Visitors to Valley Heights

come from all walks of life.

They all have interesting sto-

ries to tell particularly if they

concern trams.

On Sunday, 27th March I had

the pleasure to meet and greet

one such visitor who revealed

that she had been indeed a tram conductress. Not

on the steam trams but swung her bag in the corri-

dor tramcars working out from the Fort Macquarie

and Rushcutters Bay depots. Conductresses were

prohibited by regulation from “working the foot-

boards” and therefore were restricted to corridor

cars only.

I made my acquaintance with Flo Kenyon, accompa-

nied by her husband and son, out for a day with

Valley Heights as one of the day’s destinations. Flo

confided in me she had been a servant of the tram-

ways during the 40’s and 50’s and that she was about

the same age as her feet! Gripping my conductor’s

bag and ticket case she confided stories from her

association with the trams relating to depot revenue

clerks, ticket identification codes, Easter Show and

race traffic, dodging the “kellies”, handling errant

passengers and ticketing the last of the overlapping

sections whatever they were. Then there were the

times when city trammies were seconded on tempo-

rary transfer to the North Sydney system. With a

gleam in her eye Flo related that short term trans-

fers to North Sydney were not all that popular by

those south of the harbour, then mischievously con-

fessing to “reporting in sick on occasions to get out

of it”.

I believe the family enjoyed their ride on the tram,

Flo certainly did. To us “pretend connies” it is al-

ways a bonus to hear first-hand tramway stories

from the real trammie fraternity. It assuredly as-

sists us to portray the “trade of the trams” to our

visitors. On alighting I noticed Flo exited the com-

partment in the official approved manner (the old

tramway two-step)!

Glad you visited us . . . it made the day. Come

again sometime, Flo.

HOW THE OPERATIONS MANAGER WAS

OUTCLASSED BY A REAL PROFESSIONAL !

Bits and Pieces

wheel set and undercoated it. General renovation

to sub frame structures and parts is taking place.

Our “S” truck is urgently required as a match truck

to enable shunting of vehicles with auto couplers

etc. around the depot.

The New Running Track

John Stanley, Ted Dickson and their dedicated band

of “hairy-legs” have recently resumed work on the

new running track. This has centred on laying-in

two panels of track to form a stub-end terminus

adjacent the signal box. Placing of a ‘stop-block’,

ballasting etc. remain to be done. If you could lend a

hand in this work, contact Chairman Craig (number

on page 6) who will give you a point of contact.

