March 2010

Castlemaine and Maldon Railway

Preservation Society Members

Newsletter

The Big Move Special Thanks

Special thanks go to Russell Sheehan who assisted us to get the power re-connected at Maldon.

We Need... Volunteers who can assist

as crowd controllers at the upcoming Steam for Kids event. You simply need to be good with people as on-site training will be provided on the day. Please contact Shirley Frewin on 0427 602 882

Timber suitable for making some toilet doors for our brand new toilet block at Maldon.

2 Shipping Containers - preferably delivered.

1 electrician to test and tag some of our equipment

Commercial grade kitchen equipment including conventional ovens, microwave ovens, steamers, rangehoods, benchtops and spashbacks

Volunteers interested in carriage restoration - in particular painters, carpenters, upholsterers and glaziers

Fitters and Welders

Prompt return of membership renewals!

If you can assist us with any of these, please contact Rob Fletcher on (03) 5470 6658

After the decision was made to substantially clean up Maldon yard and arrange for surplus rolling stock to be transferred to Castlemaine for further storage, it became evident that a train of considerable size would have to be arranged. As well as 3 HD covered wagons, the surplus Water gin, the C van (aka Hotel Stewart) there were several sets of bogies from under passenger cars of different classes as well as wheel sets from both freight and passenger vehicles. The C van was to remain at Maldon for the foreseeable future. Central Victoria Cranes supplied two Franna mobile cranes with drivers and a rigger to assist with moving the vans and water gin from 3A road to 3 road proper, and the decision to use a rigger as well as the drivers was well rewarded when it came to lifting and loading the bogies and wheel sets into the GY wagons which had been brought up from Castlemaine some days previously. When loading was completed, the wagons all placed in No. 2 road at Maldon presented an unusual sight – one probably not seen since the transfer days of the early 1980’s. At this time it was decided that when the move to Castlemaine took place that the goods set normally used on Driver Experience trains would be added as well for extra braking capacity. Due to the annual shut down in February, the Civil branch under the able direction of Acting Manager John Shaw was doing some work on the Muckleford Creek trestle bridge. As soon as this work was completed the transfer train was able to operate. At 7.30 am on the morning of the move, second person Paul McDonald signed on and prepared diesel loco Y 133. While preparation was taking place driver Steve Lumsden arrived and having signed on, had some discussions with the workshop staff regarding securing the load as we were anxious that any possibility of wheel sets in particular, but also bogies, moving around during the journey, needed to be minimised. During train examination a couple of suspect wagon doors were secured, chains and dogs tightened up, and the load calculated at 19 wagons for 230 tons – the longest and probably heaviest train to have run on the Castlemaine to Maldon line for some years! Shortly after 9.15 am Y 133 eased the train out of Maldon yard and it was eyes all round as the falling grade out of the station was negotiated carefully. Once over Bendigo Road the train successfully made it through the dips between miles 88 and 87 and then the long down grade towards the Muckleford Creek where some braking technique was needed to keep the train within the speed limit. As the train approached Castlemaine a lot of interest in such a long goods train was shown by bystanders and motorists alike, especially at the Midland Highway level crossing. Once clear of Maldon Junction the throttle was wide open for the climb up through the curves towards Rowe Street. Even house builders were seen to down tools and walk to the edge of the street to see what all the fuss was about as the train passed on its way into Castlemaine. Shortly after, the transfer special arrived safely in Castlemaine and a quick look at the train revealed all good – nothing had moved during the trip, all wagon doors remained secured and some smart shunting had all the wagons in the far (Bendigo) end of No. 3 siding without incident. The photo, above, shows a view of the loco and wagons just off the Muckleford Creek bridge where an inspection stop was made to check the load and for any hot axle boxes. The photo on the following page shows the train before departure from Maldon – now for the next stage and hopefully we’ll have more of that in the next edition of the Members Newsletter.

