Our February edition has an exciting mix of present-day and historic articles.

This month’s cover photo, by Matt Oaten, leads into a report for our Tourist and Heritage Rail column from Steamrail Victoria’s Noah Clancey. 2024 marks 50 years of restoration of heritage rolling stock for main line use, and Steamrail will have much of the product of these efforts on display at next month’s Newport Workshops Open Days event.

Our main feature article is another magnificent article about the travels of legendary railfan Charles Gavan Duffy. In 1897, aged just 10, Gavan Duffy and his younger brother went on an expedition, walking along the entire length of the closed (but only partially dismantled) Outer Circle Railway. Gavan Duffy retraced his steps in 1924, and noted many changes. The article is superbly illustrated with photographs from many and varied sources.

Our occasional Photo in focus column makes a return this month, and it’s an absolute cracker! Taking our centre pages, a photo of Spencer Street Station, circa 1900, has a wealth of fascinating detail that Trevor Penn interprets for the reader.

We also have a second feature article courtesy of Nick Anchen, who is well-known for the wonderful tales and anecdotes he has compiled into books and articles over the years. This month, Nick presents the story of fireman Ron George, who tells of a particularly difficult day at the office when running the morning Up Lancefield passenger service.

Our News section has a number of stories, including the completion of Arden Station, details of Victoria’s record grain harvest and the arrangements made for rail freight, and Alstom’s success in securing the V/Line maintenance contract for the next decade.

Our other regular sections are there:

• General works
• Operations and sightings
• Tramways
• PTV service quality
• Where is it?
• Taildisc