January 2003
#354
January 2003
#354
There has been a change to this page. The back-Issues are now indexed on a separate page.
Unfortunately the Net -mind service has been withdrawn by its operators. The matter is entirely beyond my control. If you really want to be notified when Monthly News changes send me an e-mail. I will run an e-mail notification service for Monthly News. My e-mail address is above.
Bill Russell.
CONFIDENTIAL:
Officer & Roster Clerk content details herein are for official Railway use only and are not to be used for other purposes.
Don Marshall has resigned from the paid staff as Manager Train Operations, effective from 18th December to take up the position of Engineering Manager for the West Coast Wilderness Railway in Tasmania. He has indicated that he will retain his association with the PBR as a member and as a volunteer.
As Don's resignation missed the last MN deadline, a farewell function was widely publicised on noticeboards and word-of-mouth resulting in over 140 colleagues & friends attending a farewell function held at the Packing Shed on 15th December.
Expressions of interest for acting arrangements were called for via noticeboards and email, and several good candidates expressed interest. Following internal interviews, Mr Rob Emmerson has been appointed to the acting position. Congratulations must go to Rob. A part time clerical position will be available to assist in Train Operations. This opportunity will be posted on Notice Boards and sent out by email. The permanent position of Manager, Train Operations will be advertised in the New Year.
At the November meeting of the Emerald Tourist Railway Board, Graeme Breydon was reappointed as Chairman, and Janice Gasking was appointed as Deputy Chairman on the nomination of John Shaw.
The same meeting accepted the resignation of Norm Wadeson from the honorary position of the Board's Safeworking Officer, a position he has filled since 1977. Whilst the Board decided not to make a replacement appointment to the position, it did review the arrangements for rail safety accreditation to satisfy itself that appropriate mechanisms remain in place for the proper operation of the railway.
The PBPS Executive Committee has designated John Thompson and Hugh Markwick as its nominees for membership of the PBR Management Planning Committee. This new streamlined committee, chaired by the CEO replaces the former Management Committee effective from the beginning of 2003.
As mentioned briefly last month, there will be an Information Night for interested volunteers and staff on Wed 12th Feb, from 7.30pm. More details will be published in the next issue.
| Graeme Breydon, ETRB Chairman chairman@pbr.org.au | John Thompson, PBPS President editor@pbr.org.au | Ray Leivers, CEO ray.leivers@pbr.org.au |
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all volunteers and staff for their best wishes and expressions of goodwill on the occasion of my departure from the railway for the cooler (and wetter) pastures of Tasmania's west coast.
It was also an honour and a privilege to be accorded a farewell function at the Packing Shed on Sunday 15th. December and Norma and I would like to thank the Board and the Society together with the many Puffing Billy people who attended for a wonderful evening which will remain in our memories for some time to come.
For those of you who do not know, I have accepted an offer from Federal Hotels in Tasmania to be their Engineering and Operations Manager on the re-named West Coast Wilderness Railway (previously the 'Abt' Railway.) based in Strahan.
It goes without saying that there will be a warm welcome for Puffing Billy people but give me one or two months to settle in.
Whilst it is with a sense of sadness that I leave Puffing Billy, I do look back with pride at the list of achievements we have successfully completed together over the last 20 years or so.
The greatest wrench however will be parting from the "Puffing Billy family" who are without doubt, the greatest group of people with whom it has been my privilege to work.
Don Marshall
LAKESIDE: One water-slide will be in operation daily at Emerald Lake Park commencing Boxing Day 2002. Tickets are available from the "Cadbury's" caravan parked near the foot of the slides.
In addition, as previously announced in Monthly News, the swimming pool will be open from 12.30pm daily, unless the forecast temperature is below 22 degrees, with a lifeguard on duty. Use of the swimming pool is free.
GEMBROOK: The Motorist Motoring Museum (77 Main Street) has re-opened under new ownership and will operate daily over the Christmas- New Year week. There are nine vehicles on show including the worlds only known Vintage Studebaker Limousine with a solid brass body and two London cabs (one "before" and one "after" restoration.
Please spread word of these new destination attractions among all Puffing Billy staff and patrons.
Regular conductor on our railway, Stephen Backway has reason to celebrate. In his recent VCE exams, Stephen scored a total of 96.95 and had a perfect score in the subject Systems and Technology at Upwey High School. For his perfect score he submitted a computer that can measure wind speed, wind direction, temperature and rainfall as an assignment. On behalf of all your friends at Puffing Billy, Well done Stephen.