Page 2 March 2010

President’s Column with Paul McDonald

We are almost at the end of another year for the Railway. Many members may not be aware of the huge amount of work that goes on behind the scenes to maintain the financial side of the business we are running, and are responsible for. The Society is fortunate to have as its financial controller or treasurer, Rob Fletcher. Rob who is well known to many members through the days he is at the Railway as either Booking Officer, or Station Master, or first class car attendant in Tambo, has developed over the last two or three years a masterful understanding of budget preparation and control. Without a structured and well-monitored budget process in place, a business such as the size of the one the Board is charged with running, would not succeed. Over the next few weeks the Branch, or Divisional Managers will be asked for their input on spending for the next 12 months so that the Financial Controller and his team are able to prepare Budgets for the year ahead and present to the Board for their consideration in good time. In addition to the Budgetary aspect of running the Railway, there is also a requirement to continually monitor the business plan under which the Society prepares for the years ahead and what we plan to achieve within a given time frame. A number of initiatives are under consideration by the Board at present, and it is hoped that these can be presented more generally in the near future, so that members generally are able to see the way ahead. Budgeting is no easy task. There are areas where we would like to be able to spend more, however having regards to the commitments which the Society faces, especially regarding our employees, sometimes there are things which we simply cannot finance. It is with this in mind that the Board has proceeded with an arrangement for the ‘E’ type cars at Maldon to be transferred to the Seymour Rail Heritage Centre for storage and eventual restoration, since this is something that, at this time, the VGR has neither the resources nor the people to attempt. At the time of going to press, work had commenced on preparing the cars for the transfer move. This work involves under gear repairs, especially brake equipment and rigging and some body work will also be required. It is a measure of the degree of co-operation which has been achieved between the VGR and the SRHC that this move will take place and has the combined advantage of having the ‘E’ cars restored and, importantly, stored

within a secure area at Seymour, as well as the improvement in the appearance of Maldon yard. The Board recently conducted a de-brief of the Picnic at Muckleford. There was a worth while exchange of views expressed at this meeting, not the least of which was a clear expression of total support for the event from the communities of Castlemaine, Muckleford and Maldon; indeed, the general feeling among community organizations and traders was that the Picnic is here to stay. Some of the suggestions made at the meeting will be incorporated in to this year’s event which will be held on a different date and hopefully have better weather with consequently results for all involved. At press time, agreement from other organizations whose support is invaluable to the event was

still awaited, and this will be advertised as soon as known. In the near future further development work will be undertaken on the new toilets and retail area at Maldon as well as on the continuation of number 3 road at Muckleford. It is likely that these projects may require the input of members through working bees which will be advertised through the Railway’s web-site and in future newsletters, and I urge as many of you as may be available to attend if and when you can. The completion of 3 road at Muckleford will enable much wider use to me made of the goods shed as a venue for weddings and other social functions, and is an important part of future plans for the Railway. All of this would not be possible without the continued support of our tireless volunteers in many fields. The Society is fortunate to have a solid group who maintain not just day to day train operations, but also carry out the work behind the scenes – paying the bills, ordering the fuel, buying the supplies for the catered trains, sweeping the platforms, cleaning carriages and toilets, putting out rubbish bins for collection each week, and so on. Without them we would not be able to continue the operation of the Castlemaine to Maldon Railway in preserving a genuine Victorian Railways branch line railway. We also owe tribute to our hardworking Workshop Supervisor Mick Compagnoni, the marketing Manager Gary Aitchison who slaves away in sometimes difficult conditions at Castlemaine, and the Work for the Dole Supervisor Keith Meagher whom we welcome back to the Railway after a recent illness – we are pleased to have Keith back!!.

Page 3 March 2010

A Traveller’s Tale - Part 3 by Philip Ryan

My overseas trips are characterized by detailed, methodical planning. At the time of departure from Tullamarine Airport, I usually have in my pocket a spreadsheet showing exactly where I will be at any point in time, where I’ll be sleeping and what forms of transport I’ll be using as well as exact train times with all connections clearly listed. It is a document that I think would stand me in good stead should I ever be required to prove where I was when I was overseas! This spreadsheet is developed usually a long way in advance of my trips overseas and are finalized long before my holiday starts. Hence it was highly unusual on my recent trip that I had a spare day with no planned activity almost a month before I was due to depart. Once again, I was on the internet looking at various different options. One of the options that I was considering was another SteamDreams trip – this time to a place called Ely, behind a locomotive I hadn’t heard of called Bittern. I had no idea what sort of loco Bittern was and I was none-the-wiser about where Ely was, how big it was and what there was to see there. A bit of time on the internet revealed that Ely was a Cathedral city, located not far from Cambridge and that Bittern was an A4 class locomotive. It was about this time that I spoke to a couple of good friends, who also happen to be very well travelled and knowledgeable railfans about my unusual predicament of having a spare day. I also mentioned one of the options that I was considering; being the trip to Ely. Instead of receiving a sympathetic response, both of these friends looked at my in incredulity. One of them exclaimed, “How can you consider doing anything other than

that trip?” The other simply said, “How often do you think you’ll be able to travel behind an A4?” Their advice was still fresh in my mind when I sat down at the computer that night and went ahead and booked a seat to Ely. As my trip got closer, my excitement level began to increase at the thought of traveling behind an A4, that most magnificent, world record holding locomotive. Designed by Sir Nigel Gresley, the A4 would be instantly recognizable to most railfans with it’s distinctive streamlining and their number included the famous Mallard – the locomotive that still holds the world record for any