April 2011

“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 8 Issue 2

FROM THE FROM THE FROM THE

EDITOREDITOREDITOR

The first Rail Safety The first Rail Safety The first Rail Safety Act came into force Act came into force Act came into force in 1993. At that in 1993. At that in 1993. At that time we received interim accreditation time we received interim accreditation time we received interim accreditation and the requirements to be fulfilled and the requirements to be fulfilled and the requirements to be fulfilled were not too onerous. Since that time, were not too onerous. Since that time, were not too onerous. Since that time, revised Acts have been put in place in revised Acts have been put in place in revised Acts have been put in place in 2002 and 2008. With each new Act, 2002 and 2008. With each new Act, 2002 and 2008. With each new Act, the compliance bar has been lifted the compliance bar has been lifted the compliance bar has been lifted higher and higher. Heaven knows the higher and higher. Heaven knows the higher and higher. Heaven knows the tons of paper that have been used by tons of paper that have been used by tons of paper that have been used by us in drafting and reus in drafting and reus in drafting and re---drafting wordy drafting wordy drafting wordy documentation chasing compliance. documentation chasing compliance. documentation chasing compliance. Hardly has one set been completed Hardly has one set been completed Hardly has one set been completed and approved when along comes a and approved when along comes a and approved when along comes a new Act or directive from ITSR and new Act or directive from ITSR and new Act or directive from ITSR and what has been done to date, consigned what has been done to date, consigned what has been done to date, consigned to the shredder. I for one have been to the shredder. I for one have been to the shredder. I for one have been quite critical of the regulatory process quite critical of the regulatory process quite critical of the regulatory process in particular; the lack of meaningful in particular; the lack of meaningful in particular; the lack of meaningful scalability for isolated heritage opera-scalability for isolated heritage opera-scalability for isolated heritage opera-tors and the lack of uniformity of tors and the lack of uniformity of tors and the lack of uniformity of approach by the regulator being just approach by the regulator being just approach by the regulator being just two areas of contention. A further area two areas of contention. A further area two areas of contention. A further area of criticism might be ITSR’s ‘barely in of criticism might be ITSR’s ‘barely in of criticism might be ITSR’s ‘barely in time’ approach to tutoring operators time’ approach to tutoring operators time’ approach to tutoring operators about looming compliance issues e.g. about looming compliance issues e.g. about looming compliance issues e.g. the recent annual safety report format-the recent annual safety report format-the recent annual safety report format-ting. Despite all these negative aspects, ting. Despite all these negative aspects, ting. Despite all these negative aspects, as I see it, the overwhelming positive as I see it, the overwhelming positive as I see it, the overwhelming positive effect of the legislation over the years effect of the legislation over the years effect of the legislation over the years and the mounting volumes upon vol-and the mounting volumes upon vol-and the mounting volumes upon vol-umes of paper on our shelves, has umes of paper on our shelves, has umes of paper on our shelves, has been that we now in all our actions been that we now in all our actions been that we now in all our actions THINK SAFE FIRST. Whilst we never THINK SAFE FIRST. Whilst we never THINK SAFE FIRST. Whilst we never flouted concepts of safety in our opera-flouted concepts of safety in our opera-flouted concepts of safety in our opera-tion, we all now have a heightened tion, we all now have a heightened tion, we all now have a heightened awareness of our individual and corpo-awareness of our individual and corpo-awareness of our individual and corpo-rate responsibility to have safety at the rate responsibility to have safety at the rate responsibility to have safety at the forefront of our actions concerning forefront of our actions concerning forefront of our actions concerning ourselves, our fellow workers and the ourselves, our fellow workers and the ourselves, our fellow workers and the public. Perhaps one day we may be public. Perhaps one day we may be public. Perhaps one day we may be able to continue this mindable to continue this mindable to continue this mind---set without set without set without the need to mow down acres of forest the need to mow down acres of forest the need to mow down acres of forest

in the meantime.in the meantime.in the meantime.

Sincerely, Bruce Irwin, EditorSincerely, Bruce Irwin, EditorSincerely, Bruce Irwin, Editor

(Above) Flo Kenyon (a mere 90 year old) swings

the bag again after 50 years.

U.K. Visitors Again

The now annual event of a visit by participants in a

touring group from U.K. took place on April 8.

Although their numbers were down on last years,

they all expressed great pleasure in what they saw

and experienced at the Museum. They expressed a

wish that ‘Stepho” might be in steam next year.

Many were quite intrigued by Stepho. Evidently,

although there are many preserved locos made by

‘Stephenson’ in association with other builders,

locos built solely by the Robert Stephenson com-

pany are quite rare.

Renovation of “S” Truck 4360

The “S” truck was recently lifted by crane and the

axle boxes removed. Luke Tolhurst cleaned-off one

(Above) Our visitors from

the U.K. 2011

“Mine’s Bigger Than Yours…..” (and that’s a fact!!) The story of member, Bob Tebb’s miniature locomotive ‘Blacolvesley’

I know of several members who possess model trains. Some are “O”, “OO’, “HO” gauge, the list goes on. Some

members have ride-on live steamers, 5 inch and 7½ inch for example but only one has a 15 inch gauge

locomotive. Known as “Blacolvesley” (would it help to have a few marbles in your mouth to pronounce it?) the

locomotive is a petrol-engined veteran with a fascinating history.

