Since our last report on this matter in the August/October 2009 issue of SS, things have moved along somewhat. Although at that time we were expecting a start on relaying the Valley Heights yard early in the “new year” (2010), it was later intimated that the start would be early in the new financial year

Due to some dogged pursuit in the matter by dual member Ted Dickson, Railcorp have now indicated that that the project will be commenced in late May 2010. Whilst this news was received with delight and great ex-pectation, it was ac-companied by certain expectations from the museum. Over the last few months, museum mem-bers have been labour-ing away at laying in a crossover near the gate leading into the former “ash roads”. This has been hot, heavy, tiring work but is essential so that access can be gained to our new shed from the limits of where Railcorp have committed themselves to relaying the yard. Railcorp have now set a deadline that the asso-ciated point and lead-work must be completed by May 29 so as to make connection with their work. To date, Railcorp has set up a formal work-site boundary fence to enable museum workers to move outside the present boundary gate. The necessary risk assessment and management plan has been com-pleted and passed by Railcorp. With barely a month left to do the job, the pres-sure is on the get the turn-out work completed in

time otherwise Railcorp will simply straight-rail the site. Another labour intensive job in the meantime is getting hold of suitable point-work. That which was originally in place, in particular the “frog”, has been found to have cracks in it. Point-work is avail-able but at a price. It has to be disassembled and

transported to the museum. Opportunity will be taken to get hold of addi-t ional point work for future museum yard adjustments. I know we have an aging membership but if anyone is available to help with the track-work, even it is only to carry the drinks, get in touch with Ted

Dickson on 4751 1198 and he will let you know the work-days. The track to the signal

box is something we have looked forward to for years and now looks like coming to fruition within a couple of months. Before any new track can be accessed, an operational risk assessment and man-agement plan will have to be formulated and ap-proved.

STOP PRESS: As of going to print, Railcorp have started work earlier than their proposed date and have got stuck into the Coal Siding, clearing away the sleepers (see photo) and digging out the track bed.

Start Date for Track to the Signal Box

A Visit from U.K. Tourist Group This event on April 16, proved to be almost a re-run of last year’s visit only this time, the number increased from 18 to 38. Included in the group were some return visitors. Last year we were able to ferry the group via private cars however on this occasion it was thought advisable to charter a bus from a local company and transport our guests by this means. The bus was much appreciated by the tour group. Our guests were picked up at Springwood station and on arrival at the museum, were split up into two groups, one to have morning tea/coffee and the other to go on the escorted site tour. The two groups then swapped routines. The espresso ma-chine was flat-out keeping up with demand. Our

tram once again provided a delightful diversion and was much photographed. All too soon for some, the visit had to end and the chartered bus picked the party up in time to catch the train back to the city at 1 o’clock. The visit was counted as another successful event with the operator promising to do it again next year. Our hope for next year is that we will have Stepho and the LFA car to offer as an additional attraction.

April 2010

“Preserving the past, enriching the future” STEAM SCENE

Newsletter of the Steam Tram and Railway Preservation (Co-Op) Society Ltd. t/a Valley Heights Steam Tramway.

Proudly associated with the NSW Rail Transport Museum ( Blue Mountains Division). Affiliated with the Council of Tramway Museums of Australasia and

Rail Heritage Australia (NSW).

Volume 7 Issue 2

FROM THE FROM THE FROM THE EDITOREDITOREDITOR Since the implemen-

tation of the Rail Safety Act of 2002 (since superceded by a new version in 2008) most heritage operators have been floundering around trying to get their Safety Management Plans as required under the Act, up to speed. In our own case, this has been a long and arduous process. In the interim, we have been annually audited and taken to task for not having our plan fully up and running . This was despite the fact that we were given a pro forma Plan (subsequently eschewed) to work to and copious advice from various auditors. Part of the problem for us was that comment was only spasmodi-cally received back as to whether our various submissions were satisfactory or not. Alternatively, arms-length con-voluted E-Mails might be received advising our shortcomings. Another problem lay in the fact that different auditors had a different emphasis. On the whole, it seemed to us that ITSRR was giving us stick, for not complying with a system for which they lacked a uniformity of approach in effective implementation. The initiative of the current Director, Len Neist will now hopefully see us on the path to finally getting our Safety Management Plan signed-off. Our fear is that we will see yet another staff change with someone else review-ing the process and saying, “ Well its not bad but you need to do….” We have had too much of this in the past and desperately need to move forward with resolve from both parties to see the process finalised. Let’s face it, we are not running the XPT, we are only tip-toeing around on 500 metres of track at 10 KPH!

