Train enthusiasts will converge on Queenscliff this weekend to explore the restoration work being done by volunteers on locomotives more than a century old.
The Bellarine Railway workshop at Queenscliff station will be open to the public on Saturday 15 and Sunday 16 November, giving visitors the chance to inspect progress on the restoration of four historic railway items.
The sole surviving Australian Standard Garratt steam locomotive G33, a 1912 steam crane, a Fordson tractor-powered locomotive and 145-year-old timber bodied railway carriage Car 19 will all be on display between 10am and 3pm each day.
The work carried out on the four projects over the past decade or more is carried out by volunteers every Tuesday and Saturday.
Chris Hibble, project manager for G33, said the open days run by the railway in the past two years had been highly successful.
“When we first started the open days we weren’t sure whether we were going to get anybody come along, but last year we had four days and nearly 500 visitors down to see the projects,” he said.
“We have a lot of interest from right around the world; people in America are watching us, people in England…interest is really growing.
“(G33) is a very unique engine, it came to Geelong brand new in 1946 and worked until 1966. It’s Geelong’s engine and there are people in Geelong who would have seen it run as kids and remember it, so we’re trying to keep that local history alive.”
Entry by gold coin donation.