“Blacolvesley” has a

steam locomotive body

outline and is powered by

a petrol engine. It is be-

lieved to be the world’s

oldest surviving internal-

combustion engined rail-

way locomotive of any

gauge or type. It is now

just over 100 years old.

No other internal com-

bustion loco has ever

achieved this age in

working order and mem-

ber Bob Tebb is the

proud owner.

As one would expect,

‘Blacolvesley’ has a fasci-

nating history. Bob Tebb has written a detailed

history of the locomotive in his book. The fol-

lowing is a ‘potted history’.

There has always been ‘eccentrics’ in society mani-

festing their foibles and interests in weird and wonder-

ful ways. Until the mid-nineteenth century, it was

mostly the aristocrat families that had wealth enough

to perpetrate their foibles. With the intensification of

the industrial age in UK, wealth began to permeate a

new class of people sans aristocratic lineage. The

development of coal mining, weaving, ship building

and a host of other industries created a nouveau riche class. Without titles, they never-the-less had all the

pretentions and most importantly, the wealth to ape

their aristocratic ‘betters’.

Charles Bartholomew (1806-95) could be classed as

one of these. He was an engineer by profession and

was involved in several railway constructions and

canal navigation interests during the 1840’s. Moving

upward on the social ladder, he purchased a vener-

able property known as ’Blakesley Hall.’

His son, C.W. Bartholomew, succeeded in 1895 as

local Squire and ‘Lord of the Manor’. He continued

the family interest in engineering and made significant

improvements to the family property and village facili-

ties. His abiding interest in railways saw him install in

the grounds of his property, a 15 inch miniature rail-

way. To operate this line he imported from USA, two

Cagney steam locomotives and nine open four-

wheeled carriages. The system was replete with elec-

tric signaling and telephones. (Cagneys had long been

associated with supplying miniature steam locos for

fair-grounds and rich eccentrics all over the world.)

The line or lines upon which the miniature trains

operated at Blakesley Hall, were quite substantial in

length and varied in route of the years. Whilst the

railway was principally for private pleasure, it did have

a practical aspect. A waiting room and booking hall

for the miniature railway was built adjoining the main

line railway station and a branch line from the minia-

ture railway led into the goods siding so that trucks of

coal could be loaded onto side-tipping trucks and

transported to the Hall. Other merchandise and

equipment was also carried. The passenger operation

came into its own on public holidays when ‘works

picnics’ and the like were transported.

In 1909, based on experienced gained with a home-

made petrol-driven engined locomotive, C.W. Bar-

tholomew decided to commission the firm of Bassett-

Lowke to design and build a steam locomotive outline

internal combustion locomotive. Thus came into

being ‘Blacolvesley’. On its trials, it attained a speed of

32 mph and pulled a load of 4.5 tons up an average

gradient of 1 in 30 for a distance of ¼ mile. It was

powered by a 14 hp N.A.G. car engine and possessed

a near prototype synchro-mesh gearbox. Subsequent

to its arrival at Blakesley, very little use was made of

the Cagney steam locomotives with the obvious ad-

vantages of the instant start-up facility of

‘Blacolvesley’ being available.

Mr. Bartholomew died in 1919 but his widow con-

tinued to have the train brought out on high days and

holidays.

Page 2 STEAM SCENE

(Above) A view of Blacolvesley at

Saltburn in 2007

(Above) Blacolvesley

stripped of its outer shell.

(Above) Taken from an old

postcard, featuring the loco

and three cars on the

Blakesley Hall track.

This continued until 1939 when the whole outfit was

sold. The outfit remained as a virtual complete outfit

until sold-on and dispersed in 1943. Under threat of

being scrapped between 1953 and 1968, ‘Blacolvesley’

was purchased by a Mr. Thomas Tate.

