Railway Preservation
Organised railway preservation commenced in Victoria with the formation of the Puffing Billy Preservation Society in 1955, and operating under the Emerald Tourist Railway Board from 1977. Formed to operate the narrow gauge 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) gauge railway in the Dandenong Ranges near Melbourne, the group continues to operate the railway today.
The demise of the last of the steam locomotives in Victoria commenced in the 1960s, with the Australian Railway Historical Society and Association of Railway Enthusiasts working with the Victorian Railways to have a number of locomotives preserved for the future. In 1962 the ARHS Railway Museum was established at North Williamstown to house static exhibits, and Steamrail Victoria was formed in 1965 to assist in the restoration of locomotives and carriages for use on special trains.
By the 1980s a number of heritage railways had been established in Victoria on closed branch lines. These railways serve both as tourist attractions, and to preserve the railway past. The work of railway preservation groups has since expanded to retired railway carriages, electric multiple units, rail motors, and diesel locomotives. In 2006 heritage railways carried 542,000 patrons over 161 km of track; with 28 operational steam locomotives, 47 diesels, 14 railmotors, and 192 carriages.
Heritage Railways and Operators include:
- Puffing Billy Railway, Belgrave
- Bellarine Peninsula Railway, Queenscliff
- Daylesford Spa Country Railway, Daylesford
- Victorian Goldfields Railway, Maldon
- Mornington Railway Preservation Society, Mornington
- Seymour Railway Heritage Centre, Seymour
- Steamrail Victoria, Newport
- Walhalla Goldfields Railway, Walhalla
- Yarra Valley Tourist Railway, Healesville
- South Gippsland Railway, Leongatha
- Melbourne Tramway Museum, Bylands
Read more about this topic: Rail Transport In Victoria
Famous quotes containing the words railway and/or preservation:
“Her personality had an architectonic quality; I think of her when I see some of the great London railway termini, especially St. Pancras, with its soot and turrets, and she overshadowed her own daughters, whom she did not understand—my mother, who liked things to be nice; my dotty aunt. But my mother had not the strength to put even some physical distance between them, let alone keep the old monster at emotional arm’s length.”
—Angela Carter (1940–1992)
“I do seriously believe that if we can measure among the States the benefits resulting from the preservation of the Union, the rebellious States have the larger share. It destroyed an institution that was their destruction. It opened the way for a commercial life that, if they will only embrace it and face the light, means to them a development that shall rival the best attainments of the greatest of our States.”
—Benjamin Harrison (1833–1901)