On Monday evening, 26th July, the society was delighted to be included in the Office of Rail Heri-tage 2010 Volunteer Awards night. Our Chairman and Works Manager Craig had been nominated for an award in the category of “Leadership, Manage-ment or Organizational Development” and was a finalist. Craig was nominated by fellow board mem-bers for his outstanding efforts in leading the society back into being an active, operating entity after the disaster of the Parramatta fire in 1993. Also attending were award nominees and finalists from VHLDHM, Arthur Tester and Ted Dickson. Ted Dickson’s award category was in “Rail Heritage Conservation, Preservation, Restoration or Reconstruction” whilst Andrew’s award category was “ Community Relation-ship Building”. It might be noted at this point that RTM President, Peter Berriman was the second awardee in Andrew’s category. The awardees were introduced and citations read by ORH head, Marianne Hammerton. The citation for Craig included “...demonstrated leadership and management skills and the involvement of others in rail heritage organization…” The award trophies were presented by The Hon. John Robertson MLC, Minister for Transport and Rail Corporation NSW, Chief Executive, Rob Mason. Following on from the presentation of the awards, we were treated to a delightful dinner also held in the ambient surround-ings of the Transport Hall. Apart from the awards, it was a great opportunity to make further acquaintance with other rail heri-tage operators and personnel from the ORH. Sarah Grosse of the latter, is to be particularly congratu-lated for organizing the Power House event. Earlier in the day, the ORH held a forum. One of the topics of particular interest to the museum and the society was the session ‘Attracting Visitors’. Andrew Tester of the museum, gave a presentation to this session, outlining the particular difficulties we are experiencing in growing our visitor numbers. It would seem that with one or two exceptions, rail museums all over NSW are experiencing the same problem. Further to Craig’s award, those of us who have accompanied him on the long journey after the Par-ramatta fire, know how much he has put into our recovery. If this wasn’t enough, shortly after getting established at Valley Heights and getting some rolling stock operating, we were hit with the 2002 Rail

A Long Haul Officially Recognized - Chairman Craig Connelly takes an Award

August 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 4

Steam Boiler Attendants Four members, Luke Tolhurst, Dave Hunt, James Betts and Ralph Boesel, will shortly be attending a Steam Boiler Atten-dants course to be held at the Lake Macquarie Light Rail. Once upon a time, this would have been undertaken by the old Department of Labour and Industry complete with final examination and certification. Nowadays we have to go around a cumbersome, not to mention expensive, route of private tutors and examiners. Good luck men.

FROM THE FROM THE FROM THE EDITOREDITOREDITOR

With the line to the Signal Box almost With the line to the Signal Box almost With the line to the Signal Box almost finished, there is an air of excitement finished, there is an air of excitement finished, there is an air of excitement about the museum as we all anticipate about the museum as we all anticipate about the museum as we all anticipate operating over the extension. Operat-operating over the extension. Operat-operating over the extension. Operat-ing to that point has always been the ing to that point has always been the ing to that point has always been the objective of the museum and the objective of the museum and the objective of the museum and the society. The perway gang in particular society. The perway gang in particular society. The perway gang in particular are working hard to get the connection are working hard to get the connection are working hard to get the connection to the new shed up and running. Busi-to the new shed up and running. Busi-to the new shed up and running. Busi-ness in the shop is expanding which ness in the shop is expanding which ness in the shop is expanding which means that although numbers coming means that although numbers coming means that although numbers coming through he gate may not be as many through he gate may not be as many through he gate may not be as many as we would like, we are extracting as we would like, we are extracting as we would like, we are extracting more money from them via sales. The more money from them via sales. The more money from them via sales. The potential from this area has by no potential from this area has by no potential from this area has by no means reached its limit. The work on means reached its limit. The work on means reached its limit. The work on preparing the LFA carriage for traffic is preparing the LFA carriage for traffic is preparing the LFA carriage for traffic is taking longer than anticipated. Just the taking longer than anticipated. Just the taking longer than anticipated. Just the simple job of cleaning it up seems simple job of cleaning it up seems simple job of cleaning it up seems difficult to get around to. The major difficult to get around to. The major difficult to get around to. The major limiting factor to all this activity is the limiting factor to all this activity is the limiting factor to all this activity is the lack of volunteers. We need more lack of volunteers. We need more lack of volunteers. We need more shop assistants, more track workers shop assistants, more track workers shop assistants, more track workers and general hands. We are not looking and general hands. We are not looking and general hands. We are not looking for scores of people, just another two for scores of people, just another two for scores of people, just another two or three to help get a few urgent jobs or three to help get a few urgent jobs or three to help get a few urgent jobs done. If you could spare a bit of time done. If you could spare a bit of time done. If you could spare a bit of time to help get things ready for our ex-to help get things ready for our ex-to help get things ready for our ex-panded operations, give Craig a ring. panded operations, give Craig a ring. panded operations, give Craig a ring. We have a great little show at Valley We have a great little show at Valley We have a great little show at Valley Heights that could be just that much Heights that could be just that much Heights that could be just that much better with a few more helping hands.better with a few more helping hands.better with a few more helping hands.

