October 2009#435
October 2009
#435
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 .
Passenger figures and revenue for August remained strong. In fact, not only above budget but slightly better than last year. Expenses remained lower than budget, and once again I thank all involved in keeping these under control. Overall there was a strong financial result for the whole of August.
On the business plan front, we seem to be getting closer each time I write. The Government have assisted in funding for a Master plan and feasibility analysis. This will form the basis of the bid for the funding we are seeking to allow what is in the business plan to happen. As part of this process, SGS Economic Planning will be holding an information evening as part of the consultancy process. This is your chance to get involved and have your say - I urge all to get involved.
I have been away for a few weeks in the UK and, as can be expected, visited a few railways. Our colleagues at our twinned railway at Tal-y-Llyn send their regards to all at PB. I can heartily recommend this line for a visit. It is now some twelve years since I last visited and this line has truly become 'one of the great little trains'. I also attended the Welshpool & Llanfair Gala weekend where everyone was having a lot of fun 'playing' trains in addition to all the extra activities that were on offer. It is something that I believe we should be emulating. So if anybody has any ideas, please drop me a line or pop into the office.
All our special events are selling well. The Murder Mystery nights are very much sold out, as is the Jazz train and Thomas, as usual, is being well supported with the booking team opening up a couple of extra shows ahead of the season. As ever, volunteers are needed to assist, so if you can put in an extra day and join the fun please contact your relevant manager.
What was very apparent during my visit was how recession hit the UK had become. Visitor numbers at most attractions were down and there was much talk of survival. We in Australia have not been as badly hit, however there was an air of 'turning' the corner and I hope we can all look forward to a far more prosperous season ahead.
Eamonn Seddon, CEO
The Board considered the following in August:
There are no apes at Apedale, but some interesting items for those with web access. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WP-XRokSA4g
(OK, for those of you who don't have computer access, this is a 'You Tube' clip from a DVD featuring activities at the Apedale site of the Moseley Railway Trust in the UK. A very interesting mix of loco's is shown from steam to battery locomotives. Apedale is not far from Newcastle-under-Lyme and Stoke on Trent. Ed.)
Firstly, our thanks to Lorraine Tester for her work over the last couple of years regularly checking the first aid kits and ensuring that they have been filled up. Lorraine is taking a few months well earned break.
Now, we require someone who is willing to check and replenish the first aid kits on a weekly basis. This usually takes one to two hours per week.
Please contact Sue Ham if you would like to offer your services or for more information. Please Note that you do not need to be first aid trained - just have a willingness to help.
Over the past few years, there have been a number of initiatives to improve services for members and volunteers. These were outcomes of the Volunteer Survey carried out by the P.B.P.S.
One of the initiatives was the need to upgrade the Membership/Volunteer database. With the support of the P.B.P.S., a team of people, with the Volunteer Coordinator, were assembled to research requirements, based on current systems, future requirements, approaches used in other organisations and various options from software suppliers. Progress reports were made to the P.B.P.S. Executive and senior management for review and feedback. As a result, two projects are underway with one focusing on systems for volunteers and the other on membership data.
After a review of volunteer requirements and options, the team selected "Volunteer2", a web-based volunteer system, that would meet Puffing Billy Railway requirements for volunteer communication, record keeping, rostering and time recording now and in the future. It was also identified that "Volunteer2" would support the requirements of the Safety Management System in keeping records of training, time worked, etc.
Following the August P.B.P.S. Executive meeting, and presentation to a group of senior managers, the proposal was discussed and approved to proceed at the August Board meeting. This enabled the project team to move onto the first phases of the implementation of "Volunteer2"
These phases are:
| Organisation and Planning | Establish Steering Committee of Ian Roos (chair), John Hoy, Don Marshall, Sue Ham & Anne MacLeish Establish Project team and Project Plan . Prepare plan using a staged implementation strategy. |
| Communication | Hold information meetings with Managers, Roster Officers and Volunteers Prepare series of articles for M. News & Narrow Gauge. |
| Data Preparation and Transfer | Clean up current data files and merge where appropriate to enable automated transfer. Review personal info with volunteers (see MN insert). Prepare data map for field customisation. |
We invite all volunteers to provide feedback and inputs to the project, by:
Return the "Volunteer Information" form included with your Monthly News in the return envelope provided. Your questions and queries will form part of a "Frequently Asked Questions" section.
