Re: Rail line preservation

[pcc@ocean.com.au (Les Brown)]

mauried@commslab.gov.au (Maurie Daly) wrote in aus.rail:

>Unfortunately , most preservation groups arnt rolling in funds and the cost of 
>simply connecting the old bright Line to the main line at Bowser, ie the set 
>of BG points,the grade crossing of the SG line ,associated interlocking 
>equipment ,ie switch locked points  in the minimum case ,the  nearby road 
>crossing of the old Hume Highway and crossing of the Hume Freeway would wipe 
>out any preservations groups funds for ever.
>Anywhere from $200K to around $1M if indeed the Vic Govt 
>would allow the freeway to be crossed with a rail line.
>
If the Federal (Feral?) Government can waste $20 million restoring the
long closed Queenstown-Strahan rail line that will NEVER much of a
tourist attraction 'cause its too far from bloody anywhere, and will
be far too expensive to run and maintain, then even a paltry (?), by
comparison, 2 million would put the line over the freeway on a
concrete viaduct. Imagine what $20 million would do between Bowser and
Beechworth. Test track for a BG tilt train?

Something is screwed up somewhere if they can find $20 mil for a
tourist line that basically goes from nowhere to nowhere and yet more
worthwhile railway preservation projects like Dorrigo and Healesville
are languishing. It's gotta be pork-barrelling of the worst order.

Les Brown