steam locomotive of 126 mp/h (202.8 km/h). The very thought of traveling behind one of Mallard’s sisters was something I came to wonder how I ever had contemplated not doing! The trip was also of interest because of the fact that while regularly scheduled trains from London to Ely would depart from one of London’s main Northern termini, Kings Cross, our trip behind Bittern would depart from Waterloo in London’s South and return to Victoria, also in London’s South. The train was to then travel round via the London overground to Stratford before making it’s way to Ely via Colchester and Ipswich. This was not the most direct route. A couple of days before the trip, I was making a last minute check in an internet café in London when I received a shock. The trip was no longer listed with Bittern as the loco. I was devastated – after my enthusiasm built up from such a low level, here I was with what felt like a real let-down. The locomotive that was listed was Tangmere, which I knew from my university studies was one of the major fighter airfields used by the RAF in the Battle of Britain and it didn’t take long to confirm that Tangmere was indeed one of the Battle of Britain class of locomotives. Tangmere is a streamlined 4-6-2 that was built for the Southern Railways in 1947 and hence the fact that Tangmere was operating out of Waterloo was more historically accurate. Arriving early at Waterloo on a cold but sunny December morning gave me chance to explore the station and I was interested to see the former Eurostar platforms, now lying idle while they were being refurbished,

A Deltic diesel locomotive hauls the train in to London Waterloo in the bright winter sunshine

Tangmere hauls the train through the Northern suburbs of London “under the wires”.

Page 4 March 2010

presumably for domestic use. I then made my way to the platform to sit in the winter sun while waiting for the train to arrive. I was joined by a few other railfans and we soon saw the heritage Deltic locomotive approaching, hauling the train with Tangmere at the rear. I wasn’t able to get as close to Tangmere as I’d hoped because the platform was partially blocked off, however I did get close enough to wonder how the crew dealt with the fact that the loco was now on a running line that used the electrified third rail to power the usual trains that ran out of Waterloo. I assume that it curtailed some of the normal practices used by steam locomotive crews such as washing out the ash pans and hosing down the footplate and the tender. I even imagine that with a lethal 750v DV running through the third rail, normal ground-level lubrication and other adjustments and checks would have to be postponed. The time came to depart and we made out of Waterloo and shortly we were curving off to the right of the mainline as we made our way on to the London Overground and round through the suburbs of London. It was interesting to see the large amount of civil works being undertaken as we wound our way through the suburbs. The journey was at a generally slow speed as we were between normal services on the suburban section. At one point, our conductor announced that we had to close all the windows as we approached a tunnel at Hampstead because of the lack of clearance through the tunnel. By this stage we had left the third rail behind us as the moved under the wires. Our first stop was Stratford where a large number of passengers were in evidence. I still managed to spend a brief spell at one of the doors with open windows where I was able to take some photos of the locomotive at the front of the train. It was interesting to observe the performance of the locomotive. Whereas behind Tornado I had noticed the lack of visible smoke and the large amount of water vapour, Tangmere was different with a considerable amount of dark coloured smoke being visible. From Stratford, we made our way to Colchester and Ipswich before leaving the electrified network as we made our way on the secondary line across to Bury St Edmonds and then on to Ely. The countryside was gently undulating and the line not as dead straight as the East Coast Main Line so there were a number of opportunities to observe Tangmere working at the front of the train. Our waterstop was at Colchester where the loco was watered alongside the platform, although still from a tanker beside the track. It was interesting to note that the train pulled in to a loop platform and that the rear of the train fouled the points, effectively blocking access to another train that was behind us. It

