

meal we agreeably strolled around, enjoying

the sights and subconsciously thinking how

good it was to be being paid for this activity.

As the 11-44pm was going to be diesel hauled

we had no engine to prepare and around

9-30 pm casually made our way back to

Ballarat station. We had a long wait. To

depart at 11-44, the 2nd Division of the

Overland was due to arrive at 11-24 pm and

remain for a 20 minute scheduled

refreshment stop. Instead, it arrived at 11-

55pm, over half an hour late. Its 9 car, 405

tonne load sat comfortably in the platform.

Oh for an R class! But no. Instead, we had a

rather non-descript looking B76.

The 20 minute refreshment stop was sensibly

reduced to 10 minutes and we were

therefore 21 minutes late. We were

determined to recover as much of the

timetable as possible by doing our best to run

the 57 miles to Ararat inside even time. That

is, at an average speed of over 60 mph.

Elso Arendshorst was a clean cut, tall

Dutchman in his early to middle thirties. He

spoke English with a slight accent, was good

company and an excellent mate on the

footplate. He was also an excellent engineman

and one prepared to rise to the challenge of

making up time.

With the Vigilance Control checked and in

order, I entered our names in the loco’s Log

Book, together with details of our train and

its timing. The Log bookings, as expected,

revealed nothing about the locomotive. I

readied the hand lamp and waited for the

“Right away”. This came at 12-05am. I

exchanged hand signals with the Guard and

we were away. There was not a moment to

lose and our departure was brisk. The double

“Windermere – Burrumbeet” as the

authority to proceed was received into the

cab. And on we went. Burrumbeet passed as

a blur of lights at 70 mph and the slightly

undulating track to Trawalla saw the speed

recorder needle sitting right on the limit, with

B76 equal to the task and seeming to enjoy it.

We were doing well. A speed of 68 mph was

considered slow and hence every effort was

made to stay on 70. A rare exception was

passing through Beaufort. Here, the right

hand curve on the down side was limited to

65. A minor brake application brought the

speed down and we roared around that curve

and up the ensuing 1 in 50 grade in fine style.

True, after two and a half miles of this we

were down to a struggling 20 mph at the top,

but once over the three miles of 1 in 50

down soon had the speed back on 70, with

the dynamic brake keeping it there.

Our progress so far had been swift, and there

was no reason to assume that it would be

anything else until we arrived at Ararat. We

consulted our watches. As each station had

passed, precious minutes had been recovered

and our arrival time was beginning to look

respectable. By this time, clear signals and no

delays had become the norm. And Middle

Creek was no exception. Green lights all the

way. The staff exchanger was set up as the

“Distant” approached. It went smoothly into

position and with the familiar and reassuring

“clang” provided us with the permission to

speed on. “Middle Creek – Buangor” was the

call, confirmed by the Driver and I placed the

metal ring in its appropriate place.

(Continued on page 9)

track past Wendouree soon ended and we

were heading for Linton Junction. A five

second press on the Vigilance Control

produced the characteristic hiss of air and I

was free to set up the automatic staff

exchanger.

As the floor panel covering the apparatus was

raised a rush of air entered the cab together

with the muffled sound of the leading bogie

striking the rail joints. As the green light of

the Linton Junction Distant signal flashed past

the air operated exchanger slid down its

runners and into position. There was the

sound of wheels going over points, then the

reassuring “clang” as the outgoing staff was

transferred to the locomotive. A flick of a

small lever brought the staff exchanger back

into the cab and the metal exchange ring and

staff were quickly retrieved.

“Linton Junction – Windermere” I called as

the driver was presented with staff. He

checked it, handed it back and I placed the

metal ring on the two vertical sun visor

shields on the inside of the centre windscreen

pillar. Speed was increasing. “How fast are we

going, Elso; Have we reached 70 yet?”

“Too fast”, came the reply.” “71, 72, 73;” and

the throttle went back to notch 6, allowing

the speed to ease.

It soon became obvious that B76 was a good

thing and well able to recover time. On the

gently falling grades to Windermere speed

remained right on 70 or a shade over and

with all the signals green the staff exchanger

fulfilled its task and I was able to call

Mark Bau photographed B 66 hauling an all wooden consist on a Ballarat to Spencer St. pass

down Ingliston bank as it approaches Bank Box loop. The photo was taken on the 31st October in 1981. More of Mark’s wonderful collection of photos can be found at

www.victorianrailways.net/

Page 9 June 2012

Once again our watches were consulted. We

had departed Ballarat 21 minutes late and had

recovered a quite remarkable 7 minutes! At

70 mph, Buangor was less than 4 minutes

away. After that, Ararat, fourteen and a half

miles distant, should enable more time to be

recovered. This would depend on getting a

good run at the couple of miles of 1 in 50 up

grade on the down side of Buangor. With

the clear run we had experienced so far this

would not be a problem. And after this, there

was five miles of down grade before Ararat.