Till next time,Till next time,Till next time,

Bruce Irwin, EditorBruce Irwin, EditorBruce Irwin, Editor

Looking back towards the museum access gate. The track has been ripped up and the work area for museum volunteers, desig-nated and fenced off from the running lines.

(Rt.) The U.K. visitors pose alongside 93B.

When Sucking Air is Not a Sign of Life - working with vacuum brakes

The Eames vacuum brake system on the motor and trailer car is a very simple system. This indeed was one of its main selling points versus the Westing-house system e.g. it did not need a continuous supply of steam to make it work; there are few moving parts. Its major failing, at least in our system, is that it is not fail-safe as in a pressurized system like the Westinghouse. If a break occurs in the

line of vacuum, it begins to suck in air thus breaking the vacuum to the detriment of braking. Our system is unique to operators in Australia and having been invented in the 19th century and fallen out of general use for many years, it did not come with a complete maintenance and repair manual.

From the outset, it took us many years to work out what the coupling between vehicles was like. Frank Moag spent literally years trying to find out how they were exactly shaped and fitted together. This entailed detailed examina-tion of old photographs and documentation. An educated guess caused one to be molded but it didn’t work properly. Eventually an original old connector was made available from the late Ken Magor, a collector of many and

varied pieces of steam tram memorabilia. From this we were able to have multiple castings made for the motor and trailer cars. We were even able to give the Powerhouse Museum a set for their steam motor 1A. As installed, they work without fault. All this is to preface the fact that the vacuum brake diaphragm on the motor developed a tear during op-erations on January 17. In accordance with proce-

dures, the diaphragm on the motor was sealed off and vacuum continued to be maintained through to the trailer car. As previously reported, cocks have been installed on either side of the two brake diaphragms on 93B and at either end of the car. A similar ar-rangement is in place on the motor. This is a consid-erable improvement on the original system and was set up by our Works Manager and Chairman, Craig. As originally turned out, there were no sealing-off cocks anywhere along the braking system of the tram. If you developed a leak anywhere, that was the end of your brakes! Nowadays, the ideal situation is to replace the diaphragm insertion rubber before it gets to the stage of rupturing. If a maintenance manual was available, it would probably tell us when. In the absence of this, a tracking record has been established to give us an indication of how long we are likely to get out of the diaphragms before they need to be replaced. The former rubber lasted four years. From the mainte-nance record we can calculate how long the motor has ben in service. This trial is also in place for the diaphragms on the trailer car. In all, we will eventually be able to make a fairly accurate prediction as to when a failure might be expected to occur and a preventative maintenance programme for the dia-phragms put in place. P.S. The defective diaphragm rubber was replaced prior to the next operating day. Craig and his team had the diaphragm off the motor and a new rubber cut to size, fitted and replaced on the motor in less than three hours! Such is the experience and exper-tise in this area that has been gained over the years. Diaphragm rubbers have since been replaced on our trailer car.

Page 2 STEAM SCENE

New Board Member Appointed

The Society’s Board of Directors is pleased to an-nounce that it has offered the vacant board position, occasioned by the recent death of Life Member Frank Millier, to member Ralph Boesel. Ralph has accepted the offer and looks forward to making a contribution to the management of the society. Ralph has been a member since 10-6-2000, has a growing family and lives at Ermington. He is trades-person with Maintrain. Ralph has over the last couple of years, been quietly beavering away at home skilfully

renovating parts from 1308. He has also done some valuable work on the “S” truck. Surf lifesaving is also another activity of his.

With Ralph’s birth year being 1966, this further makes for generational change on the board.

Our new director will complete the balance of Frank’s term as a director and is expected to nomi-nate for election in November this year.