With an Austin 8 engine and changes to its transmis-

sion, the 4-4-4T loco to part in the Stockton and Dar-

lington railway, 150th anniversary in 1975. In 1976, she

attended the 100th anniversary of the Ravenglass and

Eskdale Railway in static display form.

In 1980 the developing theme park at Lightwater

Valley in North Yorkshire received amongst other

exhibits, the little 4-4-4T locomotive. With the coming

of a change of trends about 1994, ‘Blacolvesey’ became

surplus to requirements. Following a series of negotia-

tions, BobTebb purchased the locomotive and it was

trucked to Ravenglass for what became static exhibi-

tion. Bob, together with a group of other interests

volunteers, eventually succeeded in turning

‘Blacolvsley’s’ motor over, moving it a short distance

under its own power for the first time in many years.

Subsequently, it was dismantled sufficiently for a cos-

metic restoration to take it back through a host of

intermediate liveries to an original format. This in itself

was no mean feat. Following on from the cosmetic

restoration, work was commenced on the mechanical

side. The Austin 8 engine was returned to better run-

ning order with the acquisition of a handbook. An

overheating problem was also rectified.

The first public operation of the 4-4-4T took place

in 1996 on the May Bank Holiday ‘Spring Extravaganza’

at Ravenglas. Here, it hauled a single preserved four-

wheeled carriage on a siding adjacent the main BR line.

Despite being occasionally brought on display both actively and passively, worn wheels and other develop-

ing mechanical deficiencies became more evident and

demanded urgent attention.

On 28-10-1999, ‘Blacolvesley” was removed to an

engineering firm for remedial attention to its deficien-

cies bearing in mind the need to maintain a conserva-

tive approach to the work. Returning to Ravenglass on

30-5-2000, the loco operated under its own power on

20-7-2000 when it travelled 1½ miles each way.

Bearing in mind the rarity of the loco and the need

to balance operation with conservation, ‘Blacolvesely’s’

operation is limited to a few occasions each year.

Movement is invariably ‘light engine’ to save the

clutches from as much wear and tear as possible. Its

run is limited to a few yards. Basically, the loco is me-

chanically, largely that following work done in 1968

and 1970 while cosmetically, the livery is as near as

possible to that which applied in 1909.

In August 2007, the 4-4-4T made a guest appearance

at the Saltburn miniature Railway Association 60th

Anniversary celebrations. Whilst it did not run any

service trains, it did run light-engine to Forest Halt.

This incorporated running on a section of track it had

last operated on some half-century earlier.

‘Blacolvesley’ was the world’s first steam-outline

petrol locomotive and while it is not the oldest petrol-

engined railway vehicle in the world, so far as its

known, it is the oldest internal-combustion-engined

railway locomotive of any gauge or type that was built.

Its importance lies not only on these factors but also

in the originality of the majority of its components.

In some ways, this

is remarkable

given its history

from the late

1940’s when it

was subject to a

number of com-

mercial and show-

ground-type op-

erators.

Since buying the

loco in 1994, Bob

has striven to

conserve the

physical compo-

nents and in the

few cases where this has proven impossible for safety

or other reasons, to archive them safely.

The work in

1999-2000 to

w iden the

wheel treads

for example,

was deliber-

ately carried

out in such a

way that it left

the intrinsic

structure of

the original

wheels intact

and they can

be returned to

their earlier

condition very

s i m p l y .

‘Blacolvesley’

can therefore

justify its claim

for archaeological significance, not only as the oldest

surviving petrol locomotive but also as a near-original

example of internal-combustion miniature railway

locomotive design and construction, fully representa-

tive of small-scale engineer-

ing facilities of the Edwardian

era. It is thus worthy of

conservation.

For those of you who

would like to read a more

detailed history of the Bar-

tholomew family and the

Blakesley Hall miniature

railway, you are referred to

Bob Tebbs, ’The Blakesley

Miniature Railway and the

Bartholomew Family’ (2009)

British ISBN 978 1 85794

3399.(My apologies to Bob

Tebb for any shortcomings

in this severely précised

history of his locomotive.

