Volunteering tourism
Born and raised in a village with train halt, I have always been fascinated with the romance of chucking locomotives and shunting coaches. They were music to my ears which I don't get to hear any longer these days. To make a lame but lingering memory of yesteryears, thus far, I have amassed volumes of books, soundtracks, DVDs and paraphernalia about steam engines. The collection will grow but had I the money to build a miniature, I would, failing which it will surely be a major regret in life.
Puffing Billy making a pick-up stop at Menzie's Creek, first station after Belgrave, uphill.
So, I made it to Belgrave on the Dandenoong Ranges in Victoria to capture the Puffing Billy for the first time in my life. Lots of pictures and they make nice story and memory to at least please myself.
There are only two trips per day during autumn.
I almost missed the last train by minutes.
It's here that (ancora imparo) I learnt tourism, a major revenue earner for Victoria, can be run professionally by a bunch of retirees and young volunteers. There's so much of social integration and interaction to run an old railway track.
In the case of Puffing Billy, volunteers start from therank-and-file with on-the-job training as conductors, shop assistants, ttrain hosts, engine cleaners, booking clerks, museum operations workers, track workers, porter, as well as in work that involve engine repair and restoration, carriage repairs, and signals and telegraph.
Subsequently, volunteers must fter meet the required Board qualification before there are elevated to work in jobs as a Station Master, Guard, Signalman, Fireman, Ganger, Track Patrolman, Signal Fitter and Trolley Driver.
In other words, no short-cut even in volunteerism.
Puffing Billy, running on 2.6 narrow gauge, making a curve on trestle bridges.
And there's this good old signalising and track-shuffling system that never cease to wow me.
Kids, who are born to the age of bullet trains and MRT, must know who George Stephenson (1781 – 1848) was. Without the famous steam-powered locomotive named Rocket, there wouldn't have been a revolution in land transport. Stephenson created the rail gauge of 4 ft 8½ in (1435 mm), originally called "Stephenson gauge", and it has become the standard gauge for the majority of the world's railways.
This group of students, with legs danggling in the air, later had some trouble with the conductors.
Must be making enquiries about becoming Puffing Billy volunteers?
The Locomotive 14A that I rode on, which was built at the Victorian Railway's Newport workshop in 1914, was restored in 1996 for the Puffing Billy fleet. There are five others of the same make that still run in tip-top condition today. That's how a legacy has been preserved, and preserved productively to continue churning revenue for the State of Victoria.
This is just a preview. There's a full travelgue on this.
Comments
Trains have a special place in our heart - young and not so young. Looks like Jeff and myself share the same passion. I am sure there are many out there too.
It is a pity that there is no concerted effort to save the last remaining working steam locomotive in Peninsular Malaysia - [b]Temerloh[/b] - which is presently sitting idle in Gemas Station. The Temerloh is a oil-burning steam loco used by the defunct Peninsular Line which was operating in the mid-90s carrying passengers from Singapore to Melaka and back. It was a competitor to the famous E&O.
A group of us formed a club called KTM Railwayfan Club with the object of bringing all the train enthusiasts - especially but not limited to Malayan Railways - together and promote the railway heritage and interest.
KTMB has generously allowed us to use the old KL Railway station as our clubhouse. The club organises rail field trips to various part of the country and visits to depots and yards.
In addition, the club has built a H0 (1/87th) scale railway model. We are looking into N (1/160th) scale railway model too. Personally, I am interested in N-scale as it allows me to model long trains for operations and reasonable variety of scenes.
The club URL is http://www.ktmrailwayfan.com
Jeff, if you are interested, do join us for the field trips or operating sessions. Who knows, you may start your own layout at home.
For the others, if you are curious or want to know more, do contact me at jimmy[dot]gmlow[at]gmail[dot]com or the club.
We are looking forward to see more people relive the good old days of the railway
Choo-chooo!
P/S: The other survival steam railway is the Sabah State Railway operated by Sutera Harbour Hotel from Kota Kinabalu to Tenom.
JEFF OOI says: Hi Jimmy That's a cool club you have that I definitely want to be a member. Yes, I have ample pictures of Temerloh rotting away in Gemas Station,
which I took in 2003. It's kind of sad to see a nice loco dying a cruel death like this. I will explore your website, get to you guys and probably want to do a blog about it. I would certainly look forward joining you guys on the Padang besar trip and East Coast trips. (Is the turntable on the Siamese part of Padang Besar still working?)
Posted by: theresponder![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.jeffooi.com/nav-commenters.gif)
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May 26, 2006 09:05 AM
Who's the glass wearing geek driving the train. Got any license or not? Hehe.
theresponder: thanks for the link. Although im not a trainspoting fan myself, but I do like colonial architectures such as old railway stations. I still have fond memories of taking the train from KL and arriving at Butterworth port in the early mornings when I was 7 years old (20 years ago).
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May 26, 2006 10:03 AM
thanks jeff for this piece. i'll be visiting melbourne next week. has added the puffing billy as a stop for the family. i'm sure the kids will love it.
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May 26, 2006 10:51 AM
Heard the song "Chike Buke Chike Buke Raileh"? You just made me recall an incident in the Ankara Railway Station when a steam engine came rolling in....A Welsh friend of mine went berserk with excitement...running after it taking pictures!!! Hope you did not go that crazy...but sure can see your smile in the engine!! That says it all!
JEFF OOI says: To be frank, I went THAT crazy. I also learnt from the engine drive that four chucks make a full wheel-turn. And there's a seismology-like blackbox to record if a driver has been speeding trains, a practice that started way back in 1890s! That's something I never learnt in MBA class.
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May 26, 2006 11:24 AM
Reminds me of the Children's Railway in Hungary: http://www.gyermekvasut.hu/english.html.
In the old communist days, it served as a type of training ground for future State Railway Employees.
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May 26, 2006 04:45 PM
Jeff, your posting of this train ride brings back fond memories of this Seeker's Hit
THE MORNING TOWN RIDE
Train whistle blowin', makes a sleepy noise
Underneath their blankets go all the girls and boys
Rockin', Rollin', Ridin', out along the bay
All bound for Morningtown, many miles a-way
Driver at the engine, Fireman rings the bell
Sandman swings the lantern to say that all is well
Rockin', Rollin', Ridin', out along the bay
All bound for Morningtown, many miles a-way
Maybe it is raining where our train will ride
All the little trave'lers are warm and snug in-side
Rockin', Rollin', Ridin', out along the bay
All bound for Morningtown, many miles a-way
Somewhere there is sunshine, somewhere there is day
Somewhere there is Morningtown, many miles a-way
Rockin', Rollin', Ridin', out along the bay
All bound for Morningtown, many miles a-way
All bound for Morningtown, many miles a-way.
for a musical version, you can hear it at
http://www.niehs.nih.gov/kids/lyrics/morningtown.htm
Posted by: multidimid![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.jeffooi.com/nav-commenters.gif)
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May 26, 2006 07:50 PM
Jeff,
Do join us. Our members range from 16 to about 40+, from M'sia, Singapore and as far as UK and US.
I need to check with the members if the Siamese turntable at the border is working. I know there is one in Padang Besar that KTMB uses to turn the Indian-leased YDM locos.
Looking forward to see you and others at the field trips.
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May 27, 2006 11:22 PM
I miss riding the steam trains in UK, quite an experience.
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July 10, 2006 01:41 PM