Page 3187 - Week 10 - Thursday, 18 October 2007
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Kingston and there I was greeted by working volunteers who escorted me around the various exhibits and explained the operations of the society. I was then welcomed aboard one of their regular vintage trains that operates out of the Canberra railway station. The society regularly operates these heritage excursion trains in the local region and also interstate.
The society had its beginnings in 1966 when about 15 local enthusiasts met to consider the formation of a branch of the society in the Australian Capital Territory, and today some 100 or so members are actively involved as volunteers in the day-to-day operations of the society. The Railway Historical Society offers an important insight into the past for all Australians. The railways helped change the world, they allowed great distances to be covered at speeds previously unknown, they were for many years the only form of long-distance travel and they also allowed for the growth of inland settlements such as the ACT, connecting us with the rest of Australia.
A significant piece of Canberra’s history can be found at the railway museum and that is locomotive No 1210 which is 129 years old and is the oldest operating standard-gauge steam locomotive in Australia. This is the society’s flagship engine and is central to railway history in Canberra. On 25 May 1914 locomotive 1210 hauled the first revenue-earning train into Canberra. This was the coal train that served the main Canberran electricity generation station. In 1962 the engine was handed over to the National Capital Development Commission for preservation and the engine spent the next 22 years on a plinth—you may remember, Mr Speaker—outside Canberra railway station at Kingston. Approval was given in 1983 for its transfer to the Canberra Railway Museum. The locomotive returned to service in 1988 after the society received funding for its restoration from a federal bicentennial grant.
Today the society is trustee of the Canberra Railway Museum Trust and as such is dedicated to the study, preservation and operation of significant items of Australian railway history. As a non-profit organisation the society does this by running heritage rail trips, local and long-distance rail tours, operating the Canberra Railway Museum, the Michelago tourist railway and a CountryLink ticketing agency at the Queanbeyan railway station. The society’s Banquet Express theatre trains, which stage shows around Australia, use the operational carriages and showcase the high standards of hospitality and catering skills provided by the members. The society also operates the Railroad Restaurant dinner trains and dinner-dance trains and picnic trains.
To support rail operations the society needs to store many rare spare parts around the museum site. Many of the larger spare parts are stored out in the open and are unsightly to the casual eye. Unfortunately, sheds which would be ideal for storage are very expensive for a non-profit volunteer organisation. For some time now the old railway goods shed in the railway yards has been vacant. This facility would be very suitable for the society to store bulky parts up off the ground and away from visitors to the museum area. I have written to the Minister for Territory and Municipal Services, Mr Hargreaves, requesting that he considers granting access to the site by the society for storage purposes.
The society is enthusiastic about overcoming any problems that the building poses and the society is willing to discuss those problems and hopefully reach an agreement
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