Transport
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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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Trucking life in focus
In a tribute to the trucking industry of Australia and the people who have kept the wheels turning during an extraordinary year, Castlemaine Rotary Club members – organisers of the Castlemaine Truck Show – have launched a photo and short story competition. With a theme of ‘People at work with Trucks’, the competition is running…
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Towering achievement for ambitious project
The Victorian Miniature Railway has achieved an exciting milestone in the construction of its Harcourt Miniature Railway project – installing the impressive clocktower that forms part of the central station. VGR president Andrew Mierisch said the volunteers from VMR and the Harcourt Lions Club were thrilled to achieve this critical milestone. The finished tower will…
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‘Fix traffic’ cry for Riddell
Traffic troubles are mounting in Riddells Creek and locals warn they must be tackled before development takes hold. Residents are urgently calling for a town traffic management and movement plan as they brace for a population forecast of 6000 people, becoming a ‘district town’, by 2036. Riddells Creek’s Ross Colliver last week called on Macedon…
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Buses replace trains for nine days
Buses will replace trains between Flagstaff, North Melbourne and Sunbury stations as part of Sunbury line upgrade works starting this Saturday. Sunbury line passengers will travel on replacement buses from 12.45am on Saturday, June 27, until the last train on Sunday, July 5. On weekends and from 9pm weekdays, buses will replace trains between North…
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Now that’s a shed! Rail precinct steams ahead
Measuring a whopping 160 metres long by 15.5 metres wide, the freshly completed carriage stabling shed at Castlemaine Heritage Rail Precinct is one of the town’s largest buildings. “It’s a bl…. big shed,” VGR’s Castlemaine Heritage Rail Precinct caretaker Andrew Reynolds said on site on Friday. “It’s the biggest open shed in Castlemaine and it’s…
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OVER BUDGET AND POORLY PLANNED
The state government’s controversial roadside wire rope barrier project faces a major cost blowout and has been less effective than promised. Victoria’s auditor general has found the project is eight months late, poorly planned and maintained, and already nearly $100 million over budget. Wire rope barriers were installed along 20 of the most dangerous highways…
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CHASING CARS Leo Pruneau’s designs come to life in iconic Australian wheels
Not many people can lay claim to having flown first class on every business trip, and on the Concorde five times, but Leo Pruneau has the ‘souvenir’ glasses to prove it. Such was the jet setting lifestyle of a top General Motors designer, “in another life” as the now 88-year-old Woodend resident describes it. Responsible…
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You’ll never see another!
By the time Eric Burton stepped into his customised Styliner ’49er they were old friends. They had a long acquaintance stretching back 33 years because that’s how long it took Eric to get the old machine back into a decent state after buying it in 1987 from a car dealer in Golden Square. When he…
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Shared trail on track
Construction on a Macedon Ranges shared-use trail will soon begin with the state government announcing $8.75 million towards the project last week. Woodend’s cycling community has welcomed the move following years of residents “crying out for more options” to cycle and walk safely between towns. Spanning about 23 kilometres, the Macedon Ranges Trails Project will…
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‘Enough is enough’ – Residents call time on dangerous intersection
Local residents have renewed calls for safety improvements to the intersection of Edgecombe Road and Melville Drive north of Kyneton after a collision between two vehicles last Friday morning. A 4WD was waiting to turn right into Melville Drive about 11.30am when it was struck by another vehicle. The incident is the second collision at…
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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…