June Newsrail has an interesting mix of current and historic content for Victorian railfans to enjoy.

Our cover photo by Thomas Hobley features Walker Railcar 22RM at work on the Yarra Valley Railway, which has recently announced the long-awaited commencement of track laying on its planned extension from Yarra Glen back to the current terminus at Tarrawarra. YVR’s Jodi Swinn talks to Newsrail about the project and takes us through the truly impressive engineering work on the track bed that will ensure that the track quality will be of a very high standard.

Also in preservation news, our Tramways column records the transfer of Z3 class leader, Z3.116, into preservation at Ballarat Tramway Museum after 45 years of faithful service to Melbourne commuters.

Our feature article this month is a collection of stories, curated by Nick Anchen, from old Victorian Railways enginemen and others recalling the North Melbourne Locomotive Depot, the massive facility that maintained the steam locomotive fleet operating out of Spencer Street Station. For those who view life on the Victorian Railways through rose-tinted glasses, these stories offer a sharp correction, recounting the dismal working conditions and terrible pay that those who drove and maintained VR’s loco fleet had to endure. Decades later, the honesty and authenticity of these accounts is striking. Naturally, the article is beautifully illustrated with historic photographs of VR’s magnificent steam fleet in and around the shed.

Our News section details rail expenditure funded in the Victorian Budget, and also delves into some of the detail of the Victorian Budget Papers to note projects that are running late, or over-budget. We also take a look at the conversion of two three-car Comeng sets into two-car sets specially designed for operation with the Infrastructure Evaluation Vehicle.

And our usual other columns are there:

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