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

Bruce Irwin, EditorBruce Irwin, EditorBruce Irwin, Editor

(Above) Award recipients pose in front of the old Central “Next Train” board. Craig is the tallest in the back row with Ted Dick-son and Andrew Tester to the extreme left. (Below) Rob Mason and Minister Robertson flank Craig.

Safety Act and all that entailed with Safety Manage-ment Systems etc. That has now been largely gotten to grips with thanks in large part to Craig. That his efforts have now been publically and officially recog-nized is a wonderful achievement and acknowledg-ment of one of the quiet heroes in the rail heritage movement.

A Conductor’s Life—Gabriel Dennis I have always been touched by the way death and tragedy struck down families, particularly those before the Second World War. Sicknesses such as diphtheria and poliomyelitis so frequently carried away children, even several from the one family. Reading through newspapers from years back, touching accidents, I am always astonished at the number of children that were burnt to death because their clothing, particularly flannelette, came into contact with a flame. With no counseling available I wonder how parents coped with these deaths or accidents. I sometimes wonder if the frequent report of adult suicide had anything to do with a not unsurprising inability for them to cope. In the April issue of Steam Scene, the tragedy accompanying the career of steam tram driver, Sam Whyche was highlighted. In this issue, the conducting career of Gabriel Dennis is focused upon and likewise the tragedy that struck his family. The material for this article is drawn upon several sources including, the investigations of historian, Trevor Edmonds, concerning the Dennis family.

The Parramatta George Street tramway was the longest lived steam tramway in Australia. Commencing

in 1883 it ceased to operate in 1943, just six months short of its sixtieth birthday. The line was pri-vately owned throughout its history with its final owner being Sydney Ferries Lim-ited. Its main-stay for sur-vival lay in the transportation

of raw and processed linseed between Redbank Wharf (Duck River) and Meggitt’s Refinery in Parramatta. Although passenger and in particular, picnic and race traffic also formed a substantial segment of earnings in earlier days, towards the later years, this fell away. The general history of this line has been reasonably covered in former Australian Railway Historical Society bulletins (c. late 1930’s and mid 1950’s). However the line is now overdue for a comprehensive history cov-erage, including the revocation of some romanticisms and errors that have crept into its folk lore. An his-

torical over-view of this delightful line is not the purpose of this article, rather it is to focus on the almost lifelong career of one of its conduc tor s -Gabriel Den-nis.

Gabriel Dennis’ Early

Life Gabriel Ed-ward Blanckley Dennis was

born on 6-10-1870 . Both his parents were engaged in managing the Benevolent Asylum for the infirm and destitute. This was situated near what is now, Noller Parade, Parramatta. Upon the death of his father, his mother became Matron-Superintendent of the institu-tion. She was progressively assisted by Gabriel’s sisters.

When the tramway was constructed in 1883, it

passed immediately in front of the asylum. Gabriel appears to have worked on the asylum farm as a youth, becoming Overseer in 1894. The Dennis asso-ciation with the asylum seems to have ended in 1896 with Gabriel probably continuing in some local rural activity. Around 1900 he joined the Railways Depart-ment and married during the following year. Thereaf-ter for a period, he and his wife resided in Trott Street Parramatta where they commenced their fam-ily. In 1904, Gabriel left the Railways and took em-ployment as a Conductor on the George Street Par-ramatta line. He was to remain in this employment, trundling back and forth over the 2 miles 66 chains of line, until it closed in 1943.

