South Gippsland Railway

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South Gippsland Railway
Line details
Completed 1891
Closed 14 December 1994
Reopened 15 December 1994
Stations Leongatha to Nyora
Rail transport in Victoria

The South Gippsland Railway is a tourist railway located in south Gippsland, Victoria, Australia. It controls a section of the former South Gippsland line between Nyora and Leongatha, operating services from Leongatha to Nyora via Korumburra taking around 65 minutes. Trains operate on Sundays and public holidays (except Good Friday and Christmas Day), and also on Wednesdays during Victorian school holidays. The line passes through the rolling Strzelecki Ranges and lush dairy farmland.

History

Redhen railcar and goods rollingstock at Leongatha station

The South Gippsland line was opened from Dandenong to Cranbourne in 1888 and extended to Koo Wee Rup, Nyora and Loch in 1890, Korumburra and Leongatha in 1891. The section from Lang Lang to Leongatha was transferred to the South Gippsland Railway in 1994. Freight trains continued to use the line from Dandenong as far as Koala Siding near Nyora until 1998.[1]

Projects

Station works are in progress at both Nyora and Korumburra stations. Korumburra works include the establishment of works sheds and locomotive and rollingstock stabling sheds. The work commenced in February 2009, and is scheduled to be completed by 30 June.[2]

Nyora works include the repairs to the station building, including repair of internal and external wall cladding, establishment of a new Safeworking Office and Public Space / meeting facilities in the main room of the station.

Rollingstock refurbishment projects include two ABU class corridor compartment carriages being transferred to the railway,[2] and cleaning up and repainting to original colours of various goods wagons.

15 June 2010 saw the arrival of railmotor 61RM. This unit is owned by Victorian Goldfields Railway and is on a long term loan to the South Gippsland Railway for use on its services. The 61RM was supplied with a motor unit that was well overdue for refurbishment. The motor unit was not suited to the gradients and hills on the South Gippsland Railway line, and has been since withdrawn from service pending a major reconditioning and mechanical overhaul.

Steam locomotive K 190 was on loan to the railway during the summer of 1995–1996, and repainted the engine and tender a more noticeable green. She was once again returned for service with the S.G.T.R during the summer of 1996–1997. The locomotive was withdrawn by its owner, Steamrail Victoria, just prior to the permanent line closure between Nyora and Cranbourne. This section of rail has now been partially dismantled, and due to no maintenance is unable to carry rail vehicles without full repairs and in some areas complete replacement of rails and embankments. The SGR is now on a "landlocked" line, no longer able to connect with the Greater Melbourne network.

Future projects also include possibly restoring/reserving the line north of Nyora to Cranbourne, which is the current suburban limit for Metro trains. While the line between Cranbourne and Nyora is unused, obstacles to the development of the whole line include toilet blocks built over the line at the Koo Wee Rup Bus Interchange, and unstable bridges in some locations. After research into the viability of restoration, the line between Nyora and Lang Lang (15 km) is the easiest section to restore, and discussions continue with regard to this project concept and its associated costs.

Regular train services

Regular weekend train services are provided by three train types. These are:

  • V.R. Y class locomotive 135, which can haul up to two or three passenger carriages and goods rolling stock.
  • V.R. Railmotors RM55 and RM61.
  • S.A.R. Rail Motor "Red Hen" as 1 or two car sets.
  • S.G.R. also own a V.R. T Class diesel locomotive number 342. It is currently leased out to the Australian freight operator El Zorro. T342 is presently under discussiomn for a return to the South Gippsland Railway.

The services are operated on Sundays, whilst during school holiday periods, services are operated on Sundays and Wednesdays.

Special trains and charters

South Gippsland Railways operate regular Sunday trains on the complete Lenogatha to Nyora section. In addition, a number of "special" trains are operated by the railway.

These include the Dinner Train, a service providing in-train hospitality, beverages and snacks, with a barbecue-style evening dinner at Korumburra Station. This services run approximately every two months.

Another special service is the Murder Mystery Train—by group booking only—where an entertainer/host and passengers, participate in character costume.

Stations

Carriage 19BE at Korumburra
Van 17CW at Korumburra
South Gippsland Railway
Legend
 Line to Dandenong, currently closed from Nyora to Cranbourne
90.507km Nyora
former Wonthaggi line, closed 1978
95.041km Loch
Jeetho
105.792km Bena
Whitelaw
111.896km Korumburra
former Outtrim line, last section closed 1953
116.339km Kardella
121.510km Ruby
126.735km Leongatha
former line to Yarram and Barry Beach, last section closed 1992

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Farewell — The Sand Train". Newsrail (Australian Railway Historical Society (Victorian Division)): pages 71–76. February 1998. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "South Gippsland Tourist Railway: Projects". www.sgr.org.au. Retrieved 2010-07-16. 

External links

Main lines
Branch lines
Narrow gauge branch lines
Cross Country lines
V/Line services
Melbourne
Suburban services
(current)
Former lines
Goods lines
Tourist railways

Coordinates: 38°25′19″S 145°47′40″E / 38.42194°S 145.79444°E / -38.42194; 145.79444

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