July 2009#432
July 2009
#432
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.
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As reported last month, May passenger figures began and remained strong - in fact the best May patronage since 1985. Good weather was in our favour, as well as increased marketing effort both from ourselves, and our regional and State marketing partners. June has also been going strongly, and we anticipate that our patronage figures for the financial year will be around 250,000 Passengers.
We have been successful in attracting funding to cover the February and March downturn, and this will help significantly in maintaining our cash reserves to help us through our normal winter financial requirements.
In addition, through the efforts of Board member Chris Banger, we have received capital funding for a number of small projects around Belgrave. This would cover minor works within the scullery to bring it up to current environmental health requirements; stage 1 of the signal box construction at Belgrave to house computers, stand-by generators and provide some shelter for the signalman on duty; and the third project will be the total refurbishment of Belgrave toilets - this is the first time that senior managers have ever been excited about toilets!! Work continues in attracting other funding in line with our business plan requirements, and we will keep you posted as news comes in.
May I thank those of you who have come forward in support of our need for staffing at Menzies Creek Station - in particular Jon Medlin, who has taken on a major role in the organisation, manning and management of Menzies Creek refreshments.
As with any other organisation there is a regular turnover of staff. Neil Elkin will be leaving us at the end of June and I take this opportunity to formally thank Neil, both as a colleague and a friend, for the magnificent work that has taken place over the last 13 months. I would also like to formally welcome David Wilson as the new Food & Beverage Manager, and, as mentioned last month, Matt Collopy as the new Special Events Manager. I am sure you will make both of them feel most welcome.
David Eaton, although formally retired from the organisation, has been working with us as a consultant a couple of days a week for the last 12 months. His contract comes to an end early in July and I would like to thank David for not only his hard work over the past year, but also his significant contribution over the past 20 years. I wish him all the best for the future in his 'retirement' and I am quite sure that we will see David around the railway on and off during his retirement.
Eamonn Seddon, CEO
The Board over the last month has discussed:
Ray Leivers - Chairman
All of us at Puffing Billy were thrilled to hear that Ian Roos, a regular Station Master at Belgrave, was honoured in the recent Queen's Birthday honours by receiving the medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for service to the community through raising awareness of men's health issues.
Well done Ian, keep up the great work.
Larry James, Hon. Secretary.
Personalised Membership Renewal forms were sent out in early June. We hope this helps make renewal quicker and that you can return your renewal by July 31st.
Travel vouchers for 2009 - 2010 will be sent after we receive your renewal. The new vouchers can be used for either complimentary return tickets on regular timetable trains or for significantly discounted travel on 'Steam & Cuisine' and 'Devonshire Journey'. You will also receive your new membership card and pin and a summary of all benefits available to Members, including the link to VRI, Victorian Railway Institute, announced late last year in Narrow Gauge.
Prompt return of your renewal would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks to those that have already returned their renewals. Your vouchers will be sent shortly.
If you have any suggestions related to Society membership, please forward them to the Membership Committee via email: secretary@pbr.org.au
Could all Station Masters note that we now have additional floats for the catered trains. We have a Devonshire Tea float and four floats for the Dinner Special. I appreciate the safe is getting full and I am working on a couple of options to sort that issue out.
Jean Clowes
If anyone would like to volunteer to work at Menzies Creek please contact either Jon Medlin on 0408 237 062 or April Williams on 9757 0782. We are endeavouring to open Menzies Creek every day again and any help would be much appreciated.
Sale 40% Discount - small amount of stock left. All lavender products, jams, chutneys sauces etc are on sale at 40% discount. Please see either Lyn or April to obtain discount. Stock is selling fast, so be quick if you would like a bargain. Thankyou
April Williams
As I mentioned last issue, my trip to the so called 'Sunshine State' saw very little sunshine and plenty of rain. The week I stayed in Maroochydore approximately 800mm of rain fell in 70 hours, folks back home told me they wished some would come south. Before heading south to Newcastle, I stopped over for a long weekend with our newest PBR member Ross Edge-Williams; Ross and Kay made me very welcome and Ross and I visited the Brisbane Tramway Museum out at Ferny Grove where we were made very welcome.
