Our January edition is a special one: it is the 800th in a series that began in November 1957 when some Victorian railfans assembled a handful of typewritten pages on rail developments in the state and called it ‘Divisional Diary’. 182 editions later, in January 1973, ‘Divisional Diary’ became ‘Newsrail’.

The front cover for this 40-page edition features a photo by Newsrail correspondent Martin Bennet of a test train running through the Metro Tunnel. Martin, who was fortunate enough to be invited to take a ride through the tunnel from Parkville to Anzac Station, has presented a report of his interesting journey.

Our main feature is something very special: an article by former V/Line boss John Hearsch on the first five years of his railway career, which began in January 1959 with a humble clerical position at Camberwell Station, followed by a transfer in 1961 to Bairnsdale when the Orbost Line was at its peak. John was a keen railfan and kept detailed notes and photographs of what were then everyday operations. What makes these photos particularly special is that John used colour slide film, rather than the black and white film that was more typical of the era, and the photos capture the final years of steam operations through both locations. John’s article provides a fascinating historical account of both the railway and its people.

We were delighted to meet with Warren Hall and Tim Harris at Steamrail during December, and hear about the various works that have been scheduled over the summer months to keep the iconic Steamrail steam fleet in peak operating condition for the busy year ahead.

Our other regular sections are there:

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

And further to our recent article on Warrenheip, we round out a landmark edition with a wonderful letter from a reader about travelling from Ballarat to Geelong by Walker railcar in the early 1960s, when track conditions were particularly poor!