Rail Spike

7/28/2019 Rail Spike

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Asbestos gone

Compressed air on

New Caterpillar diesel donated 68 metre carriage shed construction

Maydena tourism plan

X18 restoration

Westerway Station Centenary

New Norfolk Station re-vamp

Week day work crew

Getting ready

OUT OF THE BLUE

Over the past ew years theDVR steam locomotive eet

has grown. All these fne oldmachines brought joy and a

sense o achievement to the

railway they also broughtasbestos cladding. M1, MA1

and H5 all had blue asbestos

blankets around their boil-ers and pistons. Quotes orthe removal o the asbestos

ranged rom $26 000 perlocomotive, to $9 000 or the

three!

Needless to say, the board chose the latter quote. To cut

down on the cost DVR members removed the external ft-tings to enable the removal o covers beore the licensed

contractor arrived to expose the asbestos. DVRs steam lo-cos are now certifed asbestos ree. The removal was made

possible with a Federal Government grant.

AIR - THERE AND EVERYWHERESome time ago WIN Television donated a large capacity aircompressor to the DVR. Over the last ew months a crew

have been busy digging trenches through the rock solid yardand installing pipes into the locomotive shed. Having this

equipment means that air tools and spray painting equip-ment will literally have unlimited air on tap. We will be able

to use air driven tools and our restoration projects will havethe best paint fnish because o the fltering system that is

part o the set-up.

CAT THE TONICDiesel mechanical

shunting locomotiveV7 was removed rom

Dru Point in 1998 orlong term storage and

eventual restoration.Even though it looks

like it is a wreck, it isa basic machine and

most bits needed canbe acquired or abricated. The major component that DVR

needed to fnd was a motor. Originally these locos were ft-ted with Gardner engines. The Gardners were very desirable

or fshing boats and many ound their way into marine ser-vice. Although not a priority project, a conversation started

a ew enquiries. DVR member Colin Kay, through one ohis large network o acquaintances, managed to secure a

BRAND NEW 600 horsepower C18 Caterpillar motor. The

DVR would like to express its gratitude to Caterpillar andDale Elphinstone or this very generous donation. Membersare welcome to look at this fne big yellow CAT at New Nor-

olk on any Saturday work day.

NE WSL E T T E R O F T H E

DERWENT

VALLEY RAILWAYPO Box 478, New Norfolk, TASMANIA 7140

R A I L S P I K E

Even though trains are not running, the DVR has been busyon a number of fronts and planning for a return to the rails.

If you havent been to New Norfolk for a while you will notice the changes.


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FEDS AND A SHEDThe Hon Martin Ferguson, Minister or Resources, En-

ergy and Tourism, and a conessed train bu, again vis-

ited the DVR, but this time it was to help celebrate the

shed becoming a reality and to turn the frst sod. WithMinister Ferguson that day were The Hon Dick Adams, Fed-

eral Member or Lyons and the Mayors rom Hobart, Gle-norchy and the Derwent Valley. councillors and other dis-

tinguished guests attended along with representatives romthe Department o Tourism and the media. The sod turningwas a great event and a real milestone or the DVR. The

shed kit has been coming together wellespecially considering the bad weather

that we have had - only 3 dry Saturdayssince construction commenced.

Paul Jones has been the chie shed put-ter upperer and his willing band has

been working tirelessly every weekendto meet the deadline. The task has been

made easier by having Matt Daveys Datsun 120Y orklit todo all the liting and elevated work.

The shed will be able to house the rolling stock, includingthe 3 ACS dual passenger carriages. These carriages are o

heritage value and in need o urgent repair and attention.

DP OR NOT DP?The advent o the For-estry Tasmania MaydenaAdventure Hub has pre-sented opportunities orthe DVR. A BusinessPlan has been preparedto put orward a case or

unding to Forestry Tas-mania and Government.As was reported on tele-vision News and in thepress, the DVR would beinterested in acquiringthe DP railcar set ownedby Burnie Council. Dis-cussions were underwaybut the situation wasconused when the DonRiver Railway stated its

interest in the railcar setand apparently DRR hasthe frst option on theirpurchase.DVR does not wish toenter into any bidding


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wars with kindred groups so hopeully a sensible resolutioncan be reached.The railcars running between Maydena and National Parkwould be a major drawcard or the area and a und generator

or the DVR..Stay tuned.

18 AGAINHow nice to be young again!X18 is close to being 60

years old and needed a bit oace lit. The cab had cor-

rosion around the oor andwas looking pretty drab a-

ter working hard or a longtime. Derek Jones and Matt

Davey have been replacingpanels and repairing fttings

in preparation or a newpaint job and return to work.

I we can get a team togetherwe can start work on X10

and X30.

WESTERWAY BIRTHDAYIn December this year the Westerway Station will be 100

years old and we plan to celebrate.Initial thoughts are to have a party on the platorm and tieit in with a general DVR inormation day. Providing we canget some paint donated we plan to spruce it up or the cel-ebration. Some o this work will be done through the weekso i you cant make the weekend work days the week daywork may suit you.