The Death of a Young Lad One of the myths surrounding the George Street line was that it never sustained a fatality. It would appear, during the course of its history, three persons were killed. The second of these was Stanley Teas-dell on 28th December 1906. This was an accident in which Gabriel Dennis was integrally involved as con-ductor. Coming from a financially straightened house-hold 13 year old Stanley Teasdell and his brother worked at the Sandown Meat Works. Anxious to save the cost of the tram fare home, the brothers and one other lad hid in some bushes adjacent to the tram line from whence they would jump onto the back of the tram after it had started off for Par-ramatta. On this occasion, the tram consist included some goods wagons trailing after the single tram car. Stanley’s brother and the other lad successfully made the couplings of the wagon however Stanley stumbled when his tried to get his foothold between the cou-plings and despite the other lads trying to get hold of him, he slipped and went under a wheel of the wagon. The boys raised the alarm with Gabe Dennis and the tram was stopped. Stanley was retrieved a short dis-tance back along the line and conveyed post haste by the tram into Parramatta. Although alive on being admitted to Parramatta Hospital, he died soon after-wards of terrible injuries. As a father, Gabriel Dennis must have been shocked by the carnage of that day however it was to strike much closer to home four years hence.

The Tragic Death of Albert Dennis On the 21st March 1911, Gabe Dennis’ wife Esther, sent her four children on an errand to a local store. The eldest was Ellen (8) and the youngest Albert (2½). The children were on their way back home and were between Ross Street and Victoria Road on the eastern side. The 5.18 p.m. steam tram from Par-ramatta bound for Castle Hill was approaching. The children decided to dash across Church Street before the tram reached them. The driver of the tram, Al-fred J. Longstaff, yelled out to them. Two children, Catherine and James stopped but the eldest girl Ellen and young Albert continued on. Albert being slower,

Page 2 STEAM SCENE

A tram passes the old Be-nevolent Asylum building. Gabriel Dennis’ female family members were in charge of it until 1896.

(Above) A tram ready to go from the O’Connell Street terminus. It was a similar consist to this from which the Teasdell lad fell and was run over by a wheel of a similar truck.

and went under the tram motor’s wheel. He was prac-tically cut in half and died instantly. The body was conveyed to the Dennis household in Trott Street. The death of his then youngest child following on as it did, only 4½ years of the death of Stanley Teasdell, must have had an impact on Gabriel.

Another Tramway Death At about 5 p.m. on the 10th October 1913, Rupert Bemar Shepherd was on his way home on the tram from his employment at the Sandown Meatworks. His custom was to catch the tram to Camellia where he alighted and caught the train to his home at Dundas. As several men did at the time as usual, before the tram came to a stop, they dropped from the tram foot board whilst the tram was still moving. Rupert did this also but his foot slipped on this particular day on com-ing in contact with the embankment of an earthen platform. Rupert lost his footing, going under the tram and was crushed to death. Gabriel Dennis was the conductor on the tram and was again the witness to a horrible accident.

More Family Tragedies Gabriel’s wife Esther, was pregnant at the time of Albert’s fatality. She subsequently gave birth to Joseph Henry in September 1911. He evidently contracted gastro-enteritis shortly afterwards but was not consid-ered seriously ill. On a day trip to Manly in December of 1911, the baby suffered a heart attack and died in his mother’s arms. The following year saw the birth of another daugh-ter. She was being treated for gastro when she died suddenly from heart failure in December 1912. An-other daughter was born in 1914. On July 11, 1915, Ellen, the oldest girl, was cooking her father’s breakfast of chops as her mother was feeling poorly. Suddenly her clothing caught alight and she dashed out into the back yard. Gabe quickly fol-lowed and brought her back inside to dowse her in the shower. The damage was done however and she died two days later in hospital. Gabriel and Esther’s last child was born in 1916. The family moved from Trott Street in 1917 and there after became almost itinerant in their domiciliary movements however, they always remained within a mile or so or Gabe’s employment with the tramway.

Boyish Pranks Boys scaling rides on the tram were the bane of “Gabe’s” existence. From newspaper reports of the times, it was the done thing for “nippers by the half-score” to jump on and off the low-sided trucks as they moved slowly along behind the steam motor. With the fatality of the Teasdell boy in mind, one can fully ap-preciate Gabe’s efforts to get to grips with the prob-lem, no matter the means. Gabe apparently carried a big stick and when the kids boarded, he would chase them off, brandishing the stick. Gabe evidently grew tired of this happening to no avail and on one occasion decided to inform the police of what the kids were up to. The plan was that the police would be in waiting to nab the boys the next day. George Rowe, the tram driver, was aware of what was pending. When he came across some of the boys the day previous to the planned nabbing, he alerted them to the plan but with a severe warning not to offend again. The boys evidently took heed and were not seen again on the footboards.

