Here - Heritage Express

The regular
electronic newsletter
for NSWRTM Members
Despatched only
by e-mail
November 2009
World’s Newest Roundhouse
Opens for Business
RTM e-News
On Monday
November 9, the
RTM celebrated the
completion of Stage
1 of the Thirlmere
Redevelopment with
the official opening
of ‘The Roundhouse’
by the Member for
Wollondilly, Minister
for Water and
Minister for Regional
Development, the
Hon. Phillip Costa MP.
Many of the other
dignitaries had
travelled direct
to the event from
Central aboard a
newly-refurbished
CityRail Endeavour
set which arrived at
a special temporary
platform built
alongside the turntable.
Thirlmere Public School Students
entertained guests with their railwaythemed
singing and dancing routine, as
guests arrived to the sight of Legend
of Steam loco 3642, slowly turning on
the relocated 105-ft turntable.
Following speeches by RailCorp CEO
Rob Mason and the Minister, a bronze plaque was unveiled at the entrance to ‘The Roundhouse’ by the Minister,
RailCorp Chairperson, Elizabeth Crouch and RTM President Peter Berriman. RTM volunteers then conducted
tours of the new facility, whilst Heritage Express on-board services personnel served an impressive morning
tea. The event was a great success and our guests are already looking forward to the opening of Stage 2 of the
Rail Heritage Centre in 2011.
Photo by Colin McDonald
More photos of the November 9 event appear on Page 2.
Help Us Run Our Railway!
Find out how you can join the team of
customer service volunteers — turn to Page 8.

‘The Roundhouse’
Opening Ceremony
November 9
3642 simmers in the background as Minister Costa delivers his address,
flanked by RailCorp CEO Rob Mason and RTM CEO Richard Mulvaney.
Minister Costa, RailCorp Chairperson Elizabeth Crouch & RTM President
Peter Berriman, celebrate the unveiling of the commemorative plaque.
The scene which greeted guests arriving at Thirlmere on the special RailCorp
Endeavour set —3642 slowly rotating on the new Roundhouse’s turntable.
RTM Members receive unlimited free entry into the Rail Heritage Centre, including the public areas
of ‘The Roundhouse’. Why not come out and see the RTM’s new facility? The first official steaming
day and Members’ Event at the new Roundhouse will take place on Saturday March 6, with guest
locomotive 3016 to be in attendance amongst several other locos. Stay tuned for details...
Assembled dignitaries, guests, RTM
volunteers and staff are addressed by
RailCorp CEO Rob Mason [inset].
All photos by Colin McDonald

Chief Executive’s
Report
It has been a big month for volunteers at the RTM
with the big ‘call to arms’ for the second Day Out With
Thomas event in September. It was another successful
weekend with many valuable lessons learnt from our
May event enacted. Again we were blessed with great
weather and all our visitors seemed to thoroughly
enjoy themselves.
A new initiative was the introduction of Bulgy, the
green double-decker bus, provided by the Sydney
Bus Museum. ‘He’ did the loop to Couridjah where
passengers could stand on the platform and watch
Henry and his train pass by. It’s all great promotion
for the Rail Heritage Centre and an important new
source of revenue. We simply couldn’t put on the
event if we did not have so many volunteers willing
to help. Just to show you cannot have too much of
a good thing, we will run three Day Out With Thomas
events in 2010 with the next one scheduled for 15 &
16 May.
We have also had a concerted effort in clearing the
site of loco parts by several of our site volunteers
under the guidance of Allan Leaver. This is in
preparation for the commencement of the second
stage of the site upgrade. The boilers and large items
not required immediately have been relocated off-site
to a temporary storage site, while smaller items will
be stored in the new Roundhouse store. This has been
a demanding task and the effort by the volunteers is
very much appreciated.
Lastly in early October we had a team of eight
volunteers from Conservation Volunteers Australia
who spent a week preparing the Instruction Car,
FZ 909, for painting. The mentor for this project
was Neville Henry with the capable assistance of
Ken Ames. The CVA team did a fantastic job
inside and out. When the painting is completed
later in the year it will be close to its original
condition and will be a feature exhibit in the
new display configuration. A special thank you to
Jenni Edmonds who helped supervise the work
and ensured that we had all the equipment and
Office of Rail Heritage that have supported the
CVA program across the rail heritage network.
Please keep in mind our volunteers’ Christmas
Party which this year will be held in the new
Roundhouse on Saturday evening 12 December.
Richard Mulvaney
Day Out With Thomas
another great success for the RTM
What a
Day Out
With Thomas
at Thirlmere
is all about
— great
family fun and
memories.
With minutes
remaining before
departure of their
steam train, the
excitement builds
for our guests
at Sodor Station
(Thirlmere) on Sunday
20 September.
This image: Colleen
Harris and her family.
Right: Nerreda Simon
and family.
Below: Anna and Nino
Pelle and children.
This image: Donald passes through Couridjah with the return working of his first train to Buxton
on 20 September. Unusually, Donald was facing Sodor Station for the duration of this event.
Right: making his first appearance at Day Out With Thomas at Thirlmere was Bulgy the Bus,
who ferried visitors on trips to Couridjah Station to greet Donald or Henry as they passed by with
their passenger trains. Here, Kerrie and Keiran Pogson and children, get to know Bulgy on 19
September. Our thanks to all the parents pictured who granted publication permission.
All photos by Colin McDonald