(Above) The brake dia-phragm showing replaced insertion rubber. The iso-lating cock handle can be seen to the right.

Brake hose coupling with “flap” in closed position.

(Above) Two brake cou-pling heads shown with flaps raised ready for join-ing up.

Heavy Weather Extreme weather events are not new even though we are told they are happening with increasing frequency. Somehow I think previous ages had their fair share of them. Perhaps to some extent, there were not quite so many people around to witness them. One such event, namely a storm, occurred during March 1898, in Sydney. The steam tram system in Sydney was at its zenith, just prior to the gradual electrification of the system. The “NSW Railway Budget” magazine of March 18, 1898, tells us of the following:-

“As showing the force with which the wind blew across Bondi Beach during the recent storm, the Tramway Depart-ment instance the case of two tramcars which were left standing at the beach terminus, beyond the Aquarium. They were very quickly blocked in their places on the line by banks of sand. The curious thing was that the sand driving against their weather side all day, had the effect of “frosting” the glass in the windows also, of rubbing all the outside varnish off the woodwork !” An “unusually” heavy downpour of rain occurred around Botany on May 6, 1898. The “Budget” tells us it “...made this unpleasant at Botany and seriously inter-fered with the running of the tram there. Most of the line was underwater and for stretches, it reached up to the footboard. Under these circumstances, progress was slow and derailments frequent. (Could you imagine the frenzy of paper-work ITSRR would be in if they existed back then !) All the trams were late and several trips had to be abandoned. When the rain stopped , the wind raised a fresh obstacle in the shape of sand. This had completely obliterated the line for the last mile where it runs close and parallel to the beach. All day, the trams were unable to get passed the pier. A number of workmen with carts, tried to clear the line but the sand blew on faster than they could shovel it off. At places it was blowing in from the beach in clouds like spray. At a distance, one could hardly believe that it was not the sea that was breaking over the road.”

Conductor Fatality The life of a steam tram conductor was not an easy one. Out in all weathers, long shifts and not least, a strong possibility that you could be knocked off your footboard by passing traffic. The following stories are typical examples from the late 1800’s. The first one I noted is for the style of reporting.

During periodic research, I have noted that during the 1800’s and up to say the 1930’s, reporters gave graphic accounts of accidents and fatalities leaving nothing to the imagination. When it came to matters of say, sexual assault, the reporters were very circum-spect about detail. It seems to me that nowadays, reporting is quite the opposite. We get extreme detail about matters of sexual assault and a certain circum-spection about accident and fatality. The following story is quoted largely ver batum from the “Budget” Some of the “running-on” sentences have been shortened for ease of reading. “ On the night of Monday, 7th August 1893, a fatal acci-dent befell tram-guard, Nicholas William Maffey.

He was acting as assis-tant guard on a tram of three cars which left Newtown about 7.15 p.m. As the tram was proceeding down St. Barnabas hill in George Street West, he collected tickets from the right-hand or off-side of the car. In stepping from the foot-board of one car-riage to another, he leaned too far out. The motor of a tram that was proceeding to Leichhardt, struck him on the shoulder, causing him to lose hold of the handrails. The blow sent him between the cars across which he was stepping and the wheels of the rear car passed over his head and the upper part of his chest. The tram was stopped and the guard went back to the body. The trunk and legs were lying with very little injury, just clear of the line but all the re-mains that could be found of the head were pieces of the scalp, broken teeth and scattered parts of the brain. Maffey was 36 years of age and was a married man resid-ing with his wife in Albany Road, Petersham. “

ooo0ooo “On Saturday, April 23, 1898, an accident occurred to a tram guard named Peter Polin, while coming from Coogee to Sydney. As the tram was passing Moore Park, Polin, who was collecting tickets, leaned out too far and was knocked down by a passing tram running in the opposite direction. He was taken to St. Vincent’s hospital in an unconscious condition, suffering from a fractured skull. He died the following Tuesday. An inquest returned a verdict of “accidental death.” From these two sam-ple accounts, (and believe me, there were many, many more during the steam era and beyond) it can be seen how hazard-ous the life of a tram conductor was, espe-cially when working with adjacent up and down tracks.

ooo0ooo Our tram, 103A, represents almost the last variation in steam tram motor design, as evi-denced in NSW. A feature is the “safety shield” or “life-guard”. A “safety-gate” at the front of the motor swings back if it strikes an outsized object. This in turn, activates a rod device that drops the safety shield which in itself is designed to push away from the wheels and under-carriage, any outsized object. Prior to about 1906, this safety-shield was dropped manually by the fireman who acted also as an observer. The following story demonstrates its use.

