The Elphinstone Express

12/11/2025

Windback Wednesday to February last year, when these dedicated members of the Taradale and Elphinstone Fire Brigades were deployed to assist with the Grampians bushfires! 🔥

05/11/2025

Well, this bloke didn’t just have a couple of cheeky tins – he practically took a bath in the stuff and came up asking for another round! 🍻

Castlemaine cops were flat out Saturday night after calls came in about a white ute weaving all over the Calder Highway near Elphinstone around 7pm.

Didn’t take long before they caught up with the culprit – a 37-year-old fella from Sunbury – and surprise, surprise, he blew massive.

The breath test lit up like a pokie machine, and by the time he hit the station for the proper test, he clocked an alleged 0.253. That’s not “a couple after work,” that’s “mate, how are you still vertical?”

His licence was ripped up on the spot, his ute’s off to car jail for a month, and he’s looking at $1,874 in impound fees – all for what cops say was a reckless and dangerous drive that could’ve ended a hell of a lot worse.

He’ll cop charges soon, but honestly, he’s already paid the price – no licence, no ute, and a reputation now flatter than his last beer.

03/08/2025

It was a wild one on the Calder yesterday – smoke was spotted from Taradale as a 2020 BMW decided it’d had enough and went up in flames! 🚗🔥

Taradale, Elphinstone, and Malmsbury brigades all got the call-out and came flying in! 🚒👨🏻‍🚒

The driver clocked the smoke early, did the smart thing and pulled over. Both the driver and their mate jumped out just in time before the whole thing went up like a Roman candle! 🛣️🕯️

No injuries, thank goodness – but the blaze sparked a small grass and scrub fire nearby. Lucky the ground was still wet from recent rain, or it could’ve been a much bigger headache! 🙄🔥

One crispy Beemer, one lucky escape, and a huge shoutout to the firies who rocked up and handled it! 👏🏼‍🧑🏻‍🚒

03/08/2025

What a magnificent photo of the Elphinstone Tunnel! 🚆

When my brother & I clambered down the embankment to make our way down to the tracks leading to Tunnel Hill, this is what we came upon. It was almost a full moon, and the clouds were whispy and moving quickly through the night sky.
Cars, oblivious to our presence, made there way to and from Castlemaine and then the Steam Rail emerged from the darkness of the tunnel. All those sources of light made this image what it is. Dam I love photography!!