Walhalla Goldfields Railway

VictorianRailwayLineInfobox
type = tourist
name = Walhalla Goldfields Railway

size = 100px
yearcommenced =
yearopened =
yearcompleted = 1910
yearclosed = 1954
yearreopened = 1994
fate = Tourist Railway
lengthkm = 3.2
stations = WalhallaThomson
tracks = 1
users =
servicepattern =
RollingStock =
connections =
formerconnections = Orbost Railway Line

The Walhalla Goldfields Railway is a narrow gauge (RailGauge|30 gauge) tourist railway located in the Thomson River and Stringers Creek valleys in Gippsland, Victoria, Australia, near the former gold-mining town and popular tourist destination of Walhalla.

History

The Walhalla line was the last of four experimental narrow gauge lines of the Victorian Railways, the Moe-Walhalla railway commenced in 1904, but was not completed until 1910. The railway was expected to be a boon for Walhalla, which was in a state of decline with gold mining operations becoming uneconomical. The largest gold mining company closed in 1914.

After the closure of the Walhalla mines, substantial timber traffic was carried from sawmills around Erica until the late 1940s. Freight and passenger traffic declined, with the railway closed in sections from 1944 with the final section from Moe to Erica closed on June 25 1954. The tracks and buildings were removed by 1960, leaving only the roadbed and a number of bridges.

The former station building at Walhalla was re-located to the Melbourne suburban station of Hartwell. The centre span of the National Estate listed Thomson River Railway Bridge was formerly part of a road bridge over the Murray River at Tocumwal (NSW). The website of the Australian Heritage Commission confirms this fact.

Recognising the outstanding potential of the railway, several attempts to reopen the line for tourist traffic proved unsuccessful, until the early 1990s. The Walhalla Railway Taskforce formed in 1991, become the Walhalla Goldfields Railway, Inc., in 1993. The former roadbed was overgrown with blackberries and heavy scrub, with numerous sections of the trackbed collapsed and all the bridges either derelict or in ruinous condition. Restoration began with the establishment of Thomson Station and its accompanying yard on the site of the original station. The railway commenced operations in April, 1994, within the Thomson Station yard. Gradually the line progressed, first over the nationally-heritage-classified Thomson River Bridge in October 1994, pushing up the Stringers Creek Gorge to Happy Creek. This became the terminus until the six bridges in the last kilometre into the Walhalla Station yard were completed, and opened on 15 March, 2002. The operating line is 4 km in length.

Due to bushfires in the nearby mountains, services on the railway were suspended as from the weekend of 9 December 2006 [ [http://www.railpage.com.au/f-t11325358.htm Railpage Forums, "Walhalla Goldfields Railways cease pass services - bushfires", page 1] ] . By 18 December 2006 fires reached the outskirts of Walhalla, and on 22 December 2006 fire destroyed the three-span trestle bridge ("bridge 7") adjacent to the former temporary terminus known as Cascade Bridge Halt [ [http://www.railpage.com.au/f-t11325358-0-asc-s30.htm Ibid. page 3] ] . Services resumed between Walhalla and Happy Creek on 31 December 2006.

On 10 March 2007, the Victorian State Government announced funding of $A195,000 to rebuild the destroyed bridge and repair/upgrade the track. The bridge was completed in early April 2007 and normal operations between Thomson and Walhalla recommenced on Saturday 7 April.

Current operation and rollingstock

The Walhalla Goldfields Railway operates regular tourist services between Thomson and Walhalla stations, using diesel locomotives. Notably, the railway carries far more passengers as a tourist railway, than during its time as an operating revenue line. Around 30,000 passengers travel on the service each year - compared to around 1,000 annually during the latter years of the original railway's operation.Due to the unavailability of original rolling stock from the railway (some of which is still in use on the Puffing Billy Railway near Melbourne), locomotives were acquired from a variety of locations, including two small industrial diesel engines from the Gippsland area and a larger diesel engine from the Emu Bay Railway in Tasmania. A small Henschel & Son steam locomotive built in Kassel, Germany was used between 2002-06 but was removed from the railway due to contractual issues with its interstate owner. The passenger rollingstock was constructed from the frames and bogies from coal wagons from the now closed 90cm gauge Interconnecting Railway between Yallourn & Morwell, 40km south of Walhalla. The buildings and new rollingstock designs reflect the original Victorian Railways design as much as possible.

While the railway did not use historical rolling stock at the time of reopening because all extant examples were owned and required by the Puffing Billy Railway, the collection is a significant piece of industrial railway history, and the WGR provides a valuable tourist train service for the regional economy.

Future expansion plans

The WGR is examining the possibility of extended the line to Platina and to Erica, with engineering assessments now concluded.

The Baw Baw Shire Council considered in late 2007 selling a large section of the Erica station site to the caravan park operators currently leasing the site, which would retain only an 18 metre-wide easement for the eventual reconstruction of the station by the Walhalla Goldfields Railway. As of early 2008, this decision was under review, with a final decision likely to be made mid-2008. [ [http://latrobevalley.yourguide.com.au/news/local/general/fears-erica-project-could-be-derailed/1161711.html Fears Erica project could be derailed - Local - General - Latrobe Valley Express ] ]

Reconstruction from Erica to Moe would likely be impractical and uneconomical, as the original right of way was sold in many places, and is partly covered by the waters of the Moondarra Reservoir.

tations

* refers to stations built during the reconstruction of the Walhalla Tourist railway

References

Books

* Kiely, John and Savage, Russell, "Steam on the Lens: Walhalla Railway Construction, the photographs of Wilf Henty; Vol.11", Russel Savage, Mildura, 2002, ISBN 0-9581266-0-7 (a second volume pictorial of the construction of the railway into Walhalla during 1908-1910. Images taken from large glass negatives)

External links

* [http://www.walhallarail.com Walhalla Goldfields Railway (official site)]
* [http://drunken.stupor.org/walhalla Pictures from around the Walhalla Goldfields Railway (unofficial)]