Newsrail

07/11/2025

One of the photos from one of our feature articles in this month's edition, showing the site of the former level crossing at North Melbourne where until 1886, Swamp Road (today called Dynon Road) crossed the busy railway tracks just outside of North Melbourne Station.

Good evening to all our friends and followers! The museum will be open as usual tomorrow (Saturday) from 12 noon to 5pm. It will be a wet day, but fortunately we have some large roof canopies over much of the site to allow you to enjoy your visit in any weather.

As always, visit trybooking.com/eventlist/newportrailwaymuseum to book your tickets online, or just purchase them at the front counter when you arrive.

We present a photograph, circa 1905, of the railway junction at North Melbourne where lines from Victoria's north-east, north west and west all converge. From here, trains passed through North Melbourne Station, on the other side of the bridge in the distance, on their way to Spencer Street Station (today's Southern Cross Station) or the adjacent Melbourne Goods Yard.

The bridge In the distance provided a crossing for what was then called Swamp Road, today's Dynon Road. It was the main road connection through to Footscray, running along the northern side of the vast swampland to the west of the Melbourne CBD.

It is almost unbelievable to think that until this bridge was built in 1886-87, a level crossing existed in the foreground, near the signal box (the tall wooden building you see to the left of the tracks). Even in the mid 1880s, no fewer than 146 passenger trains a day crossed this point, and there would have been dozens of longer, slower-moving freight trains also passing through the same crossing. Imagine being stuck at that crossing!

The road bridge at North Melbourne Station remained in service until 1968 when it was replaced by the current Dynon Road bridge, built closer to the point where the pre-1886 level crossing once stood. A remnant of the 1886 bridge remains, used for pedestrian access between platforms at North Melbourne Station, and for rail worker access into South Dynon and the Melbourne rail yard,

This history of this and other early level crossing removals between Melbourne and Seymour is covered in an article in the latest edition of Newsrail magazine, which is on sale now at the museum shop.

Photo: PROV VPRS 12800/P0001, H1146

02/11/2025

November Newsrail is currently being printed and will be making its way to subscribers and retail outlets very soon!

NB: we currently have a 15-month subscription offer for October 2025 to December 2026 for new subscribers; head to newsrail.com.au/subscribe to find out more!

This month's edition is packed with three feature articles. Our striking cover image of a brand new X Class locomotive X39 sets the scene for our first feature, the recollections of engineman Fred Rochow of working on the mighty X Class steam locomotives of the VR. Fred was interviewed by Nick Anchen, and Nick has provided us with this interview as an excerpt from his new book, 'The Art of the Engineman'.

We publish the second part in Greg Michael’s article on the removal of level crossings on the Seymour Line. Greg starts this latest instalment with the former Swamp Road (today’s Dynon Road) crossing at North Melbourne. It is mind-boggling to consider that as late as 1886, there was a level crossing at North Melbourne Statiion, which even in those days had hundreds of passenger and goods trains passing through every day. Greg also looks at other more recent removals of Hume Highway crossings at places such as Tallarook and Craigieburn, all richly illustrated with historic and current-day photos.

Our third feature is a story about a mishap that occurred in 1958 on the Gippsland Line when a ganger’s trolley ran away from a works location on the Maffra Line and found its way onto the main line to Melbourne. Des Coghlan was one of the workers at the Traralgon loco depot who scrambled into action, racing out in a car to intercept the trolley and derail it before a more serious incident potentially occurred.

Our News pages this month look at the ATSB report into the recent Clifton Hill derailment, a program by the NSW Government to investigate the retention of sleeping car service on the Melbourne to Sydney route, and recent comments by Public Transport Victoria at the West of Melbourne summit held in October.

And our usual other columns are there:
- Operations and sightings
- Tourist and heritage rail
- Infrastructure (formerly our General works column)
- Tramways
- PTV service quality
- Where is it?
- Photo in focus
- Taildisc

04/10/2025

Newsrail’s October 2025 has been published, with the electronic edition already available on our online service and the printed edition on its way out to subscribers and retailers soon.

We have a 15-month subscription offer that includes our October edition, the remaining 2025 editions and all of 2026. Visit newsrail.com.au/subscribe to see this and other offers.

Our latest edition features a blue Harris train on the cover, a perfect choice for our main feature article by Graham Bishop on his career as a suburban train driver from the mid 1960s to early 1990s.

We went back through the archives to see when we last had a Harris on the cover of Newsrail. Can you believe that prior to this month’s edition, they’ve only made the cover twice? The last was our September 1987 edition, when we featured a colour image of a refurbished grey Harris train crossing the Yarra on the Port Melbourne Line, just prior its closure and conversion to light rail. Prior to that, our November 1975 edition featured a black and white photo of a Harris passing Melbourne Underground Rail Loop works near Princes Bridge Station.

Our feature article author Graham had the most remarkable career on Victorian Railways, starting as a track repairer before becoming a locomotive fireman, then a driver, and finally a suburban electric train driver. This latest article by Graham picks up where his last article on his time as a locomotive driver left off, and as with Graham’s previous articles, it is a window back in time to a very different age. It is superbly illustrated with a range of high quality photographs from the era, including many images by Graham’s fellow train driver colleague, the late Des Jowett.

Our News column leads with some analysis by our editorial team of recent boarding statistics from regional stations that suggest V/Line will probably report another reccord year for patronage when it releases its annual report later this year. While some lines have seen only modest growth, the Shepparton Line in particular has had ridership increases in the order of 50% over last finanical year.

Our popular Tourist and hertiage rail column calls in to Bellarine Railway for another update on the project to restore ASG steam locomotive G33 to operation, as well as updates on Car 19 restoration, Steam Crane 30, and a new project to restore the Malcolm Moore diesel engine originally used in the regauging and reopening of the former VR Queenscliff Line as the Bellarine Railway.

And our usual other columns are there:
- Operations and sightings
- General works
- Tramways
- PTV service quality
- Where is it?
- Taildisc

14/09/2025

Further to our sneak peak of the September edition a few days ago, here's our longer-form overview of what's in this edition.

NB: For current subscription offers, please visit newsrail.com.au/subscribe

For September, we’re heading west, all the way to Serviceton! Our cover photo, showing a brand-new C510 and its classmate readying 9194 express goods train for departure to Melbourne in 1978, perfectly transports us to the time and place for our main feature article by VR engineman Roydon Burk.

Roydon joined the Victorian Railways in 1977 and regards his days with the VR as the best of his life. We are fortunate that Roydon kept all of his work logbooks and correspondence. From these records, he is able to provide a wonderfully detailed first-hand account of his time at Serviceton in the late 1970s. It is a compelling record of life on Victorian Railways prior to the huge changes that took place in the following decade. Roydon discusses the locomotives he worked with (the then-new C Class, X Class, and Y Class all feature) remembers the local Serviceton to Horsham railcar service (nicknamed The Peanut by locals) and recounts some funny stories such as the day his uniform was ruined by a tortoise! The photography, sourced from a number of contributors, is brilliant. Roydon has provided a few cracking images that he took himself, including a couple of Australian National Railway locomotives that crashed off the end of the turning triangle at Serviceton; Roydon notes that this never happened to a VR locomotive during his time!

Our Tourist and Heritage Rail column visits the Steamrail team at the Ballarat East Depot, where a range of projects have recently been successfully completed by a very active new team of local railfans. We talk to the team about their recent restoration of water truck WT49, a vehicle that will soon be used once again to enable steam locomotive Y112 (currently under overhaul) to operate with a far greater range by nearly doubling the water capacity of its tender.

Our News section includes a story on the potential threat that the new Sunshine Station Superhub project may pose to the future for freight operations between Ballarat and Melbourne. We also look into the recent Sprinter mishap on the Seymour Line, the rise in kangaroo strikes affecting V/Line services, and the increase of service frequency on the Shepparton Line.

And our usual other columns are there:
- Operations and sightings
- General works
- Tramways
- PTV service quality
- Where is it?
- Taildisc

05/09/2025

We've got another bumper edition on its way to you, featuring a superb article on interstate freight on the Western Line in the late 1970s, the era of the VR C Class and Third Series X Class. We'll post more about the various articles in the next day or so, but for those who are subscribers, you can read the full edition NOW via our Newsrail Online service, and the printed copies will be making their way to retailers and subscriber letterboxes in coming days.

Interested in subscribng? Head to newsrail.com.au/subscribe to take advantage of our six-month offer that includes all editions from July to December 2025, along with online access to the entire Newsrail back catalogue.

06/08/2025

August Newsrail is now published online and will be soon appearing in retail establishments and subscriber letterboxes everywhere.

If you'd like to subscribe, why not take advantage of our six-month July to December subscription offer! See newsrail.com.au/subscribe for details.

Our cover photo for August, featuring S301 Sir Thomas Mitchell awaiting departure from Albury Station with the Albury Express in September 1939, heralds our feature content on the Albury Line.

Nick Anchen has compiled an interview he had with Arthur Eaton, who supervised the Seymour Locomotive Depot during the era of the legendary S Class Pacific locomotives which were maintained at Seymour. Arthur grew up in a house just metres from the railway line in Seymour, and a childhood fascination with the trains that thundered past the family home led to a long and successful railway career. Arthur remembers the various qualities and quirks of the mighty three-cylinder Pacific locomotives that epitomised the VR at its peak.

Nick also presents an interview with Frank Allen, a railwayman whose long VR career began at age 15 working in the Spirit of Progress dining car. Frank describes a typical busy day that would start with helping to load the car with food at Spencer Street Station hours before its 6.30pm departure and catching a brief few hours sleep after the train's arrival at Albury before presenting at 6.00am to help prepare the car for its return journey back to Melbourne, and meeting such luminaries as VR Commissioner Harold Clapp.

During July, we received the terrible news that our long-time editorial team member Greg Michael had passed away. Greg had just completed a large three-part article on level crossing removals on the North East Line, from the 1890s through to the current day. In this edition, we present the first part of Greg's final work for Newsrail.

Our News section includes details on the final ATSB report into the 2023 level crossing collision at Geelong of a truck and train at the Barwon Terrace level crossing in Geelong, as well as coverage of the recent Clifton Hill derailment.

And our usual other columns are there:
- Operations and sightings
- General works
- Tramways
- PTV service quality
- Where is it?

01/08/2025

One of the anniversaries to be announced in the calendar page of the upcoming August edition of Newsrail is that of the 70th anniversary of the introduction of the Victorian Railways T Class locomotive. Stay tuned!

04/07/2025

July Newsrail is currently being printed and will be on its way out to subscribers and retailers soon!

If you'd like to try a six-month subscription (July to December), head to newsrail.com.au/subscribe to see current offers!

This edition has another interesting mix of current and historic content for all interested in Victorian rail, from our front cover (commemorating 150 years since the opening of the railway to Everton) to our rear cover (commemorating 60 years since the closure of the railway to Warburton).

Our main feature article for July is the first of a two-part history on the industrial railway that branched off from Box Hill Station and ran to the former brickworks that today is the site of Surrey Park. Mark Cauchi’s thoroughly-researched history is illustrated with maps, advertisements and beautiful photographs from the era.

This month’s tourist and heritage rail column features a report from Daylesford Spa Country Railway on their major project to return Leyland Double-Ended Rail Motor 53RM to operation. It’s an ambitious project, but as DSCR’s Barry Fell notes, the DSCR team has already made major progress.

Nick Anchen’s collection of stories from old hands at the former North Melborune Locomotive Depot, published in our June edition, attracted a lot of attention, including some emails and letters with photographs of the depot we’ve never seen before. We’ve published them this month in a special four-page spread.

Also from Nick Anchen, another story from the Whistleblowers series, this time from David Moon remembering the wheat season in the days of steam, running steam locomotives in 100 Fahrenheit (37 Celcius) weather, and trying to sleep in the primitive accommodation provided by Victorian Railways for loco crews.

Trevor Penn presents another most interesting entry for our Photos in focus series. Rounding out our coverage of North Melbourne Loco, Trevor interprets the details in a 1961 image that shows diesel traction usurping steam, with the new North Melbourne flyover under construction as the old steam depot marks time until its demolition.

And our usual other columns are there:
- News and announcements
- Operations and sightings
- General works
- Tramways (including photos of some of the 2025 Melbourne Art - - Trams)
- PTV service quality
- Where is it?

27/06/2025

A little bit of history taking place north of the border tonight.

22/06/2025

From the foreign file: Amtrak’s latest marketing has a real vibe

04/06/2025

June Newsrail has an interesting mix of current and historic content for Victorian railfans to enjoy.

Interested in subscribing? Visit newsrail.com.au/subscribe to see current offers!

Our cover photo by Thomas Hobley features Walker Railcar 22RM at work on the Yarra Valley Railway, which has recently announced the long-awaited commencement of track laying on its planned extension from Yarra Glen back to the current terminus at Tarrawarra. YVR’s Jodi Swinn talks to Newsrail about the project and takes us through the truly impressive engineering work on the track bed that will ensure that the track quality will be of a very high standard.

Also in preservation news, our Tramways column records the transfer of Z3 class leader, Z3.116, into preservation at Ballarat Tramway Museum after 45 years of faithful service to Melbourne commuters.

Our feature article this month is a collection of stories, curated by Nick Anchen, from old Victorian Railways enginemen and others recalling the North Melbourne Locomotive Depot, the massive facility that maintained the steam locomotive fleet operating out of Spencer Street Station. For those who view life on the Victorian Railways through rose-tinted glasses, these stories offer a sharp correction, recounting the dismal working conditions and terrible pay that those who drove and maintained VR’s loco fleet had to endure. Decades later, the honesty and authenticity of these accounts is striking. Naturally, the article is beautifully illustrated with historic photographs of VR’s magnificent steam fleet in and around the shed.

Our News section details rail expenditure funded in the Victorian Budget, and also delves into some of the detail of the Victorian Budget Papers to note projects that are running late, or over-budget. The budget includes $26 million over the next three years to be spent on retiring Comeng trains from service, and we also take a look at the conversion of two three-car Comeng sets into two-car sets specially designed for operation with the Infrastructure Evaluation Vehicle.

And our usual other columns are there:

Operations and sightings
General works
Tramways
PTV service quality
Where is it?

11/05/2025

Of course none of us at Newsrail are this train-obsessed. Oh OK, we are! 😆

They secretly like it.