Contact Board Member Robert Walker or details.

SPRUCE UPOver the last ew years members have been busy tidying up

the yard, the compound area and the station building. All the

bits o equipment piled up near the gateway has been movedcreating a ar more pleasant and tidy frst impression area.The interior o the station has been de-cluttered and paint-

ed and the engine shed and the compound have been mademore tidy and organised.

A lot o work still needs to be done and all members areurged to help landscape, mow, paint and tidy at any

time that suits even week days i is more convenient.

The Herrick Goods on yard cleaning duty.

WEEK-NESSWhile Saturdays have been buzzing o late with an aver-

age o 12 workers contributing on a regular basis there isa great opportunity to utilise workers that cant make it on

weekends to work on a week day.There are many smaller jobs that can easily be handled by a

couple o members that would only take a couple o hours tocomplete. Please let any Board member know i you are able

to help and we will be able to get a second crew active.

READY SET ALL STATIONS GO

IF WE GET THE WORK DONE!As you can see theres been a lot happening at the DVR but

there is more still to do and the uture is looking bright.For some years now we have not been able to access the

line due to Pacifc National having control o the line. Withtheir withdrawal and the State Government buying back the

line and the rolling stock there is now an opportunity or theDVR to again look at resuming its services in the uture.

You would probably have seen Craig Farrell on the TV or inthe paper talking about the possibilities or tourism opera-


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tors. As Craig has said, the frst priority is obviously to re-store the lines and make them viable or a consistent reight

service. Ater that however; there will hopeully be possi-bilities or tourism operators to run on the line.

This is where the DVR comes in.With our newly restored carriages and locomotives, we will

potentially be able to oer a great tourism experience orvisitors to the valley.

There is potential to hook up with the Maydena Adventure

Hub and the rail track riders in Maydena. This would beneftboth the area in general and particularly the DVR who coulddraw on the visitors to Maydena. There is also potential or

urther expansion.The down side o all this is that we must be ready to go when

the line becomes available and thats where all the hard worko our volunteers and Board comes in.

Now is the time to redouble our eorts so that we can takeadvantage o any opportunities as they become available.

HOW CAN YOU HELP

Weve said it beore, now its time to say it again, you canhelp by donating your time and skills. Cash donations are

always welcome.Membership to the DVR also provides an important income

stream and a DVR membership is a great git idea or any-one who has an interest in trains, history or promoting tour-

ism in the Derwent Valley.

As always, these things cost money and time and its oten

let to a small and dedicated band to purchase and organisethese. The new lock system needed to keep the premises se-

cure was purchased by Board members, who put their handin their pocket and used personal money to ensure the pro-

tection o our assets. The bills keep coming in and we mustcontinue to pay the Aurora, Telstra and BOC accounts or

lose those services.We are calling on members to get behind our revival and

help out either through a cash donation, asking new mem-bers to join us, or coming along to give us a hand with the

work.Donations o tools would also be most welcome; again its

the members who are doing the work who put their hand intheir pocket when something is needed.

THE FUTURE IS LOOKING BRIGHT

Board MembersCraig Farrell - 6261 4566 0418 626 145

Derek Jones 6286 1177 0419 775 349

Charles Court 6227 9362 0401 146 260Dennis Hewitt 6249 3250Lyndon Hewitt 6249 8429 0417 350 002

Damien Jarvis 0409 880 102John Mc Devitt 6261 2894 0417 572 420

Robert Walker 6261 5414 0412 888 999Steve Wheeler 6261 3118 0429 613 118

Stephen Zvillis 0439 726 517

Safety Report by Stephen Zvillis(Safety & Accreditation Manager)

It has been a particularly busy few months for the ad-ministration of the DVR s safety & accreditation obliga-tions.

A major review was prompted by the issue o a new manualearlier this year entitled Saety Management System Guid-ance or Tourist & Heritage Rail Operators. It became evi-dent that, as this was to orm a major part o prescribingcompliance measures, a review o the manual against ourexisting systems was in order.

To streamline the task, it was decided to establish a sub-committee to undertake the review. The sub-committee metor a succession o meetings to work our way through the

manual comparing its recommendations to our existing sys-tems.

Where there were gaps, either amendments were made orentirely new documents were created as required.

Last month the Rail Saety Branch carried out the annual ac-creditation compliance audit. The impending arrival o thenew nationally agreed Rail Saety Legislation comes intoeect next year. Compliance never gets easier, so the DVRis prepared to adjust its policies and procedures as requiredwhen the new legislation takes eect. The new legislationwill act as a convenient trigger or next years accreditationreview.

At New Norolk worksite, the work being undertaken on ve-hicle restoration, plant installation and the building o thenew carriage shed, has been ree o injury. I thank mem-bers or their conscious regard or sae work practices andencourage you all to maintain our good record by always

thinking o the risks beore commencing a job.

To enquire about joining the DVR

call a Board member or write to

PO Box 478, New Norfolk,

TASMANIA 7140

Documents

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