News Jan to Dec 2011
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News Jan to Dec 2011
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25/10/2011 New Friends of Thomas Day On the 25th September BBR held its most recent New Friends of Thomas Day which as usual ran like a well oiled machine with about 40 members active on the day.
Three trains were operating the services on the day - the small train stock hauled by Ashley and Planet #1 on the Mussel Pool branchline, Ng123 was operating loop services with the JOA tank, the AV Party car, 3 of the "R" class wagons and the Z Brakevan. BT1 with Rosalie and the corridor stock also ran loop services as the 2nd train. This day saw all trains leaving from the Island platform at Whiteman Village Junction allowing for more room to move on the main platform for the flow of visitors attending the event. This was a successful change in the operation of services and will likely be continued with further events. Another new feature to the operation was the introduction of a "Information Booth" which was well received and used by the those attending. BBR thanks all those volunteers who gave their time to make this day another great BBR event.
Whiteman Park 25th Celebrations Thursday 29th of September was BBR's special function day which saw Ng123 in steam to haul the days train service and the day was run with "Back to 1986" ticket prices. A range of some of BBR's other locomotives and equipment was also on display at WVJ. Midweek Crew As usual the BBR midweek crew has been busy with preparations for Thomas Day seeing much work done in getting the locomotives and coaches ready for the big day as well as preparing the stations and public areas. Lindsay and his crew have also been busy manufacturing and fitting coupler packages to the ZB van. The Work for the Dole crew have also been getting stuff done with both sides of the new island platform at Kangaroo Flats being completed. Dismantling of the old platform has commenced whilst waiting for the earth moving contractor to finish filling the new platform with soil. A paving job was done at Mussel Pool outside the station building tidying up the area under the eaves of the building. An area of the carriage shed has been set aside for setting up the upholstery bench and the crew has now started upholstering with news seats made for the ZJ on display at the REVS museum and recovering of seats in the Ballast plough and the AQB guards seat. Friday Night Crew General maintenance on locos and rollingstock has been ongoing along with warming of the steam locos up to the end of the steam season. Clearing of land around the depot for new sheds has been continuing with trees and stumps removed from in front of the Mallet shed. On 16th of Sept the "Maylands" locomotive moved out of the shed under its own power for the first time after some years without a engine. Michael and Brayden have been working on the Maylands and hope to have it fit for use once again.
22/09/2011 Today the Cottesloe Cabin was lifted to its new location in the Mussel Pool platform. This signal cabin has been on location at Mussel Pool station for about 22 years. It was formerly used as a signal box at Cottesloe until being replaced by the WAGR by a bigger more modern cabin. On decommissioning at Cottesloe, the WAGR relocated the cabin to the western end of Platforms 5 & 8 of City Station where it became the "Passenger Yard Foreman's Office" until later being used as a storage facility for the Linen used on the overnight sleeper trains.
The Crane arrived onsite early and by 10am the crew were set up ready to begin lifting of the Cabin. After initial snags associated with the lifting equipment were sorted, the weight was taken by the crane only to find that the concrete footings had a few extra unseen bolts retaining them to the cabin. A quick location of a jack hammer and angle grinder saw the concrete blocks being demolished and after some hard yakka by the the crew the cabin was ready to be lifted into the air. It was neatly swung over by the large crane and settled into its new location in a matter of minutes.
20/09/2011 Nearly three quarters of the way through 2011 already and much continues to occur at Bennett Brook. Passenger numbers have continued to grow giving a good steady year of operations. Locomotives required for for traffic have been available when required as has the rollingstock when in demand on busier days thanks to a dedicated team of Midweek and Friday Night crews. Reorganising of the storage compounds is progressing steadily and will be an ongoing project for some time to come, with collected items being relocated and stored. Members morale is good thanks to the progression of many of the projects being undertaken at the railway - some of these include the new Kangaroo Flats platform construction, Mussel Pool platform renewal completion, Mussel Pool lever frame and signal box upgrades, Coach overhauls, yard Trackworks and Erection of the Water Tank at Whiteman Junction.