Page 3 Volume 7 Issue 2

A section of the line in west George Street. It was not far from here that conductor Maffey was knocked off his foot-board.

Some More Great Value from the “Budget” Steam Scene regularly makes reference to “The New South Wales Railway Budget”. This is not a fiscal document but a magazine published in the late 1800’s early 1900’s, for the benefit of rail and tramway-men. Peter Stock, our Secretary, has regular access to these magazines and supplies SS with most interesting by-way tales of our rail heritage from the era. This issue’s offering is a miscellany from 1898. Both Peter and I hope you enjoy them.

A well-known picture of a Bondi tram at the terminus.

(Continued on page 6)

It’s funny how some things remain in one’s mem-ory for a lifetime. Maybe it’s the significance of the occasion when you first become aware of whatever it is.

The following verse I first heard as a boy, possibly when I was in Cubs. Either way, I certainly was quite young and obviously had no inkling at the time, that it would become relevant many decades into the future. Back in the 1950’s, I certainly remember electric trams but had never heard of their steam-powered forebears. The verse stuck in the recesses of my brain and then a little while back, I recalled it for some reason that escapes me and wondered if it

was relevant to Sydney’s steam trams. The verse goes as follows:

Page 4 Steam Scene

A depiction of the perceived deadliness of steam trams as seen in “Illustrated Syd-ney News” 9-1-1890.

You’ll Never Think The Same About Red Jam ! Membership Secretary, David Lewis sent the following article after following up something that had stuck in his mind from childhood. Many thanks David.

“What is that?” said little Jack,

“Spread out like strawberry jam?”

“Hush, hush, my lad,” his mother said.

“It’s your father—run over by tram” It occurred to me that as Sydney's steam trams were derisively known as “manglers” and “juggernauts”, this little piece of sick humour probably related to that period of our history. I made some enquiries and eventually made contact with a chap called War-ren Fahey, one of Australia’s best known folklorists. He had heard the poem before and confirmed that it definitely did relate to Sydney’s steam trams. So there you have it. Jokes and sick humour out of another’s misfortunes is not new, even to the trag-edy of death and destruction.

A Cautionary Tale on Speeding

Most of you will be aware of the Pitt Street horse tramway that plied between Redfern Station and Circular Quay between 1861 and 1866. To recall, it was a largely unpopular affair, princi-

pally with the Pitt Street shopkeepers who considered their street too narrow for such a contrivance. In an effort to mollify other critics who pointed out that the grooved rail supplied for the track would not allow railway goods vehicles to be hauled between ter-mini, the rail was inverted to allow such traffic. Unfortu-nately, it protruded above the surface and caused havoc with

cart drivers not least in having wheels sheered off their carts.

The following appeared in a 1922 issue of the NSW Railway and Tramway Magazine. Evidently some old files regarding the tramway came to light from Railway archives. The following minute was marked “Very Urgent” “...a very brisk rate on the tramway has to be taken to keep time, there being only a single line of rails. The horses, never the less, are driven at a very steady canter, say, at a rate of 5 to 6 miles an hour. The car is a cum-brous machine, and the horses in pulling appear to go faster that they really do. The conductor is now threat-ened with a summons under the Police Act for fast driv-ing…..Crown Solicitor will please advise what steps the Commissioner should adopt in the event of a summons issuing.” Signed, R. Moody 31/12/61 The Crown Solicitor replied that the department should defend any summons pleading absolute dis-cretion in usage under the by-laws of the tramway