Thank you for the prompt responses to renewal reminders. Each week, we process a bundle of renewals and this ensures that members continue to get the benefits of membership. At the present time, all renewals are being processed by volunteers at weekends.
If you have renewal enquiries - please send your query to our e-mail membership@pbr.org.au, or request when talking to people at the railway, that they send an e-mail with your query on your behalf. This will help fix your query promptly.
We welcome our new and rejoining members. It is great to welcome those members back after a time away, just as it is great to welcome people new to the Railway.
Every member should have received their notice about the Annual General Meeting and election of Office bearers by now. Let us know if you have not received it, as we do our best to ensure mailouts are done correctly.
To be involved in the annual election of office bearers, it is critical that you are a financial member as at 7th October 2009. We would prefer that you complete your renewal by September 30 th.
Puffing Billy Railway and in particular, the Great Train Race, is supported by numerous companies who provide PBR with fantastic sponsorship.
If you have an opportunity to use the services of any of the following sponsors, it would be of great benefit to the Railway.
Please ensure that you advise the sponsor you are involved with PBR (it may get you a discount!!) as this is crucial to us securing the sponsor in the future.
It's now only a few weeks until Thomas is back in Emerald Town!!!! Dates for the upcoming season are:-
Once again, any help will be gratefully appreciated so if you have any spare time and would like to assist, please contact Thelma on 9723 4785 (between 9am and 9pm) or via email to thelray@tpg.com.au. Look forward to seeing you at "Day out with Thomas"!!
Matt Collopy, Special Events Manager
If anyone would like to volunteer to work in the Thomas shed and food & beverage area, it would be much appreciated. Could you please call April
If you are able to spare some time to work in Refreshments at any of our stations anytime this month, it would be much appreciated. We have many gaps to fill and selling refreshments and souvenirs is one of the best ways of making money to pay for the things we all want to see done on Puffing Billy.
Could you please call April
April Williams
Jean is away in the UK at the time of writing this but she will be back by the time you all receive Monthly News.
Artwork for the Guard's Books has now been finalised and these have been sent to the printers for production. This time it has been possible to print on the cover and so these books will look more like the original VR ones than our previous versions. I am not sure when I will actually receive these from the printer but once I do, I'll let as many people know as possible so that you can request your new one. These books will lay flat when opened unlike the last batch of temporary ones, which had a glued spine rather than a sewn one.
Those persons on Course No.30 are requested to complete as soon as possible. As we will be starting a new course toward the end of the year (pre-course observations runs) you should have your work all completed by then (1st November 2009) or face the prospect of having to complete the course again. If you are having difficulty completing the course for whatever reason, then please come and talk to either myself or John Morice. We can only judge your case if we know the facts about your situation.
This also applies to anyone from a previous course who has not yet completed.
A request has been made by Jon Medlin asking that if the Guard of a train when at Menzies Creek, or the Signalman on duty, is to make an announcement over the Public Address system if they could refer to the shop as the Refreshment Rooms in preference to 'shop' or 'kiosk'.
Also a few Guards who have Trainees have not been filling out the Safeworking Trainee Review Form [Form No TR41]. It is extremely important that this form is completed and forwarded in the appropriate envelope to John Morice, as if he does not receive the TR41 the 'credit' for that day cannot be added to that persons training register. Please note that the shift roster for the coming Christmas/New Year period has been completed and will shortly be able to be viewed on the notice board in the Belgrave Safeworking Room. I have continued with the policy of keeping the shifts below the 9 hour period and have introduced a 5th shift, which last year was a short 3 hour shift, however with a cross taking place in the afternoon at Emerald this shift has been extended to cover that portion of the day's work. When the Guard returns from Menzies Creek as Train No.10 they can either take Train No.21 to Emerald, returning to Belgrave on Train No.42, leaving Emerald at 4:17pm or if they take their car, can go home from Emerald. Further details will be furnished with the appropriate "S" Notice in due course.
Kevin Stanes
Belgrave Workshops will be open on Saturday 3 rd October, and will also be open on Wednesday nights as per normal practice.
During July there were 643 volunteer hours recorded at Belgrave Workshops and 51 hours at Emerald Carshops.