We began to relax a little. Our arrival time

was improving by the minute.

Meanwhile, at about the time we were

passing through Beaufort, in the orderly

environment of Ballarat Train Control, miles

away from our footplate action, the Train

Controller was on the telephone. He had

been contacted by the Signalman at Ararat

“A” Box. Number 88, up fast goods with a T

class in charge was ready to depart. Should he

let it go?

The Controller was far removed from the

cab of B76 but he had ample evidence of what

was going on. His train graph, drawn from the

information received from each staff station,

showed by its flat trajectory that the point to

point timings of the 2nd Division of The

Overland were fast. He could see also, that

barring any delay, the crew on the locomotive

would make up more time before reaching

Ararat.

He had two options. He could hold Number

88 at Ararat until the interstate express

arrived. While this would mean a delay of

some 25 minutes, it would enable that train

to recover important lost time. And holding

88 at Ararat would also mean it could run to

Ballarat without stopping.

Or, he could let 88 go. This would mean it

would take siding at Buangor to cross the

North West express; a delay of about 15

minutes. Hopefully, it would get there in

sufficient time to enable the Signalman to set

up the auto staff exchanger and make the

road without having to delay the passenger

train.

He made a few mental calculations, then gave

the man in Ararat “A” Box his answer.

“OK, let her go.” The Signalman got busy.

Using the appropriate bell codes he obtained

line clear from Buangor, received authority to

withdraw a staff from his instrument, inserted

this staff into a cane hoop, set the road,

pulled off a disc allowing access to the main

line and left the Box to deliver the staff to the

crew on Number 88. A long whistle on the

air horn brought a green light from the Guard

and they were away.

On arrival at Buangor the “Distant” was

yellow and they were signalled into No 2

(Continued from page 8) past the “Distant”, Elso had his hand on the

brake handle and was about to bring the train

to a stand when the signals for No 1 road

went from red to green.

I immediately had the staff placed in a cane

hoop, wound down the fireman’s side cab

door window and prepared to effect a hand

exchange. This completed, I read out the

section names: Buangor –Ararat “A”. These

were confirmed and we began to accelerate

away towards our destination. It was difficult

to estimate the time that this delay cost.

However, being ever the optimist, I called

across the cab, “we can still achieve

something.”

The reply was unprintable. Nevertheless the

throttle was back in notch 8 and we were

moving in the right direction. But we had lost

vital momentum. It was a struggle to reach 50

mph for a short stretch before coming back

to 35 at top of the minor grade out of

Buangor. From there, speed gradually

dropped back over the next two and half

miles until we slogged over the final summit

at 15.

But now it was down hill! Speed rose quickly.

With the aid of the dynamic brake 70 mph

was maintained for the best part of 5 miles.

Then it was well over 60 for the remainder of

our journey. Smooth braking brought our

train into Ararat at 12-58am, 14 minutes late.

Not on time, but a commendable effort all

the same!

Despite being checked at Buangor, we had

reached Ararat in 53 minutes, with our

average speed for the 57 miles being 64.5

mph, or 104.5 Km/hr.

If Train Controllers underwent any special

training, the psychological effects of their

decisions was certainly not part of it!

road. On receiving the staff the Signalman

called up, “You’ll cross the pass here.” The

train came to a stand at the departure Home

signal and the Fireman attended to the

crossing lights on the locomotive; a red light

on the danger side and a white light on the

clear side. Meanwhile the Signalman urgently

inserted the incoming staff into his

instrument, obtained line clear from Ararat

“A” Box, withdrew an outgoing staff and

having heard the air horn of the approaching

passenger train, left the down “Distant” at

caution and set the remaining No 1 road

signals to clear. Then, with the staff inserted

into a cane hoop he hurried to the edge of

the platform, where with his hand lamp

indicating the point of exchange, waited for

the incoming staff from the 2nd Division of

The Overland.

While as yet unknown to the crew of this

train, the events surrounding No 88 fast

goods were about to unfold with the most

demoralizing consequences.

Approaching Buangor at well over a mile a

minute, all our efforts at time keeping seemed

to count for nothing. The Distant signal was

at “Caution”. The throttle went into idle and

a long BLAMP on the air horn let everyone

know of our disappointment and disbelief.

And that wasn’t all. Disappointment soon

turned to angry frustration and the cab roof

above the Driver reeled under a tirade of

unprintable but understandable words.

Couldn’t those in authority see and

appreciate the efforts we were making?

Apparently not.

The signal did not change and a heavy service

brake application brought the train under

control. Speed dropped rapidly; 50 mph, 40,

30, 25, 20 and it became obvious what was

going on. No 88 was sitting in no 2 road with

its crossing lights well displayed. As we rolled

Leonie Briggs, Pam and Melissa Gale are about to prepare delicious meals for our visitors at

Steam Trains for Kids. Our next Steam for Kids weekend is being held on the 14th & 15th of July

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 10 June 2012

Off the Rails

Why Do We Volunteer?