Act. So far as “furious driving” was concerned, he cautioned that the by-laws could well be overridden by the provisions of the Police Act. The next paper indicates that the threatened blow had fallen. The driver of the tramcar “Old England” Mr. Patrick, was summonsed to court for “furious driving.” Mr. Nealds, Railways Traffic Manager, re-quested advice, “Is any step to be taken by the Depart-ment in the matter, or is it to be permitted to take its course?” It seems from this request, he was quite prepared to see Mr. Patrick fully shoulder the burden despite the fact that the driver/conductor was required to meet all incoming and outgoing trains from Redfern. It should be pointed out that until September 1862, the horse tramway was still under the control of the Railways Department. In a flurry of minutes it appears that Mr. Patrick was required to attend court on February 27th.

The final minute in the series of papers says: “Upon receipt of this I directed the driver to wait on the Commissioner, and was informed that ‘Mr. Woods had settled it.’ Sgnd. C.J.N. 27-2-62 It is not shown in what manner the matter was settled or what happened to John Patrick, the furi-ous driver notching up 5 or 6 m.p.h (8-9½ kph). A Mr. John Woods however, was at that time a con-tractor to the Department for the supply of horses for the tramway. He also picked up the lease of the tramway from the Government six or so months later in 1862. Under the terms of his lease, he was permitted to run the trams as often as he chose. It would be interesting to know who initiated the summons. Was it disgruntled Pitt Street shop own-ers? With John Woods becoming Mayor of Sydney a little later, he no doubt was well connected with the commercial interests of Sydney. Mind you, some quarters think our tram is being driven furiously at 10 kph and therefore requires the stricture of a whole panoply of regulation and control to guard against potential mayhem!

A well-known depiction of the Horse tram “Old England” in Pitt Street. Mr. Patrick is no doubt on the box.

It Could Only Happen on the Railways ! (Part 4) - The amazing story of railway worker, Phineas Gage This story of Phineas Gage is one that fulfils the old adage of “fact being stranger than fiction”.

Phineas Gage was employed by the Rutland and Bur-lington Railroad as a foreman on railway construction. He was 25 years old, fair and honest in his dealings, a good worker and a good leader. The navies declared he was the best foreman they’d ever had.

Gage’s gang were working near the town of Caven-dish, Vermont USA in September 1848. They were preparing a road bed that included making a deep cut-ting through granite. This required blasting with gun-powder. As foreman, Gage was highly skilled in the dangerous and tricky job a setting explosive charges. First his men would strategically drill a hole by hand-drill. Gage would then carefully place the gunpowder in the hole together with a fuse. Next he would layer over sand to maximize the effect of the explosion. The charge was then tamped with a special rod Gage car-ried, which was a little over a metre long and 3-4 centi-meters wide, pointed at one end. He was well prac-ticed with this procedure and had done it countless times before. On the 13th September, towards the end of another hard day’s work, he began to lay the final charge but he was distracted by work going on below him. Perhaps he forgot that he hadn’t placed the cover-ing of sand or perhaps he slipped but in any case, when he tamped the charge, the rod went in too hard and evidently made a spark against the granite. The gun-powder exploded. The iron rod shot out of the hole like a bullet. It went straight through Gage’s cheek, passed through the floor of his left eye into the front of his brain and tears out the tope of his head. The rod rent Gage’s skull, continuing in its trajectory eventually returning to earth almost 30 metres away. Smeared with blood and cerebral material, some of Gage’s brain is later found splattered across rocks were the rod landed.

The explosion knocked the foreman to the ground where he lay twitching. Men came running from every-where. Suddenly to everyone’s amazement, Gage got up and started to walk towards the road! He was helped onto a cart and driven a kilometer or so to town, to the tavern of Joseph Adams. With only a little assistance he walked to the verandah and sat on a chair. There he chatted freely with the men and said he was anxious to get back to work. Dr. Edward Williams arrived about 5 p.m. and couldn’t believe what he saw and was told despite the burn marks, the wounds and bloody gore. When Gage vomited ‘about half a tea cupful of brain, which fell onto the floor’ that Dr. Wil-liams finally believed the amazing incident.

