RTM and steam. My personal opinion

[lbrown2@bigpond.com (Brown Family)]

On Wed, 14 Mar 2001 20:39:44 +1100, Bob <alco@one.net.au> wrote:

>Add to this the non Government engines running with other museums. Why would
>we want more mainline steam locos when we can't fill the few trains that are
>steam hauled now? There is not the demand to restore more engines in the
>short term. The Victorians have a very short memory, in 1984 there was only
>1 K class operable in Victoria, nothing else. I believe Victoria will catch
>up with the rest of the world soon, high insurance costs and high access
>charges as well as limmited access will do this. Some states in the US have
>NO mainline steam as is the case in parts of Canada.

I remember seeing 5 R-class locos, in a very sorry state, lined up
ouside Newport Workshops near North Williamstown station around 1984.
I thought it was the end for all of them, yet, 16 years later, 4 of
that 5 are either in working order or about to be.

We DID have those difficult times, but we grew out of them, matured,
stopped our sniping and bitching and started CO-OPERATING with each
other. We got on with the job of preserving instead of arguing.  Learn
from our experience instead of emulating us.

My honest opinion is that your railway's heritage is more valuable
than any other state. NSW was a railfan's paradise in the 1960's and
70's, Victorian fans talked mostly about "going north" and chasing
trains - steam and diesel - in those days. But you're on the Titanic
now, it's hit the iceberg, it's sinking and you're bitching about
who's going to sit at the captain's table! 

Concerning acces to the state's rail network, Victorian heritage train
operators were guaranteed rail access (50,000km per year, wasn't it?)
by the Kennett govt and I do not believe this has changed under
Bracks. It might be tricky running steam, but Victoria's advantage is
that the rail operators are using heritage locos for revenue traffic
which makes it kinda hard for them to say no when you want to run a
train or two. My impression is that F/A bends over backwards to help
most heritage groups. Not every railway line in Victoria sees heavy
traffic. The problem is not so much can we run a train, but where and
when.

As far as insurance is considered, this would have to be more of a
problem in NSW, than Victoria. And you can't compare a USA Class I
railway to even Sydney-Melbourne. Your rail access regime has caused
more problems (and deaths, unfortunately) than Victoria, yet high
insurance hasn't stopped your trains.

Whilst preserved line operators around Australia are beneficiaries of
some rather generous Federal and State government largesse, your
government seems loathed to donate anything. You had some wonderful
opportunities for rail line preservation. What about the Toronto and
Belmont branches? Ideal locations and you blew it! Picton-Mittagong
loop was a disaster. Corowa has been returned back to SRA. What
happend to LVR, anyway? All that you seem to have after 40 years of
railway preservation are the excellently resurrected (not preserved)
Zig-Zag railway and some Rail Motor operation out of Cooma. Even South
Australia, the most anti-rail state in Australia, has more preserved
trains and tracks than NSW. If you guys stopped your in-fighting and
started co-operating and behaving professionaly, maybe Bob Carr might
be more generous. I find it hard to believe that Sydney people are any
less inclined to heritage train operation than anyone else in
Australia and New Zealand.

Anyway, I'm not saying any more on this topic. I've probably said too
much as it is and a lot of it is my perception rather than absolute
fact. But what is fact is that Dorrigo is a crying shame and a very
sad indictment on the very poor state of NSW rail preservation. Time
is running out for all that rolling stock sitting in the semi-tropics.

How long do you think you've got before all you are left with is
rotten wood, piles of rust and fading memories?

Les Brown