Midweek Crew have been busy with new seats being made for AQ 1788, assisting with concreting areas of the carriage shed floor, continuation of clearing the yard for new shed erections along with other general running maintenance requirements.
Ridley #1 On Thursday 4th of August one of our earliest locomotives returned to the railway in a much modified form. Ridley number 1 was one of the First Walrpa locomotives to be delivered to Whiteman Park on 11th March 1983
ZB brakevan Restoration Lindsay and Michael Watson have recently been working on the brake rigging underneath the ZB which has enabled it to be placed onto bogies which have been regauged & prepared for this vehicle. Much work goes into regauging and restoring a coach to working order for use on the BBR. Lindsay has been directly involved in the regauging of all 11 bogie vehicles on the railway.
Water Tank lifted onto Stand
Fathers Day report by Bob Baker
Signals report by Bob Baker RESTORING THE POLE ROUTE
Mussel Pool Signalling On Thursday, Sept 15, the new Mussel Pool lever frame was attached to its base and placed on the concrete slab in the platform at Mussel Pool. Thursday, Sept 22, should see the Cottesloe Cabin lifted from its present location to its new location in the Mussel Pool platform. Once this is completed work will commence on connecting the points and signals to the lever frame. The project will make all mainline points and signals at Mussel Pool operational.
Whiteman Park Turning 25 Whiteman Park was officially launched on Sunday 21 September, 1986 after landholdings from over thirty private owners, including Lew Whiteman, had been purchased across the 1970s to create a regional parkland. Today, Whiteman Park is a unique recreation and conservation reserve that spans 4,000 hectares and is one of the largest metropolitan parks in the world. In 2011, we take a look at Whiteman Park’s history for the first time, telling the story of how and why we came to be. The anniversary exhibition 'Turning 25' looks at the land before it was a park, how Whiteman Park has developed over the last quarter of a century and where we are headed. It's about preserving the past, conserving the present and protecting the future of this wonderful reserve. Location: Revolutions Tranport Heritage Museum Time: 10.00am - 4.00pm daily Cost: Entry to Revolutions is by donation
Being the 25th year BBR have been asked to assist in the combined Whiteman Park Celebrations - On Thursday 29th of September, Steam Hauled trains will operate between 11am and 3pm. The Z brakevan will be positioned on the Island platform and open for inspection along with other rollingstock on display on the turntable area. In keeping with historical celebrations, fares for the day will be lowered to 1986 prices being $2 Adults and $1 children.
8/07/2011 Bennett Brook Railway will be running steam services every day of the July school holidays. Weekdays trains run half hourly from 11am to 3pm from Whiteman Village Junction only. Weekends from Whiteman Village Junction half hourly from 11am to 4pm and hourly from Mussel Pool from 10:30 to 3:30. NG15 123 is scheduled to run. Perry 0-4-2T (BT1) will be the backup 19/06/2011 New Friends of Thomas Day 22/05/2011 Preparation of the steam locomotives for the start of the season was well organised by Derek and his team with both the Ng and the Perry performing well during the day. Three trains were operated during the day with Ng 123 working a 5 coach consist along with the Joa tank on the loop. BT1 worked a second train on the loop with the Fowler diesel locomotive assisting on the corridor set. Ashley and Planet #1 worked a busy shuttle on the Mussel Pool branch with the small stock set.
As usual the Fat Controller and his Station Master Assistant Peter entertained the crowds with many photo opportunities being taken by visitors with the popular characters.
Many comments were heard about the carriage that looked brand new in our corridor consist, a credit to the wonderful job carried out by our midweek crew. New Midweek crew member Aaron assisted by Ken has been busily refurbishing the faces and making some new ones to keep these valuable items used on our Thomas days in a presentable condition. Faces for the carriages and wagons were also repainted by Emily, Keelyn, Sue, Alan and James. Thanks to all who took part in the operation of the day. Once again a very professional day was held by BBR after much preparation by many members. Thank you to all involved from the Ticket sellers to the Cleaners Train and Operational Crews, Maintaining Crews and Passenger Assistants.