Thirlmere
Upgrade Report
‘The Roundhouse’ Nears Completion
‘The Roundhouse’ - Australia’s newest workshop for
Heritage Trains is nearly complete. The most recent
work has focused on the installation of a staff carpark
with truck delivery area and landscaping of the area
surrounding the building. With the connection of the
electricity supply, testing of the turntable got underway
with loco 3642.
The ex-Hornsby Water Tank has now been erected
and the installation of lathes, machining and storage
equipment is now complete inside the building. ‘The
Roundhouse’ was officially opened by RailCorp on
November 9, with a public launch and special RTM Members’ event
date set for Saturday March 6, 2010 – stay tuned for details!
Station Master’s House Repainting
During September, the historic Station Masters house at Thirlmere
was repainted. The building has retained its traditional heritage colours
and will form an integral part of the Heritage Precinct inside the
Rail Heritage Centre.
3642 became the first locomotive to use the turntable in its new location and the
first visitor to the new Roundhouse.
Photos by Richard Mulvaney
The Station Master’s house showing off its newlycompleted
paintwork on 20 September.
Photo by Colin McDonald
The Clean Up
Continues
The clean up of the
Thirlmere site continues
in preparation for
Stage 2 of the redevelopment
project. Spare
locomotive boilers
have been relocated
into secure off-site
storage and the long
process of sorting, assessing
and relocating
spare parts continues.
Level Crossing
The vehicular level crossing at Thirlmere Station will undergo an upgrade
in 2010 and be fitted with manually-operated swing gates. Shown here in
both open and closed configurations, the concept design is based on similar
gates which could be seen in operation throughout NSW in the early
years of the railways, before boom gates were installed.
The new gates will greatly improve the protection of
both the public and railway safety workers.
Design © Arex/Wilton Engineering 2009
More images of the progress here:
8 Thirlmere Redevelopment
RAIL
HERITAGE
CENTRE
THIRLMERE, NSW

3801
Takes to
the Air
This image
& below right:
as Sydney’s record dust storm
roars outside, two road cranes
move 3801’s frame, smokebox
and forward streamlined casing,
onto workshop stands alongside
the locomotive’s now-freed
wheelsets.
Photos by Colin McDonald
This image: prior to lifting, final adjustments are
made to the forward chains.
Above: careful alignment before final touchdown.
This
image
& above:
3801’s roller
bearing housings
and horn guides
come into view.

