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News RHA (NSW) JUNE 2009 NEWSLETTER EXTRACTS CHANGES TO RHA (NSW) COMMITTEE OF MANAGEMENT Basil Hancock, who was elected as President of Rail Heritage Australia at the October 2008 Annual General Meeting, has advised that he has, unfortunately, had to resign from the position due to his work commitments. In accepting the resignation, the Committee of Management resolved to thank Basil for the many years of dedicated service and commitment he has given to RHA (NSW) and the Rail Heritage Sector in NSW. The Committee resolved to appoint John Glastonbury (Vice President) to the casual vacancy of President and Howard Clark (South Pacific Electric Railway) to the resulting casual vacancy of Vice President. It also resolved to appoint Sam Burgess (Zig Zag Railway) to the casual vacancy for Committee Member representing Category (b) members (Operators of heritage trains on a separate right of way from the commercial rail system). These three appointments to casual vacancies are effective until the next Annual General Meeting. The current members of the Committee of Management are: President: John Glastonbury Vice President: Howard Clark Secretary/Treasurer: Bill Pascoe Member representing Category (a) members (Operators of heritage trains on the commercial rail system): Tony Healey Member representing Category (b) members (Operators of heritage trains on a separate right of way from the commercial rail system): Sam Burgess Member representing Category (c) members (Operators of trolleys on a separate right of way from the commercial rail system): Darcy Reid Member representing Category (d) members (Museums and Other): John Cooper VALE: Ian Campbell Thornton – 16th October 1945 – 24th April 2009. (Contribution by John Cooper (RHA (NSW) Committee Member) It is impossible to reflect on Ian’s lifetime and involvement with rail and the rail preservation movement in the small space available here. However, my thoughts and memories are presented as a small tribute to someone who dedicated his life to steam and the railways. When I first met Ian and became engaged in dialogue with him it was on the Sunday night trip train which shunted the Camellia and Sandown Lines in Sydney around 1968/69. Ian happened to say that he had been up at the old Zig Zag railway formation during the day. The old Zig Zag formation had always held a fascination with me from the very first time I joined the railways in 1955. Ian told me there was a small group that was hoping to build a steam tourist railway up there. He gave me a sheet of paper he had prepared and I took it home to show my wife, who endorsed it and we were hooked. I was invited to join the steering committee a year or so later and with that became closely involved with Ian, particularly with the development of the railway. Much of the preliminary planning and ideas were formulated before I became involved. However, the major stumbling block was the Zig Zag Trust, which was anything but helpful. Three problems were most paramount. The Trust would not allow us to use the name “Zig Zag”. The registrar of Co-ops would not register the railway without approval of the Trust, and the Trust would not negotiate with us until we were registered. Ian was at the forefront of all the planning and negotiations which lead to the creation of the Zig Zag Railway Co op Ltd. Of course the Zig Zag Railway became a great success and still is today. In recognition of his contribution and service to the railway he was honoured by being made its first life member. While this occupied a tremendous amount of his time, he did not let that prevent him from pursuing his career with his employer. Ian was a fireman at Enfield at the time, and then he joined the Electric Train Running section as a suburban train driver, before transferring to Eveleigh, working on the expresses. He performed the fireman duties on the Western Endeavour as far as Bathurst, and then joined the train as a passenger to Perth. Around 1979 he was studying for a forthcoming examination to enter the rank of Locomotive Inspector and had also booked to travel to South Africa for a steam tour, only to find out the date for the inspectors exam was scheduled to take place while he was in South Africa. He made personal representation to the Superintendant of Locomotive Running, Mr Jack Burke, to have the date of the exam changed until after his return. It was, but he was told by Mr Burke he’d better have a go - he passed and was accepted. Ian was one of the commissioning inspectors with the new XPT express trains, conducting the trials between Sydney and Dubbo. Ian took pride in being involved in any steam special operated by rail societies and was heavily involved with the planning and operations of the Bi-centenary state wide steam program including the Flying Scotsman and interstate trips. He terminated his employment with the Railways to become Operations Manager with 3801 Limited and their Cockatoo Run. I remember Ian telling me once that he would not walk across the street to look at a diesel. Ian’s contribution to steam and rail history in general was nothing short of outstanding. There were some that fell out of favour with Ian (including myself, and the Zig Zag Railway) but there is no one who could not acknowledge his contribution and dedication to everything he believed in. It is known that the day before his death he was talking to fellow founders of the Zig Zag Railway, endeavouring to have his point of view made known about the future of the South Australian Railway locomotive Garratt 402. As a result of the event of the following day, I feel sure that the 402 is set to remain firmly within the bond of the Zig Zag Railway for many, many years to come. Thank you. ATHRA MEETNG IN QUEENSCLIFF, VICTORIA. The most recent meeting of the Association of Tourist and Heritage Rail Australia was held in Queenscliff, Victoria on 20-21 March 2009. ATHRA is the national body which represents state rail heritage organisations and RHA (NSW) is a founding member. Basil Hancock and John Glastonbury represented RHA (NSW) at this meeting. Summary of Proceedings: 1. ATHRA Membership Fees: ATHRA resolved that non-accredited groups in state organisations would be charged a lower annual membership fee than operating organisations, in recognition that a large part of the benefits of being a member of ATHRA are of greater advantage to operating groups. ATHRA annual fee for accredited groups in state organisations would remain at $65.00 while the fee for non-accredited groups will be $30.00. Details of the revised fee structure will be advised directly to RHA (NSW) member groups. 2. Trends and Issues in Tourism. David Eaton, Marketing Manger, Puffing Billy Railway spoke about the following points: There is a need to understand tourism and work with your State Tourism Organisation. Develop relationships with other tourist attractions in your area and develop packaged itineraries including maps, distances and times to make it easier for tourism operations and or coach operators to utilize your product. Work closely with your local Tourism Association and your Regional Tourism Association. Recognise that our visitors are tourists and not just rail fans who, in reality, represent a very small percentage of our customers. Increase revenue. Increased satisfaction for staff and volunteers and better unitisation of assets. 3. Level Crossing Risks The Conference recognised the risks for heritage operators with level crossings and the visibility at level crossings. Following discussion it was agreed that ATHRA should have a level crossing Committee. Mike Lee of Cairns Karunda Railway offered the use his data base to collect level crossing incident reports. All reports should be sent to him at: admin@cairnssteam.com.au 4. Training and Assessment David Rumsey spoke on the development of Training and Assessment lesson plans for ATHRA. Seven lesson plans have been developed: Steam Loco Driver, Fireman, Diesel Loco Driver, Second Person, Train Guard, Safe Working and Tram driver, These plans are generic lesson material and will need to be tailored to the operational procedures and fleet of each railway and tramway. Customisation Guidelines are provided to enable this. A Mentors Guide is also provided to assist training officers, with a need for individual organisations to adapt them to their specific circumstances. These plans are currently being reviewed by ATHRA members. Following review, they will be adopted formally by ATHRA for use by the Tourist and Heritage Rail sector generally. 5. Locomotive Boiler Code Alan Gardner of RISSB (Rail Industry Safety & Standards Board) presented a summary of a new Locomotive Boiler Code that has been developed as a draft and has been made available for comment. 6. Next ATHRA Meeting The next ATHRA meeting will be held on 18th October 2009 at Ipswich in conjunction with the Railway Heritage: Opportunities and Challenges (see following item). RAIL HERITAGE CONFERENCE – IPSWICH, QUEENSLAND. The Workshops Rail Museum at Ipswich, Queensland will be holding a conference themed “Railway Heritage: Opportunities & Challenges” from 15th to 17th October 2009. A brochure setting out details of the conference can be downloaded from: http://www.theworkshops.qm.qld.gov.au/exhibitions/events/pdf/rh2009_conference_document_20090501.pdf The brochure sets out details of a range of pre- and post-conference tours for the month of October 2009 including visits to rail heritage organisations in South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales (Zig Zag Railway, Cockatoo Run and the NSW Rail Transport Museum). The three-day conference program of plenary and parallel sessions focuses on four major themes. 1. Environment Who are the environmental innovators and what can we learn from them? New challenges are emerging for heritage railway operations - the introduction of new environmental standards, the introduction of carbon tax, use of recycled water, management of trackside vegetation, fire prevention/control, noise and pollution management. 2. Theatre of the Railway What do visitors take away from a heritage rail experience? How do we ensure historical accuracy and authenticity? Which stories should we be telling? Visitors to railway museums and heritage railways now demand more than static exhibits and rides in restored trains. A meaningful and engaging experience for visitors provides railway museums and heritage railways with an opportunity to capture the public’s imagination, build audiences and tell the stories of rail and its people. 3. Training and Regulation What creative solutions exist to meet the training and staffing in an increasingly regulated environment? The skills and knowledge necessary for maintaining heritage railway equipment and systems, and meeting current regulatory requirements is a major challenge for the sector. Until now, heritage railway operations have relied on vast numbers of former railway employees with the training, knowledge and experience to volunteer. As the number of people who have experienced working on mainline steam diminishes, training the next generation and meeting regulatory requirements presents a significant challenge. 4. Financial Sustainability and Economics What partnership opportunities exist which might ensure the continued prosperity and long term financial sustainability of railway heritage? How do we measure and quantify our economic benefit to the community? Rail museums and heritage railways are largely fixed cost, capital intensive operations. One bad season or a major equipment or infrastructure failure represents the difference between profit and loss, not only for the organisations concerned but for the communities in which they are located. NATIONAL TRANSPORT COMMISSION (NTC). Australia’s Transport Ministers have agreed to recommend that the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) agree on a transition to single national regulators covering rail safety, maritime safety and heavy vehicles, and a national rail safety investigator for rail accidents. The National Transport Commission (NTC) is the peak body advising the Australian Government on national transport policy. NTC has recommended that the single national regulator be in operation by 2013. Separately, NTC is undertaking a review of the National Standard for Health Assessment for Rail Safety Workers. Submissions are being invited from interested stakeholders by September 2009. ITSRR – SAFETY REGULATION OF HERITAGE RAIL OPERATORS. In previous Newsletters reports were given on the work that has been done by ITSRR over the past few years to assist rail heritage operators to obtain and maintain their operating accreditations. This included: • Presentations at the 2005 RHA (NSW) AGM on Regulation and Safety Management for Rail Heritage Operators. • Hosting of the 2006 RHA (NSW) AGM and further presentations on Regulation and Safety Management for Rail Heritage Operators, including provision of Safety Management Templates in printed and electronic form. • Provision of funding to RHA (NSW) to engage a consultant to visit rail heritage operators throughout the state with the aim of assisting them to prepare Safety Management Plans. • Hosting of the 2007 RHA (NSW) AGM where further plans for assisting heritage operators in meeting their safety management requirements were set out. • Development of a comprehensive discussion paper in November 2007 setting out the actions which had already been taken to assist rail heritage operators with regulatory compliance and setting out, amongst other matters, identification of potential problems facing heritage operators in meeting their safety obligations and proposed further strategies to assist heritage operators to meet their rail safety obligations. • Arising from the discussion paper, officers from ITSRR conducted a number of regional workshops in 2008 to give hands-on assistance in developing risk registers and providing advice on how ITSRR regulates. These were at Canberra, Lithgow, Campbelltown and Coffs Harbour. In all, 17 operators attended the workshops which were by invitations issued by ITSRR. • An information session with rail heritage operators on 27 April 2009 was conducted where ITSRR advised that it will be conducting one-on-one on-site operational hazard analysis workshops with heritage operators during 2009 in conjunction with ITSRR’s audit program, the aim of which is to help each operator to produce a sustainable risk register. The relevant operators have already been contacted by ITSRR. • In late June 2009, the RHA (NSW) Executive is meeting with ITSRR to discuss further means of collaboration to assist in the compliance process. BROADMEADOW LOCOMOTIVE ROUNDHOUSE. The NSW Minister for Transport, David Campbell, recently announced that the historic locomotive roundhouse at Broadmeadow would undergo a major refurbishment to preserve its heritage value and create jobs for local apprentices. Mr Campbell said the 60-year-old building and main turntable would receive a $2 million makeover under tenders awarded to NSW firms Degnan Constructions and Forgacs Engineering. Mr Campbell went on to say that the site is to be used to house a significant proportion of RailCorp’s non-electric heritage fleet and that the depot was first established in the 1920s and grew during the steam era to be a large-scale locomotive servicing centre. By the 1950s there were two roundhouses and associated turntables on the site. Mr Campbell said that Roundhouse No.1 was demolished in 1990 and the remaining roundhouse and turntables represent the past importance of Broadmeadow as the main servicing depot for locomotives in the northern part of the state’s railway system. The refurbishment of the roundhouse and its turntable will assist in ensuring the long-term conservation of these structures. Mr Campbell said that the roundhouse would undergo external and internal refurbishment, including repairs to the roof, doors, windows, eaves and fascias as well as a complete electrical upgrade and that the site’s historic turntable, which is one of the largest in NSW, will also be restored. Work is expected to be completed by September 2009. RHA (NSW) ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING. The RHA Executive plans to hold the AGM in October at a date yet to be decided. Plans are being developed to include a Workshop for members at the conclusion of the AGM. When plans are firm, details will be announced. END |