To meet different people out of our

circle of current friends

To know we are helping another

person’s day more enjoyable

To be committed and dedicated to an

organisation

For self-satisfaction and serving to

another

We all know well ahead when our rostered

day of service is organised. Please remember

that if you cannot commit for that day, please

attempt to organise someone else to fill your

role for you or, notify the roster manager,

Russell Chapman on 0488 539 419 or via email

at servicesroster@vgr.com.au so he can have

time to find someone to replace or swap with

you. Last minute “No Shows” on the day or

falls heavily on volunteers already stretched on

passenger service days. This becomes evident

to our passengers, then they notice how under

pressure we are and not happy in our working

roles.

Of course we all get the dreaded lurgy or bug

during the course of the year or family

commitment, event or holiday and these

situations can’t be helped.

So let’s all give a heartfelt thought the next

time we decide not to show up, because it’s

too cold or wet, or we can’t be bothered this

month. Our fellow volunteers will be struggling

if we don’t show up!

Full Steam ahead

Christine Gibb

Operational Reminders

Castlemaine Booking Officers Castlemaine Booking clerks are reminded that,

between trains, they are requested to phone

all crews for the following operating day to

ascertain their availability. This includes both

the operational and services crews. For

instance, the Wednesday booking clerk will

telephone crews for the Sunday following and

the Sunday clerk for the Wednesday. Please

note, if any of the rostered crews are

unavailable, for any reason, they are to be

reminded that is their responsibility to arrange

a swap for their rostered turn and to notify

the appropriate roster officer of the changes.

This we hope, will alleviate some of the recent

episodes where rostered staff have not turned

to and there have been major delays to train

services as a result. There are also possibilities

that where services do run late, that issues

relating to fatigue may arise.

Shunting Elsewhere in this issue of the Newsletter,

there is a report into a fatality which occurred

on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway in the

U.K. earlier this year. It will be seen that the

likely cause of this episode relates to shunting

and all train crews and others who are

involved in shunting are urged to exercise all

care and remain extremely vigilant during

shunting operations. Please remember that

hand signals are to be given directly to the

driver, where possible; if circumstances dictate

otherwise it is important that the

communication of hand signals between

fireman and driver is accurate and that the

move is what is intended. We need to

remember – REDUCE THE RISK!

Brake Pipe Hoses Also, and related to shunting moves, all those

who are involved in shunting operations are

requested, before uncoupling locomotives

from trains, or uncoupling wagons or

carriages, to MANUALLY separate the brake

pipe hoses before lifting coupling pins.

This is important because every time brake

pipe hoses are left coupled and are allowed to

open when the adjacent locomotive or vehicle

moves away, severe strain is placed on the

seals which are now expensive to replace. The

co-operation of all in performing this relatively

easy step will be appreciated.

Equipment Use All staff and volunteers when using any

equipment on the railway, please ensure that

the appropriate checks have been carried out

BEFORE starting the equipment. This is to

avoid costly and time consuming work to

remedy such obvious things as no fuel, or no

lubricating oil or chain saws not having bar oil

and so on. Please take a few minutes before

starting what ever job to check that the

equipment is ready and fit for purpose.

Conductors The efforts of conductors in carrying and

selling guidebooks is most appreciated. Could

conductors please ensure that they take an

adequate number of copies in the morning

from the shop and return any unsold copies at

the end of the day.

Lost Oiling Syringe Driver & regular newsletter contributor Tony

Marsden lost an oiling syringe on Sunday May

20. Tony believes it has been misplaced during

the journey and has searched the line twice

without success.

It is a brass cylinder about 20cm [8"] long & 5

cm [2"] in diameter. It has an oval makers label

with the word 'Petroleum' on it. Should

anyone see it lineside or have picked it up

could they please let us know. It has a great

sentimental value.

Vacuum Needed The vacuum cleaner at Castlemaine has

stopped working and we are hoping that a

member may have a spare one that they can

donate to the railway. It needs to be in

reasonable condition with no frayed or

damaged cords or plugs.

If you have such a vacuum that you can donate,

please call (03) 5470 6658

First Class Service

Update A number of checks and repairs have been

carried out on Tambo, with a view to re-

instating our First Class Service as soon as

possible. Both Tambo and Lowanna suffered

damage in the de-railment of Sunday 4th

March.

Tambo’s bogies are close to being re-instated

under the carriage and it is important to

recognise the assistance of our good friends at

Steamrail and at the Seymour Rail Heritage

Centre who have both assisted us to get

Tambo back on track.

Tambo will be operating as the sole First Class

carriage for some time and hence will be

operating without power during the day. This

does mean that we will need to prepare food

in the kitchen at Maldon and carry it on-board

in our food carriers. All volunteers are

reminded that assistance should be sought

when carrying heavy items.

First Class travel for First Class passengers will

soon be back at the VGR.