Other News The overhaul of Gemco locomotive "Wyndham" and the tamper are steadily moving ahead. New gears have been made for for the Gemco final drive and is now being assembled. The tamper head has been overhauled and the drive unit in the Ridley locomotive is being overhauled and fitted with a diesel engine and new controls. The Dorman Planet has been out on a test run to Kangaroo Flats with Planet #1 to collect the tank wagons prior to Thomas Day. Unfortunately a oil leak developed causing the unit to be shut down and hauled back to the depot. New sheds at the Mussel Pool depot are a work in progress. Once these are finished new rainwater tanks for steam locomotive water supplies will be installed hopefully easing the drain on the parks water allocation.New points and trackage is also steadily being constructed by Lindsay and his team to provide another storage road alongside the existing carriage shed and to be covered by the new sheds. 5 Q type bogie flats have been donated to BBR in recent times - Storage of these wagons will be on 3' 6" track panels being constructed by track master Scott. Kangaroo Flats new platform construction continues with "Work for the Dole" crews working on the second side of the platform. Work has been variable over the summer months due to heat and fire bans, but cooler weather, work is now progressing well. Recently Jan and Bob attended the Cast and Crew advance screening of Kittens of Woodlake, a movie written, produced and directed by Lynette Morley. Part of Kittens of Woodlake was filmed at BBR in February 2010 and several scenes included Whiteman Village Junction and the Buffet Car. Scenes involving Midland Town Hall, Guildford Grammar, Commercial Tavern (Midland) and Alfred's Kitchen gave the movie a home-grown feel. The movie will feature in future film festivals
27/03/2011 Updates By Bob Baker SIGNALS On March 24 the midweek crew of Bill, Dave, Peter L, and Patrick assisted me in erecting the new shunt signal which will control the exit from the Mussel Pool workshops into the Mussel Pool station Loop. It is the only shunt dolly on its own post on the railway. Other shunt dollies are located on the Mussel Pool home signal mast and Mussel Pool loop starter mast. It was not without its dramas as we succeeded in bogging the crane and had to pull it out with the Planet loco. However by lunch the old mast at the location had been removed and the new signal erected.
Earthworks have been completed and the concrete is about to be laid for the concrete plinth allowing for re-location of the Cottesloe signal cabin and the Wagin lever frame into the Mussel Pool platform. Once the plinth is completed and the cabin and frame re-located, work will commence on connecting up the points to the frame as the first priority. Also a box type red-green point indicator has been re-furbished and includes coloured lenses allowing a kerosene signal lamp to be used at night. Originally these indicators had lenses and lamps; were later fitted with reflective lenses for night identification and ultimately the whole box was made reflective.
. Classic Car Day On March 20, Classic Car Day was held at Whiteman Park. The BBR provided a train service using 2 trains. A four coach train top-and-tail provided a 20 minute service between Mussel Pool and Whiteman Village Junction using the Fowler and Planet locos. At Whiteman Village Junction, Ashley with its toast rack carriages provided a service around the Bushland Loop. Both trains were well patronised. In all 11 members were on hand with ticket sellers and station masters at both Mussel Pool and Whiteman Village Junction to assist the patrons. Classic Car Day is the railway's busiest day of the year apart from New Friends of Thomas Days.
15/02/2011 On the 7th of January the new perry locomotive frame was raised and the wheel sets removed. . The axleboxes were later removed and hopefully we will be able to soon send the wheels for re-profiling by Gemco workshops.
During the summer holiday period "Ashley" and the ADL toastrack cars with BV1 have been operating the midweek services whilst the weekend services have been handled by the larger stock. Work continues on the new Kangaroo Flats platform - the team has one side completed and are rapidly progressing on the other side.. The midweek crew have been busy under the guidance of Lindsay Watson, building a new turnout for the another track to run alongside the western side of the carriage shed which will be covered over with a new shed. Bunbury Wagon Harvest For some time now there have been a few QUA and QUB flat wagons stored at sidings in Picton yard. These wagons were built in the early 1970's and possessed many parts and fittings suitable for use on BBR rollingstock. In recent times it was found that these wagons were destined for scrapping and so permission was sought to remove part suitable for use at BBR. On the 15th January 2011 a group of BBR members travelled south to Bunbury to spend a day gathering what parts could be removed such as draghooks, pins, bridles, vacuum hoses, goosenecks, Vacuum dummies, branchpipes etc. These items were loaded into a truck which was generously supplied by Whiteman Park for the day. Thanks go to all of the members who gave their time to come and help out. TRAINING By Bob Baker At the December Committee Meeting I was appointed the Training Officer for the Railway. On January 22, 8 members participated in a safe working course. Congratulations go to all the participants who successfully completed the course. We look forward to seeing these guys on the roster in the near future. Trevor provided a BBQ lunch for the participants The Railway's thanks goes to Revolutions who provided the Board Room enabling me to present the course using the data projector, making life a lot easier for me and more comfortable for the participants.
SIGNALS REPORT By Bob Baker The Mussel Pool signal cabin project is progressing well. The Collie Cabin has now been moved across the line next to the "Out of shed" leaving the area free for Simon Mead, in his capacity as Park Engineer, to arrange the installation of the concrete slab for the Cottesloe Cabin and Wagin lever frame.
Meanwhile, the Cottesloe Cabin is being prepared for its move across the line once the slab is completed. Also a shunt signal has been re-furbished ready for installation as the exit signal from the workshops to the Mussel Pool Yard. Peter Gould and I placed the signal in the rear of the carriage shed and re-furbished the hardware. Next time we came in the painters -Midweek & Co - had been in and painted the signal ready for installation. Thanks Guys. The signal will be erected when the weather cool down. Track Report Not a whole lot has been done over the Xmas / New Year period due to hot weather. small spot jobs continue to be carried out where possible though some jobs are determined by the level of the Fire Danger. 3/01/2011 Welcome to another New Year With any luck this year will see completion of the Mussel Pool platform and signal Box revamp. The WVJ locomotive water tank should make it onto its stand and become operational. Parts for the Gemco gearbox are progressing which hopefully will see this most useful diesel return to traffic use. The new platform and track alterations at Kangaroo Flats will continue to slowly appear as the project takes shape. Clearing of equipment and land around the side of the Carriage shed by the midweek crew will allow for the new Wagon Sheds to be erected and an new set of points is being built for the extra trackage. Midweek, Friday Night & Track Crews will continue to operate on a regular basis providing the backbone that keeps our railway up to standard for our Roster Crews to keep the trains running. Keep up the good work Everybody! Another BBR Annual dinner was held in early December and was well attended by the membership. A good night was had by all with the usual good feed, night train operations and some award presentations made.
SIGNALS REPORT By Bob Baker The reconfiguration of the interlocking of the ex Wagin "A" signal lever frame to control the Mussel Pool station precinct has been completed. Final testing will be carried out by the Railway's Signal Technical Committee soon to accept the frame as ready to be installed. In the mean time Whiteman Park engineer, Simon, is project managing the removal of the "Collie" cabin from its existing position and provision of a concrete pad to stand the new signal lever frame and "Cottesloe" signal cabin in the extended Mussel Pool platform. The signal's department is now preparing the "Cottesloe" Cabin for its move across the line. The accumulation of junk in and under the cabin has been removed - it's amazing how large the cabin is once everything is removed. Before the cabin can be shifted, the existing lever frame inside the cabin, incidentally believed to have come from Katanning, will have to be re-blocked as it presently rests on the plinth base of the cabin. Once this has been done, probably before Christmas, the cabin will be ready for its re-location. Meanwhile our fabricator, Greg, is manufacturing stands for the "Wagin" frame. Once the stands are completed and the concrete pad laid, the frame will be placed on the pad followed by the cabin and connection of the points and signals can commence Click here for Archived News July - Dec 2010
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Bennett Brook Railway Webmaster N. Blinco
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