October 2004#375
October 2004
#375
There has been a change to this page. The back-Issues are now indexed on a separate page.
Please note: These pages are provided by me, Bill Russell as a service to the Puffing Billy Railway & the E.T.R.B.
If you find a problem with them please contact me first. No other person has the ability to alter these pages.
If you want to be notified when Monthly News changes send me an e-mail. My e-mail address is bill.russell@optusnet.com.au .
CONFIDENTIAL: Content details herein are for official Railway use only and are not to be used for other purposes.
Recent events of unfavourable publicity and the abuse of people in organisations in which people expected to be safe have highlighted the need for this railway to take steps to protect our volunteers.
Puffing Billy Railway is instituting a range of measures to protect our volunteers including:
These actions are being taken to try to protect you from coming to any harm as a result of any person on the railways whose intentions toward others is not honourable.
It is with pleasure that we advise that Coca Cola has been signed as a gold sponsor of the railway. An annual cash contribution and very competitive wholesale prices mean that Coca-Cola Amital will be exclusive supplier of soft drink and water lines for the next five years.
We are very keen to get volunteers as families participating in ivy removal between Belgrave and the Trestle bridge on Saturday 23rd October 2004 from 10 am to 3 pm. It will be fun with prizes for the longest ivy chin and the biggest stump. If you would like to participate please contact Judi Turnham
| Graeme Breydon ETRB Chairman chairman@pbr.org.au |
John Thompson PBPS President editor@pbr.org.au |
Ray Leivers, CEO ray.leivers@pbr.org.au |
As of 16 th September the following have mail in the Station Masters Office at Belgrave.
Ken Brumby, Helen Berry, Andrew Bligh, David Brady, Leonie Anson, Kalli Baker, Anthony Augustine, Lynette Dawson, Adam Day, Stephen Dibden, Taryn Cannavo, Paul David, Melinda Caia, Roy Frattinger, John Forrester, John Ferguson, Oriana Gray, Michael Georgiou, Robert Gilholme, Ron Goodrick, Kaye Harris, Vinka Huerta, Joan Horton, Elizabeth Gould -Williams, Lorraine Kimm, Amy King, Justin Knoff, John I'Anson, Sean Kelly, Mariel Jones, Howard Mc Tier, Tom Maggs, Howard McTier, Adel Le Breton, Mark Lawrence, Jasmine Leung, Lance Mobbs, Mez Lister, John Millar, Jessica Ling, Noel Mac Pherson, Tony Miles, Rodney Lewis, George Meaney, Anni Hung, Joan Mitchell, John Millard, Reg Olive, David Porter, Peter Medlin, R. Lewis, Jenni O'Neill, Luke O'Shannasy, David O'Brien, Charlotte Pike, Callum O'Dell, Sue Quittner, Peter Stuart, Stefan Rebgetz, Richard & Cynthia Sealey, Dean Roberts, Joel Rouse, Geoff Urand, Ben Reid, Chris Trikilis, Kevin Stanes, Brenda Toro, John Urh-Henry, Rosanna Stigliano, Jason Rothwell, Rod Watson.
Thank you very much,
Sue Ham
There will be two Level 2 First Aid Courses available in November. The courses run for two days and we have one running during the week and one on the weekend. The weekday course is on Wednesday 10 th and Thursday 11 th November and the weekend course will be over two Saturdays, the 20 th and 27 th November.
All safe workers are asked to complete this course, to ensure that our trains have adequate First Aiders on board. If you would like to take part then please contact Deb Lyons by phone or by email (deb.lyons@pbr.org.au).
Deb Lyons,
Work Coordinator
A big thank-you to Graham & Murray George, Peter Stowell, Alexander McCooke, Steve & Murray Holmes & John Barrell for their assistance on the 4 th September Firewood train. It was much appreciated. If I have forgotten to mention anyone, please accept my apologies.
We propose to run another firewood collection train at some stage, probably early next year.