3801 Project
Progress Update
Volunteer Noel Ackland commences the task of removing
accumulated mud, rust and grime from 3801’s engine bed
with the needle gun. He stands in the space where the
ashpan hopper normally sits, above the trailing truck.
Photo by Craig Mackey
Most Sydney-siders will remember Wednesday, September
23 for the red dust which enveloped most of the city. At
the 3801 Project workshop at Chullora, a very special event
also took place that day when 3801’s cast-steel engine bed
(frame) was lifted from its wheels.
Two mobile cranes were ordered to enable a vertical lift
(due to the centre of gravity of the frame with smokebox
attached), to ensure a smooth separation from the coupled
wheel axleboxes and the king-pin from the leading bogie.
Weighing some 31 tonne, the frame, smokebox and nosecone
of 3801 was swung south and gently placed on stands where
the overhaul team can concentrate on removing
the cylinder liners and arranging inspection of
Receiving attention at a contractor’s works are 3801’s tender
the SKF roller bearings.
bogies. Pictured here are two of the tender’s roller bearings,
Prior to lifting the frame, the brake gear required
removal. The following task was to unbolt the
hornstays beneath the axle boxes. This job is
difficult enough under normal circumstances,
however RTM Staff have completed this phase of
the work without the luxury of a pit.
The most dramatic parts of the dismantling
process have now passed and the Project now
moves to a component restoration phase, albeit
concerning some very large components.
rotated for inspection and showing off their paired, tapered
arrays.
Photo by Craig Mackey
Design Sign-off
On 15th September, a major milestone in the
project to procure a new boiler for steam
locomotive 3801 was reached, with the
signing-off of completion of the Preliminary
Design Review (PDR) stage by RailCorp. The
design review is used to allow RailCorp’s
engineers to check that the design of
the new boiler faithfully copies the
original, with allowances made for the
differences between riveted and welded
construction techniques. The PDR passed
smoothly, with few issues raised, and communication continues between
RailCorp and Dampflokwerk Meiningen on a regular basis. The signingoff
of the PDR allows the engineers at Meiningen to concentrate on
completing the design, focussing on the detail design issues yet to be
finalised, and the manufacturing techniques yet to be agreed.
Line drawing © DB Fahrzeuginstandhaltung GmbH 2009, supplied by Halcrow Pacific Pty Ltd
Retired NSWGR Engineer for the Westinghouse Brake,
Albert Taylor, has been giving the team valuable
advice and assistance with the overhaul and
servicing of the engine’s 15-inch brake
cylinders. Photo by Craig Mackey
The crane and truck crews join members of
the 3801 Project team following the boiler’s
relocation to the outside of the workshop.
3801’s
tender
underframe
and bogies
viewed from
the Project’s new
scaffolding. Paul Gray
and Matthew Lee can be
seen in the background, while
volunteers Frank Licastro and
Tim Ball prepare the locomotive’s
electrical wiring system for removal.
Photo by Craig Mackey
The cranes are about to depart, having relocated the
frame across the workshop to rest on stands alongside the
wheelsets. The Project’s staff and volunteers admire the
now-lost technical art of manufacturing an intricate, singlepiece,
cast-steel frame like this.
Photo by Colin McDonald
Follow the official web-pages, detailing the
stages of the 3801 Project
as they take place, at:
www.3801.com.au

Retail Shop
New from the
RTM Shop...
Nostalgic Metal
Railway Signs
Decorate your
house, yard or
shed with our
new range of
reproduction
railway signs.
Six designs to
choose from!
Prices range from
$15.00 - $30.00
Dates for your diary...
Rail & Sail to Wollongong
November 21 sold out!
Santa’s Steam Train
November 22 book now!
Rail & Sail to Wollongong
(featuring vintage diesels)
January 24 book now!
RTM Volunteers’
Christmas Party
at the new
Roundhouse,
Thirlmere!
Saturday Evening,
December 12
(Stay tuned for details)
Meet the Volunteer
Kyle Ireland
RTM’s Youngest Active Volunteer
at just 13 years of age!
carriages whilst the passengers are off
the train enjoying their destination.
Tell us about your favourite
moment with the RTM?
I like talking to people on the train and
I enjoyed the Christmas Aurora
last year.
What is the worst job you have had
to perform for the RTM?
I live in Tumut, so I have to get up
REALLY early for some trips!
What do you do when you’re not
volunteering for the RTM?
I build model trains, photograph trains
and play Microsoft Train Simulator.
I’m also a NSW Rural Fire Service fire
cadet and a qualified scuba diver.
What is your favourite item in the
RTM collection?
3801 – it’s so different to
all of the other engines.
Contacts
RTM e-News Editorial Team:
Daniel Page & Colin McDonald
e-news@nswrtm.com.au
Thirlmere Rail Heritage Centre
02 4681 8001
thirlmere@nswrtm.com.au
Sydney Booking Office
02 9379 1110
info@heritageexpress.com.au
Volunteer Support Officer
02 4681 0995
Arthur.Tubby@nswrtm.com.au
For your convenience,
RTM e-News features
clickable e-mail addresses
& direct-to-source weblinks
8 throughout.
We recommend viewing
e-News at a zoom setting
of 125% or greater.
How long have you been
volunteering with the RTM?
In 2008 I did my first trip to Cronulla with
3642.
What does your role entail?
I’m a Level 1, Junior Passenger Attendant. I
welcome passengers aboard the train, check
tickets, answer any questions and clean the
Kyle is the youngest active volunteer
currently working with the RTM.
Opportunities are available for young
volunteers of 13 years or older to help in
a variety of roles. Contact the volunteer
support officer for details!
contact: Arthur.Tubby@nswrtm.com.au
Don’t forget to take advantage of our
discounted Members’ Fares when you
book on a Heritage Express tour.
RTM e-News is published by
NSW Rail Transport Museum
ABN 25 000 570 463
PO Box K37
Haymarket NSW 1240
www.nswrtm.com.au
www.heritageexpress.com.au
© NSWRTM 2009

