Victorian Goldfields Railway
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VGR in state’s new rail training pilot
A new pilot program will offer training and hands-on experience helping Victorian Goldfields Railway upgrade the tourist railway’s infrastructure between Castlemaine and Maldon. Late last week the state government announced support for indigenous and vulnerable people in the Loddon Mallee region to gain a certified qualification through the program. Minister for Public Transport Ben Carroll…
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Help keep VGR on track
Like the rest of the world, the Victorian Goldfields Railway has been impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. The Castlemaine and Maldon Railway Preservation Society has had to stop running public services and is not sure when it will get permission to resume. However, the wonderful team of dedicated volunteers has not been sitting idle, it…
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Impact and opportunity for VGR tourist railway
The coronavirus pandemic has forced the Victorian Goldfields Railway to suspend all of its advertised passenger service until the end of June. The VGR has also had to halt its project taking up the old disused main line track between Guildford and Castlemaine for recycling on part of its tourist line. “We’re not happy with…
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New Castlemaine locomotive stable takes shape in $1M move
Work has begun on Victorian Goldfields Railway’s new Castlemaine locomotive stable as part of a wider project forecast to boost tourism to Castlemaine and surrounds. The $1 million service reorientation project has $500,000 in state funds with VGR adding the rest in a move that will see it shift its operating base from Maldon to…
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Castlemaine-Guildford rail trail idea starts rolling
The disused Castlemaine to Guildford railway corridor should be turned into a rail trail, keen local cyclist Lou Citroen believes. The Castlemaine recreational cyclist has contacted Mount Alexander Shire Council to canvass the plan and seek support to make it happen. His suggestion comes as the disused Castlemaine to Guildford track is currently being taken…
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Railway maneuvres
Victorian Goldfields Railway volunteers have begun dismantling the old Castlemaine-Guildford railway track before re-using the rails to upgrade the Castlemaine-Maldon tourist railway. The project that started last week opens up interesting questions as to the future of the Castlemaine-Guildford corridor and, more pointedly, the currently disused Castlemaine-Maryborough passenger line that it’s part of. Starting at…
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Tourism locos on the move
The state’s minister for regional development was in Castlemaine on Friday to try her hand at driving a loco before turning the sod on a project that’s poised to significantly boost tourism for both Castlemaine and Maldon. The Victorian Goldfields Railway’s service reorientation project has secured $500,000 in state government funding with VGR chipping in…
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On track to tackle plastic waste
Local tourism railways have played a key role in the development of innovative recycled plastic sleepers that may ultimately help solve the nation’s wider recycling crisis. Castlemaine’s Victorian Goldfields Railway and the Victorian Miniature Railway at Harcourt have both been involved in trialing or using the innovative railway sleepers made in Mildura by Integrated Recycling…