Two get trips: PBR & ARHS EE (Vic. Aus.)

["Roderick Smith" <rodsmith@werple.net.au>]

On Sat.2.10, Puffing Billy ran its first Commissioners Train all the way
through to Gembrook.  Passengers are given much more than the usual tourist
ride:
* Inspection of Belgrave station and loco workshop, with a talk from the
workshops manager.
* 9.30 special train (first-class carriages with a bar), hauled by a
working Climax, to Menzies Creek.  Photostops were held at Monbulk Creek
Bridge, and at the landslide site (where the curve has been realigned to
provide faster running).
* Inspection of the railway museum at Menzies Creek while being overtaken
by the 10.30 down Gembrook pass., which is usually doubleheaded, but which
was tripleheaded on this day to bring an NA for the special.
* Morning tea aboard the special as it continued to Emerald.
* Inspection of the carriage workshop at Emerald, with a talk from the
manager.  Also an inspection of the loco shed there, housing smaller locos.
* After crossing at Emerald, the train continued to Lakeside (inspection of
the new island platform), then to Gembrook, with a photostop at bridge 8. 
A scheduled pass. was crossed at Gembrook.
* Hot two-course meal at Ranges Hotel.
* After crossing the second Gembrook pass. at the terminus, the special
made a steady run back to Belgrave, crossing another train at Lakeside.
These trips are a good way for railway enthusiasts to see much more than is
available on the regular public trips, and will be repeated on Sat.9 &
Sat.16.10.

On Sat.3.10 ARHS ran a tour around Melbourne industrial sidings with an
early 1950s F-class 0-6-0 diesel shunting loco (the same as a BR class 08).
 The trip was deservedly popular, giving the longest enthusiast tour ever
with one of these locos (there have been a scattered few in past years),
interesting running over lots of hard-to-cover trackage, and the sighting
of lots of other interesting trains through he day.  F317 (its original
number), 707 Operation's depot shunting loco, was given mainline
accreditation, and hauled West Coast Railway carriages: the three BK
carriages, with ground-level stairways, were particularly convenient for
the many photostops.
>From Melbourne Spencer St, the train ran over the flyover to North
Melbourne, backed up on the goods lines, then ran forward to the canal zone
of Melbourne Yard, then backed onto the Appleton Dock line.  From there it
ran out via the canal zone, with a photostop adjacent to National Rail's
recently returned-to-service C505, and via the goods lines to Sunshine,
then to Boral siding at Deer Park West.  Before the special left, a train
with two A-class locos arrived to load ballast.  The train ran via Sunshine
and the freight link to Newport, waiting at Brooklyn for a westbound
Patrick Stevedoring freight to precede.  The train ran into Newport
Workshops, with time to inspect the preservation groups' depot there (in
the historic brick part of the workshops).  707O's Y class loco helped
shunt the train.  From there, the train ran back via Brooklyn (crossing
another westbound mainline freight) and the goods lines to Melbourne Yard
to reverse, then onto the Maribyrnong River line.  The final stage
(returning to Spencer St) was enlivened by Captain W Somerville (a poster
to aus.rail) bringing his 1927 ferry/launch Blackbird alongside on
Maribyrnong River, and racing the train to the bridge.  In all, a great
day.  This was attended by many posters to aus.rail; hopefully one will
place a photo on his webpage for overseas viewers and lovers of English
Electric locos to admire.

-- 
Regards
Roderick Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor