Association of Tourist and Heritage Rail Australia Inc. GREAT RAIL EXPERIENCES AUSTRALIA ~ Newsletter of the Association ~ Issue #13 May 2013 editor Chris Martin Welcome to the thirteenth issue of the ATHRA News. This issue specifically covers the information shared at the ATHRA meeting over Easter where Canberra ARHS hosted a very successful meeting. We hope you find our newsletter informative. Highlights of the meeting were seeing the progress on 6029 the largest locomotive to operate in Australia. It is nearingthe start of steam trials. The double headed run from Canberra to Bungendore – about 32kms at mainline speeds (80km/hr) on locomotives 1210 and 3016 was also a feature.- particularly as third man on the footplate for the journey. The ATHRA awards held on the Saturday evening at the Bungendore Station were also an evening to remember with the slide show of the nominations shown on a sheet on the side of the station to some of the passengers and the ATHRA board members and friends. This edition features the following articles:- Report on the Canberra ATHRA Meeting – Brian Busch T&H Rail Safety Update from Peter Anderson The Great Rail Experiences Australia Website Update 2013 ATHRA Awards Advertising Opportunities on the ATHRA website Members’ Reports Flood Damage to Queensland members Project 6029 Australia’s newest rail business – The Wheatbelt Heritage Railway in WA ATHRA needs assistance from people who have the time, interest and ability to help at a national level. If you can assist please discuss this with your state board member or email me directly via our Contact Us page on the ATHRA Website www.athra.asn.au. In closing I would like to thank Judy MacKenzie who has been assisting with the website development and now newsletter production. Your assistance has allowed ATHRA to raise the bar in its communication with members – thanks Judy. Special Dates Next Board Meeting – November 9th and 10th in Melbourne Tour to New Zealand – Late October – details available on the ATHRA Website March 2014 Meeting – Tour to Tasmania for 20th SteamFest on Saturday 8th of March – ATHRA meeting on 15th and 16th of March in Launceston. ................................................ REPORT ON THE CANBERRA MARCH 2013 ATHRA Meeting – by Brian Busch SA Rep and Chairman The last Board meeting was held at Canberra in connection with the ARHS ACT Divisions Easter team festival. During this weekend loco 1210, the oldest operational steam locomotive in Australia, was returned to service and will be used as part of the centenary celebrations for Canberra later in the year. Congratulations to the ARHS for their efforts. An update was also given on the return to service of Garrett 6029 the largest operational steam locomotive in Australia. We thank the ARHS for their hospitality over the weekend. Page 1 of 21 ATHRA News ~ Issue 13 May 2013 As members would be aware Warren Doubleday - who has served as the ATHRA representative n a number of outside groups including the Regulator’s panel and various ARA groups - has stepped down so that he can spend some time travelling overseas. The meeting unanimously agreed to appoint Warren as an Honorary Member for his work for ATHRA and we congratulate him on becoming the first Honorary Member in ATHRA. His role is being picked up by Peter Anderson with some changes due to the establishment of the National Rail Safety Regulator. An article introducing Peter and his back ground appear in this Newsletter Work is proceeding on the development of Lesson Plans for Station Master, Train Controller and Railcar Driver. It is hoped to have the draft ready for comment in the near future and all response will be most appreciated as these are joint documents for all of ATHRA. Peter Ford and his team are also working on a steam locomotive maintenance manual which it is hoped will be completed by the end of the year. Our Website developed by Judy McKenzie through Chris Martin has been well received and we thank Judy for her efforts some of which have been and are voluntary. Statistics given to the meeting indicate the increasing popularity of the web site which has links to other T&H groups and hence your railway or tramway. If your group is a member of ATHRA through your State Organisation and is not shown on the Website OR the information shown is incorrect or missing something, please let us know and provide the necessary information for us to add or make corrections as necessary. We are only able to provide as much information as we are provided with. Contact Chris Martin if you have any further information. Further details about the website are provided in this newsletter. Discussions took place about Governance and issues which have arisen with some of the T&H groups which have brought them in conflict with Rail Regulators. Whilst it is acknowledged that most croups operate under the States Association Incorporation Acts or where there is no such Act, the relevant Companies Act, they also have requirements under the Rail Safety Act and Regulators in relation to Governance. A sub group is looking at what might be able to be done to provide some training in this area for members Ian Seymour is about to commence a document on tram maintenance and will be seeking documentation shortly. A joint meeting with our NZ counterparts FRONZ is being planned for Wellington in late October. It is the 150th celebrations for the railways in Christchurch in October and ATHRA is planning a tour to coincide with both events plus travel to Dunedin and Auckland along with a visit to a number of the T&H groups along the way. It is hoped to have a brochure out by the end of April with an open invitation to all, if you are interested and don’t receive a brochure check the ATHRA Web site for information. We need a group of 25 to 30 persons for the tour to take place. It will include steam to Arthur’s Pass and Timaroo. Our next Board meeting will follow the NZ visit and will be held in Melbourne on November 9th and 10th. Are you aware of ATHRA’s push for Great Rail Experiences? Is your State on Board? Much work has been done in Tasmania and we look to expand this Australia wide. ATHRA’s Strategic Plan is currently under review now that the Office National Rail Safety Regulator is in place with some States still to join. A sub group has been established to look at opportunities for ATHRA with a report required in two months. We are only a small group with some trying to provide many services to the sector and unfortunately our main focus has had to be on rail safety. Some work has been done on marketing but apart from the website we realise we are lacking. Hopefully we can improve but we need assistance to do so. It is unfortunate that not all executive positions are able to be filled with Chris Martin having to pick up two roles. Concerns were raised by NSW over the removal of a number of rail heritage items from the State Heritage listing. ATHRA is concerned that we do not have the benefit of a strong political influence such as occurs in the UK with Lord Faulkner who has put forward a new Rail Heritage Act. The other problem in Australia of course is the fact that we have many States all of whom do their own thing and would ignore any Federal approach. It was of concern to hear about the losses incurred by two groups in Queensland in recent flooding both of whom suffered not one but two onslaughts, the second just days after work had started to sort out the first mess. Donations were collected on the Saturday night dinner train and are being split between the two groups at Bundaberg. Meanwhile in South Australia a fire near Gilberts damaged SteamRanger’s Tourist Railway. Fortunately assistance with second hand sleepers from the Adelaide metro rail vitalisation project has enabled the railway to be restored and reopened to traffic. This fire was close to a washaway in mid 2012. Page 2 of 21 ATHRA News ~ Issue 13 May 2013 ...................................... T&H RAIL SAFETY UPDATE – from Peter Anderson, newly appointed Rail Safety Rep. With the retirement of Warren Doubleday from the ATHRA board, I have been asked to write this Newsletter as an introduction of myself with some background information and the level of activity and possible direction we will be taking in addition to current rail safety issues affecting the Tourist & Heritage rail sector. Before I do, and as most ATHRA members would be aware, Warren Doubleday has decided to take a well-deserved break and once more take a more active role with his beloved trams. I would like to personally thank Warren for his efforts over the years in relation to overseeing the T&H sectors interests with regard to ARA (Australian Rail Association), RISSB (Rail Industry Safety Standards Board) and ONRSR (Office of National Rail Safety Regulation), and his help in bringing me up to speed with the broad range of his responsibilities as the ATHRA Rail Safety representative. Warren has big shoes and they will be hard to fill. As an introduction, most ATHRA members will not know me from the proverbial “bar of soap”, so I will give a brief history and background of myself. I am married with 2 adult daughters and grandsons, I have been a keen rail enthusiast since observing my first steam locomotive as a 4 year old in 1956, watching a train hauled either by locomotive G41 or G42 between Colac & Beech Forest Victoria, thus my love of all things steam but in particular Garratt types.