25 years ago a fresh faced welder began duty at Emerald Carshops working with Mel Elliott, Ewen Stephens, Allan Johnstone, Adam Black, Frank Werle & Neil Mathieson, among others. During this time Karl worked on the carriage and goods stock fleet, helped with the Belgrave verandah, built the steel bridge spans for bridges 7, 8 & 9 for the Gembrook extension. He also was involved in the 6 steel framed NBH vehicles as well as the canopied NQR passenger vehicles. As I can testify, tractor and slasher repairs were also on the list of skills. For a change of scenery Karl moved to Belgrave where he is presently working on DH braking systems. Karl, congratulations on your 25 years of service, well done.
Hugh Markwick
Final fitting and painting of the roof is underway. This will be followed by a new exhaust system which will see this project finished.
The water main servicing the boiler house is being repaired due to deterioration of cast iron pipe work and work on the horizontal Tangey is nearing the assembly stage.
It is planned to paint the external of this building as weather becomes more favourable. Internal shelving still to be fitted as per VR drawings
Work continues on this, concentrating on the station side of the museum compound.
These have been loaded and moved by truck from the museum site at Menzies Creek to the Bellarine Peninsula Railway. Two wagons still to be picked up.
Museum Workdays: 1 st, 3 rd & 5 th Saturdays of every month.
Wednesday nights: 5pm to 9.30pm - all are welcome.
David Baker & Greg McLennan, Managers
Hi everyone, just to let you all know that we are currently preparing the Fire Patrol roster for November. We are not 100% sure if they will be running but with all the talk around I would rather be safe than sorry. So if any volunteers have any time that they will be willing to put down, please let Andrew Burns or myself know. If you e-mail firepatrol@pbr.org.au, Andrew and I will receive your e-mails or you can contact either of us by phone. (Please Note the new email address).
With the purchase of a wood chipper, which will arrive some time this month, the gang will be out clearing the railway corridor in a much more efficient way than burning off. The productivity will be noticeable from the loco which will create more scenic enjoyment and put less fuel on the ground for the fire season.
Works have been carried out along the line clearing drains and in the last month we have spent a bit of time clearing trees following the wild weather that we have encountered recently. Just a reminder that any tree that you think may be suspicious, don't hesitate in letting us know as we are grateful for the info and will look at it A.S.A.P. to assess the circumstance that it may present.
A thank you to all the volunteers that are assisting the Way & Works department at present, your work and dedication is making a difference to the Railway and is being appreciated by all.
Jason Bell
| AUGUST 2009 | 2009 | 2008 |
|---|---|---|
| On-time running (OT - 5") | 70% | 69% |
| Locos docked on trains by due time | 85% | 87% |
| Carriage sets docked by due time | 84% | 83% |
| Train kilometres for the month | 3,209 | 3,069 |
| Loco kilometres steam | 3,062 | 2,937 |
| Loco kilometres diesel | 224 | 132 |
| NA locomotive days for month | 73 | 70 |
| G 42 days for month | 2 | 2 |
| Carriage kilometres | 24,374 | 25,348 |
| Carriage Days for month | 647 | 667 |
| Highest kms operated - loco | 966 | 1,154 |
| Highest kms operated - pass vehicles | 1,497 | 1,477 |
| Highest kms operated - wagons | 100 | 48 |
| Scheduled trips run (one way) | 206 | 208 |
| Revenue trips (one way) | 222 | 220 |
| Non-revenue trips (one way) | 22 | 8 |
G42 was brought back into service briefly to celebrate the centenary year of Garratt locomotives. A test run operated to Emerald and return on Wednesday 5th August. An 11 car passenger train operated on Saturday 16th August from Belgrave to Cockatoo and return to commemorate the occasion.
Bob Wilson
We have just completed a project at Portland to relocate three turnouts, build a level crossing and connect it all up to form a reversing triangle. It's now well away from the edge of the collapsing cliff it was previously on. Work was completed on time and well within budget and trams should be running again by the time you read this. The success of this project was made doubly so by the high level of voluntary input both by PBR volunteers and locals. Thanks in particular to Gerard, Terry and Norm who all put in a tremendous effort.
John Shaw
Book now for something different!
Come with us as we celebrate Halloween with our colleagues at the Yarra Valley Tourist Railway in Healesville. For this event we will travel on our own bus from Belgrave to Healesville station where our hosts will lay on an enticing (or should that be bewitching?) feast for our dinner. This will be followed by a trolley tour through the haunted tunnel. An evening definitely not for the faint hearted!