(Continued from page 3) was because of this that a officious British Transport Police officer attempted to keep everyone back from the locomotive and hence most passengers decided to wait on the train rather than photograph the loco at Colchester. Our arrival at Ely was a few minutes late in the early afternoon. Ely is a city of fifteen thousand people, making it the third smallest city in England. Historically, Ely was famous for a couple of reasons; firstly for the fact that Oliver Cromwell lived in Ely briefly in the 17th century, and secondly for the magnificent Cathedral that sits high in the town. Most passengers decided to visit the Ely Cathedral for a Carols concert that was the feature of the trip. A guide led us as we walked the 20 minutes to the Cathedral. Many people would be familiar with the famous churches in the UK, including Westminster Abbey, St Paul’s Cathedral, Canterbury Cathedral and York Minster, however Ely Cathedral wouldn’t be as well known – which is a shame because in terms of grandeur, it is certainly in the same class! Construction of the Cathedral started in 1083 and was completed in 1351. The Cathedral is 163 metres in length and 66 metres high. We were quickly seated after showing our rail tickets and proceeded to hear an hour’s worth of some beautiful choral music combined with traditional Christmas carols. It turns out that the concert is put on specially for the passengers who travel on the annual steam-special to Ely, hence the concert was delayed until the train passengers arrived at the Cathedral. By the time the concert was finished, it was time to head back to the station to await the arrival of the train. We walked back in the dark as it was now approximately 4pm and hence, well and truly dark as it was early December. We arrived back at the station to find the electronic signage informing us that the train had been delayed by 15 minutes. Most passengers used the opportunity to get a coffee or a hot chocolate from the platform shop that was selling “railfan specials” of cake and hot chocolate. A further announcement was made stating that the train had been delayed a further 15 minutes due to “technical difficulties” although it wasn’t explained whether the technical issues related to our train, another train ahead of ours or the signaling. A third announcement was made also relating to another 15 minute delay. By this time many friendly conversations between passengers had started and I was able to meet some very friendly railfans and share some of our experiences. One of the topics of discussion was why Tangmere was being used when Bittern had originally been advertised. There was no definitive answer although one fellow passenger did mention that he had heard that the A4 class locomotives were outside the loading gauge for the route that we took. During the 45 minutes on the platform we noticed approximately 10 other trains passing

through the station, including 3 freight trains – clearly there is a healthy amount of rail traffic in the area! Tangmere’s headlight was soon visible and as soon as the train stopped the train was swamped by passengers eager to get out of the cold.

Our run back to London was uneventful, with the exception of some very rough starts from station and signal stops. Indeed it seemed like the locomotive was jolting very heavily in to the carriages it was pulling. It was interesting to view some video footage on YouTube of the starts; these video clips revealed that Tangmere suffered with dramatic wheelslips at virtually every stop on the return to London. Our arrival back into Victoria was late – at approximately eleven o’clock and Tangmere pulled in to one of the platforms in full view of most of the rest of the station and was soon surrounded by ordinary commuters, astonished to see a 1947 built steam locomotive, steam wafting up in to the cold night air, sitting up against the buffers – one even approached me and asked me what was sitting in the platform; he simply couldn’t believe that his eyes weren’t deceiving him. It was the end of another thoroughly enjoyable day and I must express my thanks to Alf and Paul for their blunt but invaluable advice - I’m very glad I took your advice and booked this trip! This also ends my tales from my recent trip to the U.K. Tornado, Pendolino and Tangmere – three journeys I’ll remember fondly for the rest of my life.

Tangmere between Bury St Edmunds and Ely, no longer in the electrified part of the U.K. rail network

Page 5 March 2010

Our Sponsors - The Railway is Generously Supported By The Following Businesses

Membership Renewals

Special thanks go to those members who have already returned their membership renewal forms along with their payments. For those members who haven’t yet returned their forms, could they please do so as soon as possible as memberships are due in under two weeks! Special thanks also go to those members who have helped the society out with a donation - these are invaluable in keeping the railway moving forward in the job of preserving our part of Victorian Railways history. Don’t forget that donations over $2 are tax deductible.

Victorian Goldfields Railway - General Office and Marketing

P.O. Box 51, CASTLEMAINE VIC 3450 Phone: (03) 5470 6658 or 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 Muckleford Railway Station (only staffed for special events) Muckleford-Walmer Road, Muckleford Telephone: (03) 5470 6014

www.vgr.com.au

Page 6 March 2010

Wine & Cheese Special Steam Train

Good Friday Evening ~ April 2nd ~ Depart Maldon Station : 7.00 pm

BOOKINGS : PH : 5470 6658 Step aboard – relax ,enjoy the entertainment , the company and the special atmosphere of the steam train as we take you on an autumn evening journey from Maldon to Castlemaine and back to Maldon. Enjoy the unique ambience of a great evening steam train journey. Tickets are only $35

Additional Running Days

Good Friday - Friday 2nd April Easter Saturday - Saturday 3rd April Easter Monday - Monday 5th April Anzac Day - Monday 26th April Queens Birthday - Monday 14th June

Your Newsletter If you have an interesting travel tale, anecdote, work story or recollection from the past, why not share it with other members. Simply send your contribution to

newsletter@vgr.com.au

Mechanical Branch Workdays

The next mechanical branch workdays will be held on Saturday 17th April & Sunday 18th April from 9am at the Maldon Locomotive Shed. Please wear sturdy footwear and old clothing (overalls ideal). There is plenty of work that can be undertaken on carriages as well as locomotives and prior experience isn’t necessary - the only requirement is a willingness to get dirty and to follow our safety procedures while working. Contact Brian Frewin on 0409 434 808 for details on the workdays or Michael Compagnoni on (03) 5475 1451 if you can assist during the week.