Our cover image, featuring Bellarine Railway’s Klondyke being delivered to Newport Workshops ahead of the three-day Newport Workshops Open Days event, leads into an extended Tourist and heritage rail column for our April Edition.

A total 13,112 visitors attended this year’s event, and we take a look at the flurry of activity to prepare and ready three projects for display at Open Days; the repainting of Steamrail’s R711, the return to operation of Victorian Goldfields Railway’s K160, and the restoration of bodywork of Daylesford Railway’s RM74. We speak to representatives of each of these three groups to learn about all the work behind the scenes to have these historic rail vehicles ready in time.

Our News section leads with details of the significant damage caused by flooding to the transcontinental line between Peterborough and Broken Hill, which saw that line closed and various traffic rerouted via Melbourne. Among other stories, we also look at the photo that has caused quite a stir on the internet, showing what appears to be an XPT power car being repainted into its original 1980s InterCity XPT livery.

We have two feature articles, each relating to the North East Line

• Former VicRail and V/Line manager David Watson writes about flood events in the early 1970s, including one in May 1974 where David and his colleagues were called upon to assist a Vice Regal visit by incoming Governor Sir Henry Winneke as both road and rail routes disappeared under floodwaters.
• We publish the third and final part of our late colleague Greg Michael’s article about historic level crossing removals on the Seymour Line. In this part, Greg reviews level crossings that were closed without a replacement crossing being provided. One of the former crossings Greg looks at was a dedicated level crossing. complete with crossing gates, providing road access to the island platform at Seymour Station.

Our Photos in focus column returns again this month, with a great series of photos of the Dudley Street Signal Box in its final months of operation before being replaced by the Melbourne Yard West Tower at the end of 1968. Our colleague Trevor Penn looks at each image and explains the intricate details of railway life they depict.

We have an extended Taildisc section this month with some extra detail and reader feedback on our Harris train feature from the March edition, including a striking photo of Harris motors 797M and 794M running the overhead inspection train.

And our usual other columns are there: