Re: WGR losing its heritage values?

["Graybags" <ews2@ozemail.com.au>]

I have walked the route of this old railway line, and have been very
impressed with the work of the WGR.

Having walking up Stringers Creek gorge, I can state with certaintly that
most of the old bridges are either totally destoyed by fire (stumps only),
disintegrated with rot, or in one case, reduced to old iron spans across
the creek (literally hanging in the air, the wooden supports having been
burnt out).  The remanants of another long wooden bridge had already been
removed by WGR and the foundation holes re-excavated.
ie - My point is that very little of the original bridges are re-usable,
except for a few old iron spans.  Total replacement is required.

AFAIK, timber bridges require considerable maintenance, and partial
replacement ever 20 - 30 years or so. Further, they are vulnerable to
bushfire, arson, and even stray steam locomotive sparks!  Therefore, I
would hope that the bridges can be replaced in a manner that retains most
of the heritage values, but avoids the higher costs and shorter lives of
the original wooden bridges.  For example, the original iron girders would
be re-used, but possibly on conrete foundations.  Given that access to
Stringers Creek is difficult, few people would ever see the 'non-authentic'
portions of the bridges. 

Conversely, the first bridge south of Walhalla would be seen by most
passengers and passers-by, and I therfore hope this is replaced to
'heritage' standards.  
     
Cheers
Ed

Bob Backway <b.backway@trl.telstra.com.au> wrote in article
<372F883E.38C23F4B@trl.telstra.com.au>...
> The VR NG Walhalla line has been a fascination to me for years. I've
> spent many hours walking, photographing and reading about the line. An
> area of particular interest is the Stringers Creek gorge where several
> bridges literally take the line along, rather than across, the creek.
> These bridges were built by different contractors using different
> materials and engineering styles and thus, given the engineering
> challenge of that environment, provide in one place a unique piece of
> Victorian railway heritage.
> The WGR is in the process of receiving $1.5M of taxpayers money to
> complete phase 1 of their project by taking the line over these six
> bridges and into Walhalla. The money was received as a result of what
> most people would see as "heritage grants" to recreate a piece of
> Edwardian history.
> Previously I've admired the work of the WGR. Their restoration of the
> Thompson river bridge was commendable and set a standard that PBR
> emulated recently. The technique was to use modern practice such as
> steel & concrete for foundations and using waterproof membranes on
> decking to ensure longer life and easier maintanance without degrading
> the visual appearance of the bridge.
> At a recent meeting however my opinion of this group changed
> dramatically. It appears that they have swapped their heritage values
> for those of material expediancy. They are proposing to rebuild at least
> 3 of the remaining bridges using steel and concrete where previously
> timber was used visably. In at least one case they plan to completely
> alter the design of the bridge by considerably increasing (I believe
> doubling) the span length. A comment was made that "the passengers don't
> even see them anyway". So much for our engineering heritage!
> While one may argue that running a diesel and steel framed carraiges is
> not in keeping with heritage values may I point out that these are non
> permanent items. Once these bridges have been rebuilt to new designs
> they will stay for ever and our heritage will be lost.
> If you feel like I do write to the Walhalla Goldfields Railway, PO Box
> 1576, Traralgon Vic 3844, FAX (03) 9419 5230, and let them know. Perhaps
> a note to the appropriate Federal and State ministers indicating the
> loss of railway heritage may also be in order.
> 
> Bob Backway
> 
>