The booking form was issued last month and bookings must be received by 25 th September. If you are interested in joining us, please ring Greg Little for a last minute booking or for further details.
Our perennially popular end of year event! Travel on the last train of 2009 and the first of 2010 as we welcome in the New Year at Melbourne's best value for money New Year's Eve event, held at the Packing Shed. Travelling on our own train, you can enjoy a convivial evening with family, friends or your Puffing Billy colleagues. Dinner is provided, along with musical entertainment before we return to Belgrave, pausing en-route to welcome in 2010 with a glass of something bubbly at Menzies Creek.
Booking form with this copy of Monthly News. Book now; this event always sells out!
For questions on any of these events, please contact Jeff Goodwin on (evenings only, please)
Work is proceeding at a great rate on the Climax. We now have two workers constantly beavering away - Adam and Jack. Jack has come over from the USA to help us for a few months. Please say hello to him if you see him around the Belgrave yard or Workshop. The side rods and crankshafts have been removed, cleaned and ultrasonically tested for cracks. The design work for the new axles has been completed and will shortly be sent out to a subcontractor for manufacture. These axles will be keyless and thus much stronger than the original type. Locomotive 1694 broke several axles over its working life due to flaws in the design. The new axles should last considerably longer as we believe that the problems have been engineered out of them. Work continues on component cleaning and testing. Long-time Climax supporter, Derek Garner, has joined the active list as the Climax Fund-raising Officer and hit the rails with a full head of steam. He has organised for bricks and concrete to finish the turntable wall at Emerald to be supplied for free and half-price respectively. This will improve the safety of all crews and locomotives operating out of the Nursery for FETs and Thomas. Well done Derek!
The FETs are going quite well, thanks to the crews who do a wonderful job on them. Some weekends we run two FETs but we can always fit more in. If you have always wanted to drive a train but didn't have a spare ten years to learn, make a booking and we can get you a drive much quicker.
What do you get for that hard-to-shop-for person? We have the answer! In fact we have two answers! We have two lines of Collectors biscuits tins available. One features the Climax on the lid, the other shows 861 with a train on Bridge 8. The lids are embossed and look very good. They are just the thing for Dad, Uncle Joe or Gran. They contain 500g (slightly more than 1 lb in heritage-speak) of Mac's delicious shortbread biscuits that are made in Kerang; they are a very nice addition to afternoon tea. These designs will only make an appearance this year, so get in early as numbers are limited. The tins are only $12 and will help us to get the Climax back on track. Orders will be available for pick-up from Belgrave Station. For those living far away, we can post them out. You can order your tins on the order form in this Monthly News or by sending me an email. (To the people who ordered their tins at the recent Film Night, your orders are in the system and will be available in early November.)
This tour will explore the two separate tramways constructed by the Forests Commission of Victoria in the Erica district.
Saturday: The upper portion of the Thomson valley tramway constructed from Ezard's tramway to the Bells Creek area visiting the North and South Cascade creek bridge remains, and other interesting sites.
Saturday night: A presentation of the post bushfire survey work being carried out by LRRSA members will be screened in the Rawson Village conference room.
Sunday: The 2'6" gauge tramway between Collins siding on the Moe - Walhalla Railway and Tyers Junction. This line was home to Climax 1694 for all of its working life from 1928 until the tramway closed in July 1949.
Bookings for this interesting weekend can be made on the form in the November Monthly News or by contacting me.
John Conway, jfgconway@yahoo.com
For Sale (a/c moving house) - Model Railway HO scale, DigiTrax controllers (x 4), Newish locos x 4, Older Hornby Locos x 8 + rolling stock x 50, Peco track x 300 metres, Colour light and semaphore signals x 20 with integrated track circuits & control panel, buildings, scenery, etc
Any reasonable offer or enquiries to Steve Strangward -steve@richmond.kwikkopy.com.au.
This item was found recently when perusing the Victoria Gazette and relates to Concession Fares offered by the Victorian Railways. I'm sure our readers will find this interesting.
Miss Fishbourne's School Pupils Attendance Fares.-Attendants accompanying pupils of Miss Fishbourne's school for dull children, Melbourne, will be issued return tickets at Half Holiday Excursion fare available for return for three days on presentation of voucher (P.22), signed by Dr. Fishbourne. (See Sample of form on page 170.)
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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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