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Steamrail Ballarat

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25.01.2022 Happy new year! Will you join us in #2018?

21.01.2022 Y112 was in steam at the Ballarat depot on Monday 2nd November after being put back together after a successful boiler exam. During the steam test, David Goodie captured these photos of the Y class in the yard with Diesel Electric Rail Motor (DERM) number 56 moving about the yard in the afternoon.

21.01.2022 The annual Ballarat Heritage Weekend is fast approaching, it is happening at the end of May in Ballarat. Online ticket sales are now open, BOOK NOW ! -https://...www.trybooking.com/PPRA Saturday 27th May and Sunday 28th May Trains depart Ballarat Railway Station at 9:25am, 10:45am, 12:50pm, 2:10pm and 3:35pm. (All timetables are subject to change). Prices - Adult/Concession/Senior, $25.00. Under 16, $10.00. Family, $60.00. (2 adults and 2 children or 1 adult and 4 children) Don't forget one way transfer tickets are also on sale from Newport to Ballarat on Friday 26th May as well as Ballarat to Newport on Sunday 28th May. Prices and times are available from our online sales page - https://www.trybooking.com/PPRA.

20.01.2022 The Buninyong Line has passed into history, but there are still many who have an interest in this short lived line. The following link (to a Blog by Ben Lever) was recently forwarded to Steamrail by Phillip Harvey and provides a good overview of the 'Buni Line': http://the-iron-road.blogspot.com.au//railway-archaeology-

17.01.2022 Wishing all our members, volunteers and supporters of Steamrail Victoria, a very Merry Christmas. We look forward to another busy 2016! Keep an eye on our websi...te over the next few weeks as we hope to have a draft tours listing online. We will be having a break over January with many projects to occur at Newport Workshops including painting of A2 986, K 190 and the Open Days preparation for the long weekend in March 2016. See more

15.01.2022 Information on the steam train rides this weekend in Ballarat.

14.01.2022 Tickets still available on the transfer from Newport to Ballarat tomorrow. Check out the information in this post if you're interested in joining us.

13.01.2022 Bookings are now open for this year's Ballarat Heritage Weekend Steam Train Rides. BOOK NOW - https://www.trybooking.com/VMPG

13.01.2022 It seems a few people are finding our page here for Steamrail Ballarat. Remember, most information relating to Steamrail Victoria is posted over on our main page. Ballarat Heritage Weekend for 2015 is not far away now!

13.01.2022 As another action packed year comes to an end, we have video containing footage from most of our tours in 2015. Next year looks destined to be one of our bigge...st years ever with the addition of A2 986 to our operating fleet, our Open Weekend in March and our tours reaching new destinations. Once again, we would like to thank all our staff, volunteers and all of you for keeping our trains moving! We hope to see you on our future trains! Bring on 2016! https://youtu.be/2PJ-F6nQ5xg

12.01.2022 A limited number of early seats are available on each train for both Saturday and Sunday (9th and 10th May) 2015. These seats can be booked online - http://steamrail.clicktix.com.au - Otherwise, you can purchase tickets on either day at Ballarat railway station.

08.01.2022 ESSENDON STEAM TRAIN RIDES - Saturday 7th and Sunday 8th April 2018 Join Steamrail Victoria as we operate 2 steam trains with Melbourne's "Red Rattlers" departi...ng Essendon Railway Station, featuring Y112 and K153. LOCATION Essendon Railway Station, Platform 1. TIMETABLE (Please note, times are the same each day) Shuttle 1 Essendon dep. 9:25AM, Broadmeadows arr 9:39AM dep 9:42AM, Essendon arr. 9:55AM. Shuttle 2 Essendon dep. 10:20AM, Broadmeadows arr 10:34AM dep 10:39AM, Essendon arr 10:52AM. Shuttle 3 Essendon dep. 11:20AM, Broadmeadows arr 11:34AM dep 11:39AM, Essendon arr 11:52AM. Shuttle 4 Essendon dep. 12:40PM, Broadmeadows arr 12:54PM dep 12:59PM, Essendon arr 1:12PM. Shuttle 5 Essendon dep. 1:40PM, Broadmeadows arr 1:54PM dep 1:59PM, Essendon arr 2:12PM. Shuttle 6 Essendon dep 2:40PM, Broadmeadows arr 2:54PM dep 2:59PM, Essendon arr 3:12PM. PRICES Adults / Concession / Senior - $20 Child (3 to 16) - $10 Family - 2 Adults and 2 Children or 1 Adult and 4 Children - $50 NOTE: Adults and Concession / Seniors prices. No further discounts apply. BOOK NOW - https://www.trybooking.com/UQLV RSVP - Join our EVENT - https://www.facebook.com/events/597100093961835/ Images with thanks to Simon 'Turtle' and Matt Oaten VR submitted via https://www.flickr.com/groups/steamrail

08.01.2022 We are excited to be heading back to Ballarat for this year's 2019 Ballarat Heritage Weekend. Online bookings and more information now available for all return steam train rides in Ballarat and our one way Friday afternoon and Sunday evening transfers. https://www.trybooking.com/BAYJP

06.01.2022 We are here for the weekend! Train rides at 9.30am, 10.55am, 1pm, 2.15pm and 3.45pm from Ballarat railway station for the Ballarat Heritage Weekend Saturday and Sunday with K153 and Y112. Ticket sales on the platform tomorrow from 8.30am. #BallaratHeritageWeekend

05.01.2022 Iconic Victorian locomotives A2 986 and Y112 coaled, watered and banked during Steamrail Victoria's Ballarat Heritage Weekend Shuttles. For more trips similar to this, head to http://www.steamrail.com.au/?page=tours Photo: Joshua Watson.