A one-time local resident, Jack Gillham, relates that he and some mates also frequently scaled the trams as boys in the late 1930’s. On one occasion he scaled a tramway truck only to find the conductor, “Old Red Face” (Gabe Dennis) lying flat in the truck wait-ing for them. Jack’s knuckles, clutching to the edge of the truck, were struck by a cane the conduc-tor was carrying, breaking a little f inger . Their enthusiasm for such pranks , diminished there-after. Jack’s bent finger today (2002) is a constant reminder of the event.

Later Life Gabe served on the trams through the First World War, The Great Depression and the early years of World War Two. As such he witnessed the high tide of tram traffic, servicing various industrial undertak-ings along Grande Avenue together with Rosehill Racecourse and heavily patronized picnic traffic in both directions. He also witnessed a gradual decline in traffic with Meggitt’s Ltd. being virtually the only (though fortunately the major) goods customer. There are many anecdotal examples of the way the tram operated in a free and easy way. It is legendary that the mid-morning tram to Redbank would stop at the Church Street intersection and there be met by shop assistants delivering morning teas, lunches etc. for stowage in the front compart-ment of the tram. At various factories along the line, the tram would blow its whistle, a signal to the employees to come and collect their repasts. Pre-sumably Gabe had received their orders on the previous inwards journey and delivered them to the shops concerned—all at no charge. After the closure of the Woollen Mills govern-ment tram at the end of 1926, there was an ever increasing clamour to have the George Street line removed. It was seen by many as a blot on the land-scape and an anachronism. The circumstances of the Second World War eventually brought about the line’s demise. With the USA entering the war and deploying troops and resources in Australia, they es-tablished an encampment at Sandown and took over the wharfage and lighterage at Redbank. This of course cut off Meggitt’s linseed trade by its age old transpor-tation method of lightering up and down the river with the tram providing a shuttle service from the wharf to the factory in Parramatta. With nominal passenger traffic left, Sydney Ferries decided to wind the tram service up. Despite some last minute attempts to hold the service until some satisfactory alternative passen-ger service was established, the line closed on 31st March 1943. The late Harold Matthews, a life long admirer and devotee of the George Street tram, tells us that the last tram left Parramatta at 5.05 p.m. bound for Redbank. There were evidently no passengers on board although some sources say that earlier in the day, the earlier trams were crowded.

Page 3 Volume 7 Issue 4

(Above) In June 2000, a section of George Street was being re-surfaced when a sec-tion of the old tram-line was exposed. The Lord Mayor of Par-ramatta is seen here inspecting the line. It was subsequently pho-tographed, recorded and covered up again.

(Above) Driver, George Rowe on the motor and conductor, Gabe Dennis on the footboard. Photo taken at the Redbank Wharf terminus.

(Continued from page 3) When the tram arrived at the Albion Hotel (near the Gasworks Bridge) the conductor left the tram and went into the hotel. Harold Matthews tells us that this was a “relief c o n d u c t o r ” which indi-cates that Gabriel was not on the last tram. Probably he had fin-ished earlier in

the day. One might think it strange that for old times sake, he did not travel the last journey to the end of the line. After nearly 40 years service on the tramway, perhaps his nostalgia was waning for steam trams considering what they had served up to him and his family. Further, he was not a well man having been diagnosed with a kidney complaint the

previous year. As it hap-pened, he had a very short r e t i r e me n t , dying on 27th N o v e m b e r 1943, just eight short months after the tramway closed. Gabe was buried at Prospect. H a r o l d Matthews tells us that he

rode on the last tram, climbing on board towards the wharf end of the line and travelling to the termi-nus. Afterwards he walked back to his car.

Page 4 Steam Scene

(Above) Gabriel Dennis (Lt) and driver, George Rowe (Rt) at the Duck River wharf terminus. The end of the public platform and rolling stock shed is also depicted.