David Conlan
People who have helped in past years might not be known to the new committee. If you have not been contacted and wish to assist, please contact David Sheppee or by email to santaspecial@puffingbilly.com.au
David Sheppee,
Chairman, Santa Special Committee
I am a volunteer on the railway (Lineside Attractions) and am working with a small team of volunteers who are implementing the PBR as a driveable simulation in Auran Trainz 2004. The development is all being done gratis by fans of the railway and will be freely available to the general public. The head of the loco creation and animation has requested I ask for volunteers for front on and side on head shots of crew members to crew the simulation locos when they're viewed from the "outside". If anyone would like to take part in this, please email me at pjp@steamengine.com.au
Regards, Paul
www.steamengine.com.au
If anyone has a double bed in good condition that they would like to get rid of, please contact Sue Ham as we would like to obtain one for use in Moondarra.
Sue Ham
Belgrave Refreshment rooms have now been painted. It looks very bright and welcoming. I would ask everyone to please refrain from sticking anything on the walls or using pins or even blue tack etc as this will damage the paint work.
New products will be listed in next month's edition once we find them. For those that haven't seen the Refresh office, it looks like it has been set up for a jumble sale. We are all still laughing.
Communication books are now available at each station. This will enable better communication between volunteers, staff and myself. Please ensure that they are read before the commencement of each day. Thank you for your co-operation. If you have any suggestions that would make day to day procedures run more efficiently, please call April
Anyone wishing to volunteer in any of the shops at Emerald for Thomas please advise April asap so that we can finalise the roster.
We now have 2 wonderful heritage trolleys which we can put to good use on the Belgrave platform. After minor repairs, they will back in action. We will be able to offer our visitor's, that don't have enough time to purchase in the shop, a second chance to purchase a memento, food or a beverage.
Anyone wishing to volunteer to man these trolleys please contact April. Your time will be much appreciated.
Anyone wishing to volunteer to work at Menzies Creek, especially on weekends, please call April Williams
If you would like to apply for the position of Rostering Officer for Refreshment services, please contact June Ilett as soon as possible.
April Williams
April Williams
Please note that applications for the next safeworking course (No 26), which commences in February 2005, close on November 15 th 2004.
Application forms are available from the Station Masters office at Belgrave. Contact Fleur Barrell (fleur.barrell@pbr.org.au) or Ray Williams (rssjwilliams@bigpond.com.au). If you would like an email copy sent to you.
Note: - Prerequisite for this course. Applicants must be a member of the Puffing Billy Preservation Society and attended an introduction to safeworking course in the last 2 years or will be attending an introduction to safeworking course in 2004 and have a current Level 2 First Aid certificate or be prepared to attend a course.
Ray Williams.
Safeworking Training Officer.
To enable Marketing Branch to persuade some inbound tour groups to travel from Menzies Creek to Belgrave (rather than the reverse), it would be appreciated if the Guard of No.19/28 Pass (Luncheon Train) could make themselves available at Belgrave by no later than 10.15am, so that if required, they can travel to Menzies Creek on No.11 Pass and then return as Guard on No.10 Pass to cater for these inbound groups.
Your assistance in this will hopefully allow us to better utilise the consists and hopefully increase our revenue.
Greg Hanslow
Manager Train Operations
A supplier has been found for footplate staff wishing to purchase Sac coats (short coat) in navy cotton drill. They are priced at $52.00. If you wish to purchase a coat the address is: Janine Baird Uniforms, Shop 6, Darryl Street, Scoresby Village, Scoresby, just off Ferntree Gully Road near the Stud Road crossing.
.Graeme Daniel
I would like to thank the hard working cleaners that split and stacked the great pile of light up wood. The very wet wood was split to small sizes, which makes it much easier for the light up firemen to get to ignite.
Congratulations to Craig Fitzsimons for leaving our ranks and moving on to the ranks of trainee Fireman after passing his Safeworking.
Allan Johnstone.
October sees the return of Thomas, and also an increased number of Guards' positions requiring filling. Quite a few of our regulars are away for greater or lesser parts of the month , so if you can manage to fill one or more of the vacancies appearing on the roster, your efforts in doing so will be appreciated.