Ed.)

References used; (1)The above mentioned book (2) ‘Blakesley Hall and its Miniature Railway’

© 2003

Page 3 Volume 8 Issue 2

(Above) A dowsing with

a little ‘champers’.

(Above) Member, Bob

Tebb with

‘Blacolvesley’.

(Above) One of the Cagney

locomotives.

Page 4

Steam Scene

(Above) Elephants proved

very handy in loading and

unloading a circus train. It

became second nature to

them.

(Below) (Rt) Section of a pro-

test march on Good Friday

1954. (lt) On the same day,

poor kids receive their ginger

beer and buns from a clown

whilst Alice a 106 year old

elephant looks on.

When the “Greatest Show on Earth” Passed by

Valley Heights When delving through railway records, from time to time, interesting scraps of paper come to hand. Some

depict a significant event, some record unusual happenings. In this instance, the delving concerns the

circumstances of a centenary event of really no account - the passing of a special train at Valley Heights, around

midnight a century ago on the 28/29 May 1911. Never-the-less the events leading up to and after that event

make for interesting reading. (By Bruce Irwin from notes and research of Peter Stock)

Occasionally today as we motor along, we may

see a vestige of what was once a major source of

entertainment for young and old—a circus.

‘Stardust’ and ‘Sole Brothers readily come to mind.

They are however only a pale shadow of what they

once were. Today, animal liberationists have all but

purged the animals from performances and who

knows how long it will be before O.H & S require-

ments get rid of the human performers or the politi-

cally correct decree that clowns really make mock of

the less bright

in our society

and should also

be purged .

Whilst a mod-

ern counterpart

such as Cirque due Soliel attract large crowds

and are great

entertainment,

for sheer vari-

ety and breadth

of scope they

and their ilk,

cannot compare

with the likes of

that once great

circus, Wirth

B r o t h e r s .

Whereas today you might see a collection of anti-

quated trucks moving a circus from town to town, in

former years, this task was performed by the railways.

What a sight it must have been when the circus train

steamed into town, with its motley collection of trucks

loaded with all manner of exotic animals and gypsy-like

caravans lashed down on flat wagons. There are many

Special Train Notices in archives detailing the move-

ment of circus trains in former years. By chance, Peter

came across one that records that on May 28 next,

at midnight, it will be 100 years exactly when the

train in question passed through Valley Heights,

comp lete

with ele-

p h a n t s ,

l i o n s ,

horses et al. It was

not the

first circus

train to

pass by and

w o u l d

c e r t a i n l y

not be the

last even

so, it is

interesting

to trace the lead-up to the tour and examine more

closely the particular passage of the train detailed in

the STN.

Messrs Wirth Brothers Circus was founded in the

late 1880’s giving their first performance in Mel-

bourne in 1887. In 1893, as a consequence of the

then financial depression, Wirth’s embarked on a

world tour. Returning in 1900, they entered into a

rivalry with Fitzgerald Brothers circus which had

come to pre-eminence in the meantime of Wirth

Brothers absence. Wirth’s subsumed Fitzgerald’s

with the death of the Fitzgerald Brothers in 1906.

The travelling circus was by then a well established

institution with Wirth’s touring Australia and New

Zealand on a regular basis.

With the coming of Easter 1911, Wirth’s were

shortly to wind-up a very successful Sydney season

on their site in Prince Alfred Park. It had not been

without its incidents. With the coming of Good

Friday, the Wirth family continued a tradition begun

in 1905 by Margaret Wirth. Poor children were

treated to a free circus performance and a distribu-

tion of buns and ginger beer. It was evidently an

annual ‘thank-you’ to the people who supported

Wirth’s during hard times previously. A press re-

lease of the time tells us that the contract for supply

was keenly sought after. “Yesterday afternoon when Messrs. G.L. Peterson and Anderson arrived to complete arrangements, they had to wade through a dense mass of noisy juveniles, some of whom were hatless and boot-less. Some had evidently spent the night in the park

in anticipation, waiting for the signal to ‘fall to’. It

was estimated that the children numbered 30,000!