Much of the anecdotal material that has been writ-ten about the tramway has come from Harold who in turn received it in many conversations with Gabriel Dennis. The long held myth that the tram-way never had any fatalities, has been perpetuated from Harold’s early writings. Gabe evidently never intimated that he was conductor of the tram in-volved in two of the three fatalities that happened during the history of the line. Was it part of Gabe’s defensive mental process to avoid recalling the memory of these horrific events? In retrospect, Gabe had witnessed all facets of life in his service on the tramway, tragedy, humour, highs and lows and all weathers. As we have read, his home life was seemingly one of pathos and tragedy. With the birth of successive infants, Gabe and Esther must have wondered if their infants would ever age beyond a few months. One cannot help but be moved by the hardness of life people in the not so long ago endued as a matter of course. How fortunate we are nowadays, with all the medical and other resources available to us, that we do not have to consider as virtually fatal, the onset in children of say gastro-enteritis. Diphtheria, poliomyelitis and the like, killers in their day are now prophylacticaly kept at bay. It is really only a few short years ago, contact with any of these would probably have meant a death sen-tence not only for our children but ourselves. Tragedies on the railways and tramways still hap-pen but thankfully, with the aid of modern manage-ment devices and systems, not with the frequency of former years. The advent of professional coun-selling for staff and others involved in accidents, has also been a great advances. Nothing of the like was available for Gabriel Dennis or his wife Esther. They had to get up and get on with the next day. References used in this article are : Parramatta Adver-tiser, Wed. 14-6-2000: ARHS Bulletin Dec. 1937: Cumberland Argus and Fruit growers Advocate, 5-1-1907, 15-10-1913, 18-10-1913. “Penny-A-Section, Tuppence-A-Case” (author B.S. Irwin) Anecdotes: late Harold Rowe (2002). Jack Gillham (2002) Unpublished biography of Gabriel Dennis (author Trevor Edmonds) . Particular thanks is recorded to Trevor Edmonds for his kind permission to use his material.

“Please Dismantle the Nanny State” The following article has been derived from one written by David Morgan, Chairman of the Heritage Railway Association (UK) It was published in the May-June 2010 edition of “Heritage Railway”. Although it was written in relation to the heritage rail situation in the UK, such is the nature of things, it can be readily recognizable and applicable to the Australian situation. Portion of the article as it relates to the recent British elections, has been deleted.

“Political support for the heritage sector was high-lighted by the attendance at the FEDECRAIL Confer-ence in Budapest (Hungary) of Brian Simpson MEP, chairman of the European Parliament’s Transport & Tourisom Committee and the Hon. Tom Fischer, Australian ambassador to the Holy See at the Vatican and a former deputy Prime Minister.

What does all this boil down to? Well, it all boils down to regulation. There is constant pressure to regulate our activities more and more. We are fortu-nate to be governed by HM Railway Inspectorate, which is run by inspectors who have officer qualifica-tions rather than those of cipher clerks, all

too often evident in our ‘safety’ world. I am not only speaking about technical or operating safety but also of other areas such as child protection.

The American owners of ‘Thomas’ in a complete overreaction to recent legislation, tried to demand that all railway staff should be vetted by the CRB, regardless of their potential contact with young people. Their advisors accepted the inevitable only when the CRB point blank refused to meet their demands. I am somewhat reassured by the public reaction (Continued on page 6)

(Above) Driver George Rowe and Gabriel Dennis at the O’Connell Street termi-nus. Note motor “6” has no clerestory.

It Could Only Happen on the Railways ! (Part 6) In continuing this series of strange but true tales from the history of railways, we go to America in the mid 1800’s. The last northern hemisphere winter was particularly savage with huge dumps of snow in New York and other northern states let alone Europe. It was perhaps reminiscent of the mid 1800’s that experienced a mini ice-age. It certainly caused huge problems for road traffic and indeed for railways. During the mid 1800’s some almost unbelievable railway events occurred with the early American railways and I thought you might find these two tales of interest.

Widow to the Rescue The Western Division of the Virginia Railroad Com-pany ran through a very mountainous part of the state and stations were few and far between. About three miles from one of these stations the track ran through a deep gorge of the Blue Ridge. At the centre of the gorge (a place about as remote as it is possibly could be) there was a tiny cabin surrounded by a few acres of fruit trees. The cabin was inhabited by a widow called Graff and her three young daughters.