I will be in Melbourne 3/10 to 23/10. Please address roster enquiries to me between these dates, and to Fleur before 3/10 and after 23/10.
No-one as yet has raised their paw to offer assistance with the rostering during my six week absence from 23/10 to 5/12. Any offers are welcome --- please talk to Greg or Fleur.
The Blue Timetable is back. If you haven't already done so, please pick up a copy of the operating procedures from the safeworking room --- and read it! Failure to do so --- and to understand same --- may cause you premature ageing, and an unseemly amount of unnecessary cursing!
Bob Cochrane
I have finally acceded to several requests whereby I identify the Head Conductor for each train in the Monthly Roster. I have attempted to apportion this responsibility out over the month but I would still expect common sense to prevail in that the day's duties are amicably resolved by those present compatible with any requests that the Station Master has.
Late last year, a survey was carried out on Conductors seeking views and comments. It was reported at September's Monthly Pass Ops Meeting that work had started to review the responses and publish the findings.
For 3 weekends this month & the first weekend of November, Thomas the Tank Engine Days are being run at Emerald. For those who have not helped out before, it is a fun day and is more associated with crowd control as against passenger safety on the train. Basically, Conductors are required to 'manage' the crowds for the 3 cycles of (1) checking/punching tickets of those booked for the train journey to Nobelius and return (one conductor to travel), (2) checking/punching tickets as people enter the open air theatre for the panto and (3) assisting with those wishing to ride on Graham the Vintage Bus. Also involved will be the manning of the main line through the station as the Belgrave/Lakeside/Belgrave trains go through Emerald to ensure crowd safety. I have done it myself and though it can be a full-on sort of day, it is also a fun day with other activities such as face painting and young animal farm.
Ron Kelly
| Stationmasters' Seminar | ||
| Wednesday 10th November | 9.00am till 3.00pm | |
| Saturday 13th November | 9.00am till 3.00pm | |
| Introduction to Safeworking | ||
| Saturday 26th November | 9.00am till Noon. | |
Peter Walker
Training Officer
Monday 1 st November. Come along and join the fun on our Cup Eve Train. This will be an evening to remember. Fun, frivolity and friends and a public holiday to recover the next day. What more can you want! Book early and help get the Climax back on track.
Brochure in September Monthly News or ring Jeff Goodwin
Donations were kindly given by the following donors: Weston Langford, Norm Wadeson, BM & DG Parbery, Bill Russell and Margaret Wheetton. (Some of these were in memory of John Topp.) Thank you all very much. All donations over $2 to the Climax are tax deductible.
Ian Probert kicked off this sponsorship drive and he has sponsored Tube No.1. Thanks Ian. We hope that another 73 sponsors will join you soon.
The smart-looking polo shirts have been on sale at Lakeside for a few weeks now and have been popular. We now also offer long sleeve denim shirts which look great and are very comfortable and warm. We will soon have a range of caps to go with the shirts and scarves. Please use our order form to do your Christmas Climax shopping.
We will soon have Firemen's Shovels, Loco Crew Lunch boxes and stainless steel mugs available. We expect them to be available around Christmas time. Anyone who would like express interest in these please contact John Conway as we need to know numbers to get the prices low.
John Conway
We have recently purchased a new folding chair that is to be used in our First Class carriages on the Luncheon Special and Dinner Special. This new chair replaces the previous portable wheelchair that became defective and was unable to be repaired.
The new folding chair, which is made in Australia, is used by the Metropolitan Ambulance Service in Victoria and in other states. It will assist passengers with mobility issues boarding our First Class carriages via the Guards Van.
An Operator's Manual is held in the Guards Van of the First Class section. As you work on any catered trains training will be provided.
To further lift the standards of presentation in our first class carriages, hot drinks e.g. tea or coffee are now to be served using china cups and saucers. We no longer use the plastic souvenir cups.
The cups and saucers are kept in the drawers underneath the sink area.
Larry James
No report this month.