Added to this, the children were given an entertain-

ment including the comic elephants and ‘Lizzie’ the

hippo. The entertainment must have been magnetic

in its effects for when it was completed, the children

refused to leave the marquee. They were eventually

lured outside by ‘painted warriors’ promising fur-

ther entertainment outside. Today, it is difficult to

imagine a throng of 30,000 children. Perhaps an

extra ‘zero’ slipped into the linotype operator’s

keyboarding.

Another happening took place prior to Wirth’s

Circus commencing their forthcoming country tour.

It was one involving a lion and a pony.

Sonny’ a three year old lion had been born aboard a steamer when the circus was en route to New

Zealand. On Friday, April 21, 1911 Sonny was to be

put through his first paces of training with two fel-

low lions, one being his sire. For the first half-hour,

Sonny was obedience personified, jumping through

hoops and over hurdles etc in mixed company. He

had just completed jumping a hurdle and a little

mare was following. As she sprang into the air,

Sonny with a roar, turned and sprang at the mare in

a flash, knocking her down with a swipe of its paw.

The next instant, Sonny had sunk its fangs into the

poor mare’s neck. The mare screamed in agony but

could not extricate herself from the powerful grip

of the lion. The attendants including Monsieur

Marco, the lion-tamer, managed to beat off Sonny

with whips and iron bars.

The pony got to her feet and staggered out of the

ring. She was taken outside the tent and shot. Sonny

was gotten back into his cage but was maintaining his

temper. Later, the lion tamer attempted to re com-

mence the performance again but Sonny refused to

participate. The young lion was still ill-humoured when

they were all returned to their cage, biting the lioness.

The combined force of the two senior lions eventually

saw Sonny put into ‘pecking-order’.

Following the closure of the Sydney season, the cir-

cus set out on a country tour of the Central West.

Usually, circuses set up in show-grounds or open pad-

docks. Bill Phippen (ARHS Resource Centre) tells us

that where he lived in Punchbowl, Ashton’s circus

would set up on a large vacant block that they owned,

next door to their house. The lions roared all night and

the elephants looked over the back fence. In exchange

for the use of the paddock and the supply of water, the

Phippen family received free passes to the circus. (I

think the circus did quite well out of the deal. Ed.)

The circus return (from Blayney) commenced on May

27 at 4.15 a.m. no doubt after a performance or two in

that town. The train arrived at Bathurst 2½ hours or

so later. It did not leave again until 4 in the afternoon

of Sunday.

Therea f -

ter the

train la-

boured on

with its

363 ton

load stop-

ping at the

following

locations;

T a r a n a ,

Wal lera -

w a n g ,

Marranga-

roo Loop,

E s b a n k

C o a l

S t a g e ,

N e w n e s

Junct ion,

Page 5 Volume 8 Issue 2

Blackheath, Stop Board(!), Lawson, Emu Plains and Par-

ramatta. It eventually arrived at Sydney Goods Yard at

3.20 a.m. Monday May 29. In addition to the stops listed,

two refreshment

stops were made,

the first was at

Mount Victoria

for 30 minutes

(9.24 pm to 9.54

p.m.) If this was a

dinner stop it was

most certainly

keeping society

hours!. The sec-

ond refreshment

stop was at Pen-

rith for 17 min-

utes. This was

timed at

1.08 to

1.25 in the

morn ing .

Was this a

late sup-

per or an

e a r l y

breakfast? Not mentioned on the STN was ‘The

Valley’. It would have passed this point at around

midnight but of course the facilities that pres-

ently grace this location, were then two years

into the future.