In the summer, the three daughters walked together each day to the nearest station carrying baskets of berries, which they sold to train passengers, weary of packed lunches, stale beer and tea. The money they earned was a useful supplement to a pitifully small farm income and their mother’s Civil War widow’s pension.

The regular conductor on the once-a-day train knew the girls well and when they’d sold their fruit at the station, he often invited them to jump aboard and then signaled the driver to make an unauthorized stop where the track passed the children’s farmstead. The children always offered to pay the conductor for his kindness by giving him any remaining baskets of fruit. He would always accept but insisted on paying.

Then came the worst winter in living memory. The year 1854 saw snow more than three feet deep right across the state and in some places, where drifts had built up, it was twenty or thirty feet deep. Then in mid-December of that year, the weather suddenly turned warm, causing the snow to melt rapidly. This was com-bined with a series of terrible storms, so that the val-leys were filled with raging water from hill tops swept by ferocious winds.

On 26th December, the Western Division train was making its way through Blue Ridge with its friendly conductor on board. Despite the pitch back, the howl-ing wind and the torrential rain, the guard was not worried because the track had been built along a bed of solid rock and it was impossible that somewhere up ahead, it might have been swept away. As he walked through his train, the guard tried to reassure the obvi-ously worried passengers that they were in no danger despite the fact that the train was visibly rocking under the onslaught of the elements.

Then just before midnight, there was a piercing shriek from the engine’s whistle. The Conductor and his guards applied the brakes immediately and the train quickly came to a halt. When the Conductor ran to the front of the train and stood by the driver, an extraordi-nary sight met their eyes. Out in front of the train for twenty or thirty feet and more, a huge pile of logs was blazing. What on earth was going on? The Driver and Conductor walked the length of the fire. Beyond it, just a hundred feet or so, the track vanished into an abyss. The combination of huge snow drifts followed by tor-rential rain and flooding had torn the whole side of the mountain out. The widow Graff and her daughters had seen the huge slide of earth and rock and realized what

Page 5 Volume 7 Issue 4

would happen if they did not act. They knew the train was due in a few hours so they spent the intervening time going back and forth to their stockpile of brush-wood and logs, building the fire that had saved the train and its occupants from certain destruction.

Despite the tempest, all the passengers climbed down to see the huge fire that had saved their lives. They were so grateful that they made a collection for the widow that amounted to nearly $500—a large sum in the mid nineteenth century. At first the widow wouldn’t take the money but she was eventually persuaded and she would use it to send her daugh-ters to school– something that would have been impossible other-wise.

The ra i lway company was so grateful that they built the widow and her daughters a new house and gave the whole family lifetime free passes to travel whenever and wherever they liked on the railroad.

Lost in the Snow—America 1855

In former days when whole trains would scarcely weigh as much as one engine does now, a big snow storm was the greatest dread of railwaymen in the United States. A bad snow storm would almost certainly mean being stuck in the country, miles away from any house, for two or three days at least. In many cases, it was much worse and trains might be stuck for a week or more.

The winter of 1855 was worse than any in living mem-ory. Huge swathes of countryside vanished under a deep blanket of snow and the blizzards seemed unending. At Aurora, Illinois, a certain well know character, Colonel W.S. Johnson, narrowly escaped death from hypother-mia, after getting stuck on a train journey in huge drifts. Six men lost their lives in that particular storm within a few miles of the spot where Colonel Johnson had such a narrow escape.

For sixteen days, trains without number were buried under the mountains of snow that blanketed the prairie. In then took weeks to dig them all out. When the thaw eventually came, two further freight trains that had been entirely forgotten, simply appeared as if from nowhere as the snows began to melt. The railroad companies had been thrown into such turmoil by the loss of so many trains and by the general chaos that they’d managed to forget two whole trains!

(Above) A reproduc-tion of an early engrav-ing depicting workers digging out a train from a snow drift.

