For September, we’re heading west, all the way to Serviceton! Our cover photo, showing a brand-new C510 and its classmate readying 9194 express goods train for departure to Melbourne in 1978, perfectly transports us to the time and place for our main feature article by VR engineman Roydon Burk.
Roydon joined the Victorian Railways in 1977 and regards his days with the VR as the best of his life. We are fortunate that Roydon kept all of his work logbooks and correspondence. From these records, he is able to provide a wonderfully detailed first-hand account of his time at Serviceton in the late 1970s. It is a compelling record of life on Victorian Railways prior to the huge changes that took place in the following decade. Roydon discusses the locomotives he worked with (the then-new C Class, X Class, and Y Class all feature) remembers the local Serviceton to Horsham railcar service (nicknamed The Peanut by locals) and recounts some funny stories such as the day his uniform was ruined by a tortoise! The photography, sourced from a number of contributors, is brilliant. Roydon has provided a few cracking images that he took himself, including a couple of Australian National Railway locomotives that crashed off the end of the turning triangle at Serviceton; Roydon notes that this never happened to a VR locomotive during his time!
Our Tourist and Heritage Rail column visits the Steamrail team at the Ballarat East Depot, where a range of projects have recently been successfully completed by a very active new team of local railfans. We talk to the team about their recent restoration of water truck WT49, a vehicle that will soon be used once again to enable steam locomotive Y112 (currently under overhaul) to operate with a far greater range by nearly doubling the water capacity of its tender.
Our News section includes a story on the potential threat that the new Sunshine Station Superhub project may pose to the future for freight operations between Ballarat and Melbourne. We also look into the recent Sprinter mishap on the Seymour Line, the rise in kangaroo strikes affecting V/Line services, and the increase of service frequency on the Shepparton Line.
And our usual other columns are there:
- Operations and sightings
- General works
- Tramways
- PTV service quality
- Where is it?
- Taildisc
Another great issue of Newsrail, Thanks to everyone involved from the contributors to the proof readers , publishers and all those behind the scenes that allow Newsrail to be published every month . Always look forward to opening my letterbox and finding the latest issue of Newsrail. keep up the great work , Thank you
I really enjoyed this new edition of Newsrail! I have gotten the newest Newsrail every month since January 2021, and I always look forward to new ones! Thanks for publishing such a high quality and enjoyable magazine!