On arrival in Sydney, very little time was spent

in the ‘to be kept clear Sydney Goods Yard’, just enough to reverse the vehicles. Tabled for a 4.15 a.m.

departure, the double-header special was allowed 10

minutes at Hurstville (presumably under the water

crane) another 10 minutes for the same ministrations at

Waterfall, then similar times allowed for crossings at

Stanwell Park, Coal Cliff and Scarborough. At this last

stop, the second loco was detached. Bulli was tabled for

arrival at 7.35 a.m. just in time for the local population to

descend on the

yard and watch

the proceed-

ings.

No doubt

Worth Broth-

e r s ’ c i r cu s

played at this

village for the

Circus train was

not tabled to

leave Bulli until

1.14 a.m. on

May 30. Nowra

was arrived at

(still in the dark) at 4,45 a.m. Allowances for water (10

minutes each stop) were made for Wollongong and

Kiama. A curious instruction required “officers to be on duty at stations from Wollongong to Nowra for the passage of the train...with station masters to specially supervise atten-dants at crossings, where portable barriers are in use...so the barriers will be removed.” The circus was only at Nowra

for 24 hours for we see it leave from that ‘village’ at

4.30.a.m. on May 31 with an arrival timetabled for Kiama

1½ hours later. The crossing ‘officers’ were again on

duty and the portable barriers again brought into play

and removed after the train had gone. Wollongong en-

joyed the circus but only for a day. On Thursday June 2,

at 3.45 a.m. the circus train wended its way northward

along the Illawarra escarpment, arriving at Stanwell Park

(Above) An elephant

steps down from a flat

wagon. It has probably

just hauled the jinker

on board.

(Above) The Wirth

troupe of riders c. 1908.

Second from the left is

the internationally cele-

brated equestrienne

May Wirth.

(Above) Although not very sharp, this photo

depicts an elephant hauling a string of circus

wagons at Inverell railway yard. (Photo, courtesy

Mrs. Ruth Eden

(Above) An elephant alights from a specially

modified wagon.

Continued on page 6

PERSONAL

Members Jo and Mat Power

and family have been on a well-

earned holiday overseas.

ooo0ooo

Dorothy Ball (serves in the

shop) is undergoing extensive

treatment for cancer at the mo-

ment and is having a hard time of

it. Keep her and her close friend

Steve Corrigan, in your thoughts

and prayers.

ooo0ooo

NEWS IN BRIEF

The Purrey steam tram in Rock-

hampton, recently underwent

replacement of its smoke stack.

New refractory cement has been

put around some of the firebox

brickwork.

New Members

A belated but

none the less very

warm welcome to

the society is

ex tended to

James Betts.

James is an apprenticed diesel

motor mechanic. He has already

completed a steam attendant’s

course and gained his certificate.

A sincere welcome is also ex-

tended to David Henderson.

David has rejoined the society

after a lapse of some years. He

was a familiar presence at Par-

ramatta Park before the fire.

ooo0ooo

STM’s Sydney Tram

Celebrations

Celebrations com-

memorating 50 years

since the closure of

the original Sydney

tram system, took

place at the museum over the

weekend of February26-27. We

had a small stall at the event on

the two days, distributing bro-

chures and generally directing

people \where to go”. It was a

great weekend with record

crowds and takings. It was won-

derful to see all the old Sydney

trams on display with not a Mel-

bourne tram in sight. Congratu-

lations to the organizing team,

they did a magnificent job.

Gift of Coal

Many thanks to dual member

Ted Dickson, for obtaining

some four tonnes of coal for our

little ‘tea kettle’ . A coal loader

was also obtained which was

redundant to its former owner.