The Doctor appeared flummoxed as to what to do and it wasn’t until Dr. John Harrow arrived an hour later, that some remedial action was taken. Although he was becoming increasingly exhausted by a continual loss of blood, Gage recognized Dr. Harlow. He needed little assistance to make his way up the stairs of the hotel to his room. Dr. Harlow recounted “His person and the bed on which he was laid were literally one gore of blood’. This didn’t stop the doctor from passing his fingers completely through the hole in Gage’s head. Together, the doctors cleaned and dressed the wounds. The foreman’s scalp was shaved, bone and a piece of brain that ‘hung by a pedicle’ removed. Burns on his hands and arms were bandaged. Harlow pressed

Page 5 Volume 7 Issue 2

the craze of bone belonging to Gage’s skull, back into place as best he could. With bandages gradually becom-ing saturated in blood, then began the long watch by a couple of volunteers through the night, to witness what must cer-tainly come—death. Dr. Harlow returned the next morning. Gage was still conscious but as a precaution, the local undertaker was called to take his measurements. Gage’s mother arrived to give her farewells. By September 15th, Gage’s condition had deterio-rated. He passed in and out of consciousness, was deliri-ous and incoherent. On the 16th, Harlow replaced the dressings. There was a fetid discharge with particles of brain intermingled. By September 22nd, Gage was ready to die. He was running a temperature and his wounds were fetid.

One month later, Gage was up walking the stairs and going onto the street. His wounds were healing well and he was eating likewise. By the end of November, he confessed he was feeling much better and he readily walked, talked and ate. The only thing was, he wasn't quite the same man. Whereas previously he was calm, considerate and ordered, now he was crude, impatient and impulsive. The iron bar that had penetrated the frontal lobe of his brain had changed his personality, wiping away his control and planning faculties. Such was his personality, his men could no longer work with him and the Railroad company could no longer afford to take him on. Such was his deteriorated personality that he was left to travelling with the Barnum and Bailey circus, displaying his wounds and regaling countless times his story with a model skull. He was written up in medical journals with his accident and apparent recovery causing a sensation. In an age far removed from antiseptics, it was a miracle that his body had overcome obvious infection and monstrous trauma to repair itself with little assistance medi-cally.

With a “new” personality Gage found pleasure in working with animals and worked for a time in a livery stable. For a time he drove a stagecoach in Chile. His health began to fail however and he returned to USA in 1859, finding employ-ment on a farm. In February 1860, he was ploughing a field and took an epileptic fit. These fits and convulsions became more frequent and severe over the next few months. Doctors, still treating notions of “humours” ineffectually bled him. Gage died in May 1860.

The story of Phineas Gage and his survival from his horrendous accident, is remarkable. It goes down as another ‘stranger than fiction’ facet in the unique history of the railways.

An 1850 interpretation of the passage of the tamping rod through Phineas Gage’s head

(Above left) A mask made of Gage’s head (probably when he was alive) (Rt) Gage’s skull clearly showing the par-tially healed skull and distorted eye socket.

(Above) Believed to be a daguerreotype of Gage, holding his fa-mous tamping rod.

PERSONAL Peter Stock recently received an Email from member Joanne Power. You will recall a couple of SS issues ago, we reported that as a result of Jo and Matthew’s son Ben undergoing treatment for Crohn’s Disease and the need for research into the disease, their family undertook a supporting fund-raising hike on the old con-vict road from near Newcastle to Wiseman’s Ferry. Jo now tells us that the blog site re fund raising etc. has recently been updated and invites you to check it out. Detail as follows: h t t p : / b e n -pooainttaboo,blogspot.com/

ooo0ooo Duel member Col Burne has recently had a heart attack. Pleased to report he is coming good. Best wishes to you Col.

OTHER NEWS LVR Visits Cancelled

A proposed excursion by an LVR

steam train to Valley Heights on Saturday April 3 was can-celled due to lack of bookings. The trip was to commence from Central. It was envisaged a four car load would have a light lunch and inspection of the our mu-seum before returning to the city. In the meantime the loco would take advantage of the turning and servicing facilities at Valley Heights.