03.01.2022 Ballarat Buninyong Branch Line affectionately called the Bunny Hop Line or the Bunny ! Ballarat people love heritage and steam trains! Dont we ? Here's Part ...1 of the story of the Buninyong Railway and more will be added at a sooner rather than later time :-) Could have been the saviour of the Eureka Centre? Approximately 12 kilometres south of Ballarat is a beautiful little town called Buninyong and for many years, Buninyong, with its own Railway Station, was connected directly to Ballarat via rail. At Ballarat Station, one could consign goods to Buninyong or buy a ticket and travel as a passenger with many stations and stops along the way, servicing outlying residents and industries. In 1885, Buninyong had an approximate population of 3000 and apparently 20 hotels. By the late 1880s, growing Buninyong had secondary industries and the need for a railway was promoted by the Mayor of Buninyong, David Mortimer Davies who also happened to be the Minister for Public Works in the Gillies State Government at the time. The contract for construction of 6.84 miles of railway was awarded to Messrs Lewis and Roberts on 13th April 1888, so 130 years ago just passed. The cost of the venture was about 9670 per mile and after the first sod was turned, Ballarat East residents protested vigorously at the thought of a level crossing in Victoria Street and eventually won with the original metal bridges still in place over the cuttings just near Rodier St. The line was completed on and opened for traffic on the 12th September 1889 with much fanfare including a procession led by the Sebastopol Brass Band and a massed choir who sang a song especially composed for the opening. This day was declared a public holiday in Buninyong and all the school children were given a free return trip to Ballarat. A local enterprising school teacher created a paper for the event The Buninyong Illustrated Railway News which sold out quickly at two pence a copy. The Mayor at the time, Cr P Hedrick also drove in the last rail spike. The Minister, Mr David Davies, addressed the crowd with the bold prediction that the line would eventually go down the Leigh Valley to the seaboard. Of course this never happened but he thanked and congratulated the people of Buninyong upon obtaining access to all parts of the colony. To finalise formalities, a banquet attended by over 200 people was had at the Buninyong Town Hall. The Ballarat Buninyong Railway line began at Ballarat Station, then continued past Ballarat East, and after travelling up the main line for a short distance, it crossed the mainlines in the vicinity of the Ballarat Locomotive Depot and under the King St footbridge and then Queen St Bridge. Just past the Queen St bridge, the track went into a tight cutting heading south that went under the Victoria St bridges and onwards to Eureka, where the line branched off the mainline into various industries in the area. The first offshoot was directly into the Eureka Stockade Park itself, across Charlesworth St, near the Northern end of the current caravan park and curved around in an arc. Excursion and picnic trains would take passengers from Ballarat to the lovely gardens, the Eureka Memorial and of course the swimming pool. The continuation of this line went through the park and actually crossed Stawell St just near the northern end of the current swimming pool and kiosk. This was the Eureka Tile Works siding and what a magical sight it was for a boy to be at ground level and see and hear these steaming, hissing steel behemoths slowly puff their way through the grassy park. Just beyond Charlesworth St the line continued to Eureka St and ran parallel with Rodier St. It was also less than 50 metres from the current Eureka Centre or MADE as it was known. Just a little bit North and West of the now Eureka Centre, the line crossed Rodier St into Cowleys Ironworks Mill. Cowleys manufactured boilers, steam powered machinery such as Steam Rollers and even 175 railway wagons for the Victorian Railways in 1915. Anyone who lived in the East would have heard the Cowley’s start, smoko, lunch and knock off whistles and the hammering of heavy steel which rang like a bell over the whole area. The whole area behind MADE/Eureka Centre, bounded by Eureka, Rodier and Charlesworth Sts was made up of railway sidings and platforms for loading and unloading and there were huge holding tanks for the petroleum companies inc Caltex, Golden Fleece and Esso. There were also at one time, holding yards and stock facilities for pigs that were taken to Eureka and then taken just down the road to George Farmers Eureka Bacon and Ham Company on the corner of Eureka and Joseph Sts. The Buninyong Line provided multi purpose railway access and vital transport to many Ballarat East industries as well. Next time , we will explore more about the Buninyong Line.

01.01.2022 Ballarat Heritage Weekend http://www.thecourier.com.au//a-veteran-of-the-train-line/

01.01.2022 Fancy a ride to Ballarat on Friday 8th May from Melbourne? Take a look at this post for more info - https://www.facebook.com/steamrail/posts/10155422641445627