This will be handy in particular

for visiting steam locos.

ooo0ooo

A word of

thanks to Steve

Dive and Roz

Reynolds for

the fine job they

are doing in maintaining the

extensive grounds of the mu-

seum. It’s easy to take the well-

kempt appearance for granted

but the hard work that goes into

it IS noticed and appreciated by

many.

ooo0ooo

Good to see Dave Torr back

cracking the whip again with the

retirees group. Can’t keep a

good man down!

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: Cleaning of the tram and trailer is routinely done. S4360: Renova-

tion of sub-frame suspension and axle box housing. DD99: Truss-rodding purchased

and needle-beams manufactured.

at 5.20.a.m. Here, the train was split into what is quaintly described as “two portions” The first portion was due out at 5.40 a.m. with the second, twenty minutes later. There followed what

was feared and respected by all railwaymen of the day, the passage through the notorious

single-line tunnel. After the reconnection of the two portions at Waterfall just as day was

dawning at around 6.30 the train laboured on to Sydney yard where after a quick turn around

it was scheduled to arrive at Parramatta at 11.45 a.m. It is interesting to note that there was

no mention of a ‘refreshment stop’ between Wollongong and Sydney yard. One would there-

fore expect that there was no culinary delight (such as a hot pie and a cup of tea) to be had

until the train’s final destination.

After Parramatta, the circus wended its way north playing at Newcastle and other northern

towns. The train consist was as follows: Bogie goods brake van, 1 composite lavatory sleeping

car, 1 X 18 berth sleeping car, 2 X 1st class express lavatory cars (BX), 1 Redfern 2nd class

car, 2 bogie cattle wagons, 3 four-wheeled cattle wagons, 7 X ‘TF’ trucks, 2 X ‘C’ vans. Two

of the four-wheeled cattle wagons were to have raised roofs to accommodate the elephants.

Total load was approximated at 363 tons. No doubt the general hands were allocated to the

Redfern 2nd class car. A promotional car attached to an earlier train preceded the circus

train.

The instructions given in the STN are extensive and detailed. All loading had to be securely

lashed. The most suitable roads had to be provided with roads containing cranage in particu-

lar, to be kept clear for their convenience of the circus loading and unloading. Each truck had

to be passed under a loading gauge and so on.

One cannot but admire the fortitude and stamina of performers and general hands alike.

Travelling by train for days on end, it must have been a constant routine of unloading, setting-

up, performing, packing-up and re-loading. Arrivals and departures, as can be seen, were at all

hours of the night. As for meals—eating at regular hours must have been a long distant mem-

ory in a former life for most employees. Even so, an old shunter recently made the comment

that he found circus people could be quite aggressive in their demands and attitude toward

the railway people endeavouring to place their train to the best advantage in the yard. He did

however concur that they worked very hard when in town.

When we see a travelling circus today, it probably still is not an easy life, though luxurious

compared to days gone by.

The circus trains were probably the most exotic trains to grace the railways. No doubt

they aroused the intense interest of those whom it passed by. When it stabled at a local

siding, one could imagine the throng of kids and others anxious to gain a look at the animals

or perhaps the performers practicing their acts. Today’s railways are by comparison, very

bland indeed. Most people including kids, barely blink an eye as a train rolls by. Last but not least…..

SAFETY ZONE

A Reminder to Driv-

ers and Firemen

A reminder from our Operations

Manager, to all drivers and firemen.

When the conductor gives his

whistle blasts signaling ‘all clear’ or

‘reverse’, the driver, in accordance

with Rule18.2 should copy these

with his steam whistle and bell thus

ensuring he has correctly received

and interpreted the conductor’s

instruction.

ooo0ooo

On 18-3-2011, at Newcastle Local

Court, a train driver and his co-

driver were heavily fined for being

in charge of a freight train with

mid-range PCA. They had been

randomly picked-up by ITSR offi-

cers. ITSR shows no mercy for

RSW’s indicating alcohol levels in

excess of .02. The board reminds

society RSW’s that when they are

in the operations service of the

society, it likewise holds no toler-

ance for alcohol or illicit drugs.