Considering that public advertiz-ing for the event only appeared in the Herald a week earlier, it was not surprising that the trip was cancelled. Most people would have had their Easter weekend activities already planned. Another visit projected for April 11 was also cancelled. We were looking forward to these visits as they are what we need to give the museum greater viability. We can only hope that better plan-ning and lead time in the future will see the suc-cess of such ventures.

ooo0ooo

Health Assessments 2010 Seven Rail Safety Workers (Drivers, conductors, etc.) un-dertook their annual health as-sessment earlier this year. At the time of this publication, six RSW’s have been assessed as “fit for duty” whilst the seventh has yet to complete his assessment.

For 2011 there will be more RSW’s being required to un-dergo assessments because their relative “youth” brings them to the completion of a either a five of two year cycle. All those due for assessment will be notified in due course. Once again, a most sincere thank-you to our Health

Steam Tram & Railway Preservation (Co-Op) Society Ltd.

t/a Valley Heights Steam Tramway ABN 46 193 707 109

P.O. Box 571, Springwood NSW 2777 Web site:www.infobluemountains.net.au/

Chairman and Works Manager, Craig Connelly 02 9729 3536

Secretary and P.E.O. Peter Stock (02) 9587 9051

Treasurer and Editor “Steam Scene” Bruce Irwin

(02) 9651 1707 Membership Secretary, David Lewis

(02) 9630 6304

The museum is located in Tusculum Road, Valley Heights. Ample parking is available. A

train service is available to Springwood. Valley Heights station is accessible for museum visitors but you must walk around to the

Tusculum Road entrance and not attempt to short-cut across the tracks.

The museum is open between 10 and 4 on the 2nd and 4th Sundays of

the month. Steam operations on both days.

“Preserving the past, enriching the future”

Works Report: LFA 179: Progress on cleaning bogey and parts prior to crack test-ing. 103A: Hand brake mechanism modified. Stepho: Prepared for boiler inspection

Oh No! Not another dog story! Dog tales keep turning up but I promise, this will be the last for some time. This latest offering was recorded in 1921 in the NSW Railway and Tramway Maga-zine. The story takes place on the line between Berrigan and Finley NSW. Probably today, not much exists of the former infrastructure that was no doubt in place. The story is a direct quote: “The following is vouched for by a member of

the Audit Office Staff whose veracity is unquestionable. A few days ago the guard on one of our branch lines, picked up a swagman at a siding and duly booked him as a passenger. At the next stop, Mr. Swagman appealed to the guard to hold the train while he caught his dog. “He got away from me at Leniston,” he said, “...and has been chasing us all the way!” The errant dog was caught and duly booked from the second siding, which seems to be very appropriately named Wait-A-While”. A look at a map suggests that the distance between Leniston and Wait-A-While is about 5 kilometers. Must have been a fast dog or a very slow train.

(Continued from Page 3) In January 1899 “A child named Henry Jones, 5, had a narrow escape from a fatal accident a few days ago on the Newtown tramline . The child attempted to run across the road in front of the motor but fell on the track. Fortunately however, the fireman, James Devery was promptly on the watch and immediately dropped the shield. The driver, Benjamin Bott, also with promptitude, put the motor into reverse. The momentum could not be stopped however and the shield struck the boy, fortunately without doing him much injury. Had it not been for the prompti-tude of the fireman in dropping the shield so quickly, the child would in all probability have been run over.” The safety-shield device saved many a person from death and injury and its subsequent mechanical triggering took away the need for direct human reaction.

Last but not least…..

“Just as we get an observation car organized—I suppose some wise guy from ITSRR will come along and start

picking out technical faults.”

Turn Off the Light! Changing hats from Edi-tor to Treasurer, I would

remind workers that elec-tricity prices are set to soar from next July onwards. We have some big power consumers in the way of depot and shed lighting. With-out compromising OH & S please don’t burn those big overhead lights unnecessarily and do you really need to turn on the water boiler when a jug of hot water would do for one or two cups of tea? Think conservatively and help us contain costs. Our income isn’t growing but our costs are.

(Above) The reinstallation of a pulley wheel has increased the leverage action of the hand brake.

Cartoon below reproduced courtesy King Features Inc. 2010.