Last month after heavy rain part of an embankment approaching the Selby-Aura Road level crossing collapsed and slid down the hill. Fortunately the slip was sufficiently far from the track to allow trains to continue to operate at reduced speed but we have undertaken drainage works and a temporary deviation to prevent any problems from more slippage.
The area is very wet and a permanent repair will not be done until about February next year when the ground should be at its driest.
Digging out of old ballast between Monbulk Creek Bridge (Bridge N0 5) and Selby is finished and we are in the process of replacing the old ballast. Final lifting and lining of the track will have to wait until the New Year.
Tamping of the track from Lakeside to Gembrook has now passed Fielder Bridge with about 2.2 km to go. The tamper has been a bit temperamental lately but has been repaired and we hope to finish tamping by the end of October.
An architect has been selected and is working on plans for building a new caf‚ at the end of the Belgrave station building. Although it will be a single story addition at this stage it is being designed to allow for extension of the upstairs section.
The retaining wall behind the platform has been replaced and work is under way to construct a pathway from the driveway to the platform which meets current wheelchair access standards. A significant amount of landscaping is also proposed for around the Packing Shed.
This job is finished apart from another coat of paint which will wait until summer when the timber dries out a little more. Congratulations to Col Cowling and his team of workers.
We plan to run another trolley driver training course on 28 th November. If you are a qualified safeworker (or nearly so) and have a car driver's licence you are eligible to apply. Trolley drivers are needed for operating our trolleys and road-rail vehicles, particularly on fire patrols during the Summer fire danger period. Applications are required in writing to Dan O'Connor at secretary@pbr.org.au or c/- ETRB, PO Box 451, BELGRAVE, 3160. For more information please contact Dan O'Connor
Our next Volunteer Work Day will be on Saturday 16th October. Work will be near the School Road level crossing on the Down side of Menzies Creek and will involve repairing a number of minor track faults. The usual sumptuous BBQ lunch will be provided. Please let Roster Officer Henry know if you can attend
We are currently planning our Christmas party in early December or late November. If you are interested in attending please contact Tom Kilner
John Shaw
As you will notice from the title above, the Board recently ratified our request for a return to the preferred title of Signal and Telegraph Branch.
Effective immediately the numbers assigned to the workshop area are as follows;
733 - Alan Gardner - Manager, Workshops (Mobile phone -Speed Dial 433)
731 - Adam Black - Belgrave Workshops Foreman (Mobile phone - Speed Dial 431)
731 is expected to "overflow" to the general area phones if the foreman's office is unattended
The computer access upgrade work was successfully implemented on Sat 11 th September.
Following the successful connection of the workshops computers to the data radio link, it is anticipated that both the Locomotive Team Office and the Way & Works depot will be similarly connected in the near future. In the interim, improved dial up connection should be available due to the reduced demand.
Just a reminder that the next S&T Branch meeting is scheduled for Saturday 9 th October, at Kings Rd., commencing at 9.30 a.m.
Andrew Wheatland.
No report this month.
No report this month.
Victorian Railways - The Shunting Locomotive E-F-H-M-RT-V-W-Y 1955-1995 by Train Hobby Publications is available from Belgrave Shop at $30.00 or $33.00 posted anywhere in Australia. If you are looking for a particular Train Hobby book and it is not on the shelf at Belgrave Shop, then subject to availability we will get it in for you. Just write to G42 Sales, PO Box 451, Belgrave, VIC 3160.
The new Train Hobby book catalogue is available from both the Belgrave and G42 shops.
We would like to thank all those who worked behind the scenes and travelled on the G42 Goes to Gembrook Train on September 5th. Thank you also to James Cron, who donated one of the raffle prizes.
Selling pre-loved books, magazines and memorabilia. Located behind the Emerald car shops in the Thomson building near the playground, our next openings dates will be Saturday 2nd October and 6th November, 2004 between 1pm and 3pm on both days. Other times can be made by phoning Peter Medlin to arrange a suitable time. Please note our shop is not open in December or January.
Bargains of the month: "Garratt Locos of the World" (New) $90.00; "The Outer Circle Railway" $ 90.00; "The Era of the S & H220" $20.00; "Australia's Garratt" $30.00. Many others - See our list at Belgrave - Mostly only one copy of each - personal shoppers only.