HERITAGE EXPRESS - NSW RAIL TRANSPORT MUSEUM
HOW YOU CAN HELP US RUN OUR RAILWAY
Running our day and weekend, steam and diesel Southern Aurora® heritage train tours and our own Thirlmere Heritage
Railway takes a lot of devoted, voluntary effort. We’re always looking for competent people to join our band of volunteers
who work hard to offer the wide range of tours and the special kind of customer service which keeps our customers
coming back. How to become part of our volunteer customer service team …
Why not indicate the tasks that interest you on this form and come down to Thirlmere for our CUSTOMER SERVICE
FAMILIARISATION DAY SATURDAY FEBRUARY 20, 2010, STARTING 10.00AM. We’ll take you on a tour of our
famous Southern Aurora and the heritage railway steam train to show you the type of tasks involved in running trains. We
will talk to you about the most effective ways for you to assist us, all in a relaxed and informal atmosphere. We will also be
holding a working bee on this day & it will give you the opportunity to meet other on-board train crew. We will get you
involved in the working bee by helping to clean carriages, so be prepared to get a little wet or dirty & wear the appropriate
clothing.
Volunteering in our frontline positions will mean you have an aptitude and willingness to provide the superior customer
service the Museum is famous for - to do this, you will need to be reasonably agile, reliable, a flexible, co-operative team
player with good people skills, keen to assimilate and display initiative, with an eye for safety. Our heritage trains provide
a work environment full of great experiences, and it’s fun too!
Your only wages will be the satisfaction of providing a top class product to a great bunch of customers and working hard
as part of an established and proven team helping the Museum further its’ objectives. After we provide initial training you
will be rostered to work around once every four or six weeks on a variety of our trips. You may need to wear our uniform
and undergo safety training. Entry level positions may provide eligibility to progression to higher level tasks.
Attendance at the familiarisation day is essential if you wish to volunteer – simply RSVP this form by e-mail (preferred),
fax or post no later than Thursday 11 th February, 2010 – we’re looking forward to meeting you! This form is confidential
when completed and will only be used for the purposes stated.
I am interested in helping in one or more of these customer service tasks (please tick):
Train preparation at Thirlmere – pre-trip interior and exterior train cleaning, loading catering provisions
and stocktaking supplies – generally on weekdays, or on weekend working bees at Thirlmere.
Passenger Attendant - on train customer service, ticket checking, in-service cleaning and carriage preparation,
table preparation and light meal table service, passenger safety monitoring
Buffet Attendant / Souvenirs – on train retailing of snack foods, drinks & souvenirs, selling liquor to the
requirements of our Liquor License, table preparation and light meal table service, washing and drying dishes
Bar Attendant – stocking and selling liquor in the lounge car to the requirements of our Liquor License;
drink service to tables in dining car
Scullery Hand / Chef’s Assistant – dining car kitchen cleaning; washing and drying of dishes; general
kitchen assistance and meal preparation
Waiter – serve meals at tables in dining car; re-set tables; in-service clean and decorate dining car
Phone Sales / Administration – courteously, efficiently and informatively handle sales enquiries;
process telephone and fax bookings at our Sydney office during weekday business hours
… and I’m coming to the familiarisation day at Thirlmere SATURDAY FEBRUARY 20, 2010 to learn more about
how I can help the Museum’s heritage train operations. Please assemble at the Museum shop 10.00AM.
RSVP: By Thursday 11 th February Send this form by email: john.lloyd@nswrtm.com.au
Fax: (02) 9379 1063
Post: PO Box K37 Haymarket 1240
NAME: ________________________________________________________________________________
POSTAL ADDRESS: _____________________________________________________________________
HOME PHONE: ( ) __________________ WORK PHONE: ( ) __________________
EMAIL: ________________________
MUSEUM MEMBERSHIP NUMBER: _______
Relevant experience is not essential but can be handy – please indicate any skills or experience you may have in the task
that interests you (attach separate sheet if necessary).