Monthly News is changing. We have changed the internal processes to avoid duplicated and incorrect information. Hence the change of address for submission of copy, and the change of submission deadline. This should result in volunteers receiving their copy before the end of the previous month.
We have re-arranged Monthly News in an attempt to make it reduce the number of pages. This will reduce costs and production time.
As has been reported in a previous 'Monthly News', a new round of CJP jobs will be on offer from late January. These include fitting and turning, office administration and buildings & maintenance positions. The jobs are contracted for 13 weeks full time or 16 weeks part time and include training at Certificate Level II in the chosen field. To be eligible for these positions you must fall into at least one of the criteria below:
| Unemployed for 6 months | Early school leaver (15 -19) |
| Mature age (over 45) | Person with a disability |
| Sole parent | Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islanders |
| From a multicultural background | |
| Person displaced through industry restructuring | |
To Management and Staff and Members of PBPS, Thankyou for your attendance and condolences passed on to us on the death of Son Stewart on 23rd August.
Doug, Vera & Allison Newberry
It is with regret that we record the passing of John Wotherspoon, a past employee of the Railway. John was the railway's first Running Gear repairer based at Emerald workshops in the early 1980's.
A security light over the car park for after dark safety has been installed. An M padlock has been added to the gate so it can be secured. This can either be done by the Night SM, meeting participants or those staying over night at Moondarra. If after leaving the car park there are still cars inside, please relock the gate behind you.
The Gembrook Puffing Billy Railway Gardening Group will commence their usual Monday working sessions on Feb 3rd 2003. Meet at Gembrook Railway Station at 10am (morning tea). Enjoy a lunch break around 12.15pm and finish when you like! All welcome.
No report this month
To all Conductors and their families, best wishes are extended for a safe and prosperous New Year. Thank you for your terrific contributions during the year, which have proved invaluable to the safe and enjoyable operation of passenger services.
Conductors rostered on during the 6-train period should have received by now (via mail) a letter from Ray Leivers containing information in relation to the crewing and running of trains during the 6-train period. Additional copies are available in the Station Master's office at Belgrave. If you have any questions in relation to 6 trains running please do not hesitate to contact the Training Supervisors or Roster Clerks or alternatively, on your rostered day, see the SM.
Sunscreen and a combination sunscreen/insect repellent is available in the SM's office at Belgrave for use by Conductors and all staff engaged in outdoor activities.
Expressions of interest are sought for attendance at the above courses, which will be held on the following days in February 2003 at Belgrave Station: Saturday 8th February or Wednesday 12th February.
Completion of a Conductor's course is a prerequisite before acceptance into the Head Conductor's course. Each course lasts half a day and it is intended to hold the Conductor training in the morning followed by the Head Conductor training in the afternoon.
If you would like to attend one of these courses please let the Training Supervisors or the Roster Clerks know by no later than Friday 31st January 2003. Places are limited and will be accepted on a first come basis. Dates are:
| Saturday 1st | Safeworking Course 24 - Candidate Interviews. |
| Saturday 8th | Conductor Training 09:00am -12:15pm Head Conductor Seminar 1:00pm -4:15pm Venue - Belgrave Conference Room |
| Wednesday 12th | Conductor Training 09:00am -12:15pm Head Conductor Seminar 1:00pm-4:15pm Venue - Belgrave Conference Room |
New courses are planned for April next year. Notice of courses will appear in a future edition of Monthly News.
Some Conductors are reluctant to fill in an Incident or Defect Report (IDR) believing they are not acted upon. Do not hesitate to complete one of these reports if you discover any incident or defect. For example, it may be as simple as a curtain strap needing replacement or incident regarding passenger safety, that has occurred during your run. IDR's are treated seriously and you can, by ticking the appropriate box on the form, ensure a personal response to your report. IDR' are located at all Stations and if you have any questions in how to complete one, do not hesitate to ask the SM for help.
Appreciation is extended for the generous offers of help in filling places over December and January and in particular during the 6 train period. And to all Conductors for assisting the Roster Clerks, current and immediate past, with the Roster throughout the year.
There is an exercise book available on the Belgrave SM desk to allow a written message to be left from one SM to the next SM. It can be particularly helpful for example when the day SM needs to advise the Night SM that there has been a maintenance issue and it will affect the operation of the night train.
The 2 Down end doors have been replaced with wooden double doors to accommodate 4 wheelchairs or prams. This now means that all trains to Gembrook will have a wheelchair car. During 6 train running the only set that will not have a wheelchair car will be 11:40am ex Belgrave returning as 1:50pm ex Lakeside.