PERSONAL OTHER NEWS ITSRR Inspects Re-laid

Track On Thursday July 9th two offi-cers from ITSRR paid a visit to Valley Heights, to inspect the new track relay and the connec-tion to the museum. They were pleased with what they saw and with the risk assessment work done to date.

ooo0ooo Many thanks to member Peter Goodman for sourcing and obtaining a small load of coal to keep us going, until a larger sup-ply can be sourced at the right price.

ooo0ooo

Can You Help? The food trade in the shop at the museum is getting busier and busier, so much so that

the present counter staff at times find it difficult to keep up. We need a couple of members pre-

pared to do a bit a counter work, serving foodstuffs and keeping an eye on the hot food supply. The job would be on a rostered basis and some basic training in food handling and local procedures would be avail-able. Its not rocket science. The counter area is the first point of contact for people coming into the museum and it is that initial contact that makes the first and probably most lasting impression. If you have an affable manner and are happy to work in sales to the public, why not give it a go? The shop is a very important source of supplementary income for the society and we need to do our bit in supporting it. We can’t leave it all up to VHLDHM staff to carry the load for us. If you could help, give either myself, Craig or Peter a call and they will steer you in the right direction.

ooo0ooo

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 and re-assembly. 103A: Gland repacks for minor steam leaks. Perway: Assistance in coal/ash road siding reconstruction.

(Continued from Page 3) to attempt to impose ‘nanny state’ by the politically correct.

As their demands become more and more extreme, it does seem that parents and others realise how divorced from reality these apparatchiks are becoming. Indeed, far from creating a safer world, their demands are ironically making it more unsafe. This was brought home to me by the steam festival held in the Slovakian rail depot at Kosice on April 24. Six giant steam engines sat panting in front of the roundhouse. The local population thronged around the entrance, posing for photographs, clambering over the tracks, climbing up on buffer beams, etc. Not a high-visibility vest in sight! And did the accident and emergency depart-ment of the local hospital fill up? It did not. What was more, I noticed small children looked carefully to see where they were stepping was safe– under the watchful eye of their parents of course. At least in Central Europe common sense is alive and well. Let’s hope that at some stage in the future it will return to this country so that we have a better opportunity to assess risk for ourselves without being mollycoddled by interfering busybodies who think that they know better and cannot concede that individuals are capable of exercising personal respon-sibility and common good judgement.”

(The trouble with common sense is that it generally has to be firstly pointed out. Strangely enough, it doesn’t seem to manifest itself as obviously as it is supposed to do. Perhaps it should be renamed “simple sense”. So far as the regulators are concerned, I am sure their simple repost to the above would be the simple phrase “Ah! But what if?” Ed.)

Last but not least…..

New Members A very warm wel-come to two new members, Luke Tol-hurst and Connor Boesel. Both are the sons of existing

members and will doubtless con-tinue in the fine manner that their respective fathers have to pro-gress the society.

Obit It is with deep regret that we

inform members of the passing of June Tester, mother of museum and STARPS member, Andrew Tester. June died sud-denly on Wednesday, 4th Au-gust 2010. June was a lovely lady whom most members will recall was the wife of museum member, the late Arthur Tester. Since Arthur’s passing, June had con-tinued to make a very special contribution to the museum, assisting with visitor catering and looking after the cleaning of the toilet and ablutions block. She, together with her family also looked after the Arthur Tester memorial pond and garden at the museum. Our sincere condolences to Andrew and his siblings on their great and so unexpected loss.

Get Yer Gear ON!! Operating our tram is substantially a matter of theatre for the public. We re-enact how the steam tram was used in public service. Part of this re-enactment is dressing-up. It is a most important demonstration to our visitors of part of the ambience of old time steam tram travel. Apart from the Conductor, the dress of the fireman and driver is a fairly individual affair. Unfortunately of late, there is a creeping tendency to not bother changing into period gear. Perhaps it is a case of “well there are only a few people visiting today, it’s not worth the trouble.” The fact is, whether we have sixty through the gate of six hundred, they all pay to experience something rare. What-is-more, they go home and tell others what they experience. From comments made in the past, we know that they are definitely impressed by the dressing-up of our traffic staff. It has added immeasurably to their experience. So let’s do it men. Get yer kit on AND get it on in time. And for heaven’s sake, get those orange safety vests off! If you are part of the tram crew and are operating a tram for the public in heritage mode, you are exempt from wearing them. Do your bit to add to the magic.

Operating Rules The Operating Rules governing the running of the VHST have recently

been approved by the Regulator. Copies of these are being pre-pared by Chairman Craig and will shortly be distributed to Rail Safety Workers involved in the running of the tramway. RSW’s are encouraged to become familiar with them as they will form the basis of a “Tool Box Talk” in the near future and future training modules for all classes of crew member i.e. drivers, firemen, con-ductors and all assistants and train-ees.