We were planning to take a trip to Warwick to ride the train to Wallangarra but it was not running that weekend. Wallangarra is truly a Border Station as the locomotive that bought the train into the platform actually stopped at the border and crossed into NSW so as to do the run-around. So instead we took a drive towards the Border Loop near Kyogle, but were unable to get into the area as the road had been washed away with the heavy rains. From Kyogle we drove across to Murwillumbah and were delayed at several locations due to the heavy rains washing large sections of the main road away. While there has not been a train into Murwillumbah for about five years we were surprised to see that the railway station and surrounding area had been kept neat and clean, and the railway station manned for about 12 hours a day.
At Newcastle I put my new camera to work photographing the many coal trains that operate into the wharves and was surprised how light and compact this new Canon camera was. I spent two great weeks in Sydney, visiting places I'd not been to for many years. Of course nothing would be complete without a visit to the Zig Zag Railway, and while it was not far from snowing it was still a great days out. I would have liked to stay on an extra couple of hours as they were operating one of the 2000 [silver fern] railcars, but with the weather closing in so fast I decided to head back to Sydney on the earlier train. At the Loftus Tramway Museum they had two of there latest trams operating; W Class 249 from Canberra and PCC 1014 from San Francisco.
I would welcome the first of our new Safeworkers to the fold in Max Raynor, Jonathan Medlin, Gary Ray, Brad Bell and Peter Silva and sincerely hope you enjoy the work you have chosen with the railway which I believe you will find interesting and rewarding. By the end of this month we should be seeing another four or five persons completing the course and qualifying.
A reminder to those contemplating a change of shift prior to their nominated days work or on the day that they must notify their appropriate Roster Clerk as soon as possible prior to commencing duty. Not only is it important to keep records up to date, but the Station Master has to be advised as well.
Kevin Stanes, Roster Clerk - Guards & Signalmen.
Please Note that I do not have any Guard's Books available at present - the last of the 'el-cheapo' glued versions have gone. I am investigating getting these printed but as these are hand sewn into sections, this may take some time - as not many people do this type of sewing & binding any more.
I recently purchased some new S1 padlocks (not cheap at $65.00 each). Murray Farrell has spent a bit of time recently lubricating the S1 padlocks on the carsets and replacing them as necessary. Murray has used nearly all of my new supply, so I now have a number of padlocks needing repair. Thanks Murray for spending the time to lubricate the padlocks. Your efforts are much appreciated.
Rob Emmerson, Traffic Manager
Firstly, I would like to thank all the volunteers who put their time and efforts into the changing of a pile on Bridge 5. Your efforts and experience is highly regarded. A good effort also, by the workers from the Way & Works. Everything went smoothly and had no hiccups or rain; someone was looking after us I think!
To all the people who have contacted me about certificates for trolley and track patrol, thank you and any one who hasn't, please e-mail me or call me to let me know what you have or haven't got so that I can update the records and pursue in getting copies of certificates.
Any person who has been qualified and hasn't done any trolley runs for a while, don't hesitate to call me and we can organise some retraining for you. Currently we are planning some tamping at pole 179 to Bridge 6 and then some ballast runs.
Also clearing of the railway corridor is on the agenda when time allows. The Wright Forest area is one spot that we are trying to clean up and clear before the next fire season sneaks up on us.
The Road Rail is currently out of action, and notification of when it is back in service will be issued out to all.
Jason Bell
Work continues on locomotive restoration including NGG16.
The next workday will be on Saturday 4th July.
During June our main 'old' server failed and we migrated to the new machines. A sincere thank you to our dedicated team who toiled into the wee hours over several nights to restore the system. The new servers had been idling along, waiting for a suitable changeover and although our hand was forced, the move occurred without loss of data and without too much interruption to daily activities. They also provide a more stable operating platform and improved backup capacity.
Thanks to those who rang and advised of the downed flashing light mast at Main Rd Clematis. The substantial hail and ice is believed to have contributed to the car hitting the mast on Tuesday June 9th. All was restored the following day.
Just a reminder that you only have a few days to make your Tax Deductible donations before the end of the financial year. Sincere thanks for those who continue to assist this fund. Watch this space for further developments.
Andrew Wheatland.