This hand held PA is available for Head Conductors on the Lunch Train Museum Tour especially when there is a large number of passengers on the train. Please see Deb Woodward to arrange collection and return. (Longer serving volunteers will be familiar with this device - better know as a megaphone or to those in the 'know', a 'Hogaphone'. -Ed.)
There is a portable red PA that is now kept on the top bench in the SM office for use when the power fails and the computer announcement system is inoperative. (Yikes! - Two Hogaphones in one edition of Monthly News. -Ed.)
No report this month.
After some 10 years as our wedding co-ordinator, Kaye Dempster has retired to enjoy the finer things in life. Thank you Kaye for doing such a wonderful job. As such, we have a vacancy for a volunteer Wedding Co-Ordinator.
Duties include working with the Special Trains Supervisor, and liaising with the bride and groom to ascertain requirements for their special day. On the day of the reception, duties include set up of the bridal table and various wedding decorations together with table set up for the guests.
We currently conduct about 10 wedding receptions throughout the year, mostly on Saturdays.
Any interested person who has a flair for this type of activity is asked to contact Larry James for further information.
Keryn Fisher has asked to be relieved of the above position having done it for a number of months. Thank you Keryn for a job well done.
We are looking for a replacement roster officer to organise the rosters for Night Trains throughout the year. If you are interested in becoming the next roster officer, please contact Larry James for further information.
Following some recent vandalism on our First Class NAL carriages, we have re-instated the wood chocks for further security. At the end of either a Lunch or Night Train, would all Train Hosts please ensure that each window has a wood chock placed between the window frame and the carriage wall. This will ensure that un-authorised persons cannot open windows from the outside.
Larry James
No report this month.
The next workday will be on Tuesday Jan 21 st 2003. Wear appropriate clothing including hats. Please ring by Friday 17 th Jan. to book.
John Conway
Work continues on the refurbishment of 29NQR.
Hugh Markwick
Melways have kindly produced laminated booklet size maps citing pole references for all railway trolleys and vehicles. These should remain in their respective vehicles at all times.
No Report this month.
Work continues on gathering material for the collection, so if anyone has any suitable records or memorabilia we would be pleased to hear from you.
Thank you to Don Marshall for the provision of material from his records including photographs of Belgrave Locomotive Workshops while it was being constructed.
A work party has begun installing steel racking in the archives for use as shelving to help keep the archives in a neat and orderly manner.
Hugh Markwick
No report this month.
John Frost
2003 will see significant progress made towards completing G42's restoration. With your help we can make it happen in 2003.
We would like to thank all those who have helped make the 2002 Santa Specials the best yet.
The collection box figure for October was $54.80 and November was $50.80. Thank you very much to all the volunteers and staff who have ensured that the RED G42 collection boxes were put out.
With work on the boiler continuing, your donation is needed more than ever before if we are to see G42's restoration completed in 2004.
The following donations of $10.00 or over have been received recently. All whether small or large are greatly appreciated and will help complete G42's restoration.
Thank you to those who have been and continue to be regular donors towards the restoration of G42. N. Atherton, UK, J.M. Kemp, D. Parbery, P. Priestly.
Bruce West
The dates for proposed Social Committee events for 2003 are as follows:
| 15th Feb | PB Progressive dinner train |
| 18th May | Sovereign Hill |
| 15th Jun | Warrnambool |
| 12th Jul | Tram tour around Melbourne |
| 9th Aug | Film Night |
| 20th Sep | PB Wild East train (Train to Gembrook) |
| 26th Oct | DERM to Castlemaine/Maryborough |
| 23rd Nov | Trip on the steam tug "Wattle" |
| 31st Dec | PB New Year Eve Train |
| November | 2002 | 2001 |
|---|---|---|
| Train kilometres for the month | 4,139 | 4,239 |
| Loco kilometres - steam | 4,429 | 3,910 |
| Loco kilometres - diesel | 222 | 719 |
| NA locomotive days for month | 87 | 78 |
| Carriage kilometres | 34,989 | 35,796 |
| Carriage Days for month | 848 | 806 |
| Highest kms operated - loco | 1,461 | 1,667 |
| Highest kms operated - pass vehicle | 1,600 | 1,579 |
| Highest kms operated - wagon | 16 | 53 |
| On-time running (OT - 5") | 73% | 71% |
| Scheduled trips run (one way) | 228 | 230 |
| Revenue trips (one way) | 281 | n/a |
| Non-revenue trips (one way) | 11 | n/a |