We would also like to thank David Sheppee & the estate of Dan Hallinan (via Kathy Bruce) for their recent donations of books and magazines.
The collection box figure for July was $ 82.65 and August was $ 39.35. Thank you very much to all the volunteers and staff who have ensured that the RED G42 collection boxes were put out.
Thank you to those who continue to contribute to keep G42 Going. Recent donors have been: N. S. Atherton (UK), G. Beavan, P. Binks, A. Collier, J. E. Donohoe, L. R. Foun, F. A. Henderson, A. D. Johnstone, S. Jos, I. T. Naylor, I. P. Newman, D. G. Parbury, J. N. Pavey (UK), J. P. Prideaux, D. Rawlings, J. Shaw, R. G. Shaw, E. C. Sibly, C. R. Smart, D. & J. Stevenson, C. K. Theobald, R. E. Walton, E. H. Weston, W. C. Williams, R. F. Wood.
Bruce West
Sadly this event had to be cancelled due to the poor number of bookings.
Due to a last minute increase in the price of the train to Echuca, this event had to be re-scheduled for Bendigo - and the change occurred too late to get into the last edition of Monthly News!
The last time we went to Bendigo the day was very popular and we hope it will prove equally successful this year. Meeting at Spencer Street at 8.15 a.m. we will travel by train to Bendigo and transfer to the Central Deborah Gold Mine for a fascinating tour of the underground workings. This will be followed by lunch (at own cost) before we join our own tram for one of Bendigo's world famous 'Talking Tram' tours which will also include a visit to the tram depot. Once the tram ride concludes we will return to the station to catch the train back to Melbourne, arriving Spencer Street around 6.00 p.m.
Leaving Belgrave at 8.45 a.m. we will travel by coach to visit both the Mornington Peninsula Railway and the Bellarine Peninsula Railways, crossing by ferry from Sorrento. Morning Tea will be provided at Mooroduc and lunch will be laid on for us at Queenscliff. This should be a fascinating day - see the booking form with this edition of Monthly News.
Back by popular demand. Following numerous requests from members and volunteers who enjoyed last year's event, we are organising another New Year's Eve Train. The format will be similar to last year; train from Belgrave to Nobelius Siding (G42 has been requested as the train engine), buffet dinner with dessert, tea and coffee in a convivial atmosphere at the Packing Shed before we return to Belgrave, stopping along the way for champagne and cake at Menzies Creek at midnight. Tickets are expected to be around $35 per person.
Look for the booking form with the November Monthly News.
The Social Committee's calendar of events for 2005 has now been finalised. Further details will be published nearer the time.
Wild East train (Emerald - Gembrook) Saturday 26 th February
Tassie Trip by DC-3 Weekend 2 nd /3 rd April
To Bairnsdale by train Sunday 15 th May
2005 Film Night Saturday 6 th August
Great Western Winery visit Sunday 30 th October
DERM trip Sunday 27 th November
| August | 2004 | 2003 |
|---|---|---|
| Train kilometres for the month | 2,884 | 2,960 |
| Loco kilometres - steam | 2,948 | 3,079 |
| Loco kilometres - diesel | 201 | 63 |
| NA locomotive days for month | 64 | 74 |
| G 42 days for month | 7 | n/a |
| Carriage kilometres | 21,199 | 22,353 |
| Carriage Days for month | 702 | 705 |
| Highest kms operated - loco | 1,131 | 1,191 |
| Highest kms operated - pass vehicle | 1,522 | 1,435 |
| Highest kms operated - wagon | 58 | 13 |
| On-time running (OT - 5") | 96% | 41% |
| Scheduled trips run (one way) | 160 | 154 |
| Revenue trips (one way) | 169 | 170 |
| Non-revenue trips (one way) | 18 | 8 |
| Locos docked on trains by due time | 90% | 90% |
| Carriage sets docked by due time | 82% | n/a |
A magnificent improvement in on-time running.
Bob Wilson