The ETRB has appointed Greg McLennan and David Baker as Joint Managers of the Branch. Contact details are as follows:
David Baker: 0401 222 998
Greg McLennan:
Unfortunately the local community committee who organise the Winter Fest has advised that this event will not be held this year. The branch had prepared plans for our part in the festival to allow our contribution to be better than previous years. The community committee expects to hold the event next year in 2010.
The Malcolm Moore rail tractor is in the final stage of its re-build and the new roof has been rolled and is ready to place over the unit. This returns the appearance of the unit to that similar to when the engines were manufactured for use by the Australian Army in WW2
The 'George and George' Boiler has had a considerable amount of use as it has been used for training staff in the recent boiler courses. The walls have been lined with timber panelling
Work has recommenced on the gang shed to complete it and fit new doors to it. This shed was originally at Kilmore and was removed to the TMSV site at Bylands and re-erected by Graeme Breydon at the TMSV. The TMSV offered the shed to the Museum in return for us helping them with some resleepering of their track.
The shed is a typical gang shed and now houses the railway's fleet of historic KS trolleys. All the normal gang's tools will be displayed on the racks.
Work is proceeding on the design of dual gauge points for use in the Museum; the point layout plan has been completed and now detailed design of the various components is being worked on. The 2'/2"6" points will require some components manufactured from scratch such as double nosed vee crossings. It is proposed that Museum personnel will manufacture these at Belgrave Workshops.
David Baker & Greg McLennan, Managers
| May 2009 | 2009 | 2008 |
|---|---|---|
| On-time running (OT - 5") | 67% | 57% |
| Locos docked on trains by due time | 76% | 82% |
| Carriage sets docked by due time | 81% | 84% |
| Train kilometres for the month | 3.148 | 3.120 |
| Loco kilometres steam | 3.045 | 3.069 |
| Loco kilometres diesel | 121 | 109 |
| NA locomotive days for month | 74 | 60 |
| G 42 days for month | 0 | 15 |
| Carriage kilometres | 24.226 | 27.155 |
| Carriage Days for month | 641 | 743 |
| Highest kms operated - loco | 1.138 | 1.009 |
| Highest kms operated - pass vehicle | 1.484 | 1.492 |
| Highest kms operated - wagon | 50 | 40 |
| Scheduled trips run (one way) | 210 | 198 |
| Revenue trips (one way) | 234 | 227 |
| Non-revenue trips (one way) | 6 | 11 |
Bob Wilson
The Climax boiler has got up to the stage of hydrostatic testing. This is a process that requires a fair bit of preparation for the testing. Blanking pieces have to be made to cover all of the holes that would normally have valves or pipes attached. The boiler is heated slowly up to temperature, starting with cold water and then heating this up with steam. Finally the pressure is built up to the required level when the boiler inspector is there to check it all out. More next time, when we know the results.
Help yourself by helping the Climax. Now is the time to make a tax-deductible donation to the Climax Restoration Fund. By donating now, you minimise the time before you get the benefit of your donation or sponsorship of a much needed part. Members can donate when they send in their renewals. Others can help by forwarding their donation and/or sponsorship through the Stationmaster or direct to Kings Road - attention Climax Fund.
This has been postponed as Peckett 1711 is having some much-needed work done at Belgrave and will not be available in July. We will look for a date later in the year.
Our mainline practical will also have to wait for the return to traffic of the Peckett. I will contact those who did the Nursery session when the practical run will occur.
John Conway
Come and join your colleagues and friends from Puffing Billy at this year's popular film night at Gembrook. You have the choice of travelling by train from Emerald or of making your own way there. As usual, cheese, biscuits and drinks will be served during the interval and there will be a collection of films shown covering a wide range of subjects from Australia and overseas.
Look for the booking form with this copy of Monthly News and ring Jeff Goodwin if you have any questions.
Come with us as we visit our preservation colleagues at Healesville for a trolley ride and dinner in a Halloween atmosphere.
Our ever popular end of year event. Travel on the last train of 2009 and the first of 2010 as we welcome the New Year at the Packing Shed.
For questions on any of these events, please contact Jeff Goodwin
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Updated Monthly. Contents © 2009 by the P.B.P.S. for the E.T.R.B. This service is provided for the Emerald Tourist Railway Board and maintained by Bill Russell. URI: http://www.members.optusnet.com.au/